Tips For Selling A House In Wisconsin And Moving Out Of State

Moving to another state is an exciting adventure but also one that may be a bit overwhelming. You’ll need to figure out where you’ll be living in your new state, hire a moving company, enrolling your kids in a new school- all while you’ll be trying to pack up your belongings and sell your current home. If you do own a home in Glendale, Wisconsin, selling your house before you move would be extremely helpful. That way, you don’t need to worry about paying two mortgages and finding someone to take care of the home while you live in another state. 

However, coordinating selling your house and moving states may be a bit of a challenge. And doing these two things simultaneously may prove stressful, but with a bit of planning, you should be able to do it successfully. Below we’ll cover some helpful tips for selling a house in Wisconsin and moving states so that way you can be ready to make this transition.

Tips for Selling a House in Wisconsin and Moving State

Whether you’re moving to start a new job or to live closer to family, a little moving out of state advice, plan ahead if you can. By getting a plan together and going through the details, you’ll be able to prepare for the challenges ahead. To get started with your plan, here are some tips when selling a house and moving states to consider:

Tip #1: Determine your Timeline

While you’re making plans to move out of state, you definitely want to know your timeline. Do you need to start your job within a month or a few weeks? Or are you slowly moving your things over the course of 4-6 months? Based on that information, you can schedule when you should have your house ready to list and start packing up your things. If you need to move within a few weeks, selling your home within that timeframe may prove to be tricky. So you’ll either need to be financially prepared to pay for two houses or find a buyer who can close quickly, which will be covered more later in this article. 

Tip #2: Set a Moving Budget

Moving, in general, can be expensive, but moving out of state can be even more costly. By setting a budget, you’ll be able to figure out if you can afford to hire a moving company or if you need to rent a U-Haul instead.

If you plan to save some money by doing a DIY move, make sure you can physically handle moving items. If you can’t, you may want to ask for some help from friends or family members. If you don’t have any volunteers, you can always hire a few movers to load up the truck for you. Just remember you’ll need to hire some to unload the truck too. 

However, if your move out of state is for a job, your employer may cover all or part of your moving expenses, so definitely double-check. 

Tip #3: Get Your House Ready to Sell

For most people paying two mortgages isn’t manageable, or to buy the next house, you need the equity in your current home for the down payment. Either way, selling your house before you move would be ideal, so that way you don’t need to worry about your house while you live in another state. 

To get your place ready to sell, you’ll want to do a general assessment to determine if you need to make any repairs. Write down the repairs you noticed around the house and figure out if those are ones that you can do on your own or if you need to hire someone. Remember, some major repairs can take a few weeks to complete, so you’ll want to plan accordingly. After you figure out what repairs need to be made, try to get those done as soon as you can. 

Next, it’s important to know your options when selling your house. So you’ll want to consider if you’re going to list your house with a real estate agent or try selling by owner. Both of these sell strategies don’t guarantee a fast home sale. Something to keep in mind if you need to sell your house within a specific time frame.

→ Are you thinking you’d like to sell your house without an agent? Click here to learn how. 

After you decide what selling strategy to use, you’ll need to start decluttering, cleaning, staging, and adding some curb appeal to your property. These are all helpful things to do to increase your chances of having a successful home sale. Once your house is ready to be put on the market, your agent will list it on the MLS, or you will start marketing it as a for-sale-by-owner (FSBO). The next part will be a waiting game. Prospective buyers will schedule showings, and you’ll just wait for an offer to be made. 

To give you an idea of how long this could take. The average time it takes to sell a home in Wisconsin — from listing through closing — is approximately 102 days. That’s 67 days to get an offer, plus the typical 35-day closing period.

Tip #4: Secure New Housing

Figuring out housing is another essential part of moving out of state. You’ll want to line up housing, whether that be renting an apartment, purchasing a house, or staying at a friend’s house while settling in. Finding a local real estate agent would be helpful in your home search if you’re looking for something to buy. A seasoned realtor will be able to point you in the right direction to find a house in a family-friendly neighborhood or one with a  good school district. You can also start searching online for your next place. There are plenty of listing sites with filters for you to narrow down your search without having to work with an agent just yet. 

Tip #5:  Start Going Through Your Stuff Early 

Start taking inventory of everything you own and figure out what you’d like to move to the new place. Moving out of state or cross-country can get very expensive very quickly, so you’ll want to keep costs under control by only moving necessary items. This is especially important if you’ll be downsizing. 

When you go through things, use a pack, throw away or donate system to go through everything. Once you’ve decided what you want to bring with you to your new home, consider selling your used items on Craigslist or buy, sell, trade, host a garage sale or donate your lightly used items to a charity and get a tax deduction. This is a great way to scale down what you own and make a little bit of money to help cover moving expenses. 

→ Do you own a hoarder house and don’t know where to begin to go through things? Check out these helpful tips by clicking here. 

Tip #6: Update Your Accounts

Don’t forget to contact the new state utility companies to set up accounts and cable and internet providers to get new services installed. Also, make sure you notify your current utility providers of your new address so that way they can send your final statements to your new residence. Finally, remember to get your mail forwarded to your new address and to change your address in any of your personal accounts. 

When you move to a new state, don’t forget to update your driver’s license and license plate to become a local resident. 

Tip #7: Let People Know Your Moving

Whether it’s a simple social media post, a text, or a going away party, make sure your friends and loved ones know that you’re leaving. Preparing for your out-of-state move can take up a lot of your time, so set some time aside to say goodbye to your neighbors, co-workers, and network of friends before you rush off. Plus, the downtime will be nice too. 

Cost of Moving out of State

You have a few options when it comes to moving out of state. You can either hire a professional moving company, rent a moving container or rent a truck and DIY your move. If your new employer is helping out with moving expenses, then hiring a professional moving company would be ideal. If you’re doing things on your own, then you’ll want to consider your options and your budget before deciding which one works best for you. Like most people, this decision will come down to cost. To help you decide which option is right for you, let’s take a look at all three options and how much they cost to help you make the right decision. 

Professional Moving Company

Hiring a full-service professional moving company to load, transport, and unload your belongings to a new house won’t be cheap. But it will make the move a lot easier than doing it on your own. To give you an idea of how much this could cost, the average long-distance move can total $4,300 based on an average weight of 7,400 pounds and an average distance of 1,225, according to the American Moving and Storage Association. This average also includes moving supplies and packing assistance.

Renting a Moving Container

If you’re looking for a cost-effective, semi-DIY solution for moving out of state, you should consider renting a moving container. These portable containers also offer temporary storage before, during, and after your move, making them incredibly convenient for anyone embarking on a complicated out-of-state move. The nice thing is there are several moving containers to choose from, and they usually cost significantly less than hiring professional movers. The average cost to rent a container for an interstate move is $2,240. 

Use a Truck Rental

Do you prefer not to spend thousands of dollars on movers or a container? Renting a moving truck and doing things on your own would be the cheapest option. Keep in mind that you’ll have to do much of the heavy lifting and driving yourself, but you will save on moving expenses. To give you an idea of how much this could cost to rent a 10ft. U-Haul truck would cost around $1,700 to move from Glendale, Wisconsin to Austin, Texas. 

The cost of moving out of state is something you definitely want to factor into your budget, especially if you’ll be paying for your entire move. 

Steps to Moving to Another State

After you’ve secured housing and figured out a moving company, you still have to plan a few more things before moving to another state. Below are a few more steps to consider when moving states to make this transition easier. 

Step 1: Start Packing

The sooner you can start packing, the better. Start by packing seasonal items that you don’t plan to use at the moment, like winter clothes in the middle of summer. Any extra items you’re not currently using would also be items you probably won’t miss for a few weeks until you move. The sooner you can get started on packing, the easier it will be on moving day. 

Step 2: Get Kids Enrolled in School

If you have children make sure you get them enrolled in their new school. Or, if you have little ones and need someone to watch them while you’re at work, find a local daycare or sitter you’d like to hire. 

Step 3: Figuring out Employment

If you don’t have employment waiting for you when you move, it will be important to start interviewing for jobs in this new state you’ll be living in. You can check out job boards and Linkedin for employment opportunities or see if the company you currently work for has job openings in your new city.

Selling Laws in Wisconsin

While you’re juggling packing, finding housing, updating your address, and whatever else, don’t forget there are selling property laws you’ll need to consider. Most of these property selling laws WI are regarding disclosures you’ll have to provide a buyer when purchasing your home. 

Whether you’re using a real estate agent or selling by the owner, it will be up to you to have this information ready. Property selling laws in Wisconsin require you to provide a:

• Real Estate Condition Report
• Flood Zone Statement 
• And Lead-Based Paint Disclosure

If you’re selling by yourself, property selling laws in WI don’t require you to use a real estate attorney, and you are allowed to place a ‘For Sale’ sign in your yard, which are helpful things to know because some states don’t allow yard signs and require you to use a real estate attorney to sell your home. 

Selling to Cash House Buyers

If you’re really concerned about how you’ll be able to sell your house and move out of state, that’s completely understandable. A lot is riding on the sale of your home, and having to deal with the possibility of paying two mortgages instead of one can feel overwhelming. 

The other thing to consider is if your home is in sellable condition. If it’s been a while since you’ve made any updates or the house requires significant repairs, you may have difficulty finding a buyer. Not to mention those repairs can be costly and time-consuming.

Instead of worrying about how you’re going to find a buyer for your house within the time frame, you need to move, consider selling your house to a cash home buying company. 

There are several companies that buy houses in Glendale, but one that comes highly recommended is Cream City Home Buyers. They are a locally-owned business that can make you an offer for your house within 24-hours and close in as little as 7-days or longer if need be. 

Cream City Home Buyers will also purchase your house as-is, so all those expensive repairs you were worried about, well, you won’t have to worry about them anymore. They’ll handle making the necessary repairs after they purchase your house, so you don’t have to. 

The other great thing about selling to a “we buy houses Wisconsin” company like Cream City are no realtor commissions. Selling a house with agents involved can cost thousands of dollars in commissions. Since you’d be selling directly to them, realtors don’t need to be involved, which equals huge savings. And closing costs, well, those are negotiable. 

Ultimately, selling to a cash buyer would be a great way for you to sell your house quickly and to be able to focus on moving and creating a new life for you and your family. 

Final Takeaways

Selling your house in Wisconsin and moving out of state definitely won’t be easy but planning ahead, budgeting and timing things just perfectly will help. However, there are certainly options available to you to make this process run smoothly. If you want to have the most flexibility possible and get cash for your home without having to make repairs and deal with months of uncertainty, reach out to Cream City Home Buyers today.