Avoiding Seller Procrastination

For many the decision to sell a home is an easy one and made with little to no hesitation. For others it is much more complex. Maybe you have thought about selling, but you cannot bring yourself to do it because you are struggling with the weight of procrastination. Selling your home is a huge decision and a decision that should not be made lightly, but if one of these five reasons has you procrastinating on selling, you should consult our team of real estate experts at Slater Realty Group to help further your knowledge on the real estate market and your home.

#1. Waiting for the value of your property to increase

It is easy to see how this may feel like a good financial decision. We would all love to wait for the value of our property to increase before we sell, but the reality is that the real estate market is highly unpredictable; some may say it is up there with the stock market when it comes to unpredictability. We recommend talking with our team about the current market trends in your community to determine whether now is the best time to sell or not.

#2. Waiting until your house is painted/fixed

We do advocate for making necessary updates and fixes before you sell because it can help get you top dollar for your home. While this is never a guarantee, it has been shown to help. Now, if you have been waiting several years to sell your home because you haven’t updated and finished all the projects around the house that you wanted to do before selling, seller procrastination is prolonged. Life is busy and waiting until the busy has passed to accomplish those daunting household tasks may only put you further behind with your life goals.

#3.  Waiting for your last kid to go to college

With the cost of living getting more expensive, you may be waiting for the last kid to move out, but let’s face it most kids are not leaving home permanently until a couple years’ post-graduation. If you are waiting to make a fortune on your house once all your children have left that may not be the case. Markets that are hot right now may not be in 5, 7, or 10 years.

#4. I’m in it for the long haul like my parents

For Americans that bought a home 30-40 years ago, they have seen a very large return on investment. Unfortunately, that is no longer the case with today’s market. Housing prices keep getting higher and what you get is less space and lower quality for a higher price. The younger generation may be better off buying and selling in a short amount of time such as three to five years. Do not put off selling with the intent that you will see the same rate of return on a home as your parents did.

#5. Emotionally attached 

Having an emotional attachment to your home can make it very difficult to sell. Those emotions of love you feel for your home are not going away; avoid using those emotions as the reason you do not take a leap of faith and sell. If you have retired, or your family has expanded, or maybe you have thoughts of living in a new part of the world then jump on those opportunities. Your photos and your videos will travel with you to your next incredible destination.