1. Meet with an Agent

   Be sure to interview potential agents is a smart choice for anyone who wants to make sure they're working with an expert in the industry. It's important to do your research beforehand and ask the right questions during the interview process, like how successful they have been in past deals and what type of clients they usually work with. A good agent can be a huge asset, so it's smart to take your time when picking one and ensure that you've made the best possible choice.

2. Determine Price

   Setting the right price for your home is an important part of selling. It’s the first thing potential buyers see, and many will find it to be the deciding factor on whether or not to view a property. You can choose one of two pricing strategies: competitive pricing or market pricing. Competitive pricing means you set your home’s price based on what other homes in your area are selling for. Market pricing means you take into account more than just other homes that have sold recently—you consider all local factors to get an idea of what buyers are willing to pay for similar properties like yours. The value of your home doesn’t always match your desire but a good agent will work on trying to make everyone in the transaction happy with the price.

3. Prepare Home for Sale

   To make your home feel more spacious, try to minimize as much of your belongings as possible. No clutter around the house lets buyers see your house and not your things. They need to be able to picture your home as their own, so put away the family photographs. Evaluate what you can potentially live without for the next several months and start packing. It all needs to be packed anyway, so you might as well get a head start! Items like personal pictures, small items, and extra furniture. The next step is to clean every surface of your home, including window seals and inside and out of your appliances. This would be a great time to do small hand projects that would help the appearance of the home. Staging your home is a great option for helping buyers visualize the space with minimal furniture inside. This is can be expensive and some agents are willing to help out with the cost, it’s a great question to review when interviewing.

4. List & Market Home

   Once your home is ready to be put in on the market your agent will arrange for professional pictures to be taken, this may include a video depending on the home and the market. The agent will then create an MLS listing, once it goes live your home will be featured on all the major home listing websites. It will appear on sites like Redfin, Zillow, and Realtor.com.

5. Receive offers & Negotiate

   Once your home is listed on market there is an opportunity for their to be offers put on your home. This is were your agent will come in handy with negotiating and making sure you receive the very best for your home. You get the final say on what you will get for your home with advice from your agent.

6. Inspection & Appraisal

   Once both parties agree on all parts of contract and everyone signs the deal, you are officially under contract. A typical agreement will include two major hurdles that determine if a home sale will go through. These two hurdles include inspection and appraisal. Most offers include an opportunity for the buyer to hire a licensed inspector that will go through the house and find any potential issues. Once inspection is complete the buyer can re-negotiate the deal to help with repair cost or they have an opportunity to back out of the deal. The agent should walk you through the request and help determine your best options. The other hurdle is the appraisal, this is typical for any buyer that is receiving financing on a home. If a buyer is paying cash, there won’t be an appraisal process. The appraisal is used to determine if the lender is willing to pay for the price of the loan for the house. They determine the value they believe the home to be and it may not match the agreed amount that is on contract. If this happens the buyer has an opportunity to walk away or pay the difference on their loan. Once both these large hurdles happen and clear the final steps are waiting for your escrow company to complete closing.

7. Closing

   The best day is CLOSING DAY! It’s the day that title changes and money is transferred to your account. This is when you will sign all the final documents and everything will become closed. There is nothing left to do in selling your home once you sign the documents.

The Home Selling Process

There are seven main steps to the home selling process. Each step is important to getting you the right price for your home. My job is to walk you through each step and make sure that you have the advice and support you need.