Have you decided to sell your house? Are you wondering where you should start? What you should or shouldn’t do? There is no doubt that selling your home is a complicated task, especially if it’s your first time. There is more to selling your home than just setting up the price. There are a couple of things you need to do to ensure that everything proceeds smoothly. Not only will you be making a big financial decision, but you will also be letting go of everything familiar to you, such as neighbors, friends, school, and the environment itself.
Nonetheless, selling your home doesn’t have to be a challenging task provided you know what you are doing. Familiarizing yourself with the steps to selling your home gives you more knowledge and insight on how to navigate the process from the beginning to the end.
Steps to Follow When Selling Your Home
In the following we are going to go over the steps you need to take to successful sell your home. A lot of these steps are great pointers in helping you understand how properties are sold… Remember, a lot of these steps will be done by your Realtor when you hire your Realtor to help you sell your home. Also, if you need any further help with selling your home feel free to contact me.
Research the Market
Even if you are interested in making a quick sale, market research is essential. It will help you know the average cost of your house. If you go ahead and blindly put a price on your house, you could end up placing a low price which puts you at a loss or a higher price that will scare away buyers. When you research the market, you will have a clear picture of how much your house costs. Sometimes people use Zillow.com or Realtor.com and other online tools to do these estimates. However, it doesn’t full take the place of using a Professional Realtor who understand the market and understand how to properly price your home to sell. Feel free to contact me for more information.
Another way to research the market is to have a Realtor do a market analysis of the properties in your area. This is normally called a CMA (Comparable Market Analysis) The CMA will give you information about properties that are similar in sizes, age, year build and normally up to 1 mile radius in your area. This can be done when you are hiring the agent that you want to represent you. This will also give you the average price range and the DOM (Days On Market). Remember, Realtors can still play an important part when you are wanting to sell you home.
Check Mortgage Rates
Checking the mortgage rates gives you a better understanding of what the buyer(s) are going to be paying when they purchase your home. A good place to go to check out interest rates would be bankrate.com A good tool to use is a amortization calculator. This will give you some idea of what the buyer will be paying when they purchase your home. This gives you a better idea of how the buyer thinks.
Hire an Agent
A real estate agent can be of great help to you when you sell your home. He or she won’t only help in marketing your home but will also analyze the market value of your property. A real estate agent can also direct you to other potential buyers in a short period since that is his line of work. You should interview several agents before hiring one. Consider their experience and professionalism. Sometimes people hire agents that they like and trust… Others hire agents who are their friends and or relative… But its up to you to decide in what you want.
All in all, when you have a good agent on your team. A Realtor can help you determine what is the best price points to list your home. Remember if you are looking for a Realtor and you would like me to help you sell your home feel free to contact me.
Price Your Home to Sell
Before pricing your house, you should know that overpriced houses tend to sell for less than the market value. This is a mistake that you don’t want to do. Let’s say you were the one interested in buying a similar home, would you buy it at that set price? Review market analyses before you set up the final price. Also, create room for negotiations with the buyer.
Also, if you choose to sell your home to investors, remember that investors want to see some room as far as equity goes.. Anywhere from 20 to 30 percent of equity. So when you are calling up the we buy houses and you go to companies like this, remember that they are looking for equity spreads. If you do not want to give up that much equity then you will need to consider waiting for the retail buyer to make a offer on your property.
Prepare the House
Once you have set the price and hired an agent, you should expect potential buyers to visit your home from time to time. Remember, for you to sell your home faster, you need to make a lasting impression on potential buyers. Preparing the details of the property.
What this means is you want to make sure you create a warm and inviting atmosphere. You want the house to feel pleasant. In the preparation stages this is when you are getting the home ready for the agent to come do measurements and prepare the house for pictures to be taken.
Making Repairs
Let’s start with making repairs. If you have lived in that house for more than five years, then there are definitely some things that need repair. It is up to you to do a quick search and write down things that should be repaired. Hire a professional handyman to do the repairs.
Remember, that it makes a difference when you do the necessary repairs to get your home sold faster. Some buyers do not want to think about coming into a home and making a lot of repairs. So a good rule of thumb is to make sure you have major things done. You want your AC units and the heating units to be in working condition. You want your water heater to be in working condition. You want to make sure the roof and the foundation is in good working condition. These are some of the things buyers looks at when they are buying the home. Remember if you need help with finding the right handyman check out 7 steps to finding the right Handyman.
Clean The Property
It is mandatory for your home to be clean at all times. Ensure that the corridors are cleaned as well as the rooms. Don’t forget to mow your lawn and trim the hedges. Keeping the yard clean makes a big difference when you are looking for the curb up appeal. Sometimes you want to make sure your carpet is clean and in good condition..
Dirty carpet can be a turn off to some potential buyers. Make sure that the kitchen and the bathrooms stay super clean. No leaving dirty dishes in the sink or leaving the appliances uncleaned. This helps in creating a good impression for the buyer. Remember, your first impression is the best impression you can give a buyer.
Declutter
De-cluttering won’t only help sell your home, but it will make moving pretty easy for you. If there is a lot of junk in your home, then you can host a yard sale or donate things that you don’t need any longer to your favorite charity.
Another thing you want to do is make sure that you open up each room. You want to make sure that there is enough room to walk around. The worst thing you can do is have the rooms so full that no one has room to walk around.
One charity to keep in mind would be :
Stage your House
Home staging is practically the art of presenting your home in a way that gives buyers the ‘I want to live here feeling’. It entails redesigning your home, providing sufficient lighting and even adding potted plants. You can hire a professional stager or do this with the help of your agent.
When you hire a professional stager. They will typically have their on set of furniture that they can bring in your property. Also they can use some of the existing furniture but this is something that you will need to discuss with the stager. The stager is going to want an agreement with you in reference to how payments will be made. Please keep in mind that this is separate from the agent commission expense.
Once you sign the agreement with the stager. The stager will then come in and stage the house. Sometimes the stager is going to suggest moving things around to create a better feel in the room.
Also keep in mind that if you choose to do it yourself make sure that you keep areas open. You want to make sure that you have the home smelling good by adding a cinnamon apple plug in or a citrus scent plug in.
Market your Home
Marketing your home is definitely the most important step in selling your home. It determines whether you will actually sell your home or not. Your agent can suggest the most effective ways and the current trends used in home marketing. There are several ways on how you can go about marketing your home.
Virtual Tours
Virtual tours are a simulation of an existing property via a sequence of videos or still images. Virtual tours really help market your home to individuals located in distant areas. You will be surprised to find out how many people from distant places are interested in moving to your current location. Through virtual tours, you can showcase the specifics of your home to potential buyers who aren’t available for physical viewing.
Signage
Signboards are also an excellent way of marketing your property. With the help of your agent, you can set up creative and graphically appealing signs and place them in high traffic areas. You can even place a ‘For Sale’ Signage next to your property. Signs do play a very important part because there are some people who still like to speak with someone in reference to your home.
Direct Mail
You can also mail potential buyers directly. You will need to search for real estate companies that are interested in buying your property. You can then mail them the photos or videos of your property alongside the asking price.
Good place to start would be using the the usps service direct mail. Remember if you do not have the time you can always just use the services of a Realtor and this is normally a part of the listing services we offer.
E-flyers
E-flyers can also help you reach out to hundreds of clients within your postal code in a short period. The first step of using an e-flyer requires you to design it. You can place pictures of your home on the flyer and other essential details before distributing it to the public. This gives information about the listing. It gives the description and detail information about the property.
E-Flyers are a good way to get property information out…. Remember, this is a part of the services when you hire the right Realtor. E-Flyers are good way to sending information. This information can also be syndicated on social media as well.
Social Media
In the past three years, social media has risen to be one of the best marketing platforms. Not only is it free to market your house on social media, but you can segment your audience. You can upload pictures of your home on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter and wait for clients to contact you. There are also some real estate groups in different social media platforms where you can market your home.
Word of Mouth
Finally, you can also market your home the old-fashioned way by word of mouth. Inform your neighbors, friends, and colleagues that you are selling home. They can give referrals or direct you to potential buyers.
Word of Mouth still plays an important role in getting a home sold even in today’s market with social media etc. It still can be one of the fasted methods of selling a home and should not be ignored.
Allow Your Agent to Conduct Showings
During showings, it is best if homeowners are not present. All you have to do is entrust your agent to do the selling. When the homeowners aren’t around, potential buyers usually feel free to move around the house and check the specifics of the property.
Keep in mind that your Real Estate Agent will have showing notification and be able to give you a report. This report is normally in an email format and it lets you know how many showings and views you had as well as it lets you know about the feedback on your property.
Feedback is important because it lets you know what others are thinking about the property. Remember, in some cases there might not be much feedback. This is due to the buyers agent not being able to respond to feedback or buyers agent being too busy showing clients properties to give feedback.
Pets
Ok let’s say it.. We love our pets. We know that pets are apart of our family and lives. But what we have to understand that when selling your home we must have a set area to keep our pets
One of the many things that keeps homes from selling is pet odors. If the pet odor is to strong it’s a possibility that the buyer might not make it to the rest of the home because the odor was just to unbearable.
If you own pets, you could take them for a walk during showings. You can also make sure that they are in a designated area of the backyard.
Negotiating the Offer
If a buyer shows interest in the property, then you can proceed to negotiate the offer. You should expect buyers to want a bargain. The best way to go about this is to listen and respond maturely. There are some buyers who might even ask to buy the house at half the price you had asked. It is best if you wait till you receive multiple offers and pick one that suits you.
There are some buyers who will present low ball offers. Most of the times the buyers are investors looking to possible fix up to resell, wholesale flip, or rent the property. Feel free to send the buyer a request to submit another offer. That’s if you feel that the offer was insulting. In a multiple offer situation it’s up to you to pick the best offer that would fit your needs.
Accepting an Offer
You should only accept an offer after you have received and analyzed all offers. Do not rush to accepting an offer until you ensure it meets your requirements. In case you haven’t found the ideal offer, you can continue looking for more clients or give counteroffers to existing buyers.
The goal is to accept a offer that fits your needs. Once you have accepted the offer. Remember, that some buyers are going to want a option period that gives them time to inspect the property. When you collect what is called option money. This money is negotiable. Make sure that you understand that if for some reason during the option period they don’t want the house the buyer is due back there earnest money if the termination notice is received within the terms of what the seller and buyer agree to.
Inspection
After accepting an offer, the buyer will probably ask for an inspection. This normally takes place in Texas during the option period. Before the inspection day, get the home inspection checklist from your agent so that you can prepare adequately. Ensure that you home is clean and ready to go for the inspection.
The inspection will typically take 2 to 4 hours. Depending on all that needs to be done. Understand that inspection fee is normally paid for by the buyer. Keep in mind that if for any reason that you receive a inspection report and you read the inspection report. Anything that has been found in the inspection report that was not noted on the Seller Disclosure form will now have to be included in the Seller Disclosure. Keep this in mind when you read the inspection report.
Title Work
A title search should be one of the first things that you should do immediately you decide to sell your home. So right when the sign goes up title should be searched. The reason for doing it upfront is you want to make sure that there is no issue with title.
You can rest assure that no individual will accept a home with an illegitimate title. Once you confirm that there are no other liens or judgement or abstract of title on the title other than your mortgage lien, then you won’t have anything to worry about when title work is being conducted. You should also ensure that there are no legal claims on the property before closing.
Closing Time
Once everything has been settled, both you and the buyer can sign the sale contract. Note that the title company will notify all of you, and the agent inclusively when the closing documents are ready. Remember to have the keys and garage doors openers at closing. Also anything that was not stated in the exclusion part of the contract stays with the property such as rods,curtains and attached appliances. All details and agreements of the sale should be documented in the contract in case anything arises.
Conclusion:
The home selling process can be quite challenging if it’s your first time. However, with the guide above, you can proceed from one step to another without any difficulties. Also, hiring a professional real estate agent can make things a whole lot easier for you.