Home Selling Tips for Seniors
Looking for home selling tips for seniors? Home selling is a difficult and challenging process especially if you’ve been a part of it for many years. There are both practical and emotional considerations when selling your home. Let’s break down what these considerations are, and some of the best ways to complete the home selling and moving process with ease during your retirement years.
Work with a realtor
Working with a professional and knowledgeable real estate agent in Northern Virginia will make a significant impact in assuring that your home is sold at the best price. Ask questions and make sure they’re doing their part to help your sale run smoothly. A good real estate agent isn’t just someone who posts your home online and gives tours to homebuyers.
They also should be your guide throughout the entire process. Your realtor will also have a crucial role in helping you come up with the best price for your home by looking at prices of other comparable homes in your neighborhood as well as perform a comparative market analysis.
Maximize the value of your home
For most long-time homeowners such as seniors, their house, which they may have owned for decades, is their nest egg. If you’re in this group, you’re probably counting on the equity in your home to sustain your living costs for many years to come. You need to do everything possible to maximize this equity prior to listing. That may mean making some repairs and even upgrades to your home.
Start with any essential repairs. If you have a leaking roof, have a professional roofer out to fix it as soon as possible. Your home doesn’t have to be perfect, but you also don’t want any home inspection surprises holding up your sale. If you’re having trouble identifying what needs to be fixed before you sell, we recommend you talk with either your realtor or with a home inspector in the Fairfax area.
Once all the essentials are dealt with, you can move onto upgrades. It might seem counterintuitive to remodel your kitchen or bathroom right before you sell your home but doing so can maximize its value while also improving the curb appeal of the property. Again, talk to your realtor and ask if they have any home remodeling professionals they’d recommend. As part of a kitchen remodel, new countertops and cabinets can significantly boost your home’s value.
Put together a moving plan
If possible, start planning out your move several months in advance. First, either find a trusted local realtor or talk to your current one. Let them know about your timeline so they can help you map things out. If you plan to move into a retirement community, schedule a visit with a few communities within the area you’d like to move.
You’ll also need to come to terms with the fact that you’re not going to be able to do everything yourself. If you need help with the move, call your local moving company and get a quote in advance.
Come to terms with change
Leaving a home is hard for anyone. For seniors, it is especially difficult. It can represent a new and uncertain chapter in life. Houses aren’t just dwellings: we instill them with sentimental value, making them essential to our memories. For you, this may include memories of holiday dinners spent with loved ones under your roof. Or, memories of your children growing up. For many seniors, this is the most difficult part of their move, bar none.
First, acknowledge your feelings. It’s okay to be sad about the close of this chapter. Be excited about the opening of the next one. When you go to pack up your things—furniture, clothes, collectables, and more—don’t be sad about what is coming with you versus what you’re leaving behind. Think about the happiness that thing has brought you, be it a TV stand or a painting, and then let it go. Whether you pass it on to your kids or sell it a yard sale, know that it’s going where it needs to go.
To learn more about MMK Realty visit our About Us page. For more tips and information feel free to contact me and follow me on social media on Facebook @mmkrealtyllc, Twitter @MMKRealtyLLC, and Instagram @mmkrealty. Also check out our Free Market Analysis. Sign up today and we will email you a free custom assessment of the current value of your home performed by MMK’s Principal Broker, Michelle Williams.
