Tips for selling up and planning for retirement
Phil Horan - a real estate agent and author of If You Love Your Real Estate Agent Don't Buy This Book - shares his advice on selling your own home - yourself!
When you reach retirement age – or if you’re planning ahead – you have likely found yourself carefully considering what direction you want your lifestyle to take. As many people want more quality time with their partner, loved ones and their kids, selling up and moving to a new environment or location surrounded by those near and dear is often high on the agenda.
Getting out of the city, going to the country or the seaside are the most common moves that people explore, however these decisions cannot be taken lightly as they involve not only lifestyle changes, but also a series of interrelated considerations.
Work, employment opportunities, access to shops and amenities and health services are all part of the mix, so you need to be certain that any move you consider will fulfill your hopes and dreams, not crush them.
Before you plan anything, however, the most important factor is your financial situation. What can you afford? Can you sell our current home and end up with enough money to move and buy something equal or better? This question is the one that often causes the most stress.
Selling your home is not only a big decision and an emotional exercise, it can also be a costly one. You usually have to paint and repair your current home to ready it for sale. And that’s before even putting it on the market. Then you have a series of other costs such as advertising, agent commission, administration fees and other, sometimes hidden costs, which can add up. Thus, you may takeaway less dollars than you were expecting.
Many couples are starting to realise that they can maximise the yield from selling their home by taking the whole sales process on themselves, saving a significant amount which they can use directly for their new property and tree or sea change plans.
To some this may sound daunting, however, selling your own home is a very easy and straightforward exercise. When you think about it, we face all sorts of challenges and demands that push their comfort zones everyday so in actual fact most people are equipped we the necessary skills to take on a task like this – they just might not realise it.
If you look at it logically, the best person to sell your home is you. You either bought or built it, you have probably lived in it for some time and you know it’s great features and its not so great features. You can talk openly and honestly about living in the area, the schools, the pubs and restaurants and most of all you can “sell it” to a potential purchaser simply by being open and positive.
Think of it from a buyer’s point of view – they have probably been up late at night researching properties in your area because they have already decided that the area suits their plans. They have looked at many different properties and they have chosen yours to inspect because it’s in the right area and it’s in their price range, you are already half way there because they have asked “you” if they can inspect “your property”. This means that they are seriously considering buying in your area and price range so all you have to do is, welcome them in, present it in a positive way be friendly, answer their questions and you may be pleasantly surprised just how easy the whole process is.
One thing is for sure, you will have a lot more money in your pocket to effect your sea or tree change.
Tips for making your inspection worthy
- Buy fresh flowers and place them in a couple of rooms in your home.
- Tidy up outside and add some fresh pot plants.
- Make sure all of your windows are clean.
- Turn on garden lights during night inspections.
- Remove pets during inspection times.
- Have lots of natural light with blinds open to maximise the home's space and light.
- Remove junk and clutter.
- Ambience still counts for a lot, so the smell of freshly brewed coffee and soft background music contribute to a "homely" feeling.