Are you Planning to Sell Your Home in the Fall?

If you’re considering selling your home this fall, it’s time to make sure you’re ready. It can be hard to forecast how the housing market may change, but between now and the fall, it should still remain about where it is now. Looking at the pending home sales will show the hotter season of the summer, but with inventories shrinking, the trend may last throughout the fall. This, along with the job growth for New Orleans should lead to a seller’s market for the fall.

This is certainly good news, if you’re thinking about selling this fall. However, there’s no guarantee you will sell for the best price possible, unless you start preparing now. Here are some of the things you should be doing right now to get ready to sell your home this fall.

Find the Right Real Estate Agent

You don’t want to wait until the last minute and you don’t want to put this off. Finding the right real estate agent is the first step whenever you’re considering selling your home. The sooner you hire the right person, the better, as they can help give you advice on the things to do now to help with the sale of your property in the fall.

Your real estate agent will help to ensure you get good pictures of the home and the right staging, landscape, repairs and renovations are don’t to make it as appealing as possible. If you hire the best agent for you right now, you can even have exterior pictures taken now while everything is still green and blooming. This will help to make your home stand out from the competition.

Get a Home Inspection

Before you go any further, you need a home inspection. Sure, the buyers will order one, too, but you need one now. Knowing what will show up will go a very long way to helping you to make your home as appealing as possible.

Use the home inspection to decide which repairs need done and which ones can wait. It will also help when you sell the home because you’ll already know what the buyer will find out when they have a home inspection done.

Handle Repairs

Getting the repairs done for things, such as your HVAC system, any plumbing issues or anything else needing done will help when you try to sell your home this fall. You want to make sure simple things, such as having your HVAC system services are done now to ensure the home is as clean and as up-to-par as possible.

Clean the gutters, have the fireplace services, clean the chimney and take care of all other minor repairs. If you can spend a few hundred dollars or even a thousand dollars fixing it now, it could save you compared to dropping the price for a buyer later.

Stage for the Fall Now

Having a stager come in and set up your home for a fall sale will help to ensure you have the best chance of getting it sold for top dollar. They will know how to ensure the right amount of light comes in to make for incredible pictures, along with setting up everything else for the fall.

If new lamps are required or new light bulbs, now is the time to handle these little details. Your stager will most likely set your fireplace as a focal point, as well. This goes right into the cozy fall feeling most buyers will be seeking.

Don’t Forget about Curb Appeal

It may be challenging to gain incredible curb appeal in the fall because of all the leaves falling and debris in your yard. However, you need to take care of the curb appeal now so that it’s easier come fall. Make sure the mailbox looks great, paint the front door, have landscaping done and consider leaving your grilling equipment or outdoor furniture outside even though you may not use it any longer.

This is also the time to clean and organize the garage. Staging the garage is very important and will make a difference for some buyers. Make sure you declutter and get rid of the unnecessary items.

Selling your home in the fall is a bit different than selling in the summer. Luckily, it will likely be a seller’s market, which will make things a bit easier. However, you still need to handle your end of the deal and make sure your home is ready for the market.