When you’re selling your house, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. As you get deeper into the process and closer to listing, you realize how many layers of tasks are involved with selling real estate. Furthermore, the more involved you are in preparing and marketing your home for sale, the faster you’ll sell and for the highest price possible. Your real estate agent will guide you along as you go, but here’s an overview of the six steps to selling your house.
👥 Step One: Find the Right Real Estate Agent
Your real estate agent is your greatest resource when preparing to list your home for sale. It’s imperative that you choose the right agent with whom to work, an agent who is as committed to the successful sale of your home as you are. Ask for recommendations and referrals from friends, family members, and associates. Read reviews and testimonials, check out the ratings, and rule out any agents who give you a bad vibe. Next, check credentials, certifications, and specialties. You want to work with an agent who is expert at working with your type of property whether it’s a single-family home, condominium or townhouse, waterfront property, or luxury real estate. Your agent should also know your neighborhood like the back of his or her hand.
You can ask agents about their last several transactions to get an idea of how they deliver on their word. For example, ask potential agents about the asking price vs. sales price of the last three homes they sold. This way, when the agent suggests an asking price for our house, you have a genuine idea of how much of that asking price you’ll receive. Another useful question to ask is how long each home was on the market from list to close so you can understand how long this process may take from start to finish. Furthermore, inquire about the number of times the price was reduced before a buyer submitted an offer that the seller accepted.
💲 Step Two: Pricing Your House to Sell
Pricing your house to sell is your most important task because the wrong price could cost you thousands of dollars – whether that incorrect price is too low or too high. In fact, an asking price that’s set too high from the start could end up deeming your house unsellable for the time being because it develops a reputation of having something wrong with it that makes it undesirable for buyers. Trust your agent’s advice on pricing.
🏡 Step Three: Staging Your Home to Show
Staging is another imperative task with layers that involve decluttering, depersonalizing, neutralizing, cleaning, repairing, painting, designing, and landscaping. You can outsource the tasks of staging in part or completely, but once the staging is complete, you’ve got to maintain the condition of the home, so it’s always show-ready.
🚪 Step Four: Open Houses & Tours
Try not to be home when your agent shows your house to potential buyers, and make arrangements, if possible, for your pets. Not all buyers are animal-friendly, some may have allergies, and the animals may be uncomfortable with strangers walking through every room in your house. Assist your agent with showings by making sure the home is in good order. Consider leaving baked goods on the counter-top to enhance the aroma and create an inviting energy.
📝 Step Five: Offers and Negotiations
Your agent will help you review and negotiate offers. Be willing to consider offers that differ from your original ideas, such as offers that are lower in monetary value, include contingencies, have various funding, and different timelines. Your agent will help you counteroffer when necessary. Then, accept the offer that is most suited to your needs.
🔎 Step Six: Appraisals, Inspections, and Technicalities
The final weeks of your transaction involve having the home inspected, appraised, and undergoing processes such as having the title checked and transferred. During the inspection and appraisal, negotiations are still open for discussion. However, once the home passes appraisal and inspection, the contract is locked in, and you’re on your way to the closing table.
During this time, you should be packing all your belongings and preparing to vacate the property. By the time you attend the closing-day meeting, you’ll no longer own the home, and you’ll turn the keys over to their new owner.
Your real estate agent is the best source of information about the local community and real estate topics. Give Brett Dunne a call today at 909-575-8812 to learn more about local areas, discuss selling a house, or tour available homes for sale.