Selling Your Home
Selling a home can be both exciting and overwhelming, whether it’s your first time or you’ve sold property before. To get the best possible outcome, it’s crucial to understand the market, price your home competitively, and showcase its value. But navigating the complexities of selling on your own can be challenging – you need a trusted expert to guide you through the process. Below is some helpful information to guide you through the selling process. If you have ANY questions about selling your home or the local market, don’t hesitate to reach out.
Learn About Our9 Step Home Selling Process
Pre-walk and Staging.
When you are ready to put your home on the market, we like to set up an appointment to come by and do a walk-through with you. This appointment is very important. We need to gather information about any upgrades, remodels, or any new features you’ve completed. We can also give you tips on how to stage your home and anything needed to make it more appealing to a buyer. Getting the home properly prepared for photos, video and marketing is essential. We only get one first impression!
Strategic Statistical Pricing Exercise.
After our initial appointment, we will begin analyzing the market and put a report together to determine our pricing strategy for the current market conditions. The industry term for this a CMA (comparative market analysis), but we do a deeper dive and it includes our SSPE process. We will also begin our marketing plan for your home.
Completing the paperwork.
We will prepare a listing agreement and determine the date you want to put it on the market. At this time, we will also go over showing restrictions, utility information and review and sign other necessary documentation such as the seller disclosure and lockbox addendum.
Marketing.
Once we complete the paperwork, it’s time to conduct a marketing plan. Effective marketing and a robust internet presence are the main focus. We will determine a date and time for a photography/video appointment that fits your schedule. Once photos are completed, we begin advertising our “coming soon” campaign on social media platforms and start printing marketing materials.
Get it listed!
Once the marketing plan is complete, we will list your home on the multiple listing system and get it active quickly.
Responding to the Market.
Once we are active, we will begin listening and responding to the market accordingly. We will ask all showing agents and buyers from open houses for feedback on the home and take their recommendations into consideration. If multiple buyers are commenting on a bad pet smell or saying that our asking price being too high, we can discuss our options and make adjustments accordingly. During tough market conditions I will make recommendations to position yourself competitively and strategically to get your home sold quickly, for a good price.
Negotiating the Contract.
Once we receive an offer, it will be a process of analyzing all of the terms, determining our counter and coming to a final agreement. We typically have 24 hours to respond to an offer, however in a tight market buyers may ask for a quicker response time.
Coordinating the Sale.
There is a highly involved process of coordinating the transaction from contract-to-close. This includes an appraisal, inspections, quotes and repairs, loan approval, survey, title work, etc. Our team transaction coordinator is trained to provide you the best customer service from this point forward. The coordinator is in charge of keeping track of contract timeframe, scheduling appointments, sending necessary documents for signatures, following up with lenders and providing all the closing-day information.
Closing.
Prepare yourself to sign documents and collect your check, it’s closing day! Buyers will typically do a walk-through the day before or day of closing and it’s important to have the home free and clear of all personal items. Closing should take approximately 1 hour but we recommend blocking at least 3 hours out of your day. You will be signing documents and collecting your check. Please bring two sets of identification, any and all extra sets of keys, garage door openers or important items the buyer will need to make it a smooth and easy transition into their new home.
Common Seller Questions
Unlike many agents who provide a Market Value, we believe there is no "exact value" of your home, as it is a subjective answer to an objective question, and a home is "worth" what a buyer is willing to pay and what a seller is willing to sell for. That being said, traditionally and appraiser or agent will look at past sales and make adjustments to arrive at a value. We take it a step deeper. We look at pricing from a positioning exercise, which includes sold data, but also recent pending contracts data, active competition and the market conditions. We use our Strategic Statistical Price Positioning Exercise to help our clients understand the RANGE of values.
Addressing major repairs can make your home more marketable and potentially increase its value. However, consider the return on investment for each repair or upgrade to ensure it's worth the cost. We typically recommend the 4 KEY things to prep your home: CLEAN, CLEAR THE CLUTTER, PAINT when necessary, and MAKE REPAIRS AND UPDATES for any obvious repair concerns that might deter a buyer.
The time it takes to sell can vary widely based on market conditions, location, and the price postition we determine makes sense for your personal situation. We can give you a realistic timeline based on current trends. We've sold homes off market without any time on the market, over the first weekend, or (when we have a seller who isn't in a hurry and wants to test higher) it can take longer.
Spring and summer are traditionally seen as the best times to sell due to higher buyer activity, but the best time also depends on your goals, your timing, and the current market conditions. Buyers move all year long because life changes all year long: jobs, family needs, downsizing, upsizing, relocations, divorce, retirement, and lifestyle changes do not wait for one perfect season. Spring and summer may bring more activity, but they can also bring more competition, while fall and winter may have fewer buyers but often more serious ones. Instead of trying to “time the market” perfectly, the smarter approach is to understand the market you are entering. We look at inventory, buyer demand, interest rates, competition, days on market, and your personal goals to create a strategy that helps your home stand out when the timing is right for you.
Declutter, deep clean, and stage your home to make it appealing to buyers. If you can, open all the blinds, turn on all the lights, and remove any evidence of pets. Highlight its best features and ensure it's well-maintained for every showing.
Closing costs are fees associated with completing a real estate transaction. Both buyers and sellers have costs, but the specific expenses and who pays what can vary by contract and region. We will guide you through the customary costs, and discuss what is negotiable, and what is fixed.
It's best to leave your home during showings and open houses. Buyers feel more comfortable exploring and discussing the property without the seller present. The more comfortable the buyers are, the easier they can relax to envision themselves in the home.
We review each offer carefully, considering not only the price but also the terms and the buyer's financial qualifications. We can help you negotiate and decide which offer is best.
If the appraisal comes in low, we can negotiate with the buyer to meet at a revised price, have the buyer make up some or all of the difference, or choose to lower the selling price to the appraised value.
Pricing it competitively, ensuring it's in good condition, and marketing it effectively are key strategies. Consider professional staging and high-quality photos to showcase your home's best features.