Looking to sell your home in the near future?
Brush up on your real estate lingo to prepare and educate yourself for the process! Here are 7 terms you should know before selling your home: 1. CMA (COMPETITIVE MARKET ANALYSIS) A competitive market analysis (or CMA) is a tool used to estimate the value of your home by looking at recently sold, similar properties in your area. Your real estate agent will be able to put together a CMA report to help you set your listing price correctly and competitively! 2. CAPITAL GAINS A high capital gain is something to be excited about! This means that you’ve made a “profit” from your home sale because your house sale was above the initial purchase price (what you paid for the house when you bought it, which means your home value went up)! 3. DISCLOSURES When selling your house, it’s your legal obligation to be honest and reveal any known issues about the property during the time you owned the home. This is helpful to set expectations and will lighten your legal liability since the buyers will be aware of any current issues or possible problems. 4. BIDDING WAR As a seller, this is a great thing! A bidding war means that there are multiple buyers competing for your property. Each buyer will put in their best offer and will often go above the set asking price in hopes to beat out the competition and win the home. 5. RENT-BACK If you need time to move after closing, a rent-back agreement is the perfect solution! This allows you to pay rent to the buyer (since after closing, they are the official owners of the home) until a certain date (which is specified in the contract). If your buyers agrees to it, rent-backs are great to buy some extra time before moving out! 6. MARKET VALUE A home’s market value is an estimate of how much your home could sell for TODAY with the current market conditions (the amount active buyers would be willing to pay for your home). An appraiser will determine your home market value by looking at comparable home sales in your area (comps), your home’s location and features, interest rates, home maintenance, etc. 7. APPRAISED VALUE The appraised value of a home is a professional opinion of an appraiser. An appraised value determines the value of your home and protects the buyer from paying more than what the house is worth.
