7
Steps to selling a home
Step 1: Find a good real
estate agent
Selling real estate can be a
difficult and time-consuming process. We can help you make good
decisions during the entire selling process. When we represent you
as a seller's agent, you can be assured that we provide you with years of
sales and marketing experience focusing on you and your needs through the
entire transaction. Selling your home will be enjoyable and
stress-free.
We will discuss the
following at our first meeting:
-
discuss the real estate services we
will perform as your seller's agent
-
the listing price and
terms
-
Items that will go with
the house.
-
Items that will NOT go
with the house
-
Special instructions you
might have when showing your home.
Step 2: What you should
ask for your home
When we become your seller's
agent we will perform a Comparable Market Analysis on your home.
This shows you the homes that are similar to yours and what they have sold
for recently, or homes that are currently on the market. When
deciding on a price, think about how long you are willing to wait before
getting an offer from a buyer. The price you choose will influence
how long it takes to sell your home.
Consider the following when
selecting a listing price:
- Current market conditions
- The competition
- Recent home sales
- Your motivation
Step 3: The Marketing
Plan
The marketing objective is
to sell your home at a reasonable and fair price, but the highest price
possible in the shortest possible time. We will work with you to do
the following:
-
Set a listing price for
your real estate property.
-
Discuss how to prepare
your home for showing. See Getting your house ready
to sell.
-
List your home in the
Multiple Listing Service.
-
Determine the best
avenue for advertising. (Newspaper, real estate magazines, and
placement on the Internet.)
-
Take pictures of your
home.
-
Answer all of your
questions.
Step 4: Get
your house ready to sell.
Due to the process involved
in getting your house ready to sell, we have dedicated a whole page on
this step. Please click
here to load the page.
Step 5: Receiving and
Negotiating an offer
When a buyer makes an offer
on your home their agent will present the offer to us; and we will in turn
present it to you. We will find out what the current status is on
the buyer's loan and other financial information to help with making a
decision on whether or not to accept the offer. You have the right
to accept, reject or re-negotiate the offer. When the agreement is
signed by both the buyer and you, the seller, the agreement becomes a
contract. At that time we will place your home as a pending sale.
Step 6: Pre-closing
The buyer will more than
likely want to hire a Property Inspector to check the condition of your
house. Allow about 2 hours for
the inspection and it is better if you leave while the inspection is
taking place. After the inspection there may or may not be some
items that the buyer will want you to take care of prior to closing.
The contract states that you
agree to provide the buyer with a Title Policy to insure clear and clean
title. We will arrange for the Title company to issue a Title commitment.
The buyer's lender will
require an appraisal to be performed to determine the value of your
home. The appraisal is paid for by the buyer.
All mortgage lenders require
a survey of the property prior to closing. The survey confirms that the
property's boundaries are as described in the purchase agreement.
The survey is paid for by the buyer.
Step 7: Final
walk-through and closing
The buyer will want to walk
through the home one more time before closing to be assured that
everything is in working order and in the same condition as when the
contract was signed.
Generally, prior to closing,
you will be provided with the final figures so that we can request any
changes if necessary.
Generally, on the day of
closing, the property belongs to the buyers once funds have been dispersed.
It is customary to provide the buyer with one key at closing and leave the
rest in the house.
