“I want to move up but I don’t know where to start.” This statement was presented to me by a buyer at an open house in Abilene recently. It made me think of myself in recent years as we made the move up to our dream home. My first response is, “Find a good REALTOR®!” That might sound silly but you need a plan, and a REALTOR® can give you a plan and a timetable to work towards your goal of movin’ up.
If you’re working with me, the first thing I’ll do is schedule a walk-through of your present property. We need to make a list of the things you need to do to make your property marketable to the most buyers. We need to look at each room through the eye of a buyer. I’ll give you suggestions of things that will make your home the most marketable. Then we need to talk about your timetable; when is your goal to move. I can give you the typical “days on market” for your neighborhood. We have some neighborhoods that are moving in 20-30 days and some that are taking up to 180 days. This information is important when you’re making a move-up decision.
Some people want to find the perfect house before they list their property and I’m fine with that, but I highly recommend we get your house on the market before you seriously start looking for a house. I can set up showings for you to see the listings available, but writing a contract on a house before your house is on the market is an impossible task. The listing agent will not recommend the seller take an offer from a buyer who doesn’t have their house actively listed in the MLS (Multiple Listing Service).
I recently had a contract on one of my listings from a buyer who had their home “listed for sale by owner” and I recommended it be marketed actively by a professional. There are many things that can happen, and if we find your dream home and your deal falls through, I cannot do anything to help if I do not represent that sale. But if I am involved or another licensed REALTOR®, we can contact lenders, appraisers, and other individuals who control the outcome of that transaction.
Once your house is ready and we have it on the market then we can start looking for your dream home in Abilene or surrounding areas. My suggestion prior to looking is to make a list of the items that are important for you and let’s look and see what we have available. Once we find that house, we can write a contingency contract, which means that you need to close on your house before you can close on the purchase. Some sellers will not take contingencies until we actually get your property under contract so I would be working diligently to get your property sold quickly.
It is possible to move up quickly in our market. We currently have a very active market in and around Abilene and this is the season to sell. Call me at 325-690-7937 if you’re ready for movin’ on up. The buyer at my open house did and now we are working towards closing both houses and achieving their dream.