Selling property presents a range of opportunities for accessing equity, some you might not have ever considered before. Lifestyle changes, like the move to retirement living can be made easier by utilising your home’s equity as can any number of cash-flow requirements. In this article we discuss a whole range of ways you can utilise the equity in your home. Everything from advertising and selling expenses, to funding a deposit for aged care living — the opportunities are endless.
Preparing your home for sale is one of life’s biggest undertakings. Even the cost of minor pre-sale improvements (like new tapware and a fresh coat of paint) can start to add up, especially when you consider all the additional costs of selling a house. While costly, pre-sale improvements usually make a property significantly more marketable. Even just a fresh coat of exterior paint can add anywhere up to $50,000 of extra value to the sale of your home, so small fixes and improvements are often well worth accessing equity for.
More reasons to access equity:
Styling and staging
Pre-sale improvements
Advertising
Legal Costs
Selling-related costs
Safety
Even in a shifting market, good properties can be hard to come by. Ensure you’re ahead of the game by having your finances sorted before you start house hunting. If you’re utilising the services of a buyer’s agent, have you considered using the equity in the home you’re selling to cover the costs of their fees and services? What if your next dream property is being sold at auction? Are you armed with a buyer’s deposit should you be successful bidding on the day?
More reasons to access equity:
If you haven’t come across your next dream property but you’ve sold your current property, renting might be an option until you find the one! Often the buy and sell timeline means there’s a period between the settlement date and the possession of your new home, so you might need to consider the costs of a hotel/accommodation to cover you over that period.
More reasons to access equity:
If you follow our socials, you might have come across Ken’s story before. He had an unconditional sales contract on his personal home with a 30-day settlement. Using our service, he was able to access $200,000 in equity release to not only secure a deposit on his retirement build but purchase a caravan and truck so he could travel around Australia while his new home was being built. We love stories like Ken’s, where we’ve been able to help people live life to the fullest while waiting on their property to settle.
More reasons to access equity:
Life throws all sorts of curveballs we often don’t see coming.
Divorce or separation can be challenging to navigate, but when it comes to property settlement, Property Credit can liaise with both parties separately to help you access the funding you need. You can agree to and sign your loan agreement separately, and with nothing to pay until settlement, you can relax knowing you won’t have to worry about who pays what along the way.
Plus, equity release can be utilised to fund the many expenses that emerge over the course of a divorce, like legal fees and settlements.
Having a neutral third party like Property Credit can be especially helpful when navigating the sale of deceased estates. It’s not nice to think about, but when family members are left to sell up their loved one’s property, negotiations between family members can become time consuming and stressful. Property Credit aligns the costs of selling to the sale of the property, so the stress of determining ‘who contributes what’ over the course of the sale is alleviated.
Balancing bills or waiting for pay day — managing cash flow is something we’re up against daily. While selling your property, you can use your home’s equity to consolidate debt/s or manage business or personal expenses.
Visit property.credit for more information on our services or you can contact us on 1300 829 536 (au) or 03 668 2144 (nz).
This article is for general information purposes only and is not intended as financial product advice. Consider seeking independent financial advice that relates to your individual circumstances.
There's so much to consider when buying or selling. Below are just some of the opportunities equity release can offer over the course of a property sale.
