Why you should always be ready to sell
Even if you’re not thinking about selling your home in the near future, there are a number of significant advantages to making sure you keep yourself in a good position to sell.
Three of the main benefits are:
- Keeping your home well-maintained is a lot easier and cheaper than making ad hoc repairs
- You’ll be ready for any changes that come your way, and
- You’re prepared to take advantage of any potential opportunities
Keeping your home in great condition can add significant value
Maintaining your home to a point where it is ready to sell is a great way to protect your investment and maximise its value. Consistent, long-term maintenance is always going to be more effective and less expensive than any major repairs you need to make. And when you do decide to sell, you won’t need to do much extra work to get your home ready for the sales campaign.
It is worth keeping in mind that a lot of buyers will often pay more for a well-maintained home, because it means they won’t need to do any extra work on it. Often buyers will look at areas of a property that need repairs, estimate how much those repairs will cost, and subtract that from the total amount they are willing to offer. Also remember that buyers may view minor flaws more seriously than you do, and they might question what other problems there are that they can’t see.
Part of achieving a successful sale is making things easier for buyer, and by keeping your home in great condition, it takes a lot of the worries and stresses away from them, as they won’t need to worry about applying for additional renovation loans. Check out this post if you’d like more advice on how to maintain your home for sale.
Lifestyles can change quickly
The days when people would buy one home and live in it their entire lives are long past. It’s much more likely these days that you will own a number of different properties at different stages in your life.
A home that suits a single young professional, or a couple with no kids, might not be appropriate when they decide to start a family. Likewise, a large four bedroom home might not be the ideal property for a recent retiree who is looking for a lock-up and leave lifestyle that will allow them to travel without needing to worry about taking care of a property with too much space.
Other, unforeseen events might put you in a position where you need to sell. You might be offered an exciting new career opportunity in another state or country and need to relocate. And while it can be sad, it’s also true that relationships can sometimes fall apart, and if you own property together it can make a difficult time harder to deal with. If you are already in a position to sell, it means you have one less thing to deal with during this this trying period.
Making sure you are ready to sell can make any of these transitions in your life a lot easier, saving you considerable time and stress.
You’ll be ready to take advantage of attractive opportunities
When your local property market is experiencing a strong growth period or a lot of demand from buyers, it can be a great time to sell you property and relocate to a different area or downsize into a smaller property.
There are often times when home owners will see a high level of interest in a property in their neighbourhood and will realise they have an opportunity to capitalise on that demand. If you are already in a position to sell, it makes it a lot easier to take advantage of that buyer interest.
Increased demand from buyers may mean they are prepared to offer more, leaving you with a nice tax-free profit. Unlike other investments, selling your primary place of residence doesn’t attract capital gains tax or stamp duty. Any profits from your sale are yours to keep, so it makes sense that you’d want to do everything you can to maximise your property’s value.
If you’d like advice on the best ways to get your property ready for sale, contact your local Independent agent today.