The concept of selling your home is pretty simple: list it for sale, show it to buyers, choose the best offer, and close the deal. But when it’s time to put theory into action, the details can sometimes get a little muddled. Unless you’ve sold property before, you probably aren’t exactly sure how the process works.
If you’re ready to make the big move and sell your home, check out this basic rundown of how the whole thing works. It’ll help you feel a little more prepared and at ease before you take this exciting step!
Hire a Real Estate Agent
Finding a realtor is the first step to take after deciding to sell your property. While you can put it up for sale on your own, a real estate agent will make things ten times easier—and most likely get you a better offer in a shorter amount of time. Choose your agent carefully. You should work with somebody who is professional, experienced in the industry, and a good fit for your goals.
A real estate agent brings not only their skill and experience to your home sale, but a network of potential buyers and other agents working on their behalf. They will help you expose your home online and through their existing audience, and work to get your home sold at the best price.
Realtors serve as a crucial guide in the selling process, developing a custom strategy with you as you prepare your home for the market. They’ll know the best and most efficient way to spend your money repairing and freshening up your house, and give you proven advice on how to attract the most potential buyers.
You’ll be incredibly grateful you invested in a quality agent when it comes time to negotiate and choose an offer, fill out the paperwork, and close the deal.
Determine Your Home’s Value
Try your best to be objective when it comes to pricing your home to sell. It may be especially valuable to you because of the memories you have there, but sentimental qualities don’t translate financially.
Your agent will be able to help you determine how much your home is worth by running a comparative market analysis (CMA) to gather information about other listings in your area and see how your home measures up. There are also many online tools and resources for you to use to figure out your home’s value—like straightforward home value estimators and quote requests on realty websites.
Set a Timeline
Coming up with an ideal timeline for selling your home is essential to staying organized and on top of everything on your to-do list. You’ll want to set deadlines for completing certain steps of the process, like when to have your home inspected or your repairs finished, to hold yourself responsible. Make a checklist so you can keep track of where you’re at and where you need to be.
Knowing the best time to put your house on the market is equally as important as having a personal timetable for your home sale. Chances are your real estate agent will be an expert at knowing the local market and will be able to help you determine the most important factors for timing your sale.
Stage and Show Your Home
Once you determine the best time and price for listing your home on the market, it’s time to show it off! Go through and deep clean everything until it’s spotless—floors, carpets, walls, appliances, furniture, windows, surfaces, and anything else you can think of. Buff out scratches on the hardwood floor and put a fresh coat of paint on the walls. You want potential buyers to see your house as well-maintained and spacious.
Declutter your space to open it up and highlight the desirable features of your home. Nobody is going to notice the wood burning fireplace if there’s magazines and junk mail piled on the top ledge. Depersonalize your home by taking down any family photos, children’s artwork, or personal momentos. This will allow prospective buyers to envision themselves in the space, rather than feel awkward and out of place in someone else’s home. Emphasize the potential and possibilities your home has to offer.
Stage your house to sell with a professional staging company or some DIY tips to make it feel like a home to interested parties coming through. Keep furniture and décor as neutral as possible with a few simple accents to add character and charm but still leave room for others to mentally project their style onto the space.
Schedule showings and open houses, and market them wherever you can. Take high quality pictures that show off your home and list them online, so buyers will fall in love with your space before they even step foot in it!
Close the Deal
Once you set the stage, sit back and wait until people start taking the bait! Use your real estate agent to negotiate and put forth counter offers, and then assist you in carefully choosing the best one. Once you’ve accepted, you’ll submit a contract and go into escrow. Use this time to plan your move and pack up your home!
Selling your home can be overwhelming—but finding the right real estate agent can make all the difference. Contact Peri Kiros today to help alleviate the stressful process of putting your house on the market with her passion, experience, and expertise!