You love your home in NZ, but have decided it is time to explore a new country. Maybe you’ve found your dream job abroad, maybe you have met the love of your life and are moving to a new country to join them or maybe you are retired and want to join your children or other family overseas. Whatever your reasons, the time has come for you to sell your home in New Zealand.
This is a big decision as well as a lot of work and stress. However, if you have the time, information and knowledge to hand, this process can be made straightforward and done without adding any grey hair to your burgeoning collection!
Selling your house, regardless if it is the one you grew up, raised a family in, bought for investment purposes or used as a weekend getaway, is a big decision and requires effort. Before you get overwhelmed by all the planning, bargaining and decision making ahead, take the time to think it through. Do some research and figure out what options are available to you, and which of them makes the most sense for your needs. Here are five questions to ask yourself as you sell your home.
If you are planning to move abroad for the foreseeable future but aren’t too sure if and when you’ll be back, then you could consider renting your home out. There are certain challenges that come with being a long distance home owner and landlord, but if you aren’t getting the right price for your home, if the market is down or if time is short, renting the property out may be wiser. You can always revisit the sale at a later date, once circumstances change or improve.
Keep in mind that what you get as rent should, at the very least, cover your mortgage and upkeep expenses of the property. In an ideal situation, it should also help towards paying the rent or mortgage on your new home.
Renting is good as you can return to your original country with very little notice and still have somewhere to live.
Are there any issues and repairs that you should have sorted out before a potential buyer is on the scene? Rather than having a sale stall or fall through because of a rusty roof or a broken garage door, get these repairs done, either as a DIY project or by hiring a contractor. It will help you get the best price possible if your house is in good condition.
When a potential buyer walks around and inspects the property, it should look ready to move into and liveable, not a work in progress that will require time and effort and more money. Keep in mind that the first impression will make or break the chance of sale. After all, you want to get the house sold and get on with the business of moving yourself!
When you’ve lived in a home for any length of time, there’s a tendency to collect a lot of stuff. The longer you’ve been in a home, the more the latent pack rat habits appear. What better time than when moving abroad to declutter?
Is the weather and landscape of the country you’re moving to vastly different from New Zealand? Do you need the clothes, tools and equipment you’ve accumulated? Is your furniture right for the new place? And of course, it most definitely is time to throw out all the collections of papers, bric a brac and storage boxes that have accumulated! Whatever you are going to take with you, check out moving companies like Ausmove and to make sure your stuff reaches your new destination safe and sound. Don't forget you might need help redirecting your mail and updating services providers of the change in address, so it's worth looking into companies like Mooveme to make sure you're all sorted.
The decluttering process should start long before you need to move, so allow plenty of time. It is a great opportunity to make sure you get a bit of money back by trading some of your good condition items on AllGoods. There's also your local facebook marketplace or 'pay it forward' pages, donating to local charities and offering things to friends of family to make sure you're making the most of reducing, reusing or recyling!
When you’ve lived in a home for any length of time, there’s a tendency to collect a lot of stuff. The longer you’ve been in a home, the more the latent pack rat habits appear. What better time than when moving abroad to declutter?
Is the weather and landscape of the country you’re moving to vastly different from New Zealand? Do you need the clothes, tools and equipment you’ve accumulated? Is your furniture right for the new place? And of course, it most definitely is time to throw out all the collections of papers, bric a brac and storage boxes that have accumulated! Whatever you are going to take with you, check out moving companies like Ausmove and to make sure your stuff reaches your new destination safe and sound. Don't forget you might need help redirecting your mail and updating services providers of the change in address, so it's worth looking into companies like Mooveme to make sure you're all sorted.
The decluttering process should start long before you need to move, so allow plenty of time. It is a great opportunity to make sure you get a bit of money back by trading some of your good condition items on AllGoods. There's also your local facebook marketplace or 'pay it forward' pages, donating to local charities and offering things to friends of family to make sure you're making the most of reducing, reusing or recyling!
Having the house look attractive and homely, as well as smell nice when interested parties drop in, is helpful. While you don’t have to go as far as having cookies baking or the scent of cinnamon wafting through the place (common tricks amongst realtors and those who show houses), having a clean, well lit, bright and cheerful looking space will be good.
Declutter, clean thoroughly, tidy the entrance to the home, make any small repairs (like squeaky doors or loose floorboards) and make sure the house is well-lit and smells great on the day of the open home.
And in terms of the offer itself, throw in anything you won’t be carrying with you, to sweeten the deal. This might be the whiteware, a stash of firewood, even a BBQ or outdoor furniture.
Having a good team in place is a must for a successful property sale. Lots of people decide to use a real estate agent to manage their property sale, letting them take the wheel. For some people this is a great option, however a very costly one! Selling privately is becoming a popular method, with platforms like Listed offering all of the tools and services you need to manage a private sale, making the process simple and saving thousands of dollars in commission!
Important professionals to consider getting on your team might be; a solicitor or property conveyancing, professional home staging, professional photographers, online real estate advertising portals and depending on your plans, a moving company!
