Austin is quickly becoming a city where people are selling their homes left and right. This fast-moving real estate market can be rather daunting to navigate without help from the right people. That’s why we picked the brain of Chase Cangelosi at Chasing Realty Group @ All City Real Estate and asked him what to know about selling a home in Austin these days.

When’s the best time to sell?
How can you calculate your home’s worth?
How can you prep your home if it’s full of baby toys and kid’s clutter?

If you find yourself in the position of wanting to sell your home but you’re not sure where to begin, this FAQ below can help guide you in the right direction.

Advice for Selling Your Home:

— What do I need to do in my home before we can put it on the market?
The process begins by having a meeting for me to see the home, giving you a market overview and analysis of your home’s value, then I will analyze if we need to do any repairs, cleaning, touch-ups, etc before taking photos. If you’re ready to move forward, I will make suggestions regarding tidying up and moving around furniture (if you’re occupying the home) or staging (if it’s vacant), pay for my photographer to take professional photos, and we will be ready to put it on the market.

I’ve had several opportunities to list homes for sellers who lived in other states (or countries) and the home was vacant and in need of some touch-ups. I commit to paying for staging, landscaping, painting, pressure washing, and cleaning for my listings. One of my recent listings, I landscaped the front and back yards myself (check it out here)!

— Since this is such a hot seller’s market, how do I also buy my next home during this time?
This is a great opportunity to work with one of my partners. I’m a certified agent with Homeward, UpEquity, and Flyhomes and can use their “buy-before-you-sell” programs to allow you to buy your next home before selling the first. They qualify your home and allow you to use their cash to make a cash offer, then after closing (and you moving to) your new home, we list your previous home. You’re a renter of the new home until the previous one closes and you purchase it back from them for the same price they paid.

People tell me often that they want to take advantage of the sellers’ market but they’re worried about having to buy for themself. Here’s the solution!

— Since the market is rapidly changing, how do I know what my house is worth? Is a Zestimate accurate?
You’ll need a local agent to tell you that answer. A local agent will be able to check the sold comparables in your neighborhood and tell you the average price/sq.ft as well as the average price paid over list to give you a good sense of the market value of your home.

People love telling me “Zillow says…”

Sorry to inform you, they’re wrong, and just lost half a billion dollars by overpaying for homes using their own calculator.

— What’s the best time to sell a house?
The best time is when it’s right for your life. That being said, Spring (April/May/June) is when you’ll get the best price for your home. That’s when you have the most buyers in the market, families with kids between school years plays a big part in that. We also find lots of people moving around for new jobs at the beginning of summer (companies hiring for Q2). It’s when the flowers are blooming and your house will look the best too.

— Should I get an inspection done before listing my home?
Great question! Let me be the decision maker here. I want to see your home in person first. If it was built post-2000 and has been kept in good condition, there probably isn’t a need for it. If your home is in lesser condition, or last sold 20+ years ago, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to get an inspector to pre-inspect it, tell you the repairs needed, and get the obvious ones completed before going on the market.

— How should I stage and prepare my house for showings?
I will let you know what’s needed in regards to setting up for showings for you personally, but to explain the basics:

• Remove/lock up valuables and pharmaceuticals
• Remove your dog, and the signs that you have a dog (bowl, kennel, etc)
• Clear your countertops
• Make your beds
• Ensure your laundry is in your closets/drawers

Remember when you were a kid and your mom told you to clean your room? That’s a great way to sum it up!

— What should we do with all the toys, baby items, kid clutter when getting ready to put a home on the market?
Pick up and tidy up. People can connect to seeing baby/children’s items around the kid’s rooms, and children’s decorations can be relatable to buyers, but we never want to leave a mess. Perhaps grab a large box/trunk to store the items in while people are seeing the home?

— Any advice for dealing with a busy family life while buyers come through the home for showings?
Hopefully we can be under contract by the end of the first weekend. Even if we are, buyers still have the inspection, appraisal, and may want to see the home again. Having a family is straining on your schedule, so I suggest we have limited hours where buyers can schedule to see the home, and require appointments, in hours where it’s most convenient (when kids are at school, or times that don’t interfere with baby naptime). We will preferably want to have the owners removed from the home during the time of showings, which includes taking the pets out too.

— What costs are associated with listing and selling my home?
These can vary, but what most people can prepare for are: real estate commissions, repairs, and title fees.

Sellers can expect 6% of their sale price to be paid to the real estate brokerages in the transaction (half to the seller’s broker, half to the buyer’s), in addition, I tell my sellers to mentally set aside $2000 for repairs/credits given to the buyer at closing (for findings in their inspection), then a few hundred dollars for title recording fees. This all comes out of the seller’s proceeds at closing.

— How long does it typically take to sell in this market?
There are exceptions, but if you’re selling a home under $1M, about 4 days on the market. Then about 30 days to close.

The usual process is to list the home on Thursday night, then have frenzies of showings on Friday and Saturday, I host an open house on Sunday, then we review offers on Monday.

In a previous question, we discussed preparing the home for showings — if I know your house will be swamped with showings, I’m going to suggest you take a little weekend getaway. If you want to spend Friday-Sunday at a glamorous hotel Downtown, or in San Antonio, Fredericksburg, etc, I am happy to chip in and pay for your hotel stay!

— In this market, should I expect offers below or above my asking price?
Above. Unless you’re listing a home over $2M, buyers are scrambling to get their hands on a home and you will more than likely have multiple offers exceeding list price. We price the home at a fair market value, and let buyers come bid it up. Rather than pricing it above market value and waiting for a price drop before we get buyers interested in seeing it.

— Can I sell my house if I still have a mortgage on it?
Of course! Most people do. Your mortgage gets paid off at closing and you keep the proceeds from the years of principle you’ve paid into it, along with your profit from the appreciation.

— How do I find the right agent to help with the sale?
I find it crazy that most sellers only interview one agent! I suggest looking around your neighborhood at other ”for sale” signs and seeing which agents are most active in your neighborhood, and asking your friends who they’ve used, then of course, calling me!

When establishing trust with your agent, you want to know that they are very familiar with the sales process, can show you their previous track record of sales, can explain the market value of your home, have a strong marketing strategy, and are someone you get along with well. You’ll be talking to this agent very often for at least a month, so liking them as a person helps!

A small plug for myself: you can always reach me on nights and weekends, I don’t miss a call from a buyer inquiry or leave a text unanswered for more than a minute, have a marketing background and a strong sense of what buyers are looking for in a home (and what inspectors will find later), and always pay for photos, staging, and touch-ups for you.

— Should I try selling my house myself first to save the real estate fees?
It’s a free country, and you’re allowed to do that. The issues you will face are handling the contracts and processes, and you’ll limit your market exposure and chances to get a higher offer. FSBO’s sell for less money on average, and keep in mind, the real estate fees come from the proceeds of the sale, nothing is paid beforehand.

To speak from experience, I sold one of my investment properties using another agent. I wanted to take my emotions out of it, and allow another agent to negotiate on my behalf.

I can personally negotiate hard for my clients, but have weak sales resistance for myself!

— If I want to sell and take advantage of the low housing inventory, how do I get started?
Excited to hear it! The easiest way to contact me would be to fill in the form on my site HERE under “Get Started.” From there, I will send you a market analysis of your property and we can schedule a time to meet.

Do you have more questions?
Contact Chasing Realty @ All City Real Estate!