When you first start thinking of selling one of the first questions that pops up for most people is “what could I get for my house?” That’s 100% worth knowing but I’d argue that isn’t where you should be starting. The more important question is “where am I going next”?
You could have a lot of equity, and your home could sell for a premium but moving still might not be worth it if you don’t have a clear next step. So following are the 3 things I think you should be thinking about before deciding if selling your home is the right move.
- Start with why. What is selling your home going to allow you to do that you can’t do now? Why is selling even on the table? This might be easy for you to answer: “We can’t do stairs anymore”, “We need more room”, “We want to be closer to family”; there are countless reasons why moving might be a good option, but there are also countless reasons why it might not be.
- Figure out what you need in your next home. Is it more space to entertain or host friends and family? Is it having first-floor living? Is it having less space to take care of? Again there are going to be countless reasons. You need to find what this new home’s going to be doing for you that your current home can’t.
- What would make you stay? Find the reasons against your why. Instead of thinking why sell, build an argument for the opposite: why stay. “Our home is paid off, why sell it”, “We’re leaving an area we know well”, etc. Try breaking holes in your plan; if you have a solid plan it will withstand this stress test, if you don’t then it won’t.
Once you’ve formed a solid plan and you’ve started with why, figured out what you need, and tried to poke holes in your plan only then will you know if selling is the right move. So before spending all your time researching: how much can I get for my home? Figure out if selling is even the right move.
Once you’ve figured out if selling is your next step then we can help you work backwards to see what the best strategy is to get the absolute most for your home, and how to help get you to where you want to be.