Today’s market is booming! With the lowest interest rates we’ve seen in years and not enough supply for hungry buyers, it’s the perfect time to find out what your house is really worth. Determining home value can sometimes be a little tricky, but with this shortlist of guidelines, you’ll be able to figure out how much your house is really worth pretty quickly.
At House Buyers Cash, we’ve highlighted 4 steps you can take to help decipher the real estate market and decide if selling is on the table for you currently.
1. Finding Home Value With a CMA
Otherwise known as a comparable market analysis, you can contact a local realtor to run some numbers for you. Often, they will do this for free in hopes you hire them as your agent. However, there is no legal binding to do so.
A CMA takes comparable homes that have sold in the last 6-12 months, or comparable homes that are currently on the market, and allows an agent to give you a ballpark number on what your property is worth with the current market. In addition to running a market analysis for you, often a realtor will want to see the home to see the condition it’s in before presenting their final assessment on pricing.
Having a CMA done is also a good way to see how long homes similar to yours are staying on the market and where your home compares, age-wise. This comes into play in being able to showcase the qualities your home offers that another may not. Perhaps you have a little more land or your home is in better condition – an agent’s analysis can help highlight the fine details of your home.
Getting a CMA is a great idea and the first step to get a realistic idea of what your house would go for in today’s market.
2. Professional Appraiser
While more expensive than your local agent, a professional appraiser will use similar methods to create a known home value. The main difference is that having an appraisal is even more helpful down the road. Most lenders require buyers to prove that a home is worth what’s being offered in order for the home to close and exchange ownership. This is to protect both the buyer and seller from overpricing or underpricing.
Hiring an appraiser is more efficient in some areas a realtor may not be. Not only do they run a CMA, but they’ll typically help you understand your home value based on the land it sits on. This can be helpful in understanding what the property is worth as a whole. You may find greater accuracy in asking a local realtor to run a CMA and hiring a professional appraiser.
3. Do Your Homework When it Comes to Deciphering Home Value
Through websites like Realtor.com, you can personally research the market in your area to get an idea of what your home value may be. Strive to use sites that update frequently, unlike Zillow, and make sure they pull from your local MLS. Using a website that pulls from MLS is key and shows you the newest properties realtors are listing, enabling you to have an accurate idea of your home’s value.
During your hunt, check for homes that have the same amount of bedrooms, are close in age (if there are any), and in the same neighborhood or general area. This step will ensure you’re able to personally see what homes are selling for and determine if you’re ready to say goodbye to your current home and hello to a new one.
4. Introducing House Buyers Cash
Say goodbye to all of that fine-tuning! That’s right, there’s no need to worry about painting, no soft repairs are necessary, and no cleaning up is necessary until it’s moving day. House Buyers Cash buys homes in Washington DC, Maryland, and Virginia with, as their name states, cash.
They offer you the ability to sell your property fast and sell it now. In exchange for taking that beautiful property off of your hands with a cash offer, the company highlights the following.
- You can expect a cash offer within 24 hours. That leaves you knowing what the company is willing to pay without having to play phone tag with realtors attempting to get an answer from potential buyers.
- With no prep work needed, you can pretty much pack your things and leave without putting in extra hours after long days at work. This includes repairs. Rather than having you spend time making those repairs yourself or spending extra money hiring somebody to come out and fix them, you can work with House Buyers Cash to offset the cost in the selling price. Setting a monetary value on what it should cost to repair and deducting it saves everyone time and money. It also takes the liability of a repair not being done well off of you.
- Choosing to go with not listing your property takes away from realtor fees, extra paperwork, and what can sometimes be a long wait to get the right client in wanting to buy your house.
- Pick your closing date! Choose between 10 and 60 days, whatever fits your schedule the best, and lock in that date. Closings are exciting! It’s the start of a new chapter and it’s the day you’ll officially make the money for selling your home.
If these perks aren’t enough to convince you to work with House Buyers Cash, there are plenty of additional benefits. One extra benefit is that, like any offer you receive, you don’t have to accept it immediately and you can negotiate. The home is still yours until it closes. In many ways, this takes out the middle man, saving you time and money in the long run.
Once you’ve taken the steps to determine the value of your home and you’re ready to hear the words “Sold!”, reach out to House Buyers Cash. You can call for a free consultation at 1-234-567-7890, or fill out a short online form to show you’re ready to get the selling process started.
