Deciding on how long you should keep your starter home can be determined by a few factors. Here are a few things you need to look at before you move.
It is all about the equity:
Normally you need between 5-7 years to recoup equity on your home. You don’t want to be in negative equity or just breaking even. Check your mortgage statement and find your current balance. Next, you will need to know the “true value” of your home. Our Anne Winch Real Estate Team can help you find that out by checking recent sales in your area and comparing your home.
You have less debt and more cash on hand
Make sure you have less “non-mortgage” debt and that you have saved around 3 to 6 months living expenses to make sure you are in a good state. Check your credit scores to see how you will look to your lender.
Can you afford a home that fits your lifestyle?
Always keep your budget in mind when you are either scaling up or down in the housing market. Do you need more room or a bigger lot? Take into account all your needs before you decide which house is best suited for you.
Are you emotionally ready to sell?
It can be a bit of an emotional experience when you sell. Are you able to get your home ready to sell? Are you committed to have your home staged and be ready for showings? Are you emotionally tied to your home? It is always better to ask these hard questions before you put the sign up instead of backing out later on.
You understand the market
Having some knowledge of how the real estate market works is a real bonus. Are you in a seller’s or buyer’s market? This can make a difference in the pricing of your home. You may think you know the market value of your home, but it is best to get a professional real estate firm to value your home. Our Anne Winch Real Estate Team will explain the market value of your home by comparing marketing statistics and the appearance and size of your home.
You have the right real estate team
Our Anne Winch Real Estate Team would be proud to answer any of these questions or other questions you may have. It is very important for both parties to understand the wants and needs of the buyer/seller and also how the team can help you. We always provide a comparative market analysis with our clients before we even look at selling price. Our team’s list to sale ratio is 98.8% meaning if we list a home at $500 000, we will get $494 000 on average and sometimes even more due to the seller’s market.
We also offer free home staging which is included for every home we sell. Give us a call and find out how we are different real estate team when it comes to buying or selling your home.