Tips for Listing Your Condo For a Quick Sale

While there are certainly similarities between selling different forms of real estate, there are also some differences that should be noted as well. Before you even begin the listing process for your condo, it would be wise to understand what these differences are.

For instance, single-family dwellings don’t come with condominium documents that govern how owners are to use their properties or even how they are to market them for sale.

Educating yourself on the process of selling a condo will help you familiarize yourself with it so that you’ll be well prepared for what’s to come. Luckily, you have a plethora of information at your fingertips, particularly wth your real estate agent who will be able to provide you with everything there is to know about selling a condo.

Work With an Agent Who’s Experienced With Condo Sales

When selling a condo, it’s essential that you hire a real estate professional who is well-versed in the art of selling condos. There are plenty of agents out there who may have years of experience buying and selling real estate, but perhaps their niche lies outside of the condo realm. Ideally, you want to work with an agent who has had their hand at many condo sale transactions so that your unit is appropriately marketed and the right price is negotiated.

Get Familiar With Condo Association Rules, Regulations, Fees, & Assessments

Perhaps the biggest difference between selling a condo versus selling a single family home is the homeowners association (HOA). This entity is what governs the condominium and establishes rules, regulations, fees, and possible future assessments. This is an added party that you will have to deal with when it comes time to place your condo on the market.

As a condo owner, you’ve already had the opportunity to get familiar with your HOA rues and how they have impacted your enjoyment of your home, but it’s time to understand how it will affect how the sales process goes. You will need to find out what your condo association allows when marketing and selling.

Every association has its own set of rules that dictate what you can and can’t do with your unit. For instance, the association might place restrictions on who you can and can’t sell to. You might be required to have the buyer get pre-approved by the association, and may also not be allowed to place For Sale signs out in front of your unit or in the window. Understanding procedures that your HOA association will place on you is crucial.

Get Condo Docs Put Together

Buyers who may not have had any experience with HOA’s will have to be made aware of both the pros and cons of having to abide by such an entity’s rules. That means all of these regulations will have to be disclosed to prospective buyers so they are able to make a more informed purchasing decision.

A common contingency that’s inserted into a real estate contract by condo buyers is a review of HOA rules and regulations. In fact, this contingency should be a must among all condo buyers because it provides them with an opportunity to get their lawyers to review these HOA documents to ensure that the condominium and its association are in good standing, be it physically, financially, and legally. Prior to listing your condo, gather up your HOA documents and have them prepared for when your buyer asks for them. This will help save you a ton of time after a buyer signs the real estate contract.

Price Your Condo Appropriately

This is an issue that’s not necessarily restricted only to condo selling. In fact, pricing right is probably one of the most important factors associated with a successful sale regardless if you’re selling a condo, single-family home, townhouse, or any other type of dwelling. But it’s an issue that every homeowner needs to deal with when placing their home on the market.

Your condo will only sell if you price it right. Ideally, it should be priced according to what the current market dictates. If you list much higher than a similar unit in the same complex that recently sold, you will likely wind up with a stale listing. The further out you price your condo beyond what similar units have been selling for in the recent past, the longer your unit will sit on the market, and the longer it sits there, the more of a negative stigma it will develop.

It’s a lot easier to price your condo competitively and sell quickly than to have your condo linger on the market for months without a bite. At that point, you’ll likely have to drop the price just to start attracting prospective buyers again, and potentially sell for even less than what you may have been able to sell for had you priced it appropriately from the start.

List the Strong Features of Your Condo

Advertising all the features that make your condo great is crucial. After all, the more interested eyes you can get on your condo, the higher the odds of selling faster and for more money. If your condo is a corner unit with a wrap-around deck, let your buyers know about it. If you’ve got high ceilings, floor-to-ceiling windows, or extra storage space, list these features too.

It can be easy to forget about all of the amenities that your condo has after having lived there for a few years, so take some time to look around and pinpoint all the features that buyers would be attracted to. Your real estate agent can be a huge help in this department, as they can provide an objective view of your unit and help list all the features that should definitely make the cut on your listing.

Advertising your unit’s attractive traits is especially important with a condo because there typically aren’t as many details that distinguish one unit from another compared to a single family home. For this reason, the more little features you can find and list, the better.

The Bottom Line

With the proper guidance and the right advice, selling a condo shouldn’t have to be a major challenge. Follow the above guidelines, arm yourself with the right information, and hire an experienced real estate professional, to help you realize a successful sale.