Unless you absolutely cannot wait to sell your home—be it due to an upcoming foreclosure or a major life event—it is highly ideal to wait for the most opportune time before putting your house on the market. Selling a home can be just as complicated as buying one, and you wouldn’t want to go through the process until you are a hundred percent ready.
That said, here are the signs that it is NOT yet the right time to sell your home:
You are not financially ready to buy a new home
If you plan to buy a new home after selling your current one, you must secure your finances before taking the plunge. Even if the proceeds from your old home will cover most—if not all—of the expenses on your new house, you must have a financial safety net in case something happens, such as unexpected costs, a job loss, or perhaps the deal falling through.
That said, ensure that you have a healthy emergency fund as your fallback before looking for a house and land. Moreover, avoid starting the processes of buying and selling a home simultaneously if you don’t have enough cash readily available if things don’t go as planned.
You are not emotionally ready
There are a lot of reasons why homeowners might be emotionally attached to a house. Many find it hard to let go of their home because of its sentimental value and memories therein. Others also have an emotional attachment because of all the money (and the hard work it took to earn it) that they put into the home.
Whatever your reason, it might not be a smart move to sell your home if you are not emotionally ready. Getting too emotional can cloud your judgment and hinder you from making the right decisions, particularly when selling your home at an appropriate price. Some homeowners even miss out on good deals because they choose buyers based on how well they think the potential homeowners will treat their old home. In any case, it’s not the smartest way to conduct such a large transaction.
You don’t know how the process goes
Having gone through the home-buying process at least once, you probably have a good idea of how the process of selling a home works. However, this is usually not enough. If you want to go through the process with as few problems as possible, make sure you perform due diligence.
Research how to sell a home, particularly how you can make your property more attractive to potential buyers. Also, look into choosing the right real estate agent for the job if you don’t have one already. Equipping yourself with this knowledge can not only help you avoid issues in the future, but it can also be a great way to maximize your selling price.
The market is not looking good
You don’t have to be a savvy investor to know if the current housing market will be favorable to you or not. You can use plenty of resources to determine the health of the market, such as quarterly housing market updates, existing home sales (by the National Association of Realtors), and news articles on the real estate industry.
If you won’t be making a good profit (or would be losing money) if you sell now, wait until the market turns in your favor before you put your home up for sale.
Your family is going through major changes
Whether it’s a divorce, a death, a birth, a new job, or any other major change in the family, it might not be a good idea to sell your home just yet. Keep in mind that the process of selling your home is often a tedious one, and amidst all the major changes in the family, this is a responsibility that can be too stressful to handle at the moment.
More than that, moving to a new home is a big change on top of another one. Give your family enough time to adjust before deciding to sell your home, except when moving is more favorable than staying in your current home.
If these things apply to you, it might be better to wait a little longer before you put your house on the market. Selling your home, especially if it’s your first one, can be a stressful process—so unless you are financially, emotionally, and mentally ready, wait for the right time instead.
