Five Signs You Are Ready to Sell Your Home

To sell or not to sell? That’s the question for many homeowners in California. The inventory of available homes is still really low, so it’s still considered a “sellers market” even though interest rates have ticked up a fair amount recently. Although many experts believe spring and summer are the optimal times, there is no perfect time to sell. These are some promising signs that you are ready to sell your home and make a move.

You Have Outgrown Your Home

That darling bungalow or townhome you bought before you had a family just isn’t as big as you thought it would be now that you have kids. Maybe it’s still a great house, but it’s not zoned for the school district you covet. 

If your home isn’t growing with your family, that’s one of the first signs that it’s time to move to a bigger home. That yard seemed like a lot of work when it was just two of you with busy careers? Now that you’ve got small kids and a dog, it’s the most appealing thing in the world.

Also, the changes in how we work are forcing many families to upsize into homes with enough spare bedrooms for home offices. Even if you or your partner goes into the office a day or two a week, you still need a dedicated workspace if you’re still working remotely. Let the family reclaim the dining table for actual meals.

Although rising interest rates can make the idea of a bigger home seem a little scary, think of it as an investment in your family. A higher mortgage payment in a great school district is a better financial bet than paying private school tuition.

You Are Ready to Downsize

Your family may be on the opposite end of the spectrum, and your nest is empty. Or, you’ve retired and don’t need all those bedrooms for a non-existent office. Maybe you’re just tired of the upkeep and expense of a large home, and downsizing is appealing. You may have decided that you can sock away more for retirement or travel if you downsize. Whatever the reason, many people choose to downsize for financial purposes.

Downsizing means different things, but the catch-all definition is that when your home no longer matches your lifestyle, it’s time to move.

Downsizing could easily mean a house that’s just as big but with a smaller yard and the owner’s suite on the main level, or a maintenance-free condo on a golf course, or an uptown loft—anything that’s less size and upkeep.

You Have Sufficient Equity in Your Home

The first two signs you are ready to sell your home are primarily driven by emotion, but this one is determined by hard numbers. Are you in a strong equity position in your home?

Equity is the difference between the amount your home is worth and the amount of your existing mortgages. If your home is worth $200,000 and you owe $87,000, then you have $113,000 in equity, which is a pretty good number. That’s enough to pay your real estate agent and closing fees, moving expenses, and have a down payment on a new home.

You should never try to sell your home when you have low or negative equity. How could you be in such a spot? If you bought at the top of the market a couple of years ago with only the minimum down payment, there’s a good chance that you owe as much as the house is worth. When you start paying a mortgage, the bulk of your monthly payments goes towards interest for the first few years. So out of a $2,700 mortgage payment, it’s entirely likely that only a couple of hundred dollars is going towards the principal every month.

It’s Still a Seller’s Market 

Inventory in California is still historically low, so the timing for a strong market is still a good probability. These are the factors to think about when you’re figuring out the type of market you’re in:

• Are prices in your area increasing?
• Are homes staying on the market longer?
• Is there a lot of activity in your neighborhood?

If houses are selling like hotcakes for a premium and many of your neighbors have signs in the yards, maybe it’s time that you join them.

You Are Emotionally Prepared to Sell

Selling your home is hard work, both emotionally and physically. You need to spend time and some money getting it ready to stage, which means repairs, preliminary decluttering, and packing stuff up for storage while it’s on the market. If you are using a real estate agent, there is a lot of pressure to get the house right for photographs, take out everything personal from your home, and make yourself scarce during open houses. Then, you’ve got to wait on offers and negotiate with buyers. It’s a lot.

You Don’t Have a Choice

The hard fact is that sometimes you don’t have a choice in selling—you’re facing a foreclosure, or you’ve inherited a white elephant. In this case, you don’t have the luxury of timing the sale, but you do have Offercity on your side. If you simply need to sell quickly—or just want to get it over with—our system is a whole new way to sell.

Instead of using a real estate agent and jumping through hoops for an unknown, you can avoid all that stress by selling through us. If you’ve got heirs or the bank breathing down your neck, our solution is stress-free, simple, and fast.

Offercity Makes Selling Your Home Easy

Offercity is a great option for homeowners looking to sell their homes quickly and for the best price. Sellers don’t have to worry about decluttering, making costly repairs, home inspections, or paying fees or commissions. We work on behalf of sellers by marketing homes directly to local investors. Investors bid on these homes, therefore, guaranteeing the best possible as-is cash offer for the seller. Contact us to get started.