Live in the now, but prepare for the future with property

There are many situations that can arise where you might find yourself needing to sell your property at short notice.

Home owners who neglect their homes or aren't up-to-speed with current market conditions often encounter difficulties in the event of needing an expedient sale.

General maintenance

It's important to keep your home in good condition, including regular garden clean ups. You don't want to have to tackle a large gardening project when you need to sell.

Equally, it's important to keep up with regular maintenance on your home. Undertake regular inspections on the roof, drainage and gutters to ensure any problems can be fixed in a reasonable time.

It also pays to regularly inspect the hot water system and air-conditioners to anticipate any faults or repairs that might be uncovered during an inspection. It's much easier and cheaper to do regular maintenance on your home than last minute emergency work.

Annual termite inspections on relevant properties are also a good idea. It's surprising how many sales are interrupted by the discovery of timber pests including termites. This can delay a settlement and result in extra costs to the seller to supply termite treatment and/or repairs.

Contact a REIWA agent

You should also be thinking about how exactly you will sell your home too. The most effective way is to use the services of a REIWA real estate agent with a good knowledge of your local area.

Local agents know the market and meet with prospective home buyers often. Talk to them about the best strategy to sell your home and what a realistic time frame for this is in any given market.

In the current market it's important you set a realistic selling price. Listen to your agent about how to price your home, and be open to modifying the price after a few weeks if potential buyers have shown little or no interest.

Seek financial advice

Talking to your financier about home loan options can also be worthwhile. It might be the case that your existing home loan can be refinanced to include extra funds to buy your next home. It also pays to have pre-approved finance up your sleeve to free up valuable time for when you do sell.

Be prepared for a quick sale by ensuring the property is looking good, follow the WA property market on reiwa.com, talking to professional agents, have the right selling price in mind and meet with your bank or mortgage broker to plan your finances.