When should we contact realtors before selling home?

[Lvsdisney]

We have outgrown our home and want to move this summer. This is our first home so we've never sold a house before. I am slowly making repairs and trying to get the house sell-ready. I want to start reaching out to some realtors to get their opinion on our home's status, and then choose one realtor to use to sell our home (I assume this is something that is done?)

My question is, how soon is too soon to reach out to realtors? Ideally I'd like our home on the market before the school year ends.

Also, what should I expect from a good realtor? I'd like someone who could walk us through the process (ie, a little hand-holding) of both selling and buying. We bought our current home 15 years ago so this all feels new again! I'm honestly not sure what is expected of realtors. The one we used to buy our current home wasn't super helpful - is that the norm?

 

[tvguy]

I wouldn't do ANY repairs before talking to several Realtors. Talking to Realtors would be my FIRST step if I was preparing to sell a house.
I interviewed 6 Realtors as potential listing agents who specialized in the area my parents house was in before selecting one. Their names were familiar since I had seen their For Sale signs in the area literally for decades in some cases. I asked their opinions about what should and should not be done, and what they felt the house should list for, and why.
All agreed on one thing, that I do nothing to the house. They all agreed a buyer would be looking at this house as a tear down to build a McManson on the 1/2 acre lot, or it would get a top to bottom remodel. It was a 53 year old house that....while move in ready.....had not been updated in 53 years. As one put it, it felt like walking into a brand new 1960 home because it was so well kept.
All 6 did "comps", which was tough because few of the houses in the area were even close to the same. This was an area of custom houses built over an 80 year period, some 80 years old, some brand news. 4 refused to suggest a listing price. 1 suggested a price that was to the moon. The one I picked had a price, and used her comps to support it.

 

[Lvsdisney]

I wouldn't do ANY repairs before talking to several Realtors. Talking to Realtors would be my FIRST step if I was preparing to sell a house.
I interviewed 6 Realtors as potential listing agents who specialized in the area my parents house was in before selecting one. Their names were familiar since I had seen their For Sale signs in the area literally for decades in some cases. I asked their opinions about what should and should not be done, and what they felt the house should list for, and why.
All agreed on one thing, that I do nothing to the house. They all agreed a buyer would be looking at this house as a tear down to build a McManson on the 1/2 acre lot, or it would get a top to bottom remodel. It was a 53 year old house that....while move in ready.....had not been updated in 53 years. As one put it, it felt like walking into a brand new 1960 home because it was so well kept.
All 6 did "comps", which was tough because few of the houses in the area were even close to the same. This was an area of custom houses built over an 80 year period, some 80 years old, some brand news. 4 refused to suggest a listing price. 1 suggested a price that was to the moon. The one I picked had a price, and used her comps to support it.

Well that's a unique situation for sure!! I live in a townhouse with attached neighbors. I don't think anyone is tearing down my house

And I'm not talking about major repairs. Mainly taking down family photos and patching holes. I'm not doing anything major until I talk to a realtor. Just wondering how soon is too soon?? If we are hoping to have a for sale sign up by May, should I start reaching out now?

 

[tvguy]

Well that's a unique situation for sure!! I live in a townhouse with attached neighbors. I don't think anyone is tearing down my house

And I'm not talking about major repairs. Mainly taking down family photos and patching holes. I'm not doing anything major until I talk to a realtor. Just wondering how soon is too soon?? If we are hoping to have a for sale sign up by May, should I start reaching out now?

I would.

 

[barkley]

when we sold our last home (it was single family 7 years old at the time) we contacted realtors at about the 6 month mark. we interviewed a few and went with a long term guy who had a history of selling in our area so he knew the market/the trends (there were allot of newbies in the real estate game that would do back flips to get listings at the time, we wanted someone for whom it was a full time proven career). that said-

he was honest and said what we did need to do to the place/did NOT. he recommended some minor removal of furniture (he wasn't huge on having to remove all family photos-said serious buyers would look past it and they did). he also suggested we pay a small amount to get a less formal inspection of the house done (less formal/less expensive than the type a buyer does b/c no formal report was needed) so that if there were issues we could either address them ahead of listing or consider it in pricing (i think we had one or two shingles that needed replacing and a small crack in the stucco-cheap repairs that enabled no seller to come back and say we had major stucco problems/needed a whole new roof).

a good realtor will be honest with you and will price your home realistically. they will present your home at it's best through whatever marketing they utilize-to that end, look online for homes selling/sold in your area to see what photos/descriptions look like. it will give you an idea of who does a better job for that aspect.

 

[Alesia]

Finding a good realtor should be your first step

 

[wuzzles]

I work in real estate. I am an agent at Keller Williams. It's not at all too early to start reaching out. I know you want to list it for May and generally speaking spring is a great time to list, but each market is a little different. A local agent can talk to you about how long the average home stays on the market in your area. It can vary pretty significantly from neighborhood to neighborhood and by price point. Higher priced homes tend to take longer to sell than "starter" homes that can appeal to both 1st time buyers and people ready to downsize. From what you said about having outgrown your home I would guess your current home would fall into the quicker to sell category.

You should also talk to the agent and perhaps a mortgage company about the buying part. Talk to them about if you need to sell to buy - or if you found the perfect new home could you float both loans at the same time. In some markets you can get away with putting an offer in on a new home with a contingency that you will need to sell your current home before closing on the new one. In other markets, the sellers won't accept an offer with that kind of contingency because there are more buyers than inventory & they simply don't have to.

If you want to send me a private message with your zipcode I can get you the names of a few agents that are local to you. You can reach out them and see if you click with any of them. If you happen to be selling or shopping in Massachusetts I would happy to perhaps help you myself.

 

[_19disnA]

I think it is certainly not too soon to look for a realtor. If you have neighbors, co-workers or relatives in the area who have successfully used a realtor is a good place to start for a recommendation. Interview perhaps 3 of them to see which one is the best fit. Some will tell you that it is necessary to remodel/update your entire home to sell it and if that isn't your plan, look for someone else. Make sure you are on the same page with the realtor since their advice can be all over the map. Just because a realtor suggests doing something does NOT mean you have to agree. A little common sense goes a long way when selling your home.

Also a good time to start boxing up things you won't need until after you move or dispose of things you no longer need. Some cities have recycling centers when hard to dispose of items can be dropped off. In some areas, trash collection is very particular about what they will/won't take, so need to start thinking about that. Uncluttering your home/basement/garage will help your home to sell and make moving much easier.

When looking to buy, obviously the price is the main consideration along with location and the specific features you want in your next home. The better you can describe that to the realtor helping you house hunt the more effective they can be in searching out listings for you.

 

[easyas123]

I agree it's always a good idea to interview several realtors.
List by May/out by summer? That kinda timeline depends on your area and the market. Another good question to ask the realtor "I have a goal of buying a new place/moving by XYZ date, what are your recommendations on the listing going live?"

Good luck!

 

[SandyinMonterey]

We sold our last home 4 years ago. I interviewed 4 realtors. I researched them online and tried to find out about them as much as I could. I narrowed it down to two (one man, one woman). The man sure sold a lot of homes in my neighborhood but I noticed there were always plenty of price drops. The reason why I went with the woman is because she's the only one who talked about getting my home sold at the price I wanted (in regards to when the appraisal comes in). For example, we were asking $597,00 and got an offer as full asking price. But that doesn't matter if your house doesn't appraise for that. And I found out later from the people who were buying our home, their realtor, they didn't think it would appraise for full price. I would start looking/researching for a realtor now. It's even okay to start interviewing. They will ask when you plan to list and you can say what you think is a good time and ask their advice. I listed in early April. My realtor believed to get ahead of all the others that will be listing in Spring. Many people, just like myself, as to buying and selling and have kids, want to be settled before the new school year starts. Another thing I liked about my realtor is that she had a professional take photos of my house. Many just use their phone these days. It really does make a difference. The house we purchased (we moved to another state) was listed in March. So, we had an offer in on new home without selling our old home. Yep, it was stressful. But we were lucky and got an offer during the first open house and it was sold in 3 days. My husband was already living in the other state and he had found a realtor (by accident). He was eating out asking questions about schools, neighborhoods, etc to a gentleman who then suggested to talk to a friend of his who was a realtor. She was great. We're friends now. And I found working with the realtor to sell our home was very nice and helpful. Good luck.

 

[jaybirdsmommy]

Definitely go ahead and start talking to realtors, you might find out that what you think is important and what they think are important are different. That way you can concentrate your time and effort on repairs/upgrades/staging that will help sell your house.

Also, I second the idea of getting an inspection done. You can go ahead and fix any issues the inspector finds before a buyer does an inspection. It's a lot less stressful knowing the buyers inspector won't find any $$$$ surprises that might effect the sale.

edited to add: I thought of another thing - if you have had major repairs done in the time that you have lived there (roof, HVAC, etc) it might not be a bad idea to compile receipts, warranty info, etc. We had an issue when selling our last house, the buyer's inspector questioned the age of our roof (it was less than 5 years old), having the receipt from the roofer to show helped resolve that issue.

 

[Lvsdisney]

I work in real estate. I am an agent at Keller Williams. It's not at all too early to start reaching out. I know you want to list it for May and generally speaking spring is a great time to list, but each market is a little different. A local agent can talk to you about how long the average home stays on the market in your area. It can vary pretty significantly from neighborhood to neighborhood and by price point. Higher priced homes tend to take longer to sell than "starter" homes that can appeal to both 1st time buyers and people ready to downsize. From what you said about having outgrown your home I would guess your current home would fall into the quicker to sell category.

You should also talk to the agent and perhaps a mortgage company about the buying part. Talk to them about if you need to sell to buy - or if you found the perfect new home could you float both loans at the same time. In some markets you can get away with putting an offer in on a new home with a contingency that you will need to sell your current home before closing on the new one. In other markets, the sellers won't accept an offer with that kind of contingency because there are more buyers than inventory & they simply don't have to.

If you want to send me a private message with your zipcode I can get you the names of a few agents that are local to you. You can reach out them and see if you click with any of them. If you happen to be selling or shopping in Massachusetts I would happy to perhaps help you myself.

We have a starter home and luckily, we live in a neighborhood that sells well. Thank you for your advice! We live in SE PA. If you know anyone in that area, let me know!

 

[Lvsdisney]

I agree it's always a good idea to interview several realtors.
List by May/out by summer? That kinda timeline depends on your area and the market. Another good question to ask the realtor "I have a goal of buying a new place/moving by XYZ date, what are your recommendations on the listing going live?"

Good luck!

Great advice! I'm not set on May, but I don't want to be in a position where we've listed too early. I've noticed over the last few years that home sell quickly in our neighborhood (as long as they are not overpriced). Luckily we live in a desirable part of town and our neighborhood is more affordable to move into since we are town homes vs single homes.

 

[Lvsdisney]

Definitely go ahead and start talking to realtors, you might find out that what you think is important and what they think are important are different. That way you can concentrate your time and effort on repairs/upgrades/staging that will help sell your house.

Also, I second the idea of getting an inspection done. You can go ahead and fix any issues the inspector finds before a buyer does an inspection. It's a lot less stressful knowing the buyers inspector won't find any $$$$ surprises that might effect the sale.

edited to add: I thought of another thing - if you have had major repairs done in the time that you have lived there (roof, HVAC, etc) it might not be a bad idea to compile receipts, warranty info, etc. We had an issue when selling our last house, the buyer's inspector questioned the age of our roof (it was less than 5 years old), having the receipt from the roofer to show helped resolve that issue.

I keep all of my home repair receipts!! But yes, I like the idea of doing our own inspection to be ahead of any issues. And thanks!