A
Guide to Selling Your Home
Preparing to
Sell
First impressions
go a long way in selling your home. First, walk through your home
as if you were a buyer looking to purchase it, or enlist the help
of a neighbor. Make a list of both positive and negative items that
could affect the appearance of your home.
Here are some
tips on increasing the appearance of your home:
· Increase your curb appeal. A well-manicured lawn, neatly
trimmed shrubs and a clutter-free porch welcome prospects.
· Reduce clutter; less is more when it comes to selling your
home.
· Re-arrange the furniture to make the room look larger
· Clean! Make your home spotless.
· Make Simple improvements such as tightening loose knobs,
fix leaky faucets and discolored sinks, lubricate squeaky hinges,
clean out clogged drains, replace filters, tighten loose banisters,
and even re-painting faded or “worn” walls will greatly
enhance the appeal of your house. Remember, prospects would rather
see how great your home really looks than hear how great it could
look "with a little work."
· Check all light fixtures. Install new bulbs to make your
home brighter.
· Exterminate if necessary.
· Make room for space, remember, potential buyers are looking
for more than just comfortable living space. They’re looking
for storage space, too. Make sure your attic and basement are clean
and free of unnecessary items.
Additional
information can be found on our FREE
Report(s) page by requesting a copy of, “13
Things To Do Before You List Your Home” or “10 Questions
To Ask Before You Hire A Real Estate Agent”.
Pricing Your
Home
This is arguably
the toughest part of the selling process. Price
your home too low and risk losing additional income from the sale
of your home. Price your home too high and risk low buyer interest
in your property. Remember, the home selling market dictates the
price, not what you think it should be worth.
To accurately
price your home find
an agent that is familiar with the homes and
market conditions in your area. They will prepare a CMA (Comparative
Market Analysis) at no cost or obligation to you. This report will
show you the most recent home sales as well as the homes currently
available in your area, the avg. market time, listing price vs.
selling price, and then adjust for any features that differ between
properties. Together you can determine the right price for your
home.
Another way
to help determine the value of your home is to enlist the services
of a home appraiser. Click here to find
an appraiser in your area.
Marketing Your
Home
Marketing can
make all the difference when it comes to selling your home. Your
real estate professional will be able to maximize your home’s
exposure with tools like Realtor.com and the MLS (Multiple Listing
Service). Realtor.com is the #1 visited real estate website and
around 90% of all homes sell through the MLS.
Here are some
additional marketing tips to remember when selling:
· Have pictures or a virtual tour taken of both the inside
& outside of your home.
· Display a yard sign as well as directional signs to assist
potential buyers to your property.
· Always display a home brochure. Your brochure should contain
your property’s features as well as any extra amenities your
home might have, a copy of your MLS listing, any disclosures, and
possibly some additional photos.
Receiving an
Offer
This is where
having a real estate professional can be a big advantage. Make sure
the offer is in writing. A contract is only binding if it is in
writing AND signed by both parties. Real Estate contracts can be
somewhat complicated so make sure that you have your agent go through
the entire contract with you. Once your real estate professional
has negotiated an agreed upon price for your home you will need
to hire the assistance of a real estate attorney. They will assist
you with and obtain the necessary documents in order for you to
close (complete the sale) of your home. Click here to find
a real estate attorney.
All real estate
contracts will contain some form of a contingency. Contingencies
are clauses that, if not met, will render the contract null and
void. Here’s a list of the most common contingencies:
1. Mortgage
contingency- is a provision in the home purchase contract
that says that if the prospective buyer can’t get a mortgage
within a fixed period of time, s/he can call the whole
deal off. In other words, the agreement is conditional on the buyer
being able to obtain
a mortgage on the property.
2. Home
Inspection Contingency- All standard real estate contracts
contain a clause allowing a prospective homebuyer the right to inspect
your property, at the buyer’s expense
(usually 5 business days). This is a very thorough inspection and
will cover everything, plumbing, electrical, appliances, windows,
etc. If any major repairs need to be made, the buyer will have the
option of canceling the contract, or have the seller at the seller’s
expense make the necessary repairs or give the appropriate compensation.
*Please note-When a home is being sold “AS IS” the buyer
still has the right to conduct a home inspection, but the seller
is stating no repairs or any additional compensation will be given.
3. Home
Sale Contingency- Allows a specific timeframe for the purchaser
to sell their current home. During this time the seller would continue
to show their home to prospective buyers, and would continue to
entertain all offers. This type of contract usually includes a "kick
out clause," a statement that basically says: "if we get
another acceptable offer, you have "X" number of hours
(usually 24-48) to remove your home sale contingency and move forward
to buy the house, whether they've sold their current house or not."
If they cannot move forward, the seller can back out of the contract.
4. Home
Close Contingency- This contingency is a lot like a home
sale contingency except the purchaser already has a contract to
sell their existing home, but is just waiting to close. The seller
would continue to show the home to prospective buyers, and would
entertain all offers. This type of contingency also usually includes
a “kick out clause” (see home sale contingency).
Closing
The day of
the closing (or possibly sooner), the home's buyer
will do a "walk through" of the property to make sure
all agreed repairs are completed and that the home is in the same
condition as when the buyer made their offer. If problems arise
at this point, the closing, can still take place with funds held
in escrow to remedy the problem.
Usually the attorneys decide on a mutually agreed title company
to have the closing at. Your closing will be assigned a Closing
or Escrow Agent to complete your transaction.
The escrow agent conducts the closing and is often affiliated with
the title insurance company. Their job is to ensure the buyer obtains
a clean title, the lender obtains a good mortgage, that the costs
of the transaction are paid, that the seller's mortgage is paid
off, and that the seller receives their proceeds.
The escrow agent prepares a closing statement that outlines what
the required funds are, who's paying and where the funds are going
toward They will not disburse funds until they can guarantee that
the above noted items have been taken care of.
Click here for Title
Companies.
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