Putting your home on the market can be a stressful process, especially when you don’t know what to expect. Fortunately, with the help of an experienced Realtor and this easy to follow guide, you can smoothly complete the process. Following these steps will help you prepare so you can get organized and sell your home for the best price possible.
What do you want to accomplish with the sale of your home? Do you want to make a certain amount of money that you can put toward a larger or nicer home? Do you need to sell it as soon as possible to facilitate a move to a new city or area? Once we clearly understand your needs, we can better craft your pricing strategy. For example, if you need to sell quickly, you might want to price your home lower than if your goal is to make a certain profit margin. Ensuring that we are on the same page with your needs and priorities means we can adjust our strategy to meet your goals.
Knowing how to price your home is one of the most important parts of the selling process. When we set a fair price from the beginning, you will get the most interest from other realtors and prospective buyers. Overpricing your home could lead to reduced interest, and underpricing could lead you to receive less than your home is worth. Working with a qualified Realtor like me will ensure we are making smart choices when it comes to pricing. I can help you determine what comparable homes are selling for, evaluate the current market, and make price modification suggestions based on specific qualities, upgrades, or needs of your home in its current state.
Once you price your home, it is time to start getting it ready to be shown to potential buyers. This includes getting rid of clutter, depersonalizing the space so buyers can envision themselves in it, making any small repairs, and doing a deep clean to make sure you home is in pristine condition when buyers come through. When you list with me, I also offer staging services, where I provide you with tips of how to tidy up so your home is perfect for buyers and suggest furniture orientation that makes the most of the space.
I will develop a marketing strategy that is perfect for advertising your home. This involves listing the home and then driving the right people to that listing through social media campaigns, agent-to-agent referrals, traditional media, or SEO advertising. My team creates a marketing campaign that aims to get the most possible traffic to your listing in the first three weeks after becoming a client.
Receiving an offer is an exciting part of the process, but it doesn’t mean the journey is over. Together, we will evaluate each offer when it comes in. I'll make sure the party making the offer is prequalified or pre-approved by a mortgage lender and that their offer is acceptable to you. If the offer is too low, you can make a counter-offer or offer other ways to bridge the gap, such as covering some or all of the closing costs, making repairs, adjusting the move-in date, or leaving some appliances or fixtures for the new buyer.
Once we review all offers and deem one offer is acceptable (or reach acceptable terms via a counter-offer), I will review the proposed contract to make sure it’s all in order, including the necessary components such as deposit amount, down payment, financing, inspection rights and repair allowances, contingencies, settlement date, and a list of fees and who will pay them. When both parties have agreed to the term, a final contract will be prepared.
You have accepted an offer and are now very close to the end of your selling journey. But first, you and the buyer must make a list of what needs to be done before closing. In some cases, your home may need to be formally inspected, surveyed, and appraised. In other cases, major or minor repairs will need to be made before the house can close. I will head up efforts to develop and execute this list, get each action item paid for by the correct party, and make sure everything is in order by the closing date. A few days before the closing date, we will call the company closing the transaction to make sure everything is ready to go. If you haven’t done so already, you also need to make arrangements to move out of the home so the new buyer can take possession.
You’ve reached the last step in the seller’s process. When you close on a home you are selling, you are legally transferring ownership of the property to the new buyer. I will meet with the company closing the transaction to sign the final paperwork and go over any issues that have not yet been taken care of. During this time, we will also plan how to handle final details such as canceling utilities, cable, and lawn or trash services, changing the name on accounts that the new owner is retaining and ensuring the new owner has instructions for all appliances that will remain in the home.
Once you have sold your home, you’re free to take the next step on your journey. Whether this is relocating to a new city, moving into a larger home, or downsizing and enjoying your life as empty-nesters, knowing all your selling responsibilities have been taken care of will help you achieve peace of mind for your new path.
Allison brings an unparalleled attention to detail to every transaction, a wealth of knowledge on home staging, deep experience with the Sarasota market, and the tenacity to find what’s fabulous about a home and make others see it too.
