Selling a house is considered one of the most stressful life events. In fact, it’s so stressful that more than one out of three sellers say the process is so intense that it’s brought them to tears.
But in spite of the traditional challenges, there’s still hope.
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The Stress of Selling a Home
According to a study of homeowners, people find selling their home to be a more stressful life event than having a baby, getting a divorce, starting a new job, or planning a wedding. In total, 26 percent of people say selling a house is the single most stressful event in their lifetimes.
The stress of selling a house is rooted in a variety of factors. There are financial elements, emotional challenges, memories, nostalgia, and logistics. You’re quite literally uprooting your family and moving them to another location. And whether it’s in the neighborhood or across the country, there will always be certain challenges associated with this process.
4 Tips for a Less Stressful Home Selling Experience
Regardless of what someone might try to tell you, selling a home is never easy or carefree. There’s always some stress and friction involved. However, there are plenty of ways to reduce the stress of selling a home. You simply need a plan. Here are a few suggestions:
1. Choose the Right Agent
Choosing the right listing agent can make a world of difference. Not only will it increase your chances of getting top dollar for your home, but it’ll also smooth over possible friction and eliminate stress factors that could otherwise create complications.
People often assume that real estate agents do nothing more than put a listing on the MLS, set up a couple of showings, coordinate contracts, and then nab three percent of the sale price at closing. But to simplify an agent’s role down to three or four responsibilities is to misunderstand what a listing agent does.
In reality, a listing agent has their hands on every step in the process. However, a good agent is so skilled at their job that you’ll never have a clue all of the work they do.
This includes identifying necessary repairs to boost your home value, conducting in-depth property analyses to set an accurate price, marketing the property pre-listing, coordinating showings, fielding offers, negotiating prices and terms, navigating homes appraisals and inspections, handling walkthroughs, assisting with paperwork, coordinating contractors and movers, etc.
Without the right agent, any of these tasks could prove to be a snag or pitfall. But if you have the best possible agent at the helm, you don’t have much to worry about.
2. Get Out of Dodge
One of the best things you can do when selling a house is to leave town. In a market like this, it’s not uncommon for new listings to get 10-20 showings in the first 48 hours. By leaving town, you don’t have to feel like a visitor in your own home. You can get away from all of the stress of showings and let your agent work their magic. A nice weekend getaway with the family will do you wonders.
3. Sell to a Cash Buyer
Up until this point, we’ve been discussing selling your house the traditional way. However, there are plenty of other options. One of the best (and least stressful) involves selling your house to a cash buyer.
A local cash home buyer will come in and buy your house for cash with no fees, no agents, no commissions, no inspections, and no complex negotiations. Best of all, they have refined processes that typically allow them to bring the property to closing within just 14 days.
This makes it the perfect option if you just want to get rid of your house and move on. You’ll take a slight hit on price, but you’ll have to be the judge of what matters more: making a few extra bucks or preserving your sanity.
4. Practice Self-Care
Anytime you find yourself in a stressful situation – whether it’s selling a house or going through a divorce – it’s imperative that you take care of yourself. When stress is running high, there’s a natural tendency to push things like exercise and healthy eating off to the side.
However, this is the time when you need it most. Practice self-care and do the little things right. By keeping your physical health where it needs to be, you actually give your mental health some much-needed support.
Kiss Stress Goodbye
Selling your house shouldn’t be a miserable experience. In fact, with the right plan of action, it can actually be a very rewarding transition in your life. Key in on a few of these tips and begin developing a plan that sets you up to be successful. Nobody is saying it will be easy, but it doesn’t have to be stressful.