Most common reasons for selling your home

There are many reasons why people decide to sell their properties

There’s no single right or wrong reason for selling your home, and it’s an incredibly personal decision that will be based on many factors specific to your situation. Still, there are some broad common reasons why people decide to look for a buyer for their property.

Financial needs

A major reason that causes many people to sell their house or flat is a need to access money locked up in their property. This can happen if their finances are in a poor state and they need swift access to funds. For example, if you’ve fallen behind in mortgage repayments then selling your home could help you pay off the debt, avoid repossession, and move on to a new location.

Or this situation can also occur when the homeowner has already decided to move and they need the sale of the home in order to help fund the purchase of their next property.

Relationship changes

If you are living alone, a smaller house or flat might be all you need for your belongings. But later on if you end up in a relationship with a live-in partner you might find that your existing home doesn’t have enough space for both of you. In this situation it’s very likely that you’d want to sell so that you could buy a new property that satisfies the needs of you and your partner.

Job changes

You might also want to sell your home when you have a change in your job that requires you to relocate to another city or even country. Unless you can afford to have two houses, it’s very likely that you’ll want to sell your existing property to help pay for a home in your next location.

Property market boom

If you’ve noticed that many houses in your area are selling at high prices, that means there’s a property market boom happening near you, and you could stand to make a profit on your house by selling at that time. A good way to get an initial idea of house prices in your neighbourhood is to use property websites, like Zoopla, that can give you rough estimates of home values in your area. Don’t use these estimates as hard facts, but more as a general guide to a potential sale price.

Desire to leave your neighbourhood

Perhaps the area you live in has changed over the years you’ve been there and it’s no longer somewhere you want to be. There can be a number of causes for this outcome, including the possibility of rising crime in the neighbourhood, major property development, and more.

Selling allows you to still walk away with a decent amount of cash that you can then use to help fund the purchase of a new house or flat somewhere else you find more desirable.

Need for a bigger home

This can often fall under the categories of relationship or job changes, but sometimes a need for a bigger house or flat is a stand-alone reason for people wanting to sell their existing property and upsize.

For example, if you have children who are getting older and need bigger bedrooms you might want to sell in order to fund the purchase of a bigger/ house. Or you might have decided to launch a work-from-home business that requires a large space for your office that you don’t have at your current address.