Selling your first home can be a daunting experience. Especially for someone who has never done it before. If you’re a first time home seller, you must have a plethora of questions that you need an answer to.
These can be questions related to how to prepare to sell your home, or the costs and legal documentation required to do the same. In fact, there might be questions that you didn’t even realize you would face during the home selling process.
Fortunately for you, we have scoured the internet for some of the most common questions that first-time sellers face as they go through the process of selling their property in India. These questions will not only answer your queries but also prepare you to answer any queries your buyer might have.
Without wasting too much time, let’s get into the frequently asked questions by first-time home sellers.
Also Read: Tips for First Time Home Sellers
What is the first step I need to take to sell my house?
The very first step to take once you decide to sell your house is to prepare your house for sale.
Retail workers will tell you, the face value of anything up for sale is the game-changer in how much the buyer is willing to pay to own that commodity. In real estate too, looks sell. This however doesn’t go to say that a beautiful house with weak foundations will sell faster or at a higher price.
The idea behind prepping your house for sale is to make sure it is as ready to move in as possible. Here are a few things you should do to prepare your house for sale.
1. Make Repairs
Start by making repairs to anything you wouldn’t want to be broken in your new home. This could be anything from light fixtures to the low water pressure in your shower. Make sure you eliminate any cause of worry for potential home buyers.
People prefer ready-to-move-in flats and making sure the condition of your house permits that, should be your utmost priority.
2. Renovate Where Needed
Renovation isn’t really something that home sellers want to invest in but it is something that can increase the price of your property significantly. A home with a modular kitchen and new wallpaper is far more attractive than a house without them.
The aim is to make the house, at the least, not look run down.
3. Have The Home Staged
This is an optional step. If you’re not living in the property that you wish to sell, you can have it completely staged by a staging company, or do it yourself. Even when living in a property, you can clean up the look of the property and add neutral coloured linen to make it appear staged.
This helps potential buyers visualise their own aesthetic in the property. This can also help you showcase the full potential the property can reach without being too on the nose. Just remember to keep the colour palette neutral and don’t choose bold patterns.
Do I need a home inspection before listing my house for sale?
While it’s not compulsory, pre-sale home inspections are a great move to ensure the sale of your home goes through smoothly. In today’s real estate climate, buyers have become more aware of the hazards that a pre-owned property could potentially house. Lead paints or fluorescent light bulbs are prime examples of hazardous materials that could be in your home.
There are a lot of service providers that provide home inspections at varying costs and to varying degrees of attention to detail. A home inspection can cost you upwards of INR 2500 in India. The highest price for home inspections currently is somewhere between INR 20,000-25,000.
How long does it take to sell a house?
On average, selling a house can take up to 2-4 months in India. However, due to restrictions arising from the pandemic and depending on your realtor’s expertise to deliver quality with speed, this timeline can contract or expand.
The more exposure your property listing gets, the more chances it has to sell quickly. After an offer is received and agreed upon by the seller and the buyer, ownership can be transferred within one and a half months or 45 days.
How can I find the selling price of my house?
There are various ways to find the estimated value of your house. Keep in mind that the estimated value of your house might not be the same as the selling price. The selling price is the final amount of money agreed upon by the seller and the buyer.
On the other hand, the estimated value of your home is the rough estimate of what is a fair price you could ask for it. It depends on various factors like the neighbourhood, proximity to the city centre, real estate climate during the time of sale, and the condition of the house itself.
One of the easiest and quickest ways to find the estimated value of your house is to use Clicworth. Clicworth is a tool created by the skilled minds behind Cicbrics. By adding a few pieces of information like your locality, property type, floor, configuration, and area, you can receive the estimated value of your house within seconds.
Clicworth provides instant results with up to 99% accuracy.
Why is my home’s estimated value different from its market value?
As explained above, the estimated value is a rough estimate of the price your property can fetch. However, the market value is affected by various factors and refers to the final price the buyer is willing to pay and the seller is willing to accept.
Also Read: EMI Calculator
Do I need a real estate agent to sell my house?
The answer is a simple and resounding YES.
1. Other realtors might not show a house put on sale by the owner. Realtors have a huge network and use that to show your house to as many people as possible. This network includes potential home buyers that are clients to your realtor as well as other realtors and their clients. When you decide to forego a realtor, you will have to undertake the marketing of your home by yourself.
2. A realtor can get you a good deal on your home and quick. Unlike you, your realtor isn’t emotionally attached to your house, their sole motive is to sell the house at the best price that the market can offer. Thus, they will be willing to bring a lowball offer to you if they believe it to be a good offer.
3. Realtors also take away any responsibility that comes with bringing strangers into your home to show them the property. They can take care of filtering out potential buyers to make sure you only have to entertain serious offers on your home.
4. Realtors also undertake the process of selling a home, all the aspects of the process, many times. They have specifically trained for it. This makes them competent to protect their client from any future legal issues that could arrive from incorrect information or incomplete sale proceedings.
Also Read: Home Sellers Guide
What commission fee should I pay to my real estate agent?
The average commission that a real estate agent charges for the sale of your house is 5-6% of the total sale price. Although, some real estate agents also prefer a flat fee model of payment.
What you need to know before venturing into hiring a real estate agent is that there is a difference between them and brokers. A real estate agent can’t receive a fee directly from you, the client. Brokers on the other hand are permitted to work independently and receive a commission directly from the client.
Can I sell a property with an outstanding home loan?
Yes, you can!
The process of selling a house or any other property with an outstanding loan or mortgage on it involves a few more steps as compared to selling one without an outstanding loan. You need to start by notifying your bank or lending institution about your intent to sell the property mortgaged with them. In doing so, the bank will proceed to give you detailed information about your outstanding loan initiating the process of providing you with a No Objection Certificate. This information about your outstanding loan with the bank can also act as proof of your ownership of the property.
In case your buyer decides to finance their property purchase with the same bank or lending institution you were using, the process becomes much simpler. In brief, the buyer can then pay the outstanding loan amount to the bank and the rest of the property payment can be made to you, the seller. The bank can arrange this trade-in.
What documents do I need to furnish to the buyer of my house?
As you enter a sale agreement, your potential buyer will require the following documents from you:
- Letter of Allotment from society/builder
- Mother Contract
- Approved building plans and Occupation Certificate issued by governing authority
- A No Objection Certificate from the regulatory authority
- Share Certificate issued by the society
- Society Membership transfer form
- Encumbrance Certificate
- Sale Agreement
What are some questions that the home buyer might ask me? How should I prepare for them?
When investing in a house, it is natural for the buyer to be inquisitive about some questions that might even seem personal to the seller. The best plan of action is to have answers ready for a few questions that the buyer may bring up to you in case they are keen on purchasing your property.
Below is a list of some questions that buyers are advised to ask the seller. These questions give them room for negotiation on the price and other factors relating to the sale of the house. Figure out answers for all these questions ahead of time to avoid being put up on the spot.
- Why are you selling the house?
- How long has the house been on sale?
- Have you reduced or increased the sale price and why?
- What appliances or other things are included in the sale?
- How old are all/any appliances included in the sale?
- Does the house need repairs and renovations?
- Are there any recurring problems with the house?
- What are some issues in the neighbourhood?
- What are the best things about the house/neighbourhood/community?
- Disclosure statements about any hazardous aspects of the property.
It’s okay to not understand the real estate market completely. This turbulent and dynamic industry has a lot of homeowners confused. But if you do your due diligence and research well, you can make the most out of the sale of your property.
At the end of the day, it is necessary for you to use your own discernment to understand which deal is good for you. Even with the help of a real estate agent or a broker, you need to make that final call about selling your house on your own. So make sure you are equipping yourself with the right information to make that decision.
Happy Selling!
Also Read: Affordability Calculator