7 Steps To A Successful Home Sale
If you’re selling your home, you’ll want to learn the steps to a successful home sale in the Tri-Cities area. Take a moment to read this through and you’ll know just what to expect, from the time you first contact me to your nostalgic goodbye to your home – and your completion of a real estate transaction navigated successfully.
Step 1 – Setting the PriceFirst of all, if we haven’t worked together before, we will both want to make sure that I am the Realtor® you should list your home with. It’s important to find a Realtor you feel comfortable confiding in and whose advice you know you can trust.
When selling your home, setting the right price is a matter of extreme importance. You should feel good about the asking price you set. And you should also know it is my policy not to accept a listing I feel is incorrectly priced. (Agreeing to list an overpriced house just to get the listing would hurt both you and me. You can read Pricing Your Home for Sale to see details about the not-so-easy task of setting the right asking price for your home.)
When we feel good about working together AND the asking price, we will we go over and complete an agreement that sets forth my Agency Status and covers our obligations to each other. We will also complete an Agreement to Market Property setting forth the price, terms, and conditions for the sale of your property. We will go over a Property Condition Disclosure Statement and an Exemption, one of which you will be required to provide for any buyer.
Step 2 – Preparing to Show
Once priced, the most important factor is proper preparation. Believe it or not, this is when a sale is really made. We must put your home for sale in front of as many prospects as possible, doing all we can to make sure they will like what they see.
We both have work to do here. I must take pictures and gather necessary information to prepare a Virtual Home Tour of your home for the Internet, a most important marketing tool since that’s where 3 out of every 4 buyers begin their search for a new home. Your Home Tour will not only be shown on my 3CityHomes.com web site but also on www.mouse-house-tour.com, a well-established site that attracts thousands of viewers from across the nation. Your home will also be included in the MLS listings. The pictures and information will also be used for any sales brochures and/or other advertising.
There are a number of things you can and should do to help sell your home quickly and at the best price. It’s easy to convince yourself that some are too much trouble and won’t make any difference but, believe me, it’s often the little things that make or break a sale. It will be well worth your time to read the suggestions you will find at Cosmetic Improvements Help Sell Your Home and Staging Your Home.
Step 3 – Showing Your Home
If your home is priced right, we should soon have prospects that want to see it first-hand. Showings will be arranged at your convenience. You can brush up on ways to make every showing the best possible at Showing Your Home and be sure you Remove Your Treasures.
We will want to make it as easy as possible for prospective buyers to see your home. I will contact you after each showing to give you any feedback that may have been received.
Step 4 – Accepting an Offer
You will be presented with all offers. Before deciding to accept, reject, or make a counter offer, we will go over the price offered and any contingencies and/or other conditions. Often those contingencies and other conditions make an offer more or less desirable.
Some negotiation involving counter offers is not unusual, but we should soon be able to arrive at an offer you want to accept. Final agreement will be evidenced by a PURCHASE AND SALE AGREEMENT signed by both you and the buyer.
Step 5 – Preparing for the Closing
Once the PURCHASE AND SALE AGREEMENT is official, we will want to make sure you and the buyer meet all the requirements for a successful on-time closing. We will want to verify that the buyer has final loan approval and will have sufficient funds to complete the sale.
The Seller is normally responsible for providing a Wood Destroying Insect Infestation Inspection Report, so arrangements for a chartered commercial pest control operator to inspect the property should be made as soon as possible. It will be your responsibility to have any reported infestation treated.
The buyer will most likely have a qualified home inspector inspect your property. If possible, you should be there during the home inspection so you can help in any way you can and see first hand any repairs the Seller might ask you to take care of. Then you will need to see that all required repairs are successfully completed.
In anticipation of the “walk-through” where the buyer makes his final inspection of the property, you should have everything clean and in good condition, just as you would want if you were the buyer.
Now is the time to think about taking care of things in anticipation of your move. It’s a good idea to contact movers well in advance. Transition will be more convenient when utilities are turned off by the party moving out and then immediately on by the party moving in. Of course, there are telephone and TV services to take care of, and don’t forget about changes in your insurance as well as giving your new address to family, friends, magazines, and others with whom you do business.
Step 6 – The Closing
The closing will normally take place at the closing agent’s office (i.e. attorney, Title Company, etc.) In case you and/or the Buyer are out of state and cannot be present, notarized documents can be shipped. Prior to the closing, the closing agent will provide a copy of the closing statement for our review. This statement will detail the dollars involved in the closing.
The attorney will go over the closing costs and all of the documents that must be signed, answering any questions you may have. Important documents related to your sale of the property should be kept in a safe place.
Step 7 – Moving
Your home has been sold and it’s time to move. Arrange to leave everything neat and clean, just as you’d like to find your new residence. It is disappointing when a new owner is met with a mess to be cleaned up before they can move in.
A move is always hard but it will be much easier if you have taken care of as much as possible before D-day. Having done it many times myself, I know what’s involved. I’ll be glad to refer you to people who can help you with getting out, getting in, or getting settled.
And please remember that I am always available to help you in any way I can. It is my sincere desire that “the closing” will not be the end of our relationship but the beginning of a long lasting friendship.
So, let’s get acquainted today - click here to contact me.
