Getting the timing right when moving is hard.
If you haven’t found a place when your home sale goes through, you could be looking for an interim place to live until you find your next home. On the other hand, if you find a new home before selling your current one, you could be relocating far away while still trying to sell your old home.
If you’ve found yourself in the latter position, there are ways to make the process easier for everyone involved. For your sake as the seller and the sake of the new buyers, follow the below guide and tips. You can create a seamless process from listing your house to closing it all while relocating.
How to Sell Your House While Relocating
When you’re planning to move away, the schedule for selling your home gets shorter, and your expectations for selling quickly get higher. The tight timeline can create a stressful, hectic pace as you have to manage packing boxes, showing the house, hiring movers, getting settled in the new spot, and closing on the old one all at the same time.
To expedite the process, get started right away with the following steps:
1. Finding Buyers
First, you need to find the people who will be the most interested in purchasing your home. You need to target the right audience so that you’re not wasting your time trying to sell to the wrong parties.
To connect with qualified potential buyers, check out real estate ads in your local newspaper for other people selling their homes. These residents could potentially be looking to buy another home in the area.
You could also check the classifieds, where some people may make a “Wanted” ad with details about the house they’d like to buy.
Finally, social media is a great way to get a message distributed to a large following quickly. If you need buyers fast, consider posting about your home sale and seeing what kind of response you get.
2. Showing Your Home
Before you show your home to potential buyers, be sure everything looks its very best.
To encourage a sale upon showing the house, do the following things before bringing in any buyers:
- Deep clean the home; consider using a professional service.
- Depersonalize the home as much as possible; remove things like photos, knick-knacks, and personal items.
- Declutter by removing unnecessary items; donate or sell furniture that distracts from the home.
3. Closing
You never want to assume that you’ve found a buyer or that the closing will go perfectly smoothly—especially when you’re also moving to your next home at the same time.
There are almost always hiccups that happen, and being too presumptuous about the close can end up making you look desperate. A desperate seller can make the buyer want to negate the deal.
Plan for some additional time before closing, during which you’ll need to make payments on both your old and new homes.
Tips on Selling Your House While Relocating
There’s an art to a successful real estate sale, and when you’re rushing to relocate, it can add pressure to close a deal quickly. Granted, you don’t have a lot of time to keep your house on the market. Use the following four tips to sell as fast as possible while still getting a reasonable price for your property.
Make It Beautiful and Inviting
You want your home to impress, so do what you can to make it beautiful and presentable. Let the property speak for itself rather than try to convince anyone why the house is worth buying.
First, think about curb appeal. The exterior will entice buyers who drive by and influence the first impression when visitors arrive at the house for a showing. Curb appeal includes things like a freshly cut lawn, new landscaping, a new front door and house numbers, and maybe a wreath on the door.
Next, think about the impression you want to make when potential buyers walk into the home. Amplify the natural light, show off the best features, and even consider using an element of aromatherapy like freshly baked bread to make it feel homey.
Rather than convince them to buy, you can simply share that you are trying to relocate. If the buyers know there is a sense of urgency to sell, it can incentivize them to make an offer. They will appreciate your honesty and transparency about the property.
Offer to Cover (Some) Costs
There’s a good chance your buyers (or the home inspector) will find something that they don’t like or need fixing before they can agree to close on the home.
Understandably, you might not want to fork over a few extra thousand dollars for additional home projects. However, a willingness to make these concessions with potential buyers can drastically shorten the time your home is on the market. This compromise ultimately makes it easier for you to move on and relocate without having to worry about your old property somewhere far away.
So, suppose buyers come to you and request a new roof and a new septic system. Weigh out the options of either covering these costs or holding out for a better buyer down the road. Even if you wait, there’s no guarantee that other buyers won’t have the same concerns, putting you back in the same position.
Understand Your Buyer
You’ll have the best luck selling when you get to know your buyers. Take time to understand why they are buying, what they plan to do with the home once they buy, and what might incentivize them to act quickly.
Reaching a place of understanding may help you come up with cost-saving solutions to sweeten the pot. Something like a discount for a shorter closing window can move the process along.
Consider Price
If you’re running into issues selling your home while relocating, reconsider the listing price. While this might have been the ideal amount to get, holding out for that price might end up costing you more in the long run if too much time passes.
A property that sits on the market too long becomes stale. Potential buyers will see the listing date, note how much time has passed, and then scroll past your listing.
If you want to stay competitive, you have to be willing to lower the price to close a deal. Come to terms with the fact that you may get a slightly lower return on your investment since you need to move and sell quickly.
What Are Your Options for Selling a House While Relocating?
If you need to sell your house fast while relocating to a new area (that may be far away), you have a few options to consider about when and how to sell your house.
As you peruse the options below, know that the best one for you will depend on:
- Your financial situation
- How far you’re moving
- How urgent your timeline is
- How much you anticipate receiving for the house.
Option 1: Sell With a Realtor Before You Move
If you aren’t in a terrible rush, selling your home with a real estate agent before you move can be the most profitable route to take.
This route may take a bit more time than you anticipated. However, if you have the funds to pay two mortgages and sets of bills each month until you can close on the place you currently live, the waiting period is worth it. Holding out for the right buyer will guarantee you the most money possible for your home.
Option 2: Sell With a Realtor After You Move
If you have to move immediately with little room to extend your stay, you’ll need to do what you have to do and relocate. You can still sell your old home with a realtor from your new location, but it may be a more complicated process.
You’ll need to pay your realtor to manage the listing while you’re gone. You may also need to come back for the closing, so make sure you can do so.
Additionally, abandoned homes are more vulnerable to theft and squatters, both of which never help a house sell. You can avoid these nightmares entirely if you can wait to move until you sell your home.
Option 3: Sell to a Cash Offer Business
If neither Option 1 nor Option 2 feel like the right fit for you, consider selling your home to a cash-offer business like Kind House Buyers. You’ll need to review your options and weigh out the benefits of keeping your house listed while you relocate or selling it quickly for a slightly lower return on investment than you were initially anticipating.
The time and money saved through this quick kind of sale often make up for the money lost with a fast cash offer.
You won’t have to pay for a real estate agent or go through the complicated closing process—you’ll have cash in hand quickly that you can use for your move. For some people, that’s priceless.
Final Thoughts
If you have a lot of time on your hands and are sitting on an incredible property in a great location, you may be able to sell your home for a high price and find a buyer willing to overpay.
However, not all of these circumstances may be in your favor. If you need to relocate quickly, consider the benefits of accepting a lower (but fast) offer through a cash-offer business like Kind House Buyers. Being flexible and accepting this kind of offer can help you relocate quickly and with cash in hand. Want to get started and close fast with cash? Reach out to our team for more information.