For most people, the home they own will be the most expensive and valuable asset they ever own. For this reason, how they handle its ownership and maintenance will often define their financial health over the course of their lifetimes. It’s very possible to climb the property ladder simply through good investment and reselling when the time is right.
Of course, the property market is certainly a flexible game to play. After all, you may gain more from your money if you own a property further away from centralized city locations, especially if you’re willing to accept more of a daily commute.
This begs the question – when does selling your house make the most financial sense for you? If you’ve been considering moving on, figuring out when to put your house in the market isn’t always easy. After all, you may be cut short just as the property market goes through a downturn, as it is in the United Kingdom at the time of this writing.
With that in mind, please consider some of the following advice:
The Condition Of Your Property
Before anything else, it’s important to make sure your property is in fit condition for sale. Sure, if you need to sell up right now, then it’s always possible to cut your losses and go ahead. But the truth is that you may even add thousands to the asking price if many small fixes and repairs have been put in place ahead of time.
This might involve replacing a damaged kitchen countertop, fixing a few slabs in your garden path, and changing the front door to a newer, more secure model. With a capable home selling checklist, you can make sure that everything has been considered before you sell on or start accepting viewings.
Remember – some changes can be inexpensive but really help your home shine in a new light. Tidying everything up, having a clearout of old junk to help the property seem larger, and repainting the window arches can make a great difference. Also here’s perhaps the most useful hidden tip – have your windows professionally cleaned. Not only does this look fantastic from the outside, but allows more natural light internally.
Moreover, no visitor will look at your attempts to clean the windows with suspicion as if you’ve covered over a flaw, it will seem as though your house is in much better condition compared to your neighbors who might not have booked such a service so recently.
Local Real Estate Connections & Possibilities
Keeping an eye on your local real estate market can always help you see the direction the wind is blowing. It might be that more houses are selling in a certain area because of a huge property development in the area threatening to cause prices to plummet.
It may also be that a great number of properties nearby are being purchased by development companies for a larger student housing project. Perhaps you own an apartment, and a larger firm is purchasing the wider building, which requires a healthy investment on your part.
Discussing the local scene with a realtor who understands your local market can be nothing if not insightful. Don’t be afraid to ask those questions, to consider the local market trends, to view the rise and fall of property prices in the last ten years, and to consider what selling now might do for the price you could potentially gather.
However, it’s essential to remember that there’s never a perfect time to sell your house. For example, you might read in the news that house prices nationwide are at their lowest point since 2004 – but people were still selling houses in 2004 and that didn’t impede their personal life decisions. Sure, inflation may have altered how the final acquired figure could play out, but these figures are often relative and shouldn’t limit you from selling when you need to. This way, you can avoid stressing too much, and will prevent perfect from being the enemy of good.
Moving For Personal Needs
Moving house isn’t always a clinical financial decision. In fact, it rarely is. While finances shape our lifestyles, it’s true to say that if you need to move, you need to move. This might be to travel to another job that you need to be in proximity of, to upsize to a larger house now you have children on the way, or to move home and live closer to your family.
Ultimately, this means taking a long and hard look at your finances and considering what the most positive forward step would be. If this means downsizing your family house from a five-bedroom to a four-bedroom now your oldest child has flown the nest, that can be a good place to start as well.
In many cases, moving for convenience and a life change will necessitate a compromise in your property pricing and the offers you accept. Sometimes, being able to accept a less lucrative offer can secure you a convenient moving timeline. It’s important to have these tough conversations with your partner and move on once you’ve agreed upon your options.
Home Value Appreciation
Homes tend to accrue in value over time depending on the area they’re in. However, you can influence this process, too. For example, you might invest in the property to ensure everything is well-balanced, as discussed above when considering the condition of your property.
In some cases, local developments can have a positive effect on your finances, too. It may be that a large investment in your local commercial sector, the moving of a large headquarters for a nationally-known business, or a new transport system has been put in place, helping your property remain even more connected to its surrounding areas.
Home value appreciation might even come through small investments you could make. For example, let’s say you own a rural household. It may be that the farmer who owns the fields behind your house is selling up most of their land, and you have the chance to add an acre to your house if you pay them for it. In the long run, that could be a tremendous step forward.
Finding A Great Housing Deal
It’s important to remember that selling a house rarely happens in a vacuum, it will be the first stage in moving elsewhere. For this reason, a fantastic deal, an inheritance, or making use of an overseas property market may mean that selling your house sooner, rather than later, is the best idea.
For this reason, perfecting your sale for the most amount of money to the nearest dollar, pound, euro or peso isn’t always as useful as selling within the next couple of months. Moreover, those who are selling you their property will need to move on, and they may also have their own timeline they can work with. If they have children, they may want you to purchase their property in full before they move out to prepare for the upcoming school year in a different location. As you may need to transfer your mortgage or use the funds from the sale to purchase the new home, that in itself has a knock-on effect.
It’s important to remember that feeling pressured into a property sale is never a good place to start. With a little care and attention, however, you’ll be able to curate the best and most worthwhile step forward. It takes a little time to achieve, but you’ll certainly notice a difference in your approach.
Is Renting Possible?
Of course, earning money from a piece of real estate isn’t always a matter of selling. In some specific circumstances, renting out the property can be lucrative for you, even if only for a year while you manage your affairs elsewhere. Renting doesn’t preclude the ability to sell later on, after all, provided you give your tenant more than enough notice and help them understand your plans.
Renting doesn’t even have to ascribe to the standard landlord/tenant model either. With services like AirBnB or even commercial renting programs, you can potentially curate a more flexible outcome that works for you and those looking for short-term stays. This is just one consideration and won’t be appropriate for all people, perhaps even most, but for those who can gain value from renting, they may benefit from doing so.
This is also usually ideal for second properties. If you own a small seafront property in another country, you might rent it out to earn you money throughout most of the year. It’s certainly a privilege to be able to do this. But if you have the chance and the financial capacity to try, then you might be able to prevent an unwanted sale at least in the mid-term.
With this advice, you’re sure to look through all options for how and when selling your house makes the most financial sense. This list is by no means exhaustive, but will help you get started on the path towards transferring property. This way, you can make your most valuable assert work for you.