Selling your house for dummies
Book - 2018
Sell your house in any market Whether you're selling your home yourself or using a realtor, this helpful guide offers all the information you need to make an otherwise-stressful undertaking go smoothly. In Selling Your House For Dummies, you'll find plain-English, easy-to-follow information on the latest mortgage application and approval processes, the hottest websites used in the house-selling process, and revised tax laws that affect the housing and real estate markets. From the author team behind America's #1 bestselling real estate book, Home Buying Kit For Dummies, this book offers Eric Tyson and Ray Brown's time-tested advice, recommendations, and strategies for selling your house given current market conditions. F...rom staging your home to utilizing technology to sell your house directly to home buyers, this trusted resource is packed with tips and ideas to make your home the most appealing house on the block. Prepare your property for the best offer Stage and market your house successfully Negotiate and successfully close the sale Make sense of contracts and forms used in the house-selling process Get the tried-and-true advice that will help you sell your property!
Saved in:
- Subjects
- Published
-
Hoboken, NJ :
John Wiley & Sons
[2018]
- Language
- English
- Main Author
- Other Authors
- Physical Description
- xv, 364 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm
- Bibliography
- Includes index.
- ISBN
- 9781119434238
- Introduction
- How This Book Is Different: The Eric Tyson/Ray Brown Difference
- Foolish Assumptions
- Icons Used in This Book
- Beyond the Book
- Where to Go from Here
- Part 1. Getting Started with Selling Your House
- Chapter 1. Deciding to Sell
- Figuring Out If You Really Need to Sell
- Good reasons to stay
- Reasons to consider selling
- Knowing the Health of Your Housing Market
- Selling in a depressed housing market
- Selling during a strong market
- Chapter 2. Selling and Your Personal Finances
- Trading Up
- Examining your housing budget
- Figuring your expected expenses after trading up
- Determining the financial impact on your future goals
- Exploring the other costs of trading up
- Making Retirement Housing Decisions
- Trading down
- Researching reverse mortgages
- Tax Facts Sellers and Landlords Ought to Know
- Chapter 3. Exploring the Economics of Selling
- Estimating Proceeds of Sale
- Estimated sale price
- Closing costs
- Mortgage payoff
- Moving expenses
- Putting it all together
- Assessing the Financial Feasibility of a Move
- Researching living costs and employment opportunities
- Avoiding relocation traps
- Chapter 4. Confronting Financing Issues
- Financing Decisions When Trading Up
- Choosing your mortgage
- Financing improvements
- The Trials and Tribulations of Seller Financing
- Asking yourself why you'd ever want to be a lender
- Deciding if seller financing is for you
- Finding creditworthy buyers
- Deciding what to charge
- Protecting yourself legally
- Part 2. Tactical Considerations
- Chapter 5. Timing Is Everything
- Timing the Sale of Your House
- First peak season: Spring flowers and For Sale signs bloom
- First valley: Summer doldrums
- Second peak season: Autumn leaves and houses of every color
- Death Valley: Real estate activity hibernates until spring
- The Seller's Quandary: Timing the Purchase of Your Home
- Consolidating Your Sale and Purchase
- Determine your house's current value
- Check your buying power
- Familiarize yourself with the market
- Take action
- Chapter 6. For Sale By Owner
- Eyeing the Potential FSBO Advantages
- You want to save money on commissions
- You may already have a ready, willing, and able buyer
- You may know the house and neighborhood well
- You may be more motivated than an agent
- You like challenges
- You want to be in control
- Your house may sell itself
- Focusing on Potential FSBO Disadvantages
- You may not know how to price property
- You may not know how to prepare your house for sale
- You may not know how to market your property
- You may not know how to separate real buyers from fakes
- You may not have enough experience as a negotiator
- You may get yourself into legal trouble
- You may not know how to close the sale
- Increasing Your Chances of Success
- Educate yourself
- Ensure that other team members are especially strong
- Cooperate with agents
- Financially qualify prospective buyers
- Chapter 7. Your Real Estate Team
- Teaming Up - A Winning Concept
- Landing the Perfect Listing Agent
- Understanding agent relationships
- Recognizing the best listing agents
- Choosing your listing agent
- Achieving top performance from the winner
- Bringing in the Broker
- Handling House Inspectors
- Arranging premarketing property inspections
- Exploring the advantages of inspecting before marketing
- Investigating inspectors
- The Officiating Escrow Officer
- Finding Financial and Tax Advisors
- Locating a Good Lawyer
- Choosing among lawyers
- Working well with your lawyer
- Chapter 8. Listing Contracts and Commissions
- Understanding Listing Contracts
- Considering the Types of Listings
- Exclusive listings
- Open listings
- Examining Broker Compensation
- Commissions
- Net listings
- Discount brokers
- Preparing Seller Disclosure Statements
- What information should you disclose?
- An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure
- Part 3. Getting Top Dollar When You Sell
- Chapter 9. Preparing Your House for Sale
- Handling Presale Preparation
- Creating curb appeal
- Exteriors attract, but interiors sell
- Staging
- Think Again: Avoiding Major Improvements
- Chapter 10. Determining Your House's Value
- Defining Cost, Price, and Value
- Value is elusive
- Cost is history
- Price is the here and now
- Determining Fair Market Value (FMV)
- Need-based pricing isn't FMV
- Median prices aren't FMV
- Usinga Comparable Market Analysis
- Playing with the numbers
- Interpreting CMA adjustments and flaws
- Considering appraisals versus CMAs
- Bidding Wars
- How buyers and sellers get to FMV
- Why "buying a listing" ruins property pricing
- Chapter 11. Price It Right and Buyers Will Come
- Getting a Grasp on Pricing Methods
- Four-phase pricing: Prevalent but ineffective
- Pleasure-pleasure-panic pricing: Fast, top-dollar sales
- Quantum pricing: An effective technique
- Identifying Incentives and Gimmicks
- Deal-making incentives
- Deceptive gimmicks
- Overpricing Your House
- Can't sell versus won't sell
- Three factors all buyers consider
- Danger signs of overpricing
- The foolproof way to correct overpricing
- Placing the blame where it belongs
- Part 4. The Brass Tacks of Selling Your House
- Chapter 12. Marketing Your House
- Advertising That Works
- For Sale sign
- Classified ads
- Multiple listing service (MLS)
- Listing statement
- Computers
- Word of mouth
- Arranging Open Houses
- Brokers' opens
- Weekend open houses
- Showing Your Property
- Preshowing preparations
- The final showing
- Chapter 13. Using Technology to Sell Your House
- Knowing the Internet's Limitations: The Net Alone Can't Sell Your House
- Ensure good web promo of your house
- Knowing the truth about for-sale-by-owner (FSBO) sites
- Realize the limits of valuing your house online
- Relying on Technology to Determine Whether to Sell
- Chapter 14. Negotiating Strategies for Sellers
- Mastering Your Feelings
- Putting emotions in their place
- Gaining detachment through an agent
- Following Some Basic Rules
- Surviving the Bargaining Process
- Receiving an offer to purchase
- Dealing with contingencies - necessary uncertainty
- Making a counteroffer
- Negotiating from a Position of Strength
- Handling multiple offers
- Delaying presentation of offers
- Setting guidelines for an orderly presentation process
- Selecting the best offer
- Negotiating from a Position of Weakness
- Rejecting lowball offers
- Considering other offers usually made in weak markets
- Negotiating credits in escrow
- Distinguishing Real Buyers from Fakes
- Are the buyers creditworthy?
- Are the buyers realistic?
- Are the buyers motivated?
- Do the buyers have a time frame?
- Are the buyers cooperative?
- Chapter 15. It Ain't Over 'til the Check Clears
- Entering the Neutral Territory of an Escrow
- Understanding the role of the escrow officer
- Maximizing your escrow
- Avoiding the curse of December escrows
- Letting Go of Your House
- Moving daze
- The final verification of condition
- Surviving Seller's Remorse or (Gasp) the Dreaded Double Whammy
- Confronting your fears
- Facing the ultimate test
- Chapter 16. Income Tax Filings after the Sale
- Profits from a House Sale
- Defining profits
- Excluding house sale profits from tax
- Tax Filings Required after the Sale
- Schedule D: Capital Gains and Losses
- State income taxes on housing profits
- Part 5. The Part of Tens
- Chapter 17. Ten Things to Do After You Sell
- Keep Copies of the Closing and Settlement Papers
- Keep Proof of Improvements and Prior Purchases
- Stash Your Cash in a Good Money Market Fund
- Double-Check the Tax Rules for Excluding Tax on House Sale Profits
- Cast a Broad Net When You Consider Your Next Home
- Remember That Renting Can Be a Fine Strategy
- Reevaluate Your Personal Finances When Things Change
- Don't Simply Rehire Your Listing Agent When You Repurchase
- Think Through Your Next Down Payment
- Remember to Send Change of Address Notices
- Chapter 18. Ten Tips for Selling Rental Real Estate
- Don't Inadvertently Convert Your House into Income Property
- Exercise Extra Care When You Sell Rental Property
- Know How to Defer Your Investment Property Profits
- Understand Your Local Market to Time Your Sale
- Understand Opportunities for Adding Value
- Maximize Your Property's Rental Income
- Minimize Your Property's Expenses
- Utilize Agents with Investment Property Experience
- Visit Comparables and Review the Valuation Analysis
- Work with Tax and Legal Advisors Who Understand Rental Property
- Chapter 19. Answers for Ten Questions Home Buyers May Ask
- What Do You Like Best and Least about Living Here?
- Why Are You Selling This Lovely House?
- How Much Did You Pay for This House?
- How Did You Establish the Asking Price?
- Have You Received Inspection Reports?
- May I See Your Written Defect Disclosure Statement?
- Are There Any Neighborhood Changes That May Affect the Home's Desirability?
- How Many Times in the Last Year Have You Called the Police and Why?
- What Problems Have You Had with the House?
- What Are the Local Public Schools Like?
- Part 6. Appendixes
- Appendix A. Sample Real Estate Purchase Contract
- Appendix B. Example of a Good Inspection Report
- Appendix C. Glossary
- Index