Whether you’re selling a house for the very first time or the 30th time, this is a daunting process full of potential pitfalls ready to trip you up. You have to consider so many rules, local laws, financial considerations, and unique situations that can change the course of the transaction. If you’re planning to sell your house in Utah, there are a lot of local considerations to remember as well as unique factors to consider about the Utah housing market. Let’s take a closer look at all the steps to selling your house in Utah.
5-Steps to Selling A House in Utah
The home-selling process can be stressful and unpredictable, so there’s often a desire to find a buyer quickly. If you’re selling on the open market, that is much easier said than done. It often requires that your house is priced very low and that everything is in great condition. If the speed of sale is your biggest concern, you have another option. You can sell your house directly to a cash buyer like Axess Home Buyers. You won’t have to worry about making any repairs, you’ll get an offer very fast, and you get paid in cash. You also get to decide when the transaction closes, even in a matter of days.
However, if you’re set on selling on the open market, there are certain things you’ll want to consider in order to make the sale. There are plenty of unique methods and avenues for a home sale that all come with their own special challenges. Let’s look at the important steps in more detail below.
Find the Right Price
One of the most important things you’ll do in a Utah home sale is picking your listing price.
It’s all about finding the right balance between what you want to make off the sale and what Utah buyers are expecting to pay based on the condition of the house. If you set your initial price too high, you’ll scare off buyers. If you set your initial price too low, you’ll cut yourself out of potential profits and leave buyers wondering why it’s so cheap.
One of the best ways to get an idea of your Utah home’s market value is to look at the sales figures of homes recently sold in your neighborhood. There are a lot of online real estate resources available to locate this info. You’ll want to focus on houses that are very similar to yours. Be sure to take note of the original asking price compared to what it sold for. You’ll get a good sense of how buyers are seeing the market right now.
Get Your House in Order
If you’re selling your house on the open market you need to make sure it’s in the best condition possible so you can attract as many buyers as possible. Buyers want to see themselves in the home and they’ll need to feel like your house is their best investment in the future. Damaged sections or problem areas will need to be fixed or at least accounted for financially. It’s also pretty critical that you do a big cleaning and decluttering. Consider hiring a cleaning service for a deep clean.
You also need to consider keeping up with the Joneses if you want to make a strong sale on the market. Find out what the popular home features are in the neighborhood and consider adding it to your house. Don’t forget about curb appeal as you’ll want to make sure anyone driving by will want to stop and take a closer look. All of this means committing a lot of time and money, but if you want to try and get a higher sale price on the market, it’s what you need to do.
Selling Your House in Utah With a Realtor
If you decide to sell on the open market, it’s a good idea to consider working with a real estate agent. They are trained to understand how the local housing market works and how to get your house in front of buyers. An agent can also get your house listed on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS), which will give you an online presence. That’s very important in the modern world when it comes to selling on the open market. Agents also provide marketing assistance, handle open houses, and bring professional relationships with other experts with them that you can leverage to sell your house faster.
Of course, a real estate agent isn’t offering these services for fun. A real estate agent gets a commission from the sale of your house. The average commission for Utah is around six percent, which your agent will split with the buyer’s agent. So if you end up selling your house for $200,000, the agent commission will be around $12,000. It’s important to keep that in mind when thinking about how low you’re willing to go on the final sale price.
Selling Your House in Utah by Yourself
If you want to list your house on the open market but don’t want to pay that commission fee, you can list the home by yourself. This is usually known as a For Sale By Owner (FSBO) transaction. While this route does mean you don’t have to pay your agent’s commission, you will still have to account for the buyer agent’s commission (three percent or so) if they have one. That’s something you’ll have to negotiate directly with them.
While this idea might sound good in theory and will save you money, it rarely works out that way unless you’re a real estate expert yourself. The truth is that it’s very unlikely you’ll be able to navigate all of the regulations, be able to market directly to buyers, and know all the best practices to follow for a profitable sale. You’ll also have to know what to do in negotiations with buyers and their representatives. That’s a specific skill not everyone is comfortable with. Not to mention that going the FSBO route will require a lot of time and effort on your part that could go elsewhere.
Selling Your House in Utah With a Direct Home Buyer
If selling on the open market sounds expensive, time-consuming, or more trouble than it’s worth, there is a popular way to sell your house that doesn’t involve listing your home. You can sell your home directly to cash home buyers or real estate investors like Axess Home Buyers. There are a lot of reasons why this can be a much more beneficial process for sellers in Utah.
If you’re dealing with a house with a lot of damage or disrepair, a real estate investor will buy the house from you as-is, which means you don’t have to pay for any costly repairs. You might also be trying to sell a house with a financial situation attached, such as foreclosure or a tax lien. Real estate investors will buy the house even in that situation as well. And if you need to sell your house ASAP, due to a relocation or divorce, for example, they will buy the house from you as well.
It’s a very simple process. The cash buyer will visit your property to assess the situation. Then, they’ll make you an offer based on the condition of the house. If you accept, they pay you in cash and you can close as quickly as you like. Even within days. The whole process lets you close on your home quickly, avoid dealing with banks and lenders, and lets you get on to the next step in your life.
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