Home sellers often ask whether they should stay in their homes while they are on the market or move out. Both have pros and cons, and factors can tip the scales in one direction.
Pros of Moving Out
If the seller has engaged a real estate agent, the burden of showing a vacant home is virtually eliminated. The agent will field all calls, set appointments, and show the house. Buyers’ real estate agents are also more likely to want to show vacant homes. If agents have 20 home options and 15 are occupied, they may show the vacant homes out of convenience. They don’t have to call and make an appointment and can go over and use the lockbox. Further, the continual pressure to keep daily life from affecting the home’s pristine staging presentation is eliminated. The seller is not under constant pressure to keep the house in immaculate showing condition. If you might struggle to keep your home in turnkey condition for showing purposes—for example, if you have young children—consider vacating before putting the home on the market.
Cons of Moving Out
A vacant home can signal that the homeowner is a “motivated seller” who needs to sell quickly. Consider this example, found on an online real estate forum: A buyer saw that a home was vacant and offered $30,000 less than the asking price. The buyer was sold on the home anyway and would have paid more, but “haggling” began well below the asking price because the buyer assumed the owner was desperate to sell.
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