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Is now the right time to sell our house?”
said the nervous woman I spoke with on the phone. “Hmmnn….well, I answer, the straight answer is…that depends”. “On what?” She snaps. “Well, if your goal was sell your real estate for top dollar, that was 5 years ago. Of course you’d also most likely would have been paying more if you were buying another property.” When my clients ask this question, I try to help them understand their underlying motivation for selling. “What do you mean?” She asks. “Well, for instance….are you selling your house to buy bigger house with more room, for a new baby, or mom moving in?” “No”, she replied. “Are you selling your house to trade up for bigger features, like maybe an in ground pool, finished basement, waterfront, or a huge property?” “Possibly” she stammers. “Or are you selling your house to downsize to a smaller home. Maybe your kids are grown, you want a 1 story, or a more manageable less maintenance condo?” A couple of those sound right too”, she laughs. Or would you be selling your house to cash out of equity, maybe pay off a smaller home or rent or is there a pressing economic necessity to move?”
“Wow!” She remarks, “You’ve had this conversation before. I guess I really hadn’t though that much about it” Can I schedule an appointment with you after I’ve reviewed your website? Clearly we’ve got a few things to talk about here.” And it clicked for her. “Now you’re talking”, I replied. “Let’s make it next Wednesday and we’ll put our heads together.” as I wrote down the property address for the appointment.
The takeaway here is that those reasons to sell (and the convictions behind them) will differ from person to person depending upon their individual circumstances. People sell for all kinds of reasons, and each reason is valid to the seller. For some, it’s now or never, and for others, they can wait forever. A reliable real estate agent will discuss these things with you and help you uncover your motivations and that will definitely help you make the best decision on whether now is the right time to sell, or are you better holding off. The real question starts with, What is your motivation to sell? Spend some time thinking about it and you’ll make a good decision, or give us a call and I’ll be happy to discuss it with you. Thanks for reading.