Obviously, selling a home is usually not an easy task. We do all we know how to make the process easier. Sometimes, however, there is no escaping a difficult sale.
One of the most difficult is the task of selling a home that is not in the state you currently reside in. If you are not careful, the costs of maintaining an extra house out of sight can really mount up. You may even need to purchase extras such as “vacant home insurance”. Homes left vacant for an extended period can be dropped from traditional home insurance plans and vacant home insurance is often significantly more expensive.
Your reasons for being in possession of a home in another state can be many. You may think that this won’t happen to you, but you may inherit a home from a relative or you may be asked to relocate for career purposes. Life changes such as these can happen to us all, so knowing how to handle them responsibly is valuable.
Your objective may be to get the most money possible for this home, but since it is so far away from you, you should also balance that with getting the home sold quickly. The money you spend keeping this home may negate what you make from holding out for the very best offer.
Tips for Selling A Home Out of State
Put a Lot of Effort in Choosing a Real Estate Agent
This is the single most important factor in selling the home fast and avoiding unnecessary costs, so we will start with it. With you gone, this person will be doing so much that you can’t just settle for the first person you talk to on the phone. A real estate agent acting in your absence may be responsible for overseeing major improvements to the home and staging it for showings.
You should interview several before choosing a real estate agent.
Price this Home to Move
This is not a normal situation. You don’t want to end up paying two mortgages at the same time and you certainly don’t want to receive a call saying the home was vandalized, so instead of testing what the market will tolerate, price it to entice immediate interest.
Start too high and you will just waste time, cost yourself lots of money, and end up making the price reductions eventually. You may even harm the reputation of the home if prospective buyers begin to question why this home sat on the market for so long. Take the agent’s advice on what price will be better received by the market and how long it is expected to remain unsold.
Repair the Home
Most likely, a faster sale at a good price is going to involve doing the things that are required to have the home “move-in ready”. A move-in ready home needs at least all of the fundamentals taken care of, like a solid foundation, good plumbing, electrical, a roof that doesn’t leak, etc. This is inherently expensive, however so having chosen a great real estate agent to oversee this process is key.
You may be lucky in that the out of state home that needs to be sold is in great condition, but inherited homes owned by very ill seniors of advanced age typically have some fundamental issues that were neglected over the years.
Completely Remove the Previous Owner
Clutter is the kind of thing that sneaks up you. After years of living in one home, it can be surprising just how much stuff is stored there. If the previous owner is deceased, it may be that they cluttered the home severely in their final years. This can be quite a task, so you will need to work as closely as you can with your real estate agent.
If the family member left important heirlooms or valuable property there, you may need to pay someone to go through it all for you and package the things you wish to keep and have them shipped to you.
Make it as Inviting as Possible
Staging homes has become the new ingredient that you cannot ignore if you want the property move fast. The competition is doing it now, so you can’t let your home be left behind. If a home buyer looks at your un-staged home and a staged home, all other things being equal, most likely they are going to go with the staged one.
Finally, Get Some Serious Photos
When you have set everything up in and around the home properly, you have to do whatever it takes to get flattering pictures of all the important parts of the home. A professional photographer can get shots of your curb appeal, kitchen, bathrooms, bedrooms, yard space, and anything else, in a way that reaches out to the prospective buyer and says emphatically that they need to live here.
Today, so many people begin their home search on the internet that you can’t afford to skip this step.
Selling A Home Out of State Is Easy With Highest Cash Offer!
All of the above steps come at a cost and involve expertise. If you don’t have the expertise on your own, you will have to trust that you have chosen the right people to get it done for you out of state. A much easier and completely free way to sell an out of state home is to use HighestCashOffer.com.
All you do is give us your information, we appraise the home, and make you a CASH OFFER to buy the home AS IS! You never spend money on improvements, staging, or photos.
We understand how difficult something like selling a home in a state you are not even in is, and we are here to help.
Give us a call at (888) 387-5750 or fill out or FREE, NO-RISK offer form today!
Highest Cash Offer is a real estate solutions company. Our team of experts specialize in assisting homeowners with a wide variety of solutions to any real estate problem. Whether we buy your house for cash or not, our goal is to help you get the desired outcome you deserve.
