You’ve decided to move. That’s a big project, especially if you’ve been at your current home for several years. You might agonize over how to sell your house and move to another state.
Your moving needs can be challenging, and the process can feel overwhelming. You’ve got many things to juggle; you’ve got to go through all your stuff and decide what to throw out and keep. Then you can start the laborious process of packing up and moving to a new home.
Your next move may be to another state for work, family, or a fresh start. No matter the reason, you probably want to sell your house to cover the move’s costs and get out from under a troublesome home.
If you are making a local move, this process is a bit easier because you can hire a local moving company. Typically, local movers are less expensive. But you may be moving from San Francisco, California to Buffalo, New York, and that will be a bit more involved.
The process can be more straightforward, though. With some planning and organization before you move, you can make the process a breeze. This article will discuss tips and strategies to make the whole process easier and less overwhelming.
Tips for Selling a House and Moving States
In a perfect scenario, you would have your old house sold the day you move into the new house. While the scenario would be ideal, it rarely happens that way. What you’re probably facing is one of two scenarios:
- You’re selling your home before you move.
- You’re selling your home after you move.
Selling your home before you move
You may decide to sell your home before moving, regardless if you have a new home. As a result, you may have to find a property to rent until you find a new place to live. This may be advantageous because it gives you time to research your new area, and you will have money from previous home sales to ease your way into a new home.
Selling your home after you move
It might be that you sell your home after you move. In that case, you might have a new, move-in-ready home. One concern might be that you’ll have to eat the cost of two mortgages and moving expenses. That can be expensive and stressful.
Another issue is that there is no convenient way to travel back and forth to handle the selling process in a new state. You’ll have to endure the hassle of prepping, marketing, showing, and negotiating from afar.
In either situation, you don’t want your home to linger on the open market for too long. As your home stays on the market, it costs money. That money could be better spent on a down payment or covering your moving costs.
Sell your home quickly when you move
As you move, you will want to sell your old home while buying a new home. You don’t have the luxury of waiting months and months to find a buyer for your old home and wait for the transaction to close.
When you move last-minute, speed is paramount, and you’ll want to sell your home quickly. If your home needs repairs or maintenance, you’ll find it difficult to travel back from your new state to handle the situation. Instead of dealing with the hassle of repairs, you may want to sell your house as-is.
Sell your home as-is
When you sell your home as-is, you’ll be looking for a buyer interested in purchasing your home in its current condition. No repairs. No renovations. To sell your house as-is, you have a pair of options:
- Reduce the sales price
- Sell to a real estate investor
Reduce the sales price
You’ll need to reduce the sales price of your home to make it attractive to buyers. The reduction in price shows buyers that you’re motivated and ready to sell. You won’t make as much money, but you’ll be able to sell your home quickly. How quickly you can sell your home will depend on the buyer’s ability to secure a loan and navigate the transaction.
Sell to a real estate investor
Real estate investors typically make cash offers on your home. A cash offer speeds up the process and lets you avoid the hassle of dealing with a mortgage company and other costly intermediaries.
For instance, you can sell your home to a real estate investor without needing to pay for the following:
- Contractors
- Cleaners
- Closing costs
- Inspectors
- Real estate agents
Usually, the process takes less than a week, and you can move into your new home on time and with cash.
Tips for Moving out of State
You can plan and organize your project depending on how much time you have before you move. Follow these planning and organization steps to make your move less challenging.
#1. As soon as your home is on the market
Once your home goes on the market, you should buy packing supplies, including:
- Moving boxes
- Labels for fragile items
- Packing tape
- Wrapping paper and plastic
Another thing you should do is organize and declutter your home by doing the following:
- Clean and organize closets and other storage areas
- Working from room to room, cleaning, and organizing:
- Pack items that you want to keep but won’t use immediately
- Label the boxes with their contents
- Set aside things for donation
- Throw away unneeded items
This will reduce your unpacking time when you get to your new home.
#2. When you have a moving date
You have two options: move yourself or hire a moving company. If you decide to move yourself, you’ll need to do the following:
- Check moving truck prices and get free quotes
- Enlist hard-working friends and family as your moving team, this is easier for local moving
- Reserve a moving truck
If you hire moving service providers, you will need to handle some of the moving pieces, including:
- Schedule a mover early in the process. Ideally, you would schedule a mover months in advance. If you wait, you may be unable to find a top-notch moving service on the date you want.
- Find a legitimate mover with proper:
- History of Success
- Insurance
- Licensing
- Years of experience
- Solid reviews and high customer satisfaction on Yelp, or other rating websites
- Secure estimates to find the right mix of price and service for you. While you secure estimates, watch out for moving company scams.
- A legitimate commercial moving company will accept credit cards, have an online presence, and be registered with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. The best movers will have no issue sharing this information with you.
- Find the right mix of insurance and services you need. Your homeowners insurance will cover some of our property, but high-value items need their own insurance. You can find 3rd-party insurers who will protect your items.
- If you need a full-service mover, make sure to research the cost of multiple companies. Some may even offer packing services or storage services.
#3 Reduce the amount you need to move
When you sell your home, consider reducing the amount of stuff you have to move. As mentioned previously, you should have already:
- Donated unwanted items
- Packed infrequently used items
- Thrown out things you don’t want and can’t donate
Another thing you might consider is selling your belongings by:
- Holding a garage sale
- Selling your home furnished or selling the furniture to the buyers.
#4 Moving tasks
As you move, you’ll want to remember to do the following:
- Change your mailing address with the post office
- Notify creditors and other companies about your change of address.
- Store necessary paperwork where you can easily find it.
- Turn on the utilities at your new home.
#5 If you need more time to move
If you already have a buyer, but you need more time to move out, consider the following options:
- Rent-back agreement: Negotiate with the buyer to let you stay in the home for an agreed-upon period after you sell the house.
- Short-term rental: This lets you move out of the house for a month or two and enables you to stage and show the home as a blank slate for potential buyers.
Cost of Moving out of State
How much is the cost of moving out of state? Well, it depends on how you’ve decided to handle your move. The American Trucking Association estimates that long-distance move prices are between $4,300 and $4,800.
Another option is using a moving container. The major moving container companies include ABF, Go Mini’s, PODS, and U-Haul Boxes. On average, a moving container will cost about $2,300.
You can handle the move independently if you want to save a little money. You’ll need to buy all your packing materials and a truck. On average, a rental truck will cost about $1,780 for a one-way move.
Step to Moving to Another State
Ideally, you’ll have some time before you move to another state. With time you can organize and plan your move so that it’s smooth and hassle-free.
Step 1: Visit your new home city
As you visit your new home city, start looking for the following:
- Neighborhoods you like
- Housing availability
- Roads and traffic
Step #2: Budget for your move
Moving is expensive. You have to account for the following expense when you move to another state:
- Closing costs for your home sale
- Down payment on a new home
- Gas for personal travel
- Professional movers
- Plane tickets
Step #3: Find a new home
It’s easier to find a home if you are near. It might be a good idea to have a short-term rental until you can find the best home for you, and it allows you to see the neighborhoods and other features of your new city.
Once you’ve found a new place to live, you can set your move date.
Checklist for Moving House to Another State
We’ve reviewed a lot of information about how to sell your house and move to another state. Let’s take a moment to recap and create a handy checklist of the task you need to complete the moving process to another state:
- Visit your potential new home city.
- Create a moving budget.
- Declutter your home.
- Find reputable moving experts.
- Change your address and let creditors know.
- Collect your important papers.
- Find somewhere to live while you find a new home.
- Pack, or have your mover pack your home.
- Find a storage facility and rent a storage unit if necessary.
- Complete the home sale and transfer ownership.
- Move to your new state.
Selling Laws in the US
Selling laws in the US requires you to have several documents. Before you sell your home, make sure to locate the following:
- Condo documents
- Deed or mortgage agreement
- HOA documents and fee schedule
- The most recent tax bill
- Plat or survey
The laws in the US do not require you to use a real estate agent or broker. You have several options when you sell your home.
Typically, the law defines an offer as a written document that includes the following:
- Closing date and possession date
- Down payment amount
- Inspection
- List of items included in the sale
- Purchase price
As the seller, you will also need to fill out a seller disclosure form.
After you have negotiated with the buyer, you will have a contract for sale. In that contract, you will typically find the following information:
- Date
- Names of parties involved
- Address of property being sold
- Full purchase price
- Escrow amount
- Closing date
- What is included in the sale
- Who pays closing costs
- Amount of real estate commission
When you close, it’s time to get your money, transfer the deed, and pay a real estate agent their 6% commission. An outstanding mortgage will be paid off, and you get a check for the remainder of the amount minus the real estate agent commission.
Selling to Cash House Buyers
When you sell your home, you have a lot of different options. You can hire a real estate agent, sell your home yourself, or sell to cash house buyers.
Each option has pros and cons, but selling with a cash buyer is ideal for buyers who want to avoid the hassle of selling a home.
The top reasons you would sell a home to a cash house buyer include the following:
- As-is sales are easy with a cash buyer. The buyer will purchase the property in its current condition, with no repairs needed. It allows you to have a stress-free transaction and without the cost of home repairs or upgrades.
- Cash buyers make the process fast and easy. There is no need to make improvements, and they don’t have to wait for bank financing. You’ll get a fair price and an easy sale.
- Get rid of that troublesome property with a cash buyer. You may need to get out of your house fast so you can move out of state for a new job. Selling to a cash buyer allows you to sell your home quickly, avoid hassle, and skip closing costs.
Conclusion
Selling a house and moving to another state can be arduous. You can mitigate some of the more challenging aspects of the move with proper organization and prior planning.
When you decide to move out of state, make sure that you:
- Prepare your home for the move and sale by decluttering.
- Hire movers early.
- Scout your new home city.
- Be flexible with short-term housing options.
- Consider selling to a cash buyer for a fast and easy process.
