seller's Guide

So you have decided to sell your property. Before taking the next step, it’s a good idea to clarify your goals and set a time frame for the selling process.

Your goals

Why do you want to sell? Do you want to move to a different school district, larger home, another city or are you downsizing? Having a clear understanding of your needs and goals will make it easier for us to give you more targeted advice.

Your timeline

Once you are clear on your goals, you should establish your time frame for selling. We can provide you with a market analysis and customize your marketing plan depending on how quickly you need to sell. We will also review together the current market conditions to find the most favorable time to sell.

Your finances

When you decide to sell your property, you should give careful consideration to your current financial situation and your future. Our team of experts will be able to help you estimate the proceeds of selling your property and the financial impact of your new housing situation.

How to choose a great real estate agent

If you are planning on selling your property, you may want to work with a real estate agent to guide you through the process. While you may have a friend or co-worker who has a real estate license, it’s a good idea to vet potential agents to ensure they are the best fit for your needs. Here’s a look at questions to ask so you can identify the best real estate agent to sell your property.

1. How long have they been in the business?
   Not just how many years, but how many clients do they work with that have similar needs and how many closed transactions. Also consider the difference between a part-time agent and someone who treats real estate as a full-time business. A part-time agent can’t provide the level of service that someone who is doing this day in and day out can provide.
2. What level of education do they have?
   The most important factor in choosing a real estate professional is their education in the real estate industry. Select an agent with advanced training and education who have earned prestigious designations in the various fields of real estate.
3. What areas and properties do they handle?
   Hiring an agent who specializes in the type of property you are selling and in your geographical area is the best idea.
4. How will they communicate with you?
   Choose an agent who responds quickly in the mode of communication that works for you, whether it’s email, text, phone or fax. Ask who will be your main point of contact, since some real estate agents use a team of assistants or sub-agents to handle day-to-day tasks.
5. Can they share references?
   In addition to interviewing potential agents, talk to their past clients to understand how well they actually did. Also ask what portion of business comes from referrals or repeat business. If an agent mainly works on referrals or repeat business, that can be a positive indicator that prior clients were satisfied.
6. Do they have a clean record?
   Check with your state’s regulatory commission to find out if the person is licensed and if there have been any disciplinary actions or complaints.

When it comes to selling, our team believes that closing quickly and netting the highest amount go hand in hand. Our goal is to work with you to achieve a quick sale as well as the bottom line you’d like.

The process begins with a detailed analysis of recent sales, current competition and market conditions to help determine the best possible list price for maximum return.

Seller’s checklist

When we sit down to review your home’s value, there are a few things to keep in mind:

• Understand that active listings don’t yet indicate a sold home. It’s good to know about your competition, but don’t base your list price only on this.
• Listen to your agent’s advice on pricing. Most sellers feel their home is worth more than it is. The majority of the buyers will not justify the higher price tag based on how you feel about your home.
• Set the right price from the beginning to get the maximum return. Don’t overprice your home and wait for buyers to bite. A well-priced home often generates competing offers and drives up the final sales price.
• Put yourself in the buyer’s shoes. Buyers are comparing your home to other homes available in the market at that time, so picture what would or wouldn’t be attractive to a buyer.
• Your home’s upgrades may not translate into a higher price tag. These upgrades may not be special to a potential buyer.

First impressions are everything

In order to get top dollar for your home, you have to make it look its best to stand out from the crowd. Our team is trained to help you identify and prioritize improvements and repairs that will provide the best return on your investment.

Presenting your home to the market – and to potential buyers – involves things like: making repairs, deep cleaning, decluttering, organizing, depersonalizing and staging – as well as knowing how to make your home be noticed online. Remember that when a buyer sees things that need fixing, they see dollar signs and begin to wonder what else might need work that they can’t see. Some small details will not cost you a lot of money, but can make the difference enticing a buyer to choose your home over the competition.

Before your home goes on the market, we will review your property and offer staging tips to make every room look its best.

Contract and earnest money

A binding contract is a legal agreement between a prospective buyer and the property’s seller. Once your home goes under contract, earnest money will be held in the designated party’s escrow account until all the conditions of the agreement have been fulfilled.

Once your home goes under contract, we use our transaction management system to make sure that buyers and their agents follow through with their contractual obligations in a timely manner.

Inspection and appraisal

Most buyers will have the property inspected by an inspector within the timeframe that was agreed upon in the binding contract to purchase. Some buyers will have several different inspectors inspect the property, if they wish to obtain professional opinions in a specific area (e.g. pest control, pool, structure).

Depending on the outcome of the inspection, the buyer may want to renegotiate the terms of the contract. This usually means a price reduction or a request for repairs. Once an agreement is reached, you will be one step closer to completing the sale of your home.

If the agreement is contingent on financing, then the property will be appraised by a licensed appraiser to determine the value for the lending institution via third party. This is done so that the lending institution can confirm their investment in your property is accurate.

The closing attorney

A real estate attorney will be selected as the closing agent, whose job is to examine and insure clear title to real estate. After researching the recorded history of your property, they will certify that 1) your title is free and clear of encumbrances (e.g. mortgages, liens, restrictions) by the date of closing; and 2) all new encumbrances are included in the title.

Financing

If the sale is contingent on financing, we will follow up with the buyer’s lender and keep you updated on the status of the loan until clear to close.

Final walk-through

The buyer conducts a final inspection the day of the closing or just before that to verify that everything is the same as when buyer last visited the property.

Utilities and services

You will need to call your utilities and service companies to take them out of your name.

Closing time

The closing attorney will present all parties involved with a settlement statement, which summarizes the financial transaction. Both buyer and seller will sign it certifying its accuracy. If you are receiving funds from the transaction, you can either have the funds wired electronically to your account, or have a check issued to you at the closing. You should also bring all property keys and any other important information for the new purchaser at closing.