Hot Tips For Selling Your Condominium
Would you like some of the best tips for selling a condo?
Whether it is a buyer’s or seller’s market, condo owners always want to sell.
But selling a condo is not usually as simple as putting a sign-up. It takes a lot of work to sell quickly and for the best possible price.
Selling a home vs. a condo can be entirely different because of the nature of how these two housing choices are unique.
There are many condos to choose from out there, so you want to do everything you can to make your condo stand out.
If you want to learn how to sell a condo, you’ve come to the right place! Kick back with your cup of coffee and soak in the advice.
Know What Your Condo Association Allows
Every condo association has a set of rules and guidelines – things you can and cannot do with your unit. You are probably aware of this now, but you should know that it usually applies to your sale as well.
The HOA may limit who you can and cannot sell to. You may also have to get the buyer pre-approved by the association.
This is all stuff you should know before you list your condo. Regarding marketing your place, the association may not allow signs in front of your unit.
They might also potentially restrict whether you can put a for sale sign in the window as well. Understanding the procedures the condo association will put on you is important.
If you own a townhouse, these rules will probably be similar.
Listing Your Assets Helps in Selling a Condo
These are the features that make your condo great. Whether you have extra storage space, a new range, or a big garage, you want buyers to know about it.
It is easy to forget all of your particular condo’s amenities after you have lived there for a while, so take a moment and reassess. It can help to look at ads for similar condos in your area to see what features people care about.
You can also ask your Realtor to help you with this list, as they are hopefully pros at picking out the positive things in a listing.
Listing your assets becomes crucial with a condo because far fewer things distinguish one unit from the next compared to a home. The customization levels between the two can be far less extreme.
In most condo complexes, the builder offered only a handful of models and customization.
Don’t Forget to Emphasize The Strengths of The Community
This, of course, is far different than a custom home where there could be countless modifications. One of the things an outstanding Realtor will do is help put together creative real estate marketing.
You can do endless things, but putting together a list of all the many features that stand out in your condo is important. Maybe it’s not just your condo you want to emphasize but the area in which you live.
Does the town or city have top-notch schools? How about fantastic highway access? These are the kinds of things that should be emphasized to a buyer. When there is lots of competition, the little things you do matter regarding marketing!
Pricing Your Condo With The Market is Vital to Selling
Selling a condo is no different than a house regarding pricing appropriately. It is crucial to get the pricing right.
This is the problem every homeowner must deal with when deciding to sell.
Your condo will only sell if it is priced competitively. The more you price beyond what similar units cost, the longer you can expect your listing to languish on the market.
The longer it sits unsold, the more of a reputation it develops. Days on market are a killer in real estate.
The longer it takes to sell, the harder it is to make a deal. It is far better to price competitively and sell now than to be stuck with your condo for six months and sell for a fraction of what it’s worth.
How to price a home is one of the most important considerations for selling a condo. If you get the price wrong, nothing else you do will matter.
As mentioned above, there are far fewer customizations in a condo, so if all the other similar units are selling for X, don’t expect yours to sell for Y without there being a good reason.
Having heavy-duty nails on your deck, extra beautiful vanity mirrors, and a new master bedroom toilet is not great reasons for expecting more money.
Arriving at The Right Price is Easier With Condo Sales
One thing you need to understand is the fact that condos are far easier to value than custom homes. The typical condo development only has a handful of designs.
This makes putting a value on a unit far simpler. Using comparable sales data (comps) is far easier when you do not have to make significant adjustments in a comparative market analysis based on custom amenities or even a lot’s characteristics.
Timing When You List For Sale Matters
When you want to sell a condo fast, the timing matters. It is crucial to list for sale in the best selling season. In many areas, that happens to be the Spring.
However, if you live in a warm weather climate or vacation destination, other selling seasons may be just as good.
Sometimes when you need to sell a condo fast, you don’t have the luxury of waiting. You’ll have to balance your needs with getting the maximum price. A local real estate agent should be able to advise on the peak selling season.
Getting Your Condo FHA Mortgage Approved Helps Selling
This one may be difficult, but it will be well worth the effort if you can pull it off. A type of financing run by the Federal Housing Administration is known as an FHA mortgage.
The benefit of an FHA mortgage is that it allows a borrower to come up with only a 3.5% down payment.
It is, in fact, one of the most traditional forms of financing. By not getting a buyer who wants to purchase using this type of funding, you eliminate a lot of qualified buyers. This should matter to you because, without FHA approval, your condo remains unavailable to many customers ready and willing to give you the money you want for your place.
Many buyers have high incomes but have not saved a large enough down payment for conventional financing.
While getting your complex FHA approved may not be up to you individually, it will be essential for you to convince the association of the necessity!
Without a doubt having a complex with FHA mortgage approval makes every owner’s property worth more money.
Take a look at a comprehensive explanation of why getting FHA mortgage approval for a condo complex is so important. This is one of the best tips for selling a condo.
Stage Your Condo Properly When Selling
You can hire a professional stager, ask for help from your Realtor, or just do it yourself, but you need to make your condo look appealing to potential buyers.
Staging and home sale preparation mean giving them space to see themselves making a home there. It would be best if you got the place cleaned – thoroughly – and removed all the clutter.
One of the best ways to remove things you no longer want is to do a donation pickup. Many charities will come to your condo and take away the things you no longer want for free.
You will make your condo look much better while helping a family in need.
Many Realtors, including myself, advise removing family photos and other memorabilia that might push away buyers. You want them to see them and their families there.
In condos, removing clutter from storage spaces is of particular importance.
A condo often has limited storage, so you want to make every bit count when showing the place. Here are some simple but effective interior and exterior staging tips. Use this guide to make your condo more appealing to buyers.
Remember, you want every edge you can get when not much distinguishes you from the competition. Don’t underestimate how a clean and attractive unit can be to a buyer who does not have “vision.”
Be Ready For a Home Inspection Before Selling
Most buyers will want to have the condo inspected before they buy it.
Home inspections are one of the biggest hurdles in any real estate transaction, whether it is a home or a condo. Understanding how to prepare for the buyer’s home inspection is super valuable! In fact, it could make or break a sale.
This is why taking care of necessary repairs before putting the condo on the market is vital.
In the reference above, you will see some of the more common defects discovered during a home inspection. It will be important you pay particular attention to these items. Again, your agent can help advise you in this area.
There are some things, like mold infestation, radon issues, or structural defects, that must be addressed if you hope to sell. Take care of it now, so it doesn’t lead to problems later.
Getting Condo Docs Put Together Helps Sell Your Unit
Not all condo communities are something to be proud of, but if you have a great community, it can help you sell your condominium.
If you want to be able to point to all of the great things about where you live, it can be useful to get an official set of documents from the association to answer buyers’ questions. These documents are called the covenants, conditions, and restrictions, or CC&Rs for short.
These reports will cost you a little bit of money, but they can prove valuable when you want buyers to know all the important details of your well-run community.
This is something the buyer will eventually ask for anyway. In fact, more often than not, a contract to purchase is usually contingent on an acceptable review of the docs. A buyer will also ask to see a set of financial documents as well.
They do this to ascertain the financial health of what they are buying into. These are some of the most important tips for buying a condo that I have discussed at length.
As a seller, it is important to be prepared to have the items a buyer will request. If there is a known issue regarding your complex, spell it out upfront before a buyer can overreact to it.
Hire A Realtor That Sells Condos
Not all real estate agents can do all things. When selling a condominium, you want an agent with experience in this area.
An agent can prove invaluable in your sale, handling all of the marketing, negotiations, and showings.
This is extremely useful if you have a job and a life.
Selling a condo takes a lot of time and effort, so people hire real estate agents to deal with all of these tasks.
An agent can advise you on what to do and what not to do when selling your condo. This advice and guidance is usually well worth the money and often results in a higher selling price.
You can try to sell a condo for sale by the owner, but it is usually not advisable.
In many condo developments, you are restricted from even putting out a for-sale sign, which makes reaching buyers difficult.
Choosing an agent who has experience selling condos is important because additional steps must be taken over and above what happens when selling a home. Things like:
- Getting a 6d certificate showing that the unit owner is in good financial standing with their condo fees.
- Obtaining a certificate of insurance provides details of the coverage limits, policy effective and expiration dates, and insurance carriers that insure the condominium association.
Avoid Costly Upgrades When Selling a Condo
Avoid it unless your agent tells you you need to put in a new kitchen to sell your condo. Upgrades are not always a wise investment, especially the more expensive renovations.
However, every market is different, so what may be important in one place may not have the same impact in another.
For example, installing all-new granite counters may cost you thousands of dollars, yet you may get every dollar back and more by doing so. In my area, this would typically be the case. Somewhere else, it could have minimal impact on the final price for your condo.
What you should do is get a handle on the best low-cost improvements to sell a condo. This is one area that listening to your agent is extremely important.
There may be some upgrades that need to happen. Just avoid going wild with renovations. Save your money for your new home.
Let Buyers Know About Costs and Fees
It costs money to live in the condo association. Buyers need to know what they are getting into with the fees required to live in your condo. Besides, there is no point in working hard on a sale when ultimately, the buyer will be denied – by the lender, the association, or someone else – in the end.
One of the things a buyer will probably ask if they are smart is if any special assessments are coming up soon. You should be ready to explain what they are, how much they will impact the condo fee, and for how long. These are all some of the best tips for selling a condo!
Hopefully, you can put the advice to good use and get your condo under contract quickly for top dollar.
Can You Sell a Condo With Tenants Present?
The answer to the question is yes; you can sell a condo with tenants. Depending on the length of the rental agreement, you may need to provide notice of the sale to the tenant.
Some buyers may be amenable to taking in tenants for a period of time, and if there is a long-term lease in place, it can typically be transferred to the new owner without any changes being made.
In the event of a buyer that is not interested in taking on tenants and needs to vacate the property before the sale, a buyout of the contract may be negotiated by providing monetary compensation to enable them to relocate.
It should be noted that this option may constitute a costly endeavor. Here are some additional tips for selling a house with tenants.
Final Thoughts
Selling your condo will be a breeze when you follow the advice outlined here. If you are in the Metrowest Massachusetts area and need assistance selling, please reach out.
Additional Helpful Articles Sharing Tips For Selling a Condo
- How to boost your condo’s value – This Old House provides some excellent advice on how you can make your condo worth more money.
- What are the best upgrades to sell a condo – see some of the best improvements you can make to your condominium that will help with a more timely sale.
Use these resources to increase the chances you will sell your condo in the least amount of time for the most money!
About the author: Bill Gassett, a nationally recognized leader in his field, provided the above Real Estate information on tips for selling a condo fast. Bill can be reached via email at billgassett@remaxexec.com or by phone at 508-625-0191. Bill has helped people move in and out of many Metrowest towns for the last 36+ Years.
Are you thinking of selling your home? I am passionate about real estate and love sharing my marketing expertise!
I service Real Estate Sales in the following Metrowest MA towns: Ashland, Bellingham, Douglas, Framingham, Franklin, Grafton, Holliston, Hopkinton, Hopedale, Medway, Mendon, Milford, Millbury, Millville, Northborough, Northbridge, Shrewsbury, Southborough, Sutton, Wayland, Westborough, Whitinsville, Worcester, Upton, and Uxbridge MA.
Just like you mentioned, I’m having a hard time pricing my condo. I’m not sure what the housing market is like right now, so I’m not sure what the accurate way to price it is. Can I hire a Realtor just to help me put it on the market?
Rachelle I am quite sure you will be able to find a Realtor that would love to help you price your condo properly.
I like your comment about how every condo association has rules and guidelines. I can definitely see how it would be important to know these rules when looking to sell a condo. I would think it would also be important as a buyer to ask about the rules of the association to make sure you knew what you were getting into. On either side I would think that a good realtor would be able to help you get through it.