The real estate plan for selling your home this spring

 

The spring home selling season is starting to get into full swing. According to Bankrate, mortgage rates in late March once again declined due to a few factors, most notably the recent news from the U.S. Federal Reserve that they would lower their economic forecast.

Rates for a benchmark 30-year fixed rate mortgage declined to 3.9 percent from 3.93 percent. Even with the decline, the rate is still higher than it was one year ago at this time, when it was at 3.8 percent.

Elsewhere, the benchmark 15-year fixed rate mortgage declined to 3.13 percent, down from 3.17 percent.

Low rates are good for buyers because it makes mortgages cheaper. This in turn is good news for sellers, because they know demand will likely be high once they list their home on the market.

If you are thinking about selling your home in the upcoming months, there are a few items you have to mark off your checklist. You will need as much guidance as possible to ensure a relatively hassle-free sale.

Find the right agent

The first, and perhaps most important step in the selling process is to find the right agent. You want to work with someone who knows the neighborhood and will strive to ensure you get the best possible deal.

If you're unsure where to start, head online and search for agents and don't hesitate to give them a call or schedule an in-person interview. Likewise, Trulia stated that you don't have an obligation to work with real estate agents that might be close friends family members.

Keep in mind that while an agent may seem like a right fit, you want to find the perfect match. If the interview process takes a while, don't get discouraged. Eventually you'll find the right agent to work with.

Get ready for the sale

While you're looking for an agent, it's best to start going through your belongings and deciding what you'll bring, and which belongings can be sold or given away. Try setting aside your belongings into the two piles to make your decision easier.

What this doesn't mean, however, is to go around and stuff everything in a closet. This will harm you in two ways because you're not actually scaling back on the items you own, and during an open house, wanderers are guaranteed to go around and open these closets and see all of your items stuffed inside.

Selling your home should also be used as an opportunity to start fresh. Try not to arrive at your new home with more belongings than you need,. As the saying goes, less is more.

Define a strategy

Once you've found the right real estate agent, you want to work with him or her to develop the main strategy to sell the home. Your agent will give you some advice regarding ways to help spruce up your home and attract more buyers. These may include investing in some minor renovations and remodels. It'll cost money, but you can expect a good return on investment for these projects.

Remodels are important because they will showcase a modern and updated house for buyers, who are investing not only a lot of money, but the next few years of their lives in a potential living space. You don't have to spend thousands of dollars, but expect to invest in updating appliances at the very least.

Afterwards, you can start gathering all of the paperwork you need, such as warranty information, records and expense reports. You can also lump any home inspection paperwork here as well, so buyers can have the most updated information.