After the 1st or next Spring

spring flowers

This is the time of year that callers want to see about putting their home on the market “after the first” or in the spring.  The sellers who want to list right after the first are probably ready and if they are not they can still be ready for Spring if they hurry but time is running out.

The spring market seems like it is a long way off but it isn’t.  Most years buyers who plan to buy in the spring or summer are already looking in February and some years we see the most offers on homes during the month of April.  If selling in the spring is the goal now is the time to get started.

The first step is to clean the place up and declutter,  The next step for St. Paul home sellers is to order the truth in housing report. It is a good idea to have things fixed up before the inspector arrives.  Here is a list of items that are most often written up.  Look at the list, fix what you can and then call for the inspection.  You can make repairs after the inspection but only the inspector can change the report.

The city does not require that the deficiencies be corrected but the home will look better to buyers if the inspection report is clean.

Take care of other small repairs before putting your home on the market because it will pay off in the long run.   Buyers will offer thousands less for a home that needs a couple hundred dollars worth of repairs. 

Call your lender and find out how much you owe on your home.  I know it is disappointing but how much you paid for it or how much you owe on it doesn’t matter to perspective buyers.  If you owe more on it than you can sell it for consider staying put or renting it out.  Asking for more than the home is worth just means it will be on the market for a couple of years.  I see it all the time.   If you must move start working on getting the money you will need to bring to the closing.

The goal should be to get your home on the market as soon as February  1st and no later than March 15th if the goal is to get the most exposure and sell it in the spring.

Last year a couple of people that wanted to list in the spring totally missed the target and by the time they were ready home sales had already started to slow down.