How to Sell Your House & Relocate to Another State
- 1). Prepare your house for the market. Make sure the house is clean, with fresh, clean paint or wallpaper. Cleaning includes getting rid of clutter. The National Association of Realtors recommends staging a house with most of your personal belongings out of site.Decide what's really worth lugging to another state. Anything that isn't you should give away or sell. Also make repairs to anything in your home that is damaged, broken or just worn out.
- 2). Determine the value of your home. Check local real estate company websites to find out what homes in your area are selling for. Compare apples to apples: A home on a cul de sac, with more bedrooms or baths, a bigger yard, a pool or updated kitchen will sell for more money than a home without those things. Invite local real estate agents to tell you what price they would list your home for, but explain to them you're not ready to sign, you just want an opinion.
- 3). List your home either with an agent or as a For Sale By Owner (FSBO) on one of the FSBO listing sites. If you price your home well below the market value, you may succeed selling it yourself. But a real estate agent could help you navigate the many legal issues surrounding selling a home, such as disclosing certain flaws in the home and fine points in contracts like who will pay the points on a loan. Moving to a new state is already a complicated process, hiring an agent may well be worth the extra money to make the process smoother.
- 4). Find a home in your new location. Make a list of needs such as being close to a new job; in a particular school district; close to friends or family. Determine whether you want to live in an apartment, condo or house. It's frequently wise to put off buying a home until you've familiarized yourself with the community for a time. Check the Chamber of Commerce website in your new state to help identify areas that meet your needs. Many will list information about neighborhoods. You can also check for home or apartment prices on national real estate sites. If you look at a zip code directory on an online map of the area, you can test different zip codes to see what the price ranges are.
- 5). Choose a moving option. Weigh the costs and benefits of moving yourself versus hiring a moving company. If you can't physically manage the move or driving a big truck to another state, hire a moving company to do all the work. If your able, you can rent a mobile storage space and pack gradually and have the movers pick it up on the day of the move. Call various movers and find out the prices.Tell them how many rooms you're moving to get an accurate estimate. Moving to another state is expensive. You'll get a more accurate price if you know your destination when you start calling.
- 6). Pack your stuff. Keep important documents such as birth certificates, insurance information, documents pertaining to the house or to outstanding loans where you can access them quickly. While you're packing, try to figure out how big a moving truck you're going to need. If you're going to wind up with huge moving expenses, weed out extra items.
- 7). Switch utilities, insurance and other household services. You'll need to tell local utility companies when you're leaving so they can take the utilities out of your name. Make sure utilities are turned on at your new residence. You may have to pay deposits with the utilities in the new state. Check with the Chamber of Commerce to identify providers of electricity, water and other utilities in your area. You don't have to do it before you leave, but you can also transfer health and car insurance to a company that covers your new state.
- 8). Make the move. Make sure you have your folder of important documents, a map to your destination and a travel plan that will help you arrive before the movers. Because it is in another state, you may have to coordinate with the movers finding another job to return them to your home state. If you plan to move yourself and are unfamiliar with driving a large truck, add in extra travel time. If you are taking a car, designate a driver or rent a dolly from the truck rental place compatible with your car. Also make sure you know where you can take the truck in your new state.
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