Whether you are selling for the first time or maybe it’s been a few years since you’ve sold a home and you would like a refresher on how to sell a house fast in Indiana, the whole thing can be a bit overwhelming. What is the best way to sell a house?
Depending on your situation, most people can’t afford their house to sit on the market for months. For a home sale to be successful, there are a few steps on how to sell a house that would be good to follow. Though they may not guarantee a quick home sale, they will get you headed in the right direction. Let’s take a look at some of the key steps to selling a house in Indianapolis.
Steps To Sell Your House In Indianapolis Indiana
Step 1: Determine How You Are Going To Sell Your Indianapolis Home
Deciding how to sell a house is a major factor in the process, from the selling strategy to the cost of selling the house, and the preparations you’ll need to do. In this age of digital technology, a seller no longer needs to list a home with a realtor because of more available selling options and helpful information at your fingertips. But, it is important to weigh the pros and cons to determine the best way to sell a house that works for you. Let’s take a look at three ways how to sell a house.
Real Estate Agent
A real estate agent markets your home, communicates with the buyer’s agent, and prepares paperwork. Typically sellers choose to work with an agent because they can offer guidance on pricing, incentives, and local market expectations. But for assisting you with the sale, the listing agent will typically charge a 5-6% commission, which then gets split with the buyer’s agent. And don’t forget, besides the commission fee, there are additional expenses to selling your house beyond agent commissions. So if you sell your Indianapolis house for $200,000, your agent’s commission at 6% will cost $12,000.
For Sale By Owner
With this option, the owner manages all aspects of the home sale. And since you are selling the house, you won’t need to pay a listing agent’s commission. But again, you will be in charge of all the details of selling your home, even negotiating with the buyer’s agent if you get offers below asking price.
While selling by owner can save money, it requires more time and effort. All the home marketing and paperwork fall on the seller. You will need to handle tasks like listing the property online, hiring a photographer to take high-quality photos, writing listing info, and scheduling showings. Having a general knowledge of the local real estate market is also necessary to correctly price the property. Many homeowners who decide to sell on their own usually end up not saving as much money as they thought they would.
Cash Homebuyer
The traditional selling process can be stressful—showings, repairs, offers that fall-through, and months of uncertainty. Selling to a home buyer like Time Worthy Property Solutions is an alternative way to sell your home that emphasizes convenience and certainty.
With Time Worthy Property Solutions, you can receive a cash offer on your home and then move on your own timeline without listing on the market, which enables you to skip several of the steps outlined in this guide. Unlike iBuyers, who only purchase homes in good condition and charge a service fee, Time Worthy purchases properties in as-is condition and doesn’t charge commissions, fees, or closing costs.
→ Compare the costs of selling to Time Worthy Property Solutions versus a listing agent.
Step 2: Determine Your Asking Price
The next step in how to sell a house is figuring out your asking price. When pricing your home, it requires a balance between personal expectations and the Indianapolis market conditions. Accurately pricing your home can mean the difference between an offer and weeks or even months on the market.
Online real estate estimators can provide an assessment of your home’s value but usually don’t give an accurate amount. Traditionally, the way to determine a home’s value is to manually select a few comparable homes (comps) that have recently sold in your area. It may be challenging to find a perfect match, so you, or your agent, will need to make adjustments. For example, if your home has four bedrooms, but a comp has five, you will need to do some math to determine how much the comp would have sold for if it had four? Which gets even more challenging with features like vaulted ceilings, pools, and a nice lot.
Time Worthy Property Solutions looks at the home location, the current condition of the property, what repairs are needed, and the values of comparable houses sold in the area recently. After considering many pieces of information, they come up with a fair price that works for them and works for you too.
→ For more FAQ about Time Worthy Property Solutions.
Once you have a good idea of your home’s value, you should consider whether money or time is more important. You might price your house more competitively if you want to move quickly; on the other hand, you may choose to endure weeks or months of showings at a higher price.
Step 3: Prepare Your Home To Sell
Generally, if your home is in good condition, the more offers you will receive and the easier it is to justify the price. But if it has been a while since you have done repairs and your home is in bad condition, you probably will need to consider taking less for your property. According to a study by Discover Personal Loans, the need for home repairs is common; 72 percentage of 1,040 Americans have delayed making improvements or repairs to their home due to their financial situation. Repairs are expensive, and depending on how much work needs to be completed, you may be better off selling your home as-is. Preparing a house to sell not only will cost you quite a bit of money but also your time, regardless if you sell with an agent or by owner. To get you started, below are a few minimal ways you can get your home in top condition before showings:
Clean and Declutter
This is an important component of selling a house, as decluttering is the best way to make your home look spacious, clean, and ready for new owners. Try to consider your home from a visitor’s perspective — does it feel warm and welcoming? Clear countertops, closets, shelves, and corners where items have accumulated. Look into additional storage options if necessary, to keep the home clear.
Decor
Decor, selling a home means making the space as neutral as possible — no funky accessories on the walls or overpowering colors. For example, neutral colors offer potential buyers a blank slate to imagine themselves in the home.
Maintenance
Make a maintenance plan, so nothing falls through the cracks during the hectic home-buying and selling process. This way, your home remains in tip-top condition until it’s under contract.
You will want to include small fixes, lawn care, and annual upkeep, such as flushing the hot water heater or changing the HVAC air filter.
Repairs
This is when home renovations can get expensive. If you can afford to make a few home repairs, it would help make your home sale a success. But if money and time aren’t on your side, you may want to look into some other options, like selling as-is.
Keep in mind; if you want a good offer for your home, buyers will be looking for a turn-key property. Typically, buyers won’t pay the full asking price for a home that needs repairs or upgrades; they only see the money and time they need to invest in the property.
If you’re unsure what repairs need to be done, hiring a home inspector would help give you an idea of what needs to be completed. In Indianapolis, home inspections cost between $270-$350. Though a bit pricey, the assessment will help see what all needs to be done, prioritize projects and figure out which ones are necessary and in the budget to complete.
Step 4: List And Market Your House
If you work with a realtor, they will list your home on the MLS database and usually market your property by doing the following:
- Coordinating professional photographs
- Posting a sign in the front yard
- Hosting showings with brokers/agents
- Organizing open houses on the weekend
Choosing the for sale by owner option means the owner does all of the above.
When selling a house, the most important part is getting the home onto the MLS, which feeds other real estate search engines. Most agents review the MLS for new listings daily. An FSBO (for sale by owner) seller will be able to list on the MLS through an online service by paying a flat fee.
Another option is to sell your home to a cash homebuyer in the Indianapolis area like Time Worthy Property Solutions. Time Worthy Property Solutions does not require hiring a realtor or selling by owner. When you work with Time Worthy Property Solutions to sell your property, they have a simple three-step process:
- Tell Us About Your Home
Either by filling out a form or by calling our team to get a free cash offer.
- Property Evaluation
Someone from our team will ask to schedule a time to view the house (or you can email house photos/video walk-through)
- Sell And Close On Your Schedule
Choose the date that works best for you and sell your house!
It is a very straightforward way to sell a house that doesn’t require you to hire a real estate agent or do any marketing and listing steps as you would with selling by owner. Besides that, you may only need to show your house once and wouldn’t have to deal with months of uncertainty waiting for your house to sell.
Final Thoughts
Once you get the process started, you will find that there are many steps on how to sell a house fast in Indianapolis besides the ones we covered. Either way, if you decide to sell with an agent or by owner requires time and money with no guarantees you will sell quickly or get a good offer for your house.
If you are looking for a fast, easy way to sell your home in Indianapolis, selling to Time Worthy Property Solutions is a great opportunity to save you time and money. Besides selling as-is and not having to invest in any repairs or renovations, they can close quickly and pay in cash.
Give us a call or visit our website for more information and to learn more about our company. No matter what situation you may be facing, we offer the best way to sell a house.
Our team at Time Worthy Property Solutions looks forward to assisting you!