Selling Your House in Las Vegas: Preparing Your Home For Sale
Selling a home with equity in a distressed real estate environment such as the Las Vegas valley is definitely a hard choice many sellers have to make. Even if the home is
inherited (as in part of an estate or probate,) they face tough pre-listing decisions:
- Should I sell or rent out the house? That is a decision that should be weighed along with costs of property management, vacancy and leaving some wiggle room for a declining rental market.
- Should I stage my house? Probably not. Most Las Vegas Homes for Sale (your competition) are vacant & unfurnished. Recommended practices would be to simply save your money and keep your home clean and clutter free. This means if the home is occupied to start boxing stuff up and put it in the garage or in storage.
- Should I put upgrades in my house? I don’t recommend it. Home sale price margins are tight in the Las Vegas market currently. Highly upgraded homes in cookie cutter neighborhoods do not sell for that much of a higher price.
- Should I do repairs to my house? Only if they will assist with financing. Wait for the home inspection to come with a buyer repair addendum.
- Should I hire a real estate agent? You may want to consider hiring a real estate agent not only for MLS/IDX & marketing experience, but also one that has experience with current market conditions & aggressive negotiating skills.
- How should my home be marketed to the public? You or your agent should come up with an aggressive marketing plan. One that involves the internet where MANY buyers are looking for and choosing their homes.
- How should I price my home? DO NOT USE ONLINE INSTANT TOOLS! I find those highly inaccurate. Most real estate agents provide complimentary consultations on home pricing. (Shameless plug – I provide mine without an appointment necessary – delivered to your email.) You may also want to consider hiring an appraiser for an honest third party opinion. Paying a couple hundred bucks up front could save you thousands of dollars in the end. Holding costs from pricing too high can hurt you, selling too quickly at too low of a price can leave money on the table.
- What are the costs of selling my home? Real estate agent commission is not the only cost. There are title, escrow, real property transfer taxes, HOA transfer fees and other fees involved.
I am finding sellers with equity are doing their due diligence prior to selling a las vegas home. Some take MONTHS for the preparation which is mostly emotional. One thing is for sure, we do not know where the market is heading. We are still in decline even though our market is pressed for inventory. Let me give you an example: the gentleman I have been supplying pricing comparables for a year and a half now has lost half his value since I started working with him in June 2010. Time is definitely money in our market.
It is a very difficult decision to sell a home in Las Vegas these days because of the losses that have occured over the last 4 years. It is an emotionally charged decision. I personally do not push anyone into selling a home because I am wasting time if the home does not sell because I pushed the sellers into selling. If you are considering selling your Las Vegas home and would like acomplimentary, no obligation, no pressure, no appointment necessaryconsultation on pricing of your home, my marketing plan, costs to sell your home (which includes my costs & fees) pleaseclick here to fill out this form.
