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Home Selling Process

Pricing Your Home

The “trick” to pricing, in any market, is to make sure that your home is the very best house that buyers see in your price range. In order to help you identify this price, we will bring you information to review on “comparables” (properties in your marketplace that have recently sold or are under contract) and on other homes that are currently on the market that “your” buyer will look at to compare to yours. After careful analysis of these properties, we will suggest a price range that makes sense for your home. The biggest mistake that sellers make is in overpricing their homes. Statements such as, “we’re not in any hurry” only hurt you in the long run. Remember that houses don’t become more valuable as they sit on the market day after day. Instead, your home has its highest potential for value the first couple of weeks on the market, when it is perceived to be new and fresh. Of course, every market has its nuances…and that’s why you hire a full time, professional real estate agent to help in this process. For instance, in a crazy sellers market, you are oftentimes just setting a “base” price and expecting escalations….while in a buyers market, you may need to price with an allowance for some negotiating room. In either case, the “trick” referred to in the first sentence remains the same.

Property Condition

In order to maximize the sales price on your home, it has to be in great condition. Sometimes this means doing some major work (we’ve had sellers do substantial kitchen and bath work, for instance) and it’s rare that it doesn’t include at least some de-cluttering. In a rare instance (such as an estate sale), it’s okay to leave things “undone” and advertise an “as is” sale – but this oftentimes does not result in the highest potential profit. We will walk thru your house with you and address the areas where we recommend property condition improvements prior to opening your home to the market. Where necessary, we can recommend trades people to wash windows, shampoo carpets, paint, do landscaping…or whatever is necessary. Remember, you’ve decided to move so beginning your packing a little early (in order to cut down on the clutter) isn’t such a bad thing. Buyers understand that you’re moving, too…so it’s also okay to have a “staging” area in the house for those newly packed boxes!

Marketing

Because every home is different, every marketing plan must be appropriately adapted. There will always be a strong emphasis on Internet marketing (after all, that’s probably how you found us) but location, style of home, and price will help us gauge the best newspapers/periodical to use in print marketing. Our customized marketing plan ensures maximum property exposure which translates into top dollar for your home.

Receiving an Offer

Agents of the buyer will first inform us when there is an offer, and we will then contact you to schedule a meeting. Prior to presenting the offer to you, we will review it with the agent to ensure everything is in order. The buyer’s qualifications will be addressed. We will contact the lender (if the buyer is going to obtain a mortgage) or a financial advisor (if the offer is all cash) to verify assets and credit worthiness.

The Experience Factor

The terms and conditions of the offer will be reviewed in detail. The Sales Contract currently consists of over 50 pages and it is important to make sure that all the “i’s” are dotted and the “t’s” are crossed. This is a crucial area where experience really counts because once a contract is signed, it becomes a legally binding document. A Net Proceeds worksheet, showing your bottom line will be prepared based on each offer. After reviewing the offer(s), we will help you weigh your decisions.

• Accept it as written
• Counter the offer. Keep in mind any change made to the offer is considered a counter offer
• Reject the offer.

Between Contract & Settlement

Prior to settlement, there are typically various contingencies that must be met in order reach settlement. These include property inspection(s), financing, appraisal, and termite inspection. We will be your representative at any and all of these inspections, keep in touch with the lending institution to make sure that they are performing a timely manner, and provide their representative with information applicable for an appraisal. We will also advise you in the event there needs to be further negotiating due to home inspection items, or property valuation on an appraisal., Settlement We will attend both the final walk-through and the settlement with you and will contact the title attorney to orchestrate all of the final details and review the settlement sheets with you prior to closing.

After Settlement

We’re still here. We want to be your real estate advisors for life and are always pleased when former clients give us a call. 

Contact Us Any Time! 

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