Do you have a house you need to sell fast in Lewisville, TX?
Selling a house can be stressful, regardless of the circumstances. It’s also likely you haven’t been involved in a house sale for a long time – or ever.
3 Questions to Ask Before Selling Your Texas House
You may have questions about how the process of selling your home.
But are they the right questions?
Here are three things every homeowner should ask before putting their house, condo, apartment, or duplex up for sale.
1. Can I Afford to Sell My Home?
It might seem like a strange question to ask. After all, going to walk away with a pretty big check after the sale is complete.
But costs associated with the sales process can add up quickly. For example, If you hire a real estate agent, expect them to take up to 6 percent of the price as commission.
Then, there are “staging costs” to get your house ready for showing. These include hiring a photographer for the online listing, or bringing in landscapers to tidy up the yard.
Finally, there’s your mortgage. Any remaining balance will be taken out of sale proceeds. If you’re behind on payments or underwater on the mortgage, you could actually lose money on selling the house.
2. Should I Renovate or Make Repairs Before I Try to Sell My House?
There’s no easy answer to this question, because there are so many factors at play.
For example, your Texas house might need foundation repair. This can cost thousands of dollars and disrupt the sale process. But it won’t actually increase the value of your home, or boost the sale price.
On the other hand, you might have a leaky faucet or a broken light switch. Repairs like these can be made quickly and for a relatively low cost, so they might be worth taking care of, in order to increase your home’s appeal.
Furthermore, if you’re looking to sell your house fast, it might make sense to skip all repairs and sell your house as-is.
3. Should I Hire a Real Estate Broker or Agent?
This is an important question, because it can make a big difference in the final result.
For instance, an agent has access to online systems and networks for listing the house, finding prospective buyers, and soliciting multiple offers.
Conversely, an agent costs money. You can expect to pay a real estate agent up to 6 percent of the final sale price as commission for their services.
5 Mistakes to Avoid if You Want to Sell Your Lewisville, TX House Fast
Now that we’ve addressed some common questions, let’s take a look at some of the most common errors home sellers make – and how you can do better.
1. Not Preparing for the Sale
Selling your house means more than just putting up a “FOR SALE” sign in the front yard. There’s a lot of preparation work to be done first.
It’s absolutely essential that you clean up as much as possible, inside and out.
Make sure the lawn is regularly mowed and weeded, and pay attention to other landscaping.
Buy, rent, or borrow a pressure washer – you’ll need it! Give every exterior surface a good blast of water to spray away the years of grime and gunk that can build up, from siding to sidewalks and the driveway. While you’re at it, clear out the gutters, too.
Tidy up every room inside, but don’t stop there. Consider having carpets professionally cleaned, or rent a rug cleaner from your nearby grocer or hardware store. The same goes for wood floors and tile – find the most cost-effective way to make them look like new.
Finally, think about “staging.” This means arranging furniture in a pleasing way, to give buyers ideas of what the house will look like after they move in.
If you’ve already removed your furniture, don’t just leave empty rooms! Consider hiring a professional staging service that can provide temporary furniture and other props to make the home feel more welcoming.
2. Not Accommodating Buyers
If you’re lucky enough to be selling during a hot seller’s market, congratulations! You’re under less pressure to win over buyers, since they’ll be eager to come to you.
Nonetheless, you stand to get a better deal if you go the extra mile with home shoppers – whether the market is hot or slow.
First and foremost, be flexible when it comes to scheduling showings. You’ll definitely want to be able to host prospective buyers every Saturday and Sunday, as well as any holidays.
Whether you can – or should – agree to showings during the week depends on how motivated you are, and how many offers you’re getting. A real estate agent can help take care of this if you’re too busy to manage on your own.
3. Taking Offers from Unqualified Buyers
It’s great if your house is getting lots of interest and requests for showings.
But how many of those shoppers are serious about buying your home?
One way to improve the quality of prospective buyers is to request proof of financing. Most buyers should be able to share a letter of pre-approval from their mortgage lender.
If you consider selling to a cash investor, like Local Cash Buyers, ask for proof of funds. It’s also a good idea to ask the investor to show you a list of other properties they own or purchased, and verify ownership with the county tax assessor’s office.
4. Agreeing to a Lengthy Option Period
With any prospective buyer, you may enter an option period. This is a fixed number of days during which the buyer has to “opt out” of closing – for example, if an inspection finds previously undisclosed problems, or financing falls through.
A long option period means you may not be able to take other offers, while you wait for the buyer to move forward.
If you agree to a long option period, and the buyer backs out, you’ve wasted time and money, and you’ll have to start the sales process all over again.
If your buyer requests an unusually long option – say, 45 days – that could be a red flag. Instead, set a reasonably short option period, such as 5 days.
You should ask for an option fee and earnest money, up to 2 percent of the offer, before agreeing to an option period of any length.
5. Selling to a Buyer on Contingency
Frequently, a buyer will only be able to agree to finalizing the purchase once they sell their current home.
These types of agreements are helpful to buyers who can’t afford to carry more than one mortgage, or who can’t otherwise get financing on a new home.
Of course, selling to a buyer on contingency could mean your own sale will take longer, while you wait on the buyer’s sale to close. All the while, you won’t be taking new offers, and the deal could fall apart if your buyer can’t find a buyer for their own house.
It’s not always a mistake to agree to a contingency sale. You can use it as a negotiating tool to get a higher final offer from the buyer, if you’re confident they’ll be able to close in a reasonable amount of time.
Getting Top Dollar For Your Lewisville, TX House
It goes without saying that you’ll want to get as much money as possible for your home when you do finally sell it.
Here are a few things you can do to maximize that winning offer:
Hire an Appraiser and an Inspector
This might seem like an unnecessary expense. After all, most buyers will already be paying for an appraisal and inspection before closing the deal.
However, paying for both before you get an offer – and sharing the results – can boost a buyer’s confidence and trust that they’re getting a good deal.
In addition, the appraisal will give you a good idea of what the home’s value might be to a buyer and their mortgage lender. A typical bank won’t agree to a loan for a house that’s much more than the appraised value.
It follows that any problems found by your inspector will need to be disclosed to buyers, but at least you’ll have a chance to get them fixed.
Price Your Home Competitively
The easiest way to do this is to take a look at all the houses that have sold in your immediate area within the last 30 days or so, and make note of the final sale prices.
Of course, you’ll want an apples-to-apples comparison, so keep things in mind like the age, size, and condition of comparable houses.
School districts matter, too, though this is less of a concern in Lewisville, since the entire city is within the Lewisville Independent School District.
Look Into “Value-Range” Marketing
This is an innovative way to come up with the right price for your home.
Start by coming up with a figure that would prompt you to sell your house right away if someone made you an immediate offer and wrote a check on the spot. For this example, let’s say that amount is $300,000.
Then, think about a lower price which you wouldn’t refuse outright, but might be willing to accept under the right circumstances. Let’s assume for this example that would be $270,000.
This is your value range, and gives you a number of price points to consider when listing.
Sell Your Lewisville, TX House in 3 Easy Steps
Once you’ve decided to sell, there are three basic steps you can take to get it out the door. Keep in mind, the amount of time and money it takes to sell will vary greatly, depending on your circumstances.
- Get the House in Showing Shape. This is perhaps the most-important step: ensure that everything is clean, from top to bottom. Landscape the front yard; power-wash the walls and driveway; clean up clutter; and thoroughly clean and disinfect every surface, from kitchen counters to toilets. Have your carpet and hard floors professionally cleaned as well, or rent a floor cleaning machine and do it yourself.
- Decide Your Sales Method. For many sellers, this path will lead to hiring a real estate agent, and letting them take care of marketing. Or, you can choose to do it yourself. Either way, you’ll want to consider when and how to list; make sure to get lots of great photos; and advertise the listing to attract buyers.
- Solicit Offers and Choose the Best One. If everything goes smoothly in steps 1 and 2, the bids will start rolling in. Now comes the hard part: selecting the winner. You won’t always want the highest offer; it may come with contingencies, like the buyer selling their current house first.
Sell Your Lewisville, TX House Fast Without Agents
If you decide to sell your house in Lewisville as-is, and without hiring an agent, we can help!
We can make you an offer in 24 hours of our first visit to the property, and close in as few as 7 days.
A variety of reasons can make selling your Lewisville, TX house fast a priority. Some of most common reasons include:
- Probate Inherited Property: If you’ve inherited property and don’t want to go through a lengthy probate sale, we can buy even if your loved one didn’t leave behind a will.
- Divorce or Separation: One of the biggest assets to deal with in a divorce is the house, and we can make the process simpler by quickly buying the property for cash.
- You’re upside-down on your mortgage: If you owe more than your house is worth, we can buy your house quickly subject to the existing mortgage.
- Facing Foreclosure: When you’re behind on mortgage payments, we offer a way out that puts cash in your hand and lets you rebuild your credit.
- Bad Tenant: We are experienced in dealing with bad tenants and can buy the house even if a tenant is living in it.
- Repairs and Maintenance: We buy homes in as-is condition. That means that if the roof, foundation, plumbing or any other part of the house needs repairs it’s no problem.
If you need to sell your Lewisville, TX house fast for cash, contact us or call us at 469-250-0018 for a FREE cash offer with no obligation. Let us help you sell your house fast in Lewisville, TX!
Lewisville, TX Real Estate Market at a Glance
Houses in Lewisville are staying on the market for about 28 days. Your home could sell more quickly or take longer, depending on many factors.
The median sale price of Lewisville houses is $279,000. Sale prices vary for many reasons, such as a home’s date of construction, condition, neighborhood, and property size.
We buy houses in these Lewisville ZIP codes: 75029, 75057, 75067, 75077, 75027, 75022, 75028, and 75056.