If you’re looking to move and you need to sell your house fast, now’s a great time to start preparing. Selling during the spring can help you get the most for it and relieve some of the stress, too.
Here are some tips to make your experience go smoothly.
Typically, the first half of May is considered one of the best times to put your home on the market. However, this does vary a bit depending on your location. In general, however, spring is often the ideal time to list your house.
People are receiving their tax refunds, the kids are about to be out of school – basically, everything’s perfectly aligned. The weather’s nice, people are shopping around, and it takes a lot of the headache out of showing your home.
Granted, if you can’t sell until early summer, that’s usually alright as well. It just depends on the weather. If you live in a hot part of the country, you’re going to want to try to beat the heat.
Usually, a professional home appraisal will cost you anywhere from $250 to $500, depending on several factors. According to HomeAdvisor, the national average is about $333.
Contrary to what some websites may say, there’s really no such thing as a free home appraisal. However, there are countless sites that can tell you the estimated value of your home.
RedFin, Zillow, and others all have free home-value estimate tools. Sites like these can also help you really pinpoint the best time to sell as well.
Doing a little research can certainly help you decide on a listing price. Sites like those we just mentioned can shed a lot of light on important details. These include things like comparable home values in your neighborhood, seasonal sales patterns, and more.
By utilizing all the available tools online, you may not even need to pay for an appraisal. However, if you have a potential buyer that wants to finance, they will likely need to obtain one themselves.
Whether or not an appraisal is needed may also depend on whether you hire a listing agent or not.
