Selling a house is a complicated situation, no matter how good the real estate agent. Whether you’re it’s your first time home or not, you’ll probably have a bunch of concerns. Do I need a real estate agent? What’s closing? Just how much paperwork am I going to have to fill in? How can I get the best price in my house? How can I sell the house and buy a new one at the same time?

Here you’ll learn the answers to all of these concerns and more as we explain exactly what curb appeal is and why a house isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. There are two main approaches to sell your home with a realtor or without one. Before all of us discuss and weigh each and every option, let’s go over some basic tips that all sellers should know.

Knowing the value of your house along with discipline and exercising patience are key. Get your property appraised first; it’s worth the $250 to $500 cost. In a good market, the actual sale price can be 10% to 15% above the appraisal. In a down market, the sale price may be across the appraisal figure. We’ll go over the best way to figure out your sale value in detail later in the article.

A home inspection is also crucial in avoiding complications during your purchase. The seller will get an inspection, yet discovering problems during the pre-sale house inspection allows you to have more information. If your inspection uncovers a few issues with your home, it’s quite essential that you familiarize yourself with your California’s disclosure laws to avoid future litigation. The laws generally require you to disclose, either verbally or in composing, the presence of any hazardous resources in your home or significant faults in construction. If you’re unclear about what you have to disclose, check with a real estate agent, attorney or your neighborhood housing authority.

Agents express concerns that can go stale after being on the market too long, meaning they are no more attracting buyers. A stale sale usually results from a seller overvaluing her or his home. The opposite can also occur in a rush to sell a home. Remember, patience is key.