Here’s the month-by-month breakdown of what you can expect if you’re buying or selling by the end of the year.
Whether you've put off your plans to sell your home or enter the market as a buyer, or you were aiming to do either this year already, 2021 has been a great year to make your move(s), but it's not over yet! For sellers, there are plenty of interested buyers out there — in fact, more buyers than there are available properties in many markets. Buyers, don’t let that put you off of making the leap to homeownership. Sellers are seeing the steady demand and becoming more eager to list their homes.
Of course, achieving your goal doesn’t happen overnight. If you’re realistically looking at buying or selling before the end of 2021, here’s how you can best break up the months ahead with minimal stress.
Step 1: Making Goals & Going Over Numbers
If you’re buying: One of the biggest mistakes potential buyers make is focusing on the type of home they want instead of its location. Yet, location determines everything from how much house you can afford to the length of your commute to your lifestyle. While you can always change a home, you can’t change its location. So, narrow down the locations you’d like to live in. If you’re still having trouble deciding, make a list of what you’d like in your ideal neighborhood (or your deal-breakers) and let it guide your research.
Your other priority will be developing your financial picture, so to speak. What are your debts? What are your assets? What’s your income-to-debt ratio? Where will the down payment come from? Ultimately, what would you like your monthly mortgage payment to be?
If you’re selling: Many sellers think that once they make up their mind to sell, they can call up a real estate agent and have them handle everything. However, an agent can best help you meet your goals when you’re prepared to answer what those goals actually are. Is your goal to get the highest price for your home — and you’re willing to make possible changes that may be needed to achieve that? Are you comfortable with your agent hiring a stager, or do you prefer to be heavily involved with the staging process? Or, would you prefer to focus your attention on your upcoming move rather and do not want to get too involved in making changes? Do you have a timeline for a move?
Everything you can do right now to give your real estate agent a strong idea of who you are, your goals, and your expectations will help them develop the best action plan tailored to your needs. While you’re taking time to answer the above questions, we can start by developing a CMA (comparative market analysis) to help you understand what your home may sell for today.
Step 2: Getting Your “Team” Together & Putting a Plan Into Action
If you’re buying: The real estate market continues to move fast. Tight inventory means that homes sell in days. It's important to take the time early in your buying process to interview agents to see who is the best fit for what you’re looking for, without the pressure of potentially missing out on a promising home.
It’s also good to get an idea of the trends in your desired areas when you speak to agents. Are cash buyers dominating? Have there been a lot of flippers? Are there signs that inventory is getting better? Are there properties that are getting overlooked?
You should decide on an agent, set a budget for your potential home, select a lender and go through the prequalification or preapproval process for a mortgage. (Preapproval is more thorough and will be more time-consuming.)
If you’re selling: Selling your home starts with hiring a real estate agent you can trust. Our recommendations and testimonials are full of stories from clients that we've helped over time. Check them out here.
You may want to interview multiple agents to see who will work best with your situation. Pay less attention to promises about price and more about the plan for achieving your goal. Does the agent listen to your concerns? What’s their track record for selling homes similar to yours? Will they give honest feedback about your home’s strengths and weaknesses — and have a plan for overcoming any weaknesses?
You may need the time to make changes to your home, whether it’s decluttering completely (and renting a storage unit) or making a necessary repair. If your home will need extensive work, or you anticipate seasonal weather to impact your ability to make necessary changes — then the sooner, the better.
Step 3: It’s Go Time
If you’re buying: In a busy real estate market, you will likely have to compete with more buyers than there are homes. If you’re in a Groundhog Day of making offers that don’t get anywhere on multiple properties, regroup with your agent to see what you can do to stand out from the competition.
If your offer has been accepted, it’s time for a brief celebration. Then, you’ll go into escrow and begin the countdown to closing. A lot happens during this time: Inspections, appraisals, finalizing your mortgage, and plenty of paperwork.
If you’re selling: You'll be spending time putting the finishing touches on staging and photographing your home for its market debut. Make it clear to your agent what times are off-limits for showings, then have a plan in place on where to go (and where to put day-to-day clutter) when impromptu showings do happen. At this point, though, your agent will be doing the majority of the legwork for selling your home. They’ll guide you through the offers received and everything that happens after you accept an offer.
You’re still decluttering, packing up rooms, and making repairs (or renovations if needed). If you’re more hands-on here, expect to paint your rooms in neutral colors, think a lot about landscaping and other curb appeal projects.
Ask your agent if you should consider a pre-market inspection. This is a thorough inspection that can surface any and all issues that would normally come up during the inspection that occurs after you accept an order. Doing a pre-market inspection allows you to correct any issues and gives you a firm footing if negotiations come up.
Step 4: The Finish Line
If you’re buying or selling: Congratulations! You’ve either successfully bought or sold a home.
In the end, achieving your dream result starts by creating a plan. Whether you’re buying and selling, the process seems far less daunting when you know what to expect and when. While you can’t predict everything — and haven't these last couple of years been a great lesson about that? — having a plan in place means that things will get done no matter what.
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