Selling Your Home

Next to buying your home, selling your home can be a similarly life changing event. A lot depends on why you are selling your home. Perhaps you're retiring and want to downsize to a smaller house or condominium. Conversely, you may be upsizing to a bigger house from a starter home. Or maybe you're selling your condominium in the city to buy a house in the suburbs because you expect your family to expand. You may have found your dream job in another state and are selling your present home to move cross-country. Whatever the reason is for selling your home, most of the issues you will likely confront will be similar.

When you decide to sell your home, you will have to make some important decisions on how to sell it and what price you should ask. There are also other factors to consider, such as the time of year that's best to try to sell a home, or what repairs or improvements can raise the selling price of your home, which may or may not be within your control.

While you can do this alone, unless you have some experience in real estate or a unique situation (for example, you're selling your home to one of your children), we recommend that you get a real estate agent to assist you with setting an asking price that fits the market and home, getting your home in the necessary shape so you can get top dollar, and following through in the sales process from the beginning to the end.

Tip For advice on finding and hiring the right real estate agent and pricing your home, you will want to read through our section on finding a home.

Tax implications. One of the most important issues confronting almost everyone who sells their home is the tax implications of the sale. Due to the generous tax rules that govern selling your personal residence, you may be able to sell your biggest investment for a substantial profit without having to pay the capital gains tax traditionally associated with the gain from the sale of an investment. This is true for any age or stage, but different rules do apply.

Tip Because such large amounts are at stake when you sell a home and because many sellers are also purchasing another home of some type, it is wise for you to consult with a tax advisor and/or financial planner when you sell your home. You want to be certain that when you sell your home, you do it at the right time and in the right way that makes the most of your investment.