Guidelines for Selling Your First St. Louis Home
Deciding on selling your first St. Louis home is completely different than the time you spent buying it. Selling your first St. Louis home can be stressful, emotional and complicated, but with the right steps, you can help reduce all of that. No matter how long you’ve lived in your home, there a number of things that need to be considered before you begin the process of selling your first St. Louis home.
Partner with the Perfect Professional
Choose a reputable real estate agent that you trust to help sell your home. While the reputation of the company matters, the agent you select will be your direct contact, not the brokerage. Keep in mind you will be paying the agent a commission so you want someone who will do their best to help you along the way and someone that will help set a fair and competitive price for your home.
Unlike when you were buying your home, you will be locked into at least a three to six month contract with your agent. Therefore you will want someone who understands the entire process. From knowing how to set a price to how to market your listing to how to close the deal, the relationship with your agent matters.
Prepare to Sell
One big part of selling your first St. Louis home is making sure that you are emotionally prepared for the process. Being too sentimental about your home can keep you from making the correct decisions along the way. Be realistic about the condition of your home and open to your agent’s suggested pricing of it. If you are unrealistic about either, you run the risk of sabotaging your potential sale. If a home is on the market for more than three months, it can lead prospective buyers to think something is wrong with the home.
Potential buyers are using the Internet more and more in the buying process. This means all they want to know to determine interest in your home is available at the click of a button. The consequence of this is that you have only one chance to make a good impression. If you are realistic about condition and worth up front you have a much better chance of your home coming across as appealing.
Plan Ahead
Where will you and your family go once your home sells? Have this plan prepared before you list your home on the market so that you will be able to discuss it with your agent. Sometimes a home can move from the listed to closing very quickly; it saves time and worry if you already know where you will go once your home sells.
If you are ready to sell your home, select the right agent from the beginning. Have a plan going into the process along with a solid understanding of the current market. The trust and expertise level of your agent will be invaluable to you and will make the process of selling your first St. Louis home move more efficiently. Knowing what you are getting into before the process even begins will ultimately be your biggest asset.