Simplifying the Selling Process

There are a lot of moving parts in action when selling your home. For adults ages 50+, the often complex process can be made more difficult due to physical and financial limitations, and the strong emotions connected to your family home. Having an SRES® at your side can simplify selling your home every step of the way.

Five Essential Steps of Selling

• Pricing considerations
• Staging your home
• Showing your home
• Negotiating the sale and closing
• Packing and moving

Pricing Considerations

The listing price of your home is often the first thing buyers notice. Setting the right price is an important first step. Your SRES® will analyze your home, compare it to the local market, and consider your unique financial situation to arrive at a competitive selling price that benefits you and your family.

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Staging Your Home

Price is one thing, but how you show off your home can be the difference between closing a deal and watching one walk away.

Staging your home means presenting it in the best light. Sprucing up the curb appeal, giving the inside a new shine. This usually takes place before the For Sale sign goes up. Your SRES® knows what buyers are looking for and can help you get your home looking its best.

Some ways your SRES® may suggest you go about staging your home are:

• Light landscaping (weeding, trimming, mowing the lawn, etc.)
• Making necessary or cosmetic repairs (leaky faucets, sticky doors, etc.)
• Hiring a service to thoroughly clean attic-to-basement
• Rearranging rooms so they appear bigger
• Putting valued possessions in a safe place

The staging process can be stressful because you’re being asked to rearrange your home for the sake of someone else. Your SRES® understands this can be emotional for you and your family, and will be at your side, supporting you all the way through.

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Showing Your Home

There are two types of showings:

• Open houses. Your home will be open for a few hours to REALTORS® and potential buyers. Your SRES® is present the entire time and requires all visitors to sign in.
• Individual showings. An agent brings prospective buyers into your home to show them around and discuss its features. The showing agent may not be your SRES® but these showings are scheduled through them.

This part of the selling process is not usually experienced by the homeowner. Showing a home to prospective buyers while you’re present can put you in an awkward position of feeling forced to answer the buyer’s questions. And it can be uncomfortable for the buyer to discuss possible changes to the home without feeling like they’re insulting your taste. For this reason, your SRES® will likely ask you to be out of the home during a showing.

Individual showings are often scheduled on short notice, which means you have to quickly leave your home and occupy yourself for the duration of the showing. However, your SRES® understands that this can pose unique challenges for adults 50+. They take special consideration for your schedule and abilities. They can place specific times for showings in the listing if you prefer. And if you or a loved one living in the home is unable to leave, your SRES® can note that in the listing, too, and make arrangements to be present during individual showings.

Your SRES® works with your best interests in mind and will adapt their business practices to meet your needs.

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Negotiating the Sale and Closing

It’s exciting when an offer is made on your home. But sometimes, especially when it’s a buyer’s market—when sellers outnumber buyers—the offer may not be what you hoped. How do you know if the offer is reasonable and should be considered, and how do you begin negotiations?

• Your SRES® will be notified of the offer and present it to you. They understand the local market and are familiar with your needs so they are well equipped to help you determine if the offer should be accepted, declined, or if negotiations should begin.
• You should find a time, either in-person or via phone or video chat,
• It’s important to know that the negotiation process almost always requires give and take.

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Packing and Moving

Moving out of your family home can be overwhelming. Not just the organizational and physical parts but the emotional part, too. Old possessions can trigger a lot of memories making it difficult to decide what comes with you and what is given a farewell. Family members can help you through this process but sometimes a third-party specialist is what you need.

Your SRES® can put you in touch with professional services that can:

• Determine how much can fit into a new home
• Help make decisions on what to keep and what to leave
• Manage the packing, moving and unpacking process

If you decide to handle the moving on your own, it’s recommended that you start organizing and packing sooner than later. Set small, achievable goals and break up the work to relieve any emotional stress you might experience.

And if you do decide to enlist professional help, your SRES® will be readily available to connect you with a senior moving specialist in your area. 

 

Legal Info:

Simplifying the Legalities of Senior Real Estate

As an adult over the age of 50, you’ve likely accumulated investments, other finances and property that can complicate the buying or selling of your home. Therefore, it is important to retain the services of an attorney who specializes in elder law and understands these complexities. Your SRES® can help you find the right elder law attorney for your situation.

What Your Elder Law Attorney Can Do

Your elder law attorney can structure legal documents and transactions in a way that protect your assets and serve to benefit you when buying or selling your home.

This may include:

• Estate and trust planning to minimize taxation on the sale of your home
• Assigning a power of attorney and healthcare directives prior to listing your home or your parents’ home to serve your family’s best interests in the event of illness, incapacitation or death
• Creating a will and trust(s) that take into account your home
• Examining and providing insight to the potential effects of your home’s sale on other sources of income and benefits
• Reviewing and assessing all contracts related to the sale or purchase of your home, as well as those associated with senior living facilities
• Identifying and assessing your qualifications for senior assistance programs

 

Like an SRES®, elder law attorneys are trained and experienced in issues and situations commonly related to adults aged 50+. According to the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, some of these issues and situations may include:

• Preserving or transferring assets to avoid spousal impoverishment when a spouse enters a senior living community
• Medicaid planning
• Medicare claims and appeals
• Social security and disability claims and appeals
• Special needs or disability planning— Assigning power of attorney, creating wills and trusts for financial management and healthcare decisions in the case of incompetence or incapacity due to injury or health
• Guardianships
• Probate
• Administration and management of trusts and estates
• Long-term care planning
• Elder abuse
• Benefits related to retirement, survivor and pension

Not all elder law attorneys specialize in all aspects of elder law. It’s important to ask the right questions to find the attorney that can best represent you and your family’s interests. Your SRES® is available to help you through this process.