Selling a house in New York State is not an easy task – especially if you’re not sufficiently informed about the requirements or if this is your first time selling a real estate property.
Thankfully, we’re here to make this easier on you.
So, stay tuned if you’re set on selling your house and want to be up-to-date with the steps you need to take.
We’ll be breaking down the entire real estate selling process and explaining everything you need to do to make a wise sale in NYC – and earn good money!
Selling A House IN NYC – A Complete Guide
Selling real estate in NYC means that you have to go through a few inevitable steps if you want to do it right and walk away with a fair profit in your pocket.
If you’re set on the idea to put up a “FOR SALE” sign right in front of your house, here’s the anticipated to-do list with all the steps you need to take – in order in which you should tackle them.
1. Check The Competition
Before you do anything, here’s a little heads-up:
Don’t be too lazy to turn on your computer. Go online and explore the market a bit. Take a look at your competition, what prices they put up, and how much they value their property.
Selling a house in New York State can be unpredictable at times. You’ll undoubtedly come across sellers who ask very little for their home – and you’ll also likely encounter those who overprice their property and ask for an outrageous price.
That’s why it’s generally a smart move to explore the New York real estate market and get acquainted with the current situation a bit better.
2. Find Yourself A Good Realtor
One would surely think, “Selling a home is as easy as ABC. You just need to find the buyer.“
On the contrary, selling a house in New York State is a much more complicated process – and it often requires some profound knowledge of finances and the market itself. Above all, it requires you to possess some excellent decision-making skills.
You may have reasonable assumptions about this process, but our advice is to leave it to the professionals. That’s right:
Unless you’re a seasoned real estate investor, you need to find yourself a realtor.
After all, they know a little more about how to sell your house and walk away with the profit you deserve.
3. Set A Time For Your Sale
It’s important to note that, when it comes to selling a house in New York State, prices could vary up to tens of thousands of dollars depending on when you’re looking to sell. Yes, timing is everything in real estate.
The best time for you to put your home on the NYC housing market would be during summertime. Your phone will be ringing much more often during the summer months – that’s for sure.
Like in most other countries, summer is a turning point for many people interested in buying real estate. Case in point – newlyweds who want to settle in before the fall. They’re not the only ones, of course. You might also hear from young people or post-graduates starting a job in New York City this September.
We can be more precise if you’d like:
If you’re looking to sell your house for speed, July is the best month for that. You could sell your home 12 days faster than usual during that time.
However, sell the property in June if you’re not going for speed but a better price and profit. If you decide to do so, you could get up to 8% more than the national average.
4. Get A Pre-Sale Home Inspection
Before you say anything, let’s make one thing clear – this is optional. New York law requires sellers to give the potential buyer a disclosure statement – but it’s only needed to include the known defects without the actual inspection.
A pre-sale home inspection is a process that more and more individuals currently selling a house in New York State opt for these days.
If you take a moment to think about it, it could be beneficial for both you – and your potential buyer. This detailed inspection report will document the state of your house before the sales process.
If you’d like to go through with the inspection, your real estate agent will likely recommend a few respectable home inspectors in your area that are available to come and check out your house.
And since your house’s maintenance is highlighted here, let’s take a chance and list a few things you should get checked out before the home inspector arrives:
- Roof
- Attic space
- Rain gutters
- Exterior and interior paint
- Plumbing fixtures and water heaters
- Appliances
- Walls, ceilings, and floors
- Heating, cooling, and ventilation
- Doors and windows
- Basement
- Garage
If your inspector finds that there’s a significant issue with your house during the process, you might want to reconsider selling your property at the moment. It would be much better to wait a while and get it fixed. Otherwise, you might be held liable for withholding information about the condition of your property.
5. Decide On A Reasonable Price
After you’ve taken care of the necessary repairs in your house, it’s time to finally put a price on your home and get it ready for the market.
That means it’s time to talk numbers.
New York was always perceived as prestigious – and prices have followed this reputation for years. So, if you’re selling a house in New York State, don’t be afraid to kick it up a notch.
If this last part got you questioning what’s the average price of a home in upstate New York, the number might shock you or come as no surprise – depending on how long you’ve been in the area.
An average house, nothing too luxurious, can be sold for $700,000.
Sounds insane, right? Maybe – but that’s just how prices go around here.
Although this heavily depends on the season, one fact is inevitable – the prices for homes in New York jumped by 5.7% last year.
That’s not as good for buyers as it is for sellers, though.
What we’re trying to say is that if you’re selling your house, and it’s in pretty decent condition – meaning that you’ve taken care of the repairs and made it functional – don’t be afraid to put a more considerable number on it. Quality comes at a price!
6. Advertise Your House
One of the selling steps involves marketing.
In addition to the fact that you might opt for a home inspection and take care of necessary repairs inside your home, you also need to make it look attractive for viewers and potential buyers.
Quality advertising is your best bet – which implies taking some HQ photos of your “humble” home.
Here’s another piece of advice:
Don’t hesitate to hire a professional to take attractive, high-quality interior and exterior photos. These people know that magic is in the angle and light – and if you want the pictures that speak for themselves, you’re going to need a professional.
Many people make the mistake of assuming that they can do this by themselves. More often than not, it turns out good – but not good enough to make the potential buyer stay a while on your ad and consider contacting you.
What About Listing?
After you take some excellent photos and you’re settled on the price, it’s time to post the info somewhere and make things official.
That’s what listings are for:
Your options are broader than ever before – and the Internet makes it possible for your offer to be seen by thousands of people. However, you need to consider the websites where you post them.
Since you’re probably thinking of selling your house:
Decide to stick with Mashvisor and list your real estate property for sale on our Mashvisor Property Marketplace. We guarantee maximum visibility and an opportunity to market your property to multiple real estate investors and serious buyers all around the US!
Suppose you don’t want your listing to be posted on sites with little to no traffic, engagement, and the possibility to be seen and appreciated. In that case, we’re here to help you sell your house faster – and for a good deal. Have you heard of off market properties, by the way? These houses are not listed on multiple listing services – but they’re sold, either way, usually through private or quick sales. We can help with that, too.
7. Negotiate The Offer With Your Buyer
It likely won’t be long before someone pops up and says they’re interested in buying your house. That’s when the real business happens.
Once you come “face-to-face” with your first buyer, your business skills should kick in – of course, with the assistance of your realtor.
Selling a house in New York State is usually done through your agent. First, you’ll get an offer from your buyer, and you’re going to evaluate it with your agent. It could play out in two ways:
Either you can turn down the offer entirely if you feel it’s below your limit and there’s no room for negotiations, or you can propose a counteroffer and try to meet your buyer halfway.
Know that these counteroffers can go back and forth a dozen times and make the process of home-buying longer than you initially thought. Nevertheless, the crucial thing is that you and the buyer are satisfied with the price you agreed on.
8. Taking Care Of The Closing Costs
One of the last steps in selling a house in New York State is to estimate the closing costs and determine who will be in charge of covering them. That is something that both you and the buyer should agree on, too.
You, as the seller, are required to pay your agents a commission fee. It’s usually somewhere around 5% of total home sales. However, don’t get too comfortable.
Additional costs may include:
- Government transfer tax
- Recording fees
- Outstanding liens
Before we finish off this whole process, there’s one more thing you should know about taxes in New York:
If you’ve lived in the house you’re selling for a minimum of two to five years, and you made a profit of up to $250,000, you won’t have to pay any taxes. For married couples, that amount jumps to $500,000.
9. Take Care Of The Paperwork
Since you’re one step away from selling a house in New York state, it is time to go through the relevant paperwork and call it a day.
Remember, this is mandatory, and you can’t keep putting it off – even though dealing with the paperwork is a tedious process.
To make things easier, here’s a list of documents you’ll need to collect and go through with your agent:
- ID forms (2x)
- Copy of the Purchase Agreement
- Closing Statement
- Signed Deed
- Bill of Sale
- Affidavit of Title
However, you might be asked to attach:
- HOA Forms and Guidelines
- Home Inspection Results
- Home Warranty Information
- Copies of Relevant Wills or Trusts
- Closing Disclosure
10. The Closing Process
The final step in selling a house in New York state is, of course, the closing process.
New Yorkers will have multiple closing costs here. They can include transfer fees, lender fees – and even realtor commission.
The good thing is that this process won’t take too long, though.
Usually, it only involves the real estate agents and their attorneys. The buyer and seller don’t have to be present if they grant power to their attorneys, which can significantly speed up the process.
Once the documents have been signed and filed with the county clerk, that’s it. You officially sold your house in New York.
Final Words
That would be all about selling a house in New York State. By the looks of it, it’s not such a daunting process, after all – that is, if you stick to the steps we’ve outlined for you.
If you’re ready to pack up and sell your home in New York, know that you can do so by hiring the right realtor, getting a pre-sale home inspection, marketing it correctly – and, of course, taking care of the paperwork.
If you handle it the right way and decide to sell it sometime during the summer, you’ll get to walk away with quite a profit in your hands.
Now that you know what it generally takes to sell a real estate property, don’t hesitate to turn to Mashvisor for additional guidelines and instructions. We’re more than happy to help!