This is one of the most important stages, and you have to get this right! If you price your value too
high, you might not get offers, and if you price it too low, you might sell if for less than its true
value.
The real estate market prices go up and down and all the time. What you paid for your home 5 years
ago might not be a factor in what’s it’s worth now - the market is the market. Without the help of an
unbiased
realtor helping you determine the value of your home and an asking price, you risk believing your
house is worth more or less than it really is. You need to figure out the “Fair Market Value”
(FMV) of your home.
Many factors go into determining the value, and there a couple ways to go
about determining your FMV: 1) Evaluate it yourself 2) Hire a licensed appraiser. If you
have good self-awareness and know you have good evaluation/analytical skills, then by all means
do the analysis yourself. If not, you hire a licensed appraiser for maybe several hundred
dollars.
Factors used to estimate home value:
1) Geographic location 2) Property size 3) Design of home 4) Scenic views 5) House
quality 6) House age 7) House size
So you will want to search for comparable properties around you,
in your town or city. You will want to create a chart with these categories and enter your
property’s stats, along with the comparable properties to compare. You should probably
compare to at least 3 other properties, but the more you do, the more accurate estimate
you can make. This is called a “Comparative Market Analysis (CMA). If you search the internet
for tools to perform a CMA, you will some sites that can help with this. You could also do
a search using a site like realtor.com.
Do not rush through this section - it is one of the most important steps in selling your home. When you
are ready, proceed to
Stage 3.
BACK TO STAGE 1
BEGIN STAGE 3
