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The Selling Process
Making the decision to sell your home and begin the process can be
very daunting. It's hard to know exactly where to start or what to
expect when selling your home for the first time. You may have friends
or family that can give you the benefit of their experience, unfortunately
that also means you may have to listen to one or two "nightmare" stories.
The process, with a little bit of effort and attention, really should
go smoothly if you're educated, prepared and have a professional agent
guiding you through it. Here are some basic steps outlining the sale
process. I'd be happy to discuss it with you - even if you're not
ready to sell right now.
Here is a summary of the
key steps in the Selling Process:
Step 1: Discuss
your selling needs
Step 2: Choose your listing agent
Step 3: Determine the value of your home
Step 4: Prepare your house for sale
Step 5: Marketing your house
Step 6: Negoitiating and accepting the contract
Step 7: Pre-closing activities
Step 8: Move!
Step
1
When do want to sell? When do you want to move (not always the same
as when you want to sell)? Are you willing/able to do any repairs?
Desired terms of selling besides price, etc… (Back
to Top)
Step 2
Choose your listing agent. See Listing With
An Agent for more information on how to choose an agent, what
agreements you'll fill out with them and what services you can expect
from real estate agents. (Back to Top)
Step 3
Find out what your home is worth with a current Market Analysis. I'm
happy to provide you a complementary Market
Analysis. Just click on the link to fill out the form. Also see
Pricing Your Home for much more information
on this topic. Your agent will assist you in coming to a reasonable
asking price for your home. (Back to Top)
Step 4
The next step is to make your house ready to sell. Try walking through
your house as if you're the buyer. View everything, from the front
door to your bedroom closet through a buyers eyes. Check out a few
open houses in your neighborhood if you really want to get a sense
for the condition and appearance of other homes for sale. Get unbiased
opinions from your friends or your agent. You don't have to do everything
they suggest, it's just nice to have fresh eyes see your home. Get
detailed information on getting your house ready in the
Preparing Your Home for Sale page. (Back to Top)
Step 5
Not only do you need to prepare your home to sell, but you should
also prepare yourself, pets and family for having buyers coming in
and out of your home. For example, if you have a rowdy dog, you may
consider having a friend watch it for a couple weeks. You can generally
set times you'd like people to view your house, but the truth is that
the more viewing hours permitted the more exposure your house will
get. While it isn't necessary that you leave for every showing, buyers
feel more comfortable looking around if you aren't sitting on the
couch watching them. Your agent will also generally set up some times
to have open houses that you usually would not be at.
(Back
to Top)
Step 6
Negotiate and accept the contract. I will assist you in understanding
the pros and cons of particular offers. I will also handle all the
negotiating and paperwork. The buyer's offer will most likely be subject
to an inspection, so you will need to be flexible to let their inspector
come into your home for a few hours. Their offer might also be subject
to them obtaining financing and, in that case, their appraiser may
need to come out to view your home as well. In either case, I will
handle getting them into your home during the day. Part of negotiations
can include doing repairs. In that case, you would need to have someone
do the work (or do it yourself) and then allow the buyer to come back
in to inspect the completed work. (Back to Top)
Step 7
As soon as the purchase and sale agreement is signed by all buyer(s)
and seller(s), escrow is set up and working in the background to get
your transaction ready to close. See The
Closing Process for more information on this process. A few days
before your sale is scheduled to close, you will need to go into escrow
and sign all the necessary documents to transfer title to the Buyer.
You will receive a HUD statement detailing all your costs. See Example
HUD for more information. Once the sale has been recorded with
the County, your check or direct deposit will be delivered to you.
You are finished! (Back to Top)
Step
8
Time to move into your next home! (Back to Top)
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