Putting your home on the market can be a stressful process, especially when you don’t know what to expect. Fortunately, with the help of an experienced agent and this easy to follow guide, you can smoothly complete the process. Following these steps will help you prepare so you can get organized and sell your home for the best price possible.​​​​​​​
What do you want to accomplish with the sale of your home? Do you want to make a certain amount of money that you can put toward a larger or nicer home? Do you need to sell it as soon as possible to facilitate a move to a new city or area? Once you understand your needs, you can better craft your offer. For example, if you need to sell quickly, you might want to price your home lower than if your goal is to make a certain profit margin. Make sure you convey these needs to your real estate agent once you choose one so he or she can adjust your selling price accordingly.
Knowing how to price your home is one of the most important parts of the selling process. When you set a fair price in the beginning, you’ll get the most interest from other real estate agents and prospective buyers. Overpricing your home could lead to reduced interest, and underpricing leads to receiving less than what your home is worth. Working with a real estate agent is the best way to determine the right selling price for your home. An agent with experience can determine what other comparable homes are selling for, evaluate the current market, and may even suggest a home appraisal.
If you’ve kept your home in showroom condition since you’ve lived in it, you’re in the minority of homeowners. Once you price your home, it’s time to start getting it ready to be shown to potential buyers. This includes getting rid of clutter, depersonalizing the space so that buyers can envision themselves in the space, making any small repairs, and doing a deep clean to make sure your home is in pristine condition.
I will develop a marketing strategy that is perfect for advertising your home. This involves listing the home and then driving the right people to that listing through social media campaigns, agent-to-agent referrals, traditional media, or SEO advertising. My team creates a marketing campaign that aims to get the most possible traffic to your listing in the first three weeks after becoming a client.
Receiving an offer is an exciting part of the process, but it doesn’t mean the journey is over. I will evaluate each offer and make sure the party making the offer is prequalified or pre-approved by a mortgage lender and that their offer is acceptable to you. If the offer is too low, you can make a counter-offer or offer other ways to bridge the gap, such as covering some or all of the closing costs, making repairs, adjusting the move-in date, or leaving some appliances or fixtures for the new buyer.
Once we mutually deem the offer is acceptable, we will go under contract. I will make sure that everything in the contract is in order and includes the necessary components such as earnest money amount, down payment (in the event the offer is financed), closing date, and various contingencies if applicable. Ensuing acceptance, the attorney review/inspection period will start and the buyer will deliver the first of two earnest deposits to one of my offices.
Now that you have an accepted offer, the second round of negotiations start. During this period, the attorneys will sometimes make modifications to the contract, especially after the inspection report is in for the buyer's side. These modifications typically include the negotiation of the pro-rated real estate tax amount, credits, and making changes to the verbiage in the contract. Once the attorney review period has concluded for financed offers, I will meet the appraiser at the property in order to provide comps that justify the price that we went under contract at. If the agreed upon offer price is deemed appropriate by the appraiser, we then wait for the buyer to procure the finalized mortgage. The last step prior to closing is the final walk-through. At this point, the buyer is making sure that all HVAC components, appliances, and additional features of the property are in working order.
You've reached the last step in the seller's process. When you close on a home you're selling, you are legally transferring ownership of the property to the new buyer. The attorney will now verify that all paperwork is in order at the title company and have you sign off on various documents. During this time, I can help you cancel utilities and various other services that are linked to your home.
Once you have sold your home, you’re free to take the next step on your journey. Whether this is relocating to a new city, moving into a larger home, or downsizing and enjoying your life as empty-nesters, knowing all your selling responsibilities have been taken care of will help you achieve peace of mind for your new path.
Whether you're looking to buy, sell, lease, or invest, Zachary is the broker for you. If you're interested in contacting Zachary for your next residential real estate endeavor(s), please reach out to him by phone or email. He looks forward to connecting with you!
