Thinking About Selling in 2014?

If you are considering selling your home in 2014 now is the time to do some thinking and planning. Here are some issues to grapple with:

1. Why are you selling anyway? Want a bigger home? A better neighborhood? Downsizing? What is your end game and how important is it to you. Try to visualize how you want to be living after the sale. Focusing on your vision will help you focus on your real priorities in the sale of your current home.

2. Do your homework on selecting a professional Realtor to work with you. This is the most important decision you will make in the sale. After you decide on an agent to partner with  listen to them. Recommendations on staging your home, cleaning, de-cluttering and a myriad of others not relating to pricing will have an influence in the sale.

3. Don't be an ostrich. Your agent should do a comparative market analysis to determine an appropriate price at which to list your home. Remember that what you paid for the home, what you owe on the home, what you would like to clear on the sale, or what other non-professionals think have absolutely nothing to do with the listing price.  If you are unable to deal with the truth and are stuck with your head in the sand perhaps selling now is not the thing to do.

4. Try to understand how a potential buyer is going to view your home and how an objective appraiser will see it. If you are truly ready to sell you will need to understand that what has been your home is now a house that needs to be sold. Emotions only get in the way of moving forward in your life. Listening to market feedback can be painful but it is essential to a sale that will be in the shortest time possible, for the highest possible price, with the least inconvenience to you.

So, if you are really considering selling in 2014, make sure you are truly ready.