There are a lot of universal best practices when it comes to selling homes and it’s good to have a solid understanding of these. However, selling your home is a unique and deeply personal process that’s different for everyone. It’s important to do your homework, such as knowing how much equity you have in your home, but when it comes down to it, you need to determine when is the right time for you and your specific situation.

If you've been thinking of selling your home, this would appear to be the right time to do it. But how do you know if you are truly ready to sell? What financial and emotional steps do you need to take to get yourself and your home ready for buyers?

Deciding to up sticks and move to a new home can be daunting, and is no light decision to make. Your current home will probably have a lot of memories attached to it. That said, perhaps a new way of life is the next step for you and your family.

So many factors go into deciding if you’re ready to sell your home. Will local market trends make the sale worthwhile? Are you ready to part with your home and all the memories you’ve made there? To help you determine if it’s time to sell, take a look through these ways to know you’re ready.

Why are you planning to sell your home in the first place?

You’re Outgrowing the House

The main reason many people will choose to sell their house and move somewhere new is due to the simple case of building a family. Your first home is normally the one that you buy to get yourself on the property ladder. But, it’s often too small for more than one or two children.

So, if you’re looking to keep building your family, or want to treat the kids to a room for themselves, selling your house is a no-brainer.

Increased family size is a common rationale for why people sell their homes. First-time homebuyers often outgrow their starter residences. As kids grow, many homeowners need a larger place. Homeowners are also increasingly looking for multi-generational homes to accommodate aging parents or adult children moving back home.

To add to this, many young couples will choose to live somewhere urban at first, due to job opportunities and their social life. But, as life moves on, and the kids start to grow up, priorities change. This can lead many parents to head to more suburban areas, with better schools, cleaner air, and a better quality of life.

You’re Pondering a New Lifestyle

Alternatively, you might be in the opposite boat in that your children have all flown the nest, and you do not need such a large living space. Your huge garden, which once enjoyed many summers of children running rampant, might start to feel echoey and empty. What’s more, the numerous bedrooms might end up just being a space for clutter.

• People who move for home-related reasons might need a larger home or a house that better fits their needs, or they might have a preference for a different neighborhood.

If this is the case, and there’s no chance that your children might need to move back in at any point, why not move? You can hopefully sell your home to make a profit, and head somewhere more affordable and fit for purpose.

The Home Doesn't Meet Their Needs

Maybe they thought they could get by without a front yard, but the noise from the street is just too much. Maybe the pool is a pain to maintain, and they never use it anyway. Perhaps they're sick of tripping over the steps to the sunken living room. Whatever the reason, homeowners might believe they made a mistake when purchasing their present place and want out.

• The neighborhood might have changed. Perhaps the overall area has developed in a way that's not to the residents' liking. For example, it might have grown too commercial, too busy, too young, or too quiet.

Upgrading the Home

People outgrow their homes in a figurative sense as well. Their careers are flourishing, or they've come into money and can afford a bigger, grander, more-expensive residence. If you’re getting bored of your surroundings, and you think your next step is to renovate your existing home, think again. Depending on whereabouts you live, renovations may only add value to the property to a certain point. After the home reaches the value of other properties in the area, any further renovations are a moot point.

• Some people don't want to put on a new roof, replace the siding, or buy a new furnace, so it's easier to buy a newer home. When you figure that the life of most residential infrastructures is about 15 years, it could make sense to get out before it's time to spend a lot on repairs.

Life Cycle Reasons

As people reach significant milestones in their lives, their residential preferences and needs often change. Work-related relocation makes it necessary to pull up roots, and it doesn't have to be a full-fledged move to another town or state. Many people draw the line at a commute that exceeds a certain distance, especially if it means driving in heavy traffic.

•  Some folks are simply tired of owning a home and would prefer to travel, pursue a hobby, or be less conventional. For these people, homeownership loses its priority status, and selling a home turn into a ticket to realizing dreams.

Changes in Relationships

Moving in with a partner or getting married usually means selling for one or both of the homeowning parties. Conversely, breakups are also a common reason for people to sell homes. One party may need to buy out the other and not have the cash available, the place might not be affordable to sustain on a single income, or the home may simply hold bad memories.

Empty Nest

Downsizing a home is another key reason why empty-nesters move. The kids have grown up and moved out, and now the parents want a smaller place. Plus, the older you get, the harder a big house is to maintain, and the better an apartment or townhouse may look. Physical ailments make it difficult to climb stairs, walk long distances, negotiate narrow spaces, or do yard work. Since refitting can be expensive, it's often more expedient to move to a place with a preferable layout or a condo complex with maintenance staff.

• When half of a couple dies, the survivor may find the home too big or too full of reminders to remain there. Maybe grown children find the familial home impractical to keep after their remaining parent goes. Estate planners often recommend that homeowners transfer title to a property into a trust, which allows their heirs to avoid probate proceedings and sell a home more easily.

SIGNS THAT YOU’RE READY TO SELL YOUR HOME

• You have equity

The most important sign is that you have enough equity in your home. With sufficient equity, the odds are better that you'll leave the closing table with profits in your pocket.

Equity is the difference between what you owe on your mortgage and what your home is worth. The more equity you have, the better. If you owe $150,000 on your loan and your home is worth $250,000, you have $100,000 equity in your home.

Bottom line: Equity allows you to successfully pay off your existing mortgage and apply what’s left over toward a new down payment and moving expenses. If you have enough equity, you may be in a good place to sell.

Determining your equity can take a bit of work. First, look at your most recent mortgage statement to see how much you owe. Next, figure out how much your home is worth today. Don't rely solely on sites such as Zillow — their estimates are often inflated. Instead, call a real estate agent and ask them to perform a market analysis. The agent will compare your home to similar ones that have sold in your area and come up with a market value. Agents shouldn't charge you for this service. They hope, after all, that you'll call them if you do decide to list your home.

You can also hire a professional appraiser to appraise your home. This isn't free, though: You can expect to spend about $300 to $400.

Whatever approach you take, you should get some idea of what your home is worth in today's market. If you have a significant amount of equity — enough to cover the down payment and closing costs on whatever new home you plan to buy — now might be a good time to list your property.

• You have savings

Selling a house isn't cheap. If you want your home to look its best, you might have to hire a stager to clear out rooms and rearrange the furniture. You might need to board your pets so that potential buyers won't hear Fido barking or smell Princess' kitty litter box.

There's also the cost of applying for a new mortgage and buying a new home after selling your current residence. You'll need to pay for movers, come up with a down payment for your new home, and pay for home inspections and an appraisal. It all adds up.

And, yes, you might be counting on the profits from your home sale to pay for most of the expenses of moving to a new house. But some bills you might have to pay before you receive your check from your home sale. So, make sure you've built up enough savings to handle the many expenses that pop up when selling.

• Your credit scores are strong

After you sell, you'll need a solid credit history to qualify for a mortgage for your next home. A strong score also nets you lower interest rates and a lower monthly payment.

Before you list your home, order copies of your three credit reports. You are entitled to a free copy of each of your reports once a year. After you sell, you'll need a solid credit history to qualify for a mortgage for your next home. A strong score also nets you lower interest rates and a lower monthly payment.

Before you list your home, order copies of your three credit reports — one each from Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion — from AnnualCreditReport.com. You are entitled to a free copy of each of your reports once a year.\

If selling your home means buying a new home, and buying a new home means a new mortgage, you’ll want to take a look at your other outside debt — things like car payments, credit card minimum payments, child support, or student loan debt. Lenders will take a look at your whole financial situation using what’s called a debt-to-income ratio to determine if you’ll be approved for a new loan.

• Your home is shrinking

Are you growing your family? Are you running out of space for bedrooms? Does it feel like you're living in a clown car? It might be time to sell. One of the main reasons that owners sell is that they simply outgrow their current living space. If your house no longer fits the need — or size — of your family, it might be a good time to put it on the market.

One often-overlooked expense related to selling your home is the cost of moving. Whether you’ll be moving across town or across the country, you’ll have to keep enough cash on hand to cover things like temporary storage, truck rentals, moving services, and packing supplies.

• You're ready to break those emotional ties

Selling a home is different from living in one. Your real estate agent might recommend that you remove most of your family photos. A stager might suggest that you put a favorite sofa in storage. You might get negative feedback from buyers on the paint in the kitchen and have to make changes.

Can you handle this? Can you take criticism of your home and your style choices and make the changes necessary to sell your home quickly?

If not, you might need to wait before selling. When you've lived a part of — or all of — your life in a certain residence, it's normal to have emotional attachments you aren't ready to part with. But if you are ready to cut those emotional ties to your home, you're ready to make the transition from living in a home to selling it.

A home’s asking price is the most critical factor regarding time on the market. Homes that are reasonably priced relative to their market value attract offers even if they’re not in excellent condition or in a great location. Homes that are overpriced take much longer to sell even if the location is in great and in like-new condition. Overpricing your home will only result in it getting stale and sitting on the market for way too long!