Real Estate Tips for Home Sellers

If you are thinking of selling your home, chances are you're caught up in a mass of emotions. You may be looking forward to moving up into a new home or facing the uncertainty of a major move across the city, state or even the country. You may be reluctant to leave your memories behind or eager to start new and exciting adventures.

Remember, I am here to help you with any of your needs. Call or e-mail me today! (My email)

Step 1 - Choose a real estate agent

Once you've decided to sell, you'll be
thinking about a whole host of details, like how to get your home ready
for sale,
when to put it on the market, and how much to ask for it, how much time
will this take of my daily life, do I understand the terms of a sales
contract.
As your professional real estate agent, I will deal with these types of
questions allowing you to have a successful, smooth, and more
profitable
selling experience.

Step 2 - Get your house in order

We will make a critical assessment of any
needed maintenance or repairs. Hiring a home inspector
might be suggested if you and your real estate agent are not
comfortable making those assessments on your own. An inspection will probably
cost you a few
hundred dollars, but its money well spent to keep from being
unpleasantly surprised when a buyer has his own inspection done. No one wants to
find out that
their roof is shot, but at this stage, you can decide if it's worth it
to spend the money and fix it or to sell the house as-is, disclose that
it needs a
new roof and set your price accordingly.

Step 3 - Look through a buyer's eyes

Stand across the street and look at
your house as if you're a prospective buyer seeing it for the first time.
Talk
with me about what types of improvements might be worth making.

Step 4 - Set your price

Many sellers set a price based on the amount of
money they need to get out of the deal. That's the kiss of death. It will
sit on the
market and you become a target of low-ball buyers and scammers. Price
it right to sell it fast.

I will help you set your price. I will go over a detailed list of the
comparable sales in your area with you. Because I am
constantly looking at the homes in your area and I have probably been
in many of them, I can accurately evaluate your current properties
value as
compared to the other recent sales.

Step 5 - Staging your home

This is the top recommendation of real estate
agents for making your house shine to potential buyers as they walk
through the
front door. A house that shows well always brings in more money. If
need be, rent a storage unit and move out any furniture that isn't
necessary.
People are moving because they need more space; space is what you're
selling. The more space you have, the more inviting your house will be.

Step 6 - List and show the property

With everything spiffed up, it's time to
take the plunge and tell the world about your house. As your real
estate agent, I
will implement a marketing campaign and enter your property into the
MLS system for your home to start gaining you exposure. Once the house is
on
the market, I will make sure the home is safely shown to prospective
buyers, but you need to keeping it clean, uncluttered, and
smelling fresh. When you have a showing scheduled, turn on the lights
and open the drapes. Put out some fresh-baked cookies. Buyers feel much
more
comfortable looking at a home when the seller isn't standing over their
shoulder.

Step 7 - Consider the offers

I am required to present all offers to you from
qualified buyers, so even if I thinks it's a bad deal, I have to
show it to you. You'll have a short amount of time, often 24 hours, to
respond to an offer. You can decide to accept the offer, reject it, or
make a
counter offer. A counter offer is when you make an offer of your own.
Any offer is a starting point for discussion, and everything in it is
negotiable.

Before you accept an offer -- and take your property off the market – I
will make sure the buyer has been pre-approved with a bank,
and they have shown proof of down payment and the initial deposit.

Once both you and the buyer are happy with the terms, it's time to sign
on the dotted line.

Step 8 - The Settlement

The closing process involves an attorney or title
company representative, the buyer, listing and selling brokers, and
oftentimes
you, the seller. This important meeting will include the final
transaction, which is transferring the home from your possession to the new
owner. Make
sure you bring all equipment warranties, instructions, and maintenance
or operation information to hand over to the new owners.

Congratulations! You just sold your house!

Do you have additional questions? Please click here to send your comments and questions. We will send a response as quickly as possible!

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