Before You Buy or Sell a Property

The process of buying or selling a home begins well before you start touring homes with your Realtor or dreaming of ways to spend your equity. The most important steps in these processes are the preparation steps. A few simple steps can save time, money, and often frustration.

Before you BUY a home

Six to twelve months before you plan to purchase a home, talk with a lender. If you do not have an existing relationship with a lender, asking your Realtor for a list of trusted local lenders is the right place to start. If you do not have a Realtor yet, asking for a referral from friends, family, and coworkers is a good idea. A lender will tell you what your credit looks like, evaluate your debt-to-income ratio, look at your assets, and help you determine how much house you can afford. In some cases, you may need to take steps to improve your credit score, establish proof of income, save additional funds, etc. This is why the timing is perfect at six to twelve months to allow time for any needed adjustments. Knowing what your options are before you shop will save time and money.

If your lender gives you the clear to start shopping before you are ready, ask for sound advice about remaining creditworthy while you wait for your preferred time to buy. Your lender will give you a pre-approval letter to share with sellers and their Realtors when you are ready to move forward with the purchase of a property. This letter helps the seller and the seller’s Realtor to see you are serious and have taken the necessary steps to move forward with your offer.

During this time, you can also begin to focus on and research the area or areas where you would like to house shop. Driving to your preferred neighborhoods, researching schools, tax rates, and commute times is all time well spent. Is the area you are dreaming about living in close enough to parks, shopping, medical facilities, etc.? Decide your priorities and start now making a list of features you want your new home to offer. Is a pool necessary? How many bedrooms will you require? How many bathrooms do you need? Do you prefer a large yard or no yard? Do you want to live on the water or with a view of the water? If you find the perfect house but it needs a few updates, are you open to doing those upgrades later? All these thoughts and more can take time to sort through, use this preparation time wisely and your house shopping will be much smoother.

Before you SELL a property

Meet with your local Realtor to discuss and negotiate the terms of the listing agreement and go over any questions you may have about the process. A good time to do this may be two to three months before you list your property for sale. This may be a good time to meet at the property and could be an opportunity for your Realtor to preview the property, take notes, and discuss any make-ready recommendations with you. Your Realtor will likely also give you “homework” or a list of items to achieve before the property is advertised publicly for sale. Some but not all information items your Realtor may ask for are:

• Any liens or loans currently on the property and what amounts remain on them.
• Divorces, deaths, or probate proceedings tied to the deed of trust.
• The coverages, premiums, and deductibles of your insurance policies
• Any updates or upgrades to the property since you purchased it.
• Any unique features about the property that should be advertised.
• Any items to be excluded from or included with the sale of the property.
• Arrangements for pets on premises during showings
• Specific work schedules that will need to be considered.
• How many key holders live on-site?
• How will your Realtor and other Realtors gain access to the property?

Should your home require a specially trained eye to edit or reset your décor for the sale, your Realtor will recommend a professional stager for you. If your deed of trust needs to be reviewed with an estate attorney before listing or accepting offers, your Realtor will have names of attorneys to refer you to. Your local Realtor is a reliable source of information, tips, and recommendations from a vast network of resources for everything from staging, lawn care, handypersons, professional trades, and insurance to title work, attorneys, surveyors, and more. You may find you only need a few days to complete your “homework” and be ready to advertise your home, and if it takes longer to achieve the pre-listing goals, you are less likely to run behind a goal date to get the property to the market if you plan.

You will be discussing with your Realtor what your goals are for selling your property, what the most optimal time of the year is to list, what the current market conditions are, and how much you can expect to net from the sale of your property. Your sale may produce more than one option for the sale of your property and your Realtor will help you navigate your options by comparing them alongside each other with you to help you make the decisions with which you are most happy.

The process of buying or selling a property can be detailed and without the guidance of your local Realtor, it can be daunting. Starting early and planning with a trusted partner can make all the difference. The National Association of Realtors most recent report on Highlights from the Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers shows that 86% of home sellers collaborated with a professional Realtor, and those homes sold for 35% more than homes that were advertised for sale without the guidance of a professional Realtor. If you have questions about buying a property or selling a property in Galveston County, call a local Realtor first.