For many people, selling a home is one of the most important and personal decisions they will make. Not knowing where to start can be confusing and can sometimes lead to bad decisions, especially if you need to sell the home quickly. Seeking the aid of a real estate professional, although helpful, is now always enough. The first thing that should be answered is the most basic, the reason why you are selling your home. Once you have a firm grasp of that, then you can figure out what your main priorities are when you put your house on the market. There are three main things to consider when selling a home and they all have an influence on each other. Those things are timing, pricing, and convenience.

Are you relocating to another city or are you in the process of buying a new home? These are situations that can add to the pressure of selling your house and time is your most important factor. Some people can’t afford two mortgage payments so a quick sale is a must. It is imperative to have your realtor prepare a detailed comparative market analysis (CMA) to find the true, fair market value of your house. Selling your home quickly is going to have a bearing on how you set your listing price. Set the price too high, and you run the risk of not selling the house in the allotted time due to lack of buyer interest. All the marketing in the world isn’t going to solve that problem.

If time isn’t the most pressing factor when selling your home, then you have the option of setting the sales price a bit higher in order to make more money. Maybe you are not sure whether you want to sell the house, but would rather rent it out. You could also find someone who has credit problems and let them do a lease/purchase. In many cases a situation like this occurs when the home is an investment property. Time is great luxury to have when pricing is your most important factor.

There is also the factor of convenience. A person who is relocating and has already moved out of town will potentially have an advantage over someone who works from home or has indoor pets. It may not be as convenient for the latter to have people parading in and out of the house all day, thus limiting the amount of buyers. A person who owns a vacant home will most likely want their realtor holding open houses and having the home viewed at any time. The convenience of showing your home or lack thereof, will influence how quickly it sells and for what price.

Timing, pricing, and convenience are the three most important things to consider when listing your home. Once you understand your reason for the sale, you will be able to establish which factor is most important to you. The more convenient it is for you to have people view your house, the quicker it may sell, unless, of course, it is priced below fair market value. That is just a more complex way of saying that these three factors have an effect on one another. Once you are aware of that, this important, personal decision may be a bit easier and less confusing.

Michael A. Stazko is a Plano TX real estate agent and founder of websites that provide information on Escondido CA real estate and Irving TX real estate.