The Selling Process

While no two homes are the same, the process of selling a home typically follows a similar path. There are two different stages of the selling process that I will cover, one is before an offer is accepted on your home, and the other is what takes place after you home is under contract.

Getting Ready to Sell.
There are many things a homeowner can do to get their home ready to sell. It starts with the basics of cleaning, organizing, and making the home presentable in the best way possible. This may include rearranging furniture, landscaping, painting, and minor fixes, and can extend to major renovations in order to maximize your sales price. I will look at your home and offer suggestions.

Pre-Listing Inspection.
One great tip in getting your home ready to sell is to have your home inspected. The buyer is going to have your home inspected and often times the seller is surprised when they see the report of what the inspector discovered. Why not eliminate or disclose these surprises in the beginning rather than saving them until later and potentially negotiating a lower price, or losing your buyer altogether?

Market Analysis.
Every seller has an idea of what there home is worth. They all use different formulas such as what they paid for the house, plus renovations and improvements, plus what they think they should make, minus their closing costs. Likewise, buyers have a formula they use to determine what a house is worth, and it is based on the current market of homes that are similar and recently sold. I provide my clients with a market analysis based on recent comparable sold properties to show them what buyers in the current market should be willing to pay for their home. Sometimes this is better than they expected, and other times it is not as much as they would like. Ultimately it is the client's decision on what to set the sales price at, however buyers are rarely in the market to overpay for a home, in fact, most buyers are looking for a deal, or at least a fair price.

Staging/Repair Ideas.
I will walk through your home with my "buyer's eyes" and point out what turns buyers on, and what turns them off. Some of these will be simple staging or arranging ideas, and others will be touchups and minor fixes. Typically sellers are competing with many other properties and your home only gets one "first impression" so it's best to present your home in the best light possible.

Listing Paperwork.
I will prepare all the contracts necessary to list your home. You can view a sample of the listing contract on my Resources Page. Once the listing paperwork is completed and signed, I will begin marketing your home for sale. The Seller's Disclosure Notice is considered part of the listing agreement also, and you can find a copy of it on my Resources Page, too.

Marketing Your Home.
There are various ways to attract buyers to your home. I use a combination of internet and print marketing, along with networking and the Multiple Listing System (MLS.) I will go into greater detail of the marketing techniques I will use to market your home in person, and tailor it to your home's needs.

Showing Your Home.
I use an appointment service that allows real estate agents to bring their clients to view your home without me being present. This allows a greater opportunity for more showings rather than agents having to contact me to gain access to your home. Agents call a call center and tell the customer service representative when they would like to view your home. Depending on how the appointments are set up, you will receive a notification call of the showing. Another convenience is the use of the electronic keybox. Subscribing real estate agents have keycards that work with my keyboxes that allow them to access a key to your home without either of us being there. The keyboxes are electronic and track everyone that accesses your key. It is best that your home be ready at all times for showings so that all appointments can be granted, and it is also best that you not be home during the showing. Buyers tend to be very timid or uncomfortable if the homeowner is present during the showing.

Contract Negotiations.
Once we have found an interested buyer, they will submit an offer to purchase your home. The form they will most likely be using can be found on my Resource Page. I will present all offers received and we will discuss the different negotiating strategies and we will do one of two things, either accept the offer or counter the offer, I am not a fan of completely rejecting offers. All negotiations are done in writing, so just as the buyer submitted their offer in writing, our response will be in a similar manner.

Once Your Home is Under Contract

Executed Contract. Once everyone has agreed on all the terms of the contract, the contract is considered executed. The timelines within the contract start based on the executed date.

Property Inspection. Almost immediately the buyer will hire their own inspector to inspect your home, even if you provided them with a copy of your inspection report. Although each inspector may find different things, the major items should have already shown up on the Pre-Listing Inspection report and your Seller's Disclosure Notice.

Repair Request.
Depending on whether or not a Pre-Listing Inspection was done, the buyer may come back to the seller to request repairs, or credits off the sales price to compensate for the newly discovered repair issues. This is why I am a strong believer in getting a Pre-Listing Inspection to eliminate these surprise requests.

Homeowners' Association Documents.
If your home is located within a mandatory homeowners' association there is a timeline within the contract that the seller must provide certain information about the association to the buyer. I will provide you with the forms necessary to request this information and facilitate getting the documents to the buyer within the allotted time.

Title Work.
The title company facilitates the transfer of title of your home to the new owner. They research the past ownership, work with the buyers lender on preparing documents, request a payoff from your current mortgage company, and put all the numbers together for the closing date.

Closing.
At closing the entire process comes to an end and the buyer and seller review all the numbers related to the sale. They sign all the necessary documents to transfer title of the property to the new owner. The contract stated when possession would take place, either before, at, or after the closing date.

This is a basic rundown of the process. There can be many twists and turns along the way, but rest assured that I will be there during the entire process. You may also want to review the Buying Process on my Buyers Page to see what the buyer will be doing to better prepare yourself for the selling process.

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