As a home seller, keeping track of everything that’s going on while your home is on the market can be overwhelming, and you don’t need additional issues popping up to complicate anything. To help make the journey of selling your home a little bit easier, let’s look at 5 things you should never pay for out of pocket when selling a house in Chicago.
Full Renovations
In preparing your home for the market, it can be tempting to go all-out in order to get your home in the absolute best shape possible.
We recommend you take a step back and do your best to control that impulse because you’re likely looking at renovations that couldn’t possibly recoup their costs once you hit closing.
Kitchen and bathroom remodels can be ways of increasing your home’s value, but the chances they would truly be worth it are very low. Instead, focus on making the most of what’s already there, and leave things as they are to also provide the new owner the opportunity to do what they see fit with the living areas.
Already Functioning Infrastructure
Another sticking point for some buyers will be the age of the roof, furnace, or even foundation.
Rather than create major expenses by repairing or outright replacing these when selling a house in Chicago, see it as an option for concessions in negotiations. If a buyer brings any of these things up as a reason for their reasonable offer on your home, be honest and let them know you understand the circumstances.
You’d be surprised how much goodwill a small gesture like this can buy you in negotiation, and result in a faster and mutually beneficial ending.
Agent Fees
There are a few things that do cost money when selling a house in Chicago, but the funds for paying for these list items should ultimately come from the proceeds of the sale of the home. One of these items is any agent commission.
You should never be put in a position where your agent requests or demands payment for any of their services prior to the sale of your home.
Your agent’s job is to sell the home, and the commission they receive for doing so is based on a percentage of the final sale price agreed upon between you and the buyer.
Buyer’s Moving Costs
There are few occasions where a buyer or seller should be paying for one another’s expenditures.
One possibility of this is a buyer or seller offering to pay the closing costs of the opposite party. That being said, you – as the seller – are not, and should not be, on the hook for the buyer’s moving expenses.
In the unlikely event that a buyer brings this up as a point during negotiations, tread very cautiously and consider walking away.
Inspections and Appraisals
As the process to sell your house marches onward, eventually you will hit a point where a buyer is going to need to complete both a comprehensive home inspection and an appraisal.
Both of these are expenses handled by the buyer and should not be part of any negotiations at any point.
The inspection is done in order to find any glaring flaws with the home coupled with teaching the new owner of its features and operation. The appraisal is normally required by a mortgage lender to help determine a baseline value for the property, and also act as a means of estimating any liability by approving financing for the buyer.
Throughout appraisal and inspection, your only goals are to keep everything around the property in spectacular shape and wait patiently.
Professional Partners When Selling a House in Chicago
If you’re on the path to selling a house in Chicago, contact our team today at 773.233.2301!