What It Takes to Sell Your House in Long Island

October 13, 2021

What It Takes to Sell Your House in Long Island (and Why It’s Not Worth It)

According to Zillow, there are currently close to 9,000 homes for sale in the Long Island area (Nassau and Suffolk County combined). More are expected to flood the market in the wake of Hurricane Ida’s massive flooding. Needless to say, selling your house is going to require more than just placing a sign in the yard and calling up your local realtor.

Selling a house today is expensive. Before you even list the property on the market, you have to undergo a series of repairs, upgrades, inspections, and appraisals. Then you have to spend more money staging the house. From there, you have to show the house to numerous buyers, a few of which will be qualified to buy it. Even if you are lucky enough to find a buyer within the next 60 to 90 days, you’ll still need to shell out more money in closing costs and realtor commissions. 

Below, we take a look at what it takes to sell your house in Long Island and why you may want to consider an alternative to a traditional sale. 

Pre-Sale Preparation:

Before you get your house in the game, there are several things you need to do to prepare the property for a sale.

Hire a Realtor

There is no shortage of professional realtors in Long and Island. The question is whether you can find one that offers low commissions and fees or one that will negotiate their commissions – in either case, it’s not likely going to happen. 

As a result, you can expect to lose 5% to 6% of the profit of your house sale to realtor commissions. That doesn’t sound like much until you do the math. If you sell your house for $250,000, the realtor gets $15k. That’s a significant deduction from your selling price.

Repairs and Renovations

If you live in an older house, you can expect to make some type of repair or update to the property. This may include replacing the roof, repairing any systems, restoring an old foundation, or even undergoing a landscape project. Either way, you can expect to spend thousands of dollars making the house sellable. 

Even if your house is in excellent condition, you’ll likely need to update it to compete with today’s trends. You may need to repaint the house, rethink the kitchen, or even reconfigure the floorplan to make your house stand out from the myriad of sellers in your neighborhood. 

Showing the House

Now that you’ve prepared the house for sale, it’s time to haggle with buyers.

Staging

Staging doesn’t just happen in the prep stage. You need to keep your house in tip-top shape every day so that you are prepared for planned and last-minute showings. Thankfully, your realtor will be in charge of scheduling and showing the house to prospective buyers. However, doing so can present a major inconvenience, because buyers will likely show up at times that you are normally at home.

Pre-Qualifying and Negotiating with Buyers

When it comes to buying houses, many buyers’ eyes are bigger than their stomachs. As a result, you will deal with prospects who do not qualify for a loan or try to negotiate the price. The right realtor can handle negotiations. However, if you are set on staying with your original asking price, it may be a while before you find a buyer.

Closing the Sale

If you finally find a buyer, you’re about two-thirds of the way to selling your house.

Closing Day

The closing day typically ends the selling process. However, it can take 30 to 45 days to finally get to that point. Plus, you spend thousands of dollars more in closing costs – some of which belong to the buyer but you will agree to pay to seal the deal. These closing costs add up quickly. When combined with repairs and realtor commissions, they can take a lot of money out of your profits. 

Is There a Better Alternative to a Traditional House Sale?

If you need to sell your house fast in Long Island, NY and don’t want to go through a lengthy selling process, your best alternative is to sell your house as-is directly to a buyer. DealHouse can look at your property, make a fast cash offer, and help you close the sale within seven to 21 days. There are several benefits of working with our team.

It’s a 100% Free Service

No contracts are necessary. No obligation just for requesting an offer.

Fair, Fast Offers in 24 Hours

We will work fast and accurately to deliver you our best offer for your house in as little as one day.

Skip the Showing

There are no showings or open houses, with the support you can count on from the first offer to the final sale.

Close When You Want

Pick a closing date most convenient for you to close — it’s your call.

DealHouse Buys Direct from You

Need to sell your house quickly? Do you live on Long Island? DealHouse values your time, so we want to simplify the process of selling your home fast. Our mission is to take advantage of today’s time-saving technology to deliver fast results, a competitive offer, and overall, the best experience selling your home ever. Sell your house for cash fast with DealHouse today.

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Chris Chiarenza