10 steps to effectively sell
your home
It
is important to set out in writing the reasons
that are motivating you to sell your current
home. You might ask yourself, "Why am I
selling my home and what do I expect to
accomplish?" If you have a growing family
and you need more space you may be under less
pressure to get your house ready to sell than
if you were, let's say, moving to a new city
due to career opportunity.
Explore
your short and long term goals and decide how
selling your house fits into those goals. Your
agent will identify all of the variables
within your individual goals and how best to
achieve them in your local real estate market.
Your real estate agent will apply his or her
expert knowledge to your particular needs and
set a realistic time frame for the process to
proceed. This will help you to establish a
time management path for selling your home.
Your
next objective is to consult with your real
estate agent to determine the best possible
selling price of your home. You will need to
take into account the state of the local
market, the condition of your home, and sales
of comparable homes in your neighborhood. He
or she will create a comparative market
analysis by taking into consideration the type
of market you are in and recent sales of
comparable properties. Your agent will then
guide you to the best fair market price that
will help sell your home within your desired
time frame. Usually, real estate agents have a
clearer and more objective sense of market
value than anyone else- including appraisers!
Often,
it can be hard for you, as a seller, to also
maintain objectivity, so remember to be
reasonable about the price you set. You will
always be better off setting a fair market
value price than setting your price high
expecting that someone will come along and be
willing to pay it. If your home stays on the
market too long because it is overpriced,
potential buyers may think that something is
wrong with it and you may end up selling it
for less than what you could have gotten if
you had started out with a realistic asking
price.
It's
time to get your home in "showing and
selling" condition. Most of us don't keep
our homes in the condition it would need to be
in to sell. Over the years those boxes in the
corner of the garage just seem to multiply on
their own. Things have broken that we just
never get around to fixing and some things
have just worn out. We just accept the fact
that they will always be this way. It is this
frame of mind that you have to break out of in
order to get your house ready to show. How
your home looks will have an immense impact on
how quickly it sells and whether or not you
get full market value for it.
First
impressions are very important and you only
get to make one. Your real estate agent, who
is interacting in the marketplace every day,
can assist you in approaching your home from
the buyer's standpoint. What needs to be
changed to make a good first impression? This
may mean that all you do is prune the trees
and shrubs. On the other hand, it may mean
that you completely repaint the house, inside
and out. Do a "curb to door" check.
Give the potential buyers a clear path to
enter the home. The fewer obstacles between
the buyer and the true appeal of your home the
better. Keep in mind that over time we become
accustomed to our surroundings. What's normal
for you may be detrimental to the buyer.
Make
your home look as spacious as possible.
Organize your closets and kitchen cabinets,
and if you have things stored in the attic or
basement, make sure they are presentable. If
you are showing during the day, pull back your
curtains and drapes to show how bright and
cheery your home is. If you are showing at
night, turn on all of the lights to create a
warm and welcoming environment for the
prospective buyers. A home that is marked with
your personality and style may be harder to
sell. You might even consider such things as
removing obvious clues to your political
affiliation and tucking away any biased
literature that may be visible. This will
reduce distractions and help the buyers to
visualize the home as their own.
Now
that your home is ready, it's time to put it
up for sale and market it. Establishing a
marketing strategy with your real estate agent
is a must. Your agent will expose your home to
the most potential buyers possible using a
marketing plan that will have the highest
possibility of bringing not only the most
buyers, but also the most qualified buyers, to
your doorstep.
There
are many different ways to get the word out
there that your home is for sale. A yard sign,
flyers, and direct marketing are just a few of
the many options available. If you are in a
buyer's market you will have to be extra
careful when choosing a plan. You don't want
your home to sit with no one showing interest.
You and your agent should structure your
marketing strategy so that the first 3-6 weeks
that your house is on the market will be the
busiest.
When
a buyer decides to buy your home, an offer
will be presented. Your real estate agent will
advise you as to whether or not the
prospective buyer is qualified to purchase
your home. After all, there is no reason to
review an offer if the person(s) making it
will not be able to actually buy your home.
You
and your real estate agent will then review
the written document, taking care to note what
is required of both parties to execute the
transaction. The contract should protect the
best interests of all parties involved and
should be comprehensive in nature.
Once
you accept the contract, it may be too late to
make any changes. The contract, though not
limited to this list, should include the
following:
A legal description of the property
The offering price
The down payment
Financing arrangements
A list of fees and who will pay them
Amount of the deposit
Inspection rights and possible repair
allowances
The method of conveying the title and who
will handle the closing
A list of appliances and furnishings which
will stay with the home
The settlement date
Any relevant contingencies
Remember
that the legalities of this phase are very
important. If you have any questions or
concerns, be certain to address them with your
real estate agent right away.
Most
offers to purchase your home will require some
level of negotiation to come to a win-win
agreement. Your real estate agent is well
versed on the legalities of the real estate
contract used in your area and will handle the
responsibility of protecting your best
interest throughout these negotiations. In
addition, your agent has a thorough
understanding of the contract itself,
including what each contract clause means to
you and your buyer, what you will net from the
sale of your home, and what areas in the
contract lend themselves easiest to
negotiation. Your agent will review the
written offer with you to make sure that you
thoroughly understand what the buyers are
offering and what they are asking in return.
Some
of the items that you may have to negotiate
are:
The price
Financing
Closing costs
Repairs that need to be done
Appliances and fixtures
Landscaping
Painting
Occupancy time frame
To
really gain some insight into why potential
buyers are pursuing the purchase of your home
and how they might proceed in the
negotiations, it is also important to know as
much about the buyer as possible, especially
their motivation for buying. Once both parties
have reached a point where the deal is
acceptable, your agent will be certain that
you have a legally executable contract.
Once
you have accepted an offer to sell your home,
your real estate agent will inform you of all
the procedures involved in order to proceed
successfully to closing, as well as the
parties responsible for completing those
procedures and estimates of completion. For
instance, the property may need to be formally
appraised, surveyed, inspected or repaired.
Depending on the specifics reached during the
negotiations, you may pay for all, some, or
none of these items.
Your
agent will then coordinate with all the
parties and keep you informed as to the
results of the various procedures. If each
procedure returns acceptable results as
defined by the contract, then the sale may
continue. If there are problems with the
property the terms set forth in the contract
will dictate your next step. Depending on the
contract, you or the buyer may decide to walk
away, open a new round of negotiations, or
close. Your agent will advise you throughout
this process and will help you coordinate any
actions you must take to keep the sale moving
forward.
There
are some sales that go smoothly and some that
require a lot of work to get to the closing
table. Until you get into it, you won't know
which one you have on your hands. Either way,
your agent will be there with you every step
of the way.
A
few days before the closing, your real estate
agent will contact the entity closing the
transaction. He or she will make sure that all
of the necessary forms and documents have been
prepared and are going to be available for you
to sign on the appropriate date. Your agent
will also contact each party to the
transaction to be certain that they have taken
all actions necessary for closing, so the
entire closing can proceed on the date and
time planned.
Your
agent will also prepare you in advance for the
process of the closing, advising you of any
documents you must bring to the closing, how
much time to block off for the closing, and
any other information that is pertinent to the
closing meeting itself.
"Closing"
refers to the meeting where ownership of the
property is legally transferred to the buyer.
Your real estate agent will be present during
the closing to help explain the process and
forms to you and make sure everything goes as
planned. By being present during the closing,
he or she can mediate any last minute issues
that may arise.
As
the seller, you will need to be prepared to
give over any necessary documentation
regarding the property and, depending on the
arrangements made during negotiations, you may
be required to have done something specific in
order to close.
Be
sure to read all the documents and ask any
questions you may have. It is important that
you understand every document you are signing.
Congratulations
on the successful sale of your home!
Hopefully,
everything went smoothly and you will be
vacating your house in the time frame that you
had anticipated. Your real estate agent will
help you create a checklist of all the things
you will need to do to turn the property over
to the new owners. You will need to make sure
that all of the local services (i.e.
electricity, gas, lawn care, cable, etc.) have
been cancelled or, if the new owner is going
to retain some of the services, the name for
the account should be changed. The property
and anything assigned to the buyer according
to the contract should be prepared
appropriately for the new owners. This will
make the transition as smooth and effortless
as possible.