Real Estate Sellers

If you are thinking of selling your home, chances are you're caught up in a mass of emotions. You may be looking forward to moving up into a new home or facing the uncertainty of a major move across the city, state or even the country. You may be reluctant to leave your memories behind or eager to start new and exciting adventures.

Step 1 - Seek assistance for your sale.

Once you've decided to sell, you'll be thinking about a whole host of details, like how to get your home ready for sale, when to put it on the market, and how much to ask for it, how much time will this take of my daily life, do I understand the terms of a sales
contract.

Step 2 - Prepare the property for sale.

We will make a critical assessment of any needed maintenance or repairs. Hiring a home inspector might be suggested if you and your real estate agent are not comfortable making those assessments on your own. An inspection will probably cost you a few hundred dollars, but its money well spent to keep from being unpleasantly surprised when a buyer has his own inspection done. No one wants to find out that their roof is shot, but at this stage, you can decide if it's worth it to spend the money and fix it or to sell the house as-is, disclose that it needs a new roof and set your price accordingly.

Step 3 - Look through a buyer's eyes

Stand across the street and look at your house as if you're a prospective buyer seeing it for the first time. Talk with me about what types of improvements might be worth making.

Step 4 - Set your price

Many sellers set a price based on the amount of money they need to get out of the deal. That's the kiss of death. It will sit on the market and you become a target of low-ball buyers and scammers. Price it right to sell it fast.

I will help you set your price. I will go over a detailed list of the comparable sales in your area with you. Because I am constantly looking at the homes in your area and I have probably been in many of them, I can accurately evaluate your current properties
value as compared to the other recent sales.

Step 5 - Staging your home

This is the top recommendation of real estate agents for making your house shine to potential buyers as they walk through the front door. A house that shows well always brings in more money. If need be, rent a storage unit and move out any furniture that isn't necessary. People are moving because they need more space; space is what you're selling. The more space you have, the more inviting your house will be.

Step 6 - List and show the property

With everything spiffed up, it's time to take the plunge and tell the world about your house. As your real estate agent, I will implement a marketing campaign and enter your property into the MLS system for your home to start gaining you exposure. Once the house is on the market, I will make sure the home is safely shown to prospective
buyers, but you need to keeping it clean, uncluttered, and smelling fresh. When you have a showing scheduled, turn on the lights and open the drapes. Put out some fresh-baked cookies. Buyers feel much more comfortable looking at a home when the seller isn't standing over their shoulder.

Step 7 - Consider the offers

I am required to present all offers to you from qualified buyers, so even if I thinks it's a bad deal, I have to show it to you. You'll have a short amount of time, often 24 hours, to
respond to an offer. You can decide to accept the offer, reject it, or make a counter offer. A counter offer is when you make an offer of your own. Any offer is a starting point for discussion, and everything in it is negotiable.

Before you accept an offer -- and take your property off the market – I will make sure the buyer has been pre-approved with a bank, and they have shown proof of down payment and the initial deposit. Once both you and the buyer are happy with the terms, it's time to sign on the dotted line.

Step 8 - The Settlement

The closing process involves an attorney or title company representative, the buyer, listing and selling brokers, and oftentimes you, the seller. This important meeting will include the final transaction, which is transferring the home from your possession to the new owner. Make sure you bring all equipment warranties, instructions, and maintenance or operation information to hand over to the new owners.

Congratulations! You just sold your house!