Selling a Home in Leonia, NJ

There are a lot of advantages to consider when selling a home in Leonia, NJ. The Bergen County borough is a historic region dating back to 1668 and is known for its vintage charm. Leonia also offers a diverse, walkable community, excellent public schools, and plenty of outdoor recreational areas. Spots like Overpeck County Park allow you to soak in the natural beauty of the region, and the Recreation Department has a lot of classes and programs to keep homebuyers active and healthy as they enjoy all the benefits of living in Leonia.

The first step in selling a home in Leonia, NJ, is to find a realtor. There are a lot of real estate agents out there, so you’ll want to interview several to find one who’ll be a good fit for you. You want a realtor who is detail-oriented, skilled at marketing, and experienced with the neighborhood of Leonia. A good realtor should also be prepared to stick it out with you through the many unexpected obstacles that will inevitably crop up during the home-selling process.

Once you’re matched with a good realtor, the next step is to figure out a good price for your home. Your agent’s knowledge of the area should come in handy here. There are a lot of factors to keep in mind, in addition to local trends. Your house should be priced strategically to appear in housing searches, and you should consult with your realtor about things like the 99 strategy, which revolves around selling your house for $1000 less than it might otherwise go for. Strategies like these can have different advantages and disadvantages that need to be considered before you start listing your home.

When you’re upgrading a home for sale, you want to be careful not to go too far, as you could end up sinking more money into upgrades than you’ll get back when you sell. That being said, there are some improvements you can make that will make a noticeable impact on your home and increase the price it ends up selling for. Things like touching up exterior paint, converting a room into a home office, and opening the floor plan can be a boon to a house’s sale price.

When you’re getting ready to put your home up for sale, timing is crucial. While every local market will behave differently, there are certain months of the year that historical trends have established as either ideal or poor times to list your home. Generally, spring to early summer is the best time to sell a house, while the fall and winter months are times to avoid. With the help of a good real estate agent, you can find the ideal time to start listing your home and getting people to visit open houses.

Once you’ve found the best time to put your house on the market, you need to think about showing it off to the best advantage. With the help of a good agent, you can arrange some excellent listing photos that will show what makes your Leonia home truly special. It’s important to pay attention to the lighting when arranging these photos, and good decor choices are crucial. You don’t want your house to look too lived-in, as this will prevent potential buyers from being able to picture themselves living in it instead of you. Personal clutter should be removed wherever possible and substituted with subtle but eye-catching decor that will help your house stand out in online home searches.

When you’re selling a home in Leonia, NJ, it’s important to have a realtor on your side who’s a master marketer. Your realtor should be able to help you set up a good page on your local MLS that will let anyone looking to buy a home in the area see your property. Other marketing strategies that will come in handy include top-notch networking skills; if your realtor has good connections in Leonia, you can look forward to even more advertising opportunities and more chances to get eyes on your property.

Bringing people into your home comes with its own challenges. As with your listing photos, personal clutter should be kept to a minimum; you want to present your house as a clean slate that potential buyers can envision themselves filling with their own personal touches. Pets should also be kept out of the way, both to reduce the clutter they tend to generate and as a courtesy for prospective homebuyers who might have allergies to watch out for. You should also work with your realtor to determine the best days for hosting an open house, as different target audiences will have different dates and times that work for them.

Once people start taking an interest in your property, you’ll want to be careful who you sell to. Most real estate agents will advise you to only entertain offers from buyers who have been pre-approved for a home mortgage; even if a buyer has enough cash on hand to buy the house out of pocket, someone with a mortgage offers more security due to being vetted by a third party. These buyers will be more likely to follow through once it’s time to seal the deal.

A home appraisal will usually be conducted by a third party to ensure that your house is worth the amount you’re listing it for. If your house ends up being appraised for less than your asking price, you may have to go lower to get buyers to make a purchase. It’s definitely not worth trying to skip the process entirely; if your buyer has a home mortgage, an appraisal will likely need to be conducted before the deal can be closed.

When you finally do sell your home, you should be prepared to pay closing costs. These include the commission for your real estate agent, as well as property taxes. Generally speaking, these will amount to 6% to 10% of the house’s value. Ensure your finances are in order so you’re ready to pay and the transaction can go as smoothly as possible.

If you’re serious about selling a home in Leonia, NJ, reach out to an experienced real estate agent like Scott Selleck. With 29 years in the industry, Scott can guide you through the worst the industry has to offer and help you finish your housing transaction on the best possible terms.