Step 1: Deciding to Sell Your Home
The first thing people think of when wanting to sell their home is finding an agent and listing their house. While this is a very important cog in the process, there are a few things home sellers should do before moving to that step
Deciding on an Appropriate Time Frame
The very first thing potential home sellers should do is decide a time frame that will work to meet their selling goals. The time frame of a seller often contributes to the price that they will need to list the home for (the shorter the time frame, the lower the price).
Evaluating Your Finances and Creating Your Budget
An important factor for determining the ultimate price and timeline for selling a home is your financial situation and the budget you set. Every homeowner should have a financial plan when it comes to selling their home.
Collecting Key Documents
Home sellers will need their mortgage, insurance, survey, square footage sketch, and title on hand to facilitate the sale of their home.
Step 2: Finding Professional Representation
The next step to selling your home is finding an experienced real estate professional to help you get the most for your home. Given your time is valuable, using professional representation can add significant value to your home-selling process. Our agents will provide helpful advice to make your home look great, command multiple offers, and sell quickly. Our agents are trained and experienced to ensure your closing process runs smoothly. Our agents represent some of the best professionals in the residential space and we invite you to learn more about them below.
Step 3: Establishing the List Price
The list price you set for your home will be a very important factor in determining not only how much your home sells for, but also how long your home will stay on the market. It is very important to consult with your real estate professional about recent sales in your area when determining the optimal price point for your home. There are many factors that determine how much you will get for your home including market conditions, home competition, interest rates, physical condition, and the home’s location/qualities.
Step 4: Preparing Your Home
Many people believe that the work stops when the house is listed for sale, but preparing your home for potential buyers to see is a must if you want to get the most for your home. Preparing your home for sale can often be a daunting task depending on the physical condition, placement of furniture, and attention to detail kept in the home. Given a tour of your home is often the first and/or last impression of your home, attention to detail is important. Preparing your home involves repairing and replacing necessary items, cleaning and organizing, then staging your home in a professional manner before capturing it via professional photographer.
Furniture Removal
Furniture removal can be challenging as many sellers love pieces in their homes. Importantly, it is time to appeal to the masses, which means creating more space in the home for better flow and allowing a future owner to envision the space. A professional agent may suggest removing bulky furniture, removing excess furniture, and/or eclectic art pieces. The agent is focused on the flow of the rooms and strategic furniture placement such that a potential buyer can immediately envision their furniture in the space without distraction.
Simplistic Declutter
Decluttering space helps sell homes. Decluttering kitchen cabinets and simplifying bathroom countertops or garage space helps show attention to detail.
Detailed Cleanup
After all preparations, furniture removal, and decluttering has taken place, have your home professionally cleaned just prior to listing. Hiring a cleaning crew to make sure surfaces, floors, and windows are clean shows great attention to detail. Other small details include making sure doors do not stick and door locks latch smoothly.
Focused Staging
Staging is one area where professional agents can differ drastically. The best way to gauge an agent’s preparations and ability to stage a home is to look at before and after photos. It is important to hire a professional agent that will command a space appropriately and draw a potential buyer’s eye to the right locations quickly.
Professional Photography
Your agent should hire a professional photographer after the work above has been performed and the home is ready to be listed. Photos are designed to draw in the masses. The multiple listing service (MLS) system will only show one photo initially. The main photo must be inviting enough to interest a potential buyer to look at more. Taking great photos of your home is a necessary step.
Step 5: Marketing Your Home
Marketing your home is intended to provide as much exposure to interested parties in the market as possible. By marketing your home professionally, you are substantially increasing your chances of receiving multiple offers and selling quickly.
Benefits of Marketing Your Home with an Agent
There are many benefits to using an experienced agent in helping to sell your home. While the below list is a sample of benefits, many local agents will provide a number of specialized services well beyond the following items. Experienced real estate professionals are able to:
- Provide preparation plans.
- Recommend items to repair and/or replace.
- Professionally stage your home to appeal to the masses.
- Hire a professional photographer.
- List your home on the local Multiple Listing Service (MLS) and make sure it receives maximum exposure.
- Market your home to all company agents.
- Connect with all other brokers and agents who work with buyers in the area.
- Seek and respond to market feedback from potential buyers to improve your listing.
- Conduct an open house to draw attention to your home.
- Professionally negotiate the business terms of the sale without emotion.
- Guide you through all closing steps and paperwork requirements.
- Create online real-estate tours with Cinemagraphs, Social Tools, Lead Capture, and Custom Video.
Step 6: Showing Your Home
Your home now looks great and photos came out nice. Now it is time to show your home to interested parties. Consider some of the below ideas to leave a lasting impression:
- Leave fresh vacuum lines in the carpet.
- Turn on all lights including lamps – allows interested parties to immediately look at the space and not fumble for light switches.
- Leave closet doors slightly open to invite potential buyers to walk into all rooms. Make sure they do not miss a room you want them to see.
- Invite a buyer to sit down on the couch and watch TV by turning on music and letting them relax.
- Leave a movie theater turned on with a movie playing and/or popcorn set out.
- Make sure to leave the home 15-20 minutes prior to the showing time.
- Remove or safely secure valuables, medications, and other important items.
- Avoid setting an alarm. The simpler the showing instructions for the buying agent, the better.
Market Feedback
You spent years living in your home and many hours and money getting it ready for sale. It is time to request and review market feedback after showings. Your professional agent will likely use a showing service that enables showing agents to provide feedback directly to you. If multiple potential buyers comment about a similar item, room, distraction, or challenge, try to address or mitigate those items quickly. It is important to modify and adapt your home to continue attracting as many interested parties as quickly as possible.
Step 7: Negotiating Offers
If you have followed all of the steps up to this point, you are probably well on your way to a smooth real estate transaction. Receiving an offer on your home is an exciting moment. However, negotiating offers can be the most complex part of the process. Professionally negotiating your price and terms are essential if you want to maximize your return and meet all of your goals. It is important to evaluate a number of items including: the purchase price, loan amount, closing date, earnest money, option period details, title policy details, residential service contract details, potential appraisal concerns, and leaseback timeframes, just to name a few. Professional agents can drastically differ in this area, make sure to align yourself with an experienced mind capable of explaining his or her client’s positions and defending them strongly.
The Counter Offer
Negotiating offers can result in one of three situations from a seller: approving and accepting all terms, declining an offer, or submitting a counter offer (also known as declining the original offer). Your real estate professional can give you advice on how to negotiate the terms and where to be firm or open to compromise in an effort to maximize your goals.
Step 8: Closing
You are nearing the finish line. You can almost taste the sale. Now the final details of the closing process remain. This is a formal process of researching title, hiring third parties, and exchanging various closing documents among the lender and title company. Your professional real estate agent will discuss everything that will be expected of you prior to the closing date.
Documentation
You will be required to provide documentation such as:
- The executed sales contract.
- Mortgage payoff details.
- Forwarding address and new contact information.
- Private information including social security numbers.
- Homeowner Association/Condo Association information.
- Existing survey.
- Seller’s disclosure.
Closing Date
Once you reach the closing date, you have reached the finish line. You will need to bring:
- A valid and unexpired photo ID.
- Certified funds via cashier’s check, if anything is owed.
- Bank account information or voided check for electronic wire of remaining sale proceeds.
- Appropriate selling parties on the contract shall go to the title company in person, unless an acceptable Power of Attorney has been signed by one party to the other as approved by both lender and title company, or a mobile closing or mail out closing is taking place.
