Selling Your Home
Sell Your Home on Your Terms
Selling your home generally comes with a lot of repair work, preparation, organization and professional marketing – but it doesn’t need to be stressful.
My goal in working with you is to remove as much of the burden and stress involved with the process – really, my goal is to make it enjoyable for you. Dare I say fun!
Everyone’s homes, life needs, and current situations are different, so the first best step is to reach out for a conversation. No matter what you are trying to accomplish, I can assure you that, together, we will find the right solution.
Let's Get Started Today
Are you ready to sell your home?
Selling your home can be an incredibly emotional, stressful process, which is why it is so important to follow the right steps when deciding to sell your home. We’ve put together a step-by-step guide to selling your home, to help guide you in the right direction to ensure your selling experience is as easy as possible.
1. Decide to Sell Your Home
Make sure you are ready both financially and emotionally.
2. REALTOR® Consultation
There is no commitment required on your part for the initial meeting with an agent. It will be educational and will help you identify the right agent for you. Your agent will provide you with a comparative market analysis and all the tools they have to help sell your home the fastest.
3. Establish a Price
Now that you have chosen an agent, they will help you establish your asking price for your property.
4. Prepare Your Home for Sale
View your home through the eyes of the buyer and ask yourself what you would expect. Your agent will help guide you and give you tips on de-cluttering and other things that will help your home be more sellable.
5. List it for Sale
When everything is in place, your agent will put your home on the open market. Your agent will be actively working hard behind the scenes, marketing your property to colleagues, clients and the public!
6. Showings
Potential buyers may ask to see your home on short notice. It is best if you can accommodate these requests, you never want to miss a potential sale. After each showing, your agent will follow up with the people who viewed your home to hear their feedback.
7. Offers & Negotiations
If everything goes well, a buyer’s agent will present your agent with an offer. You have three choices – accept the offer, counter the offer or reject the offer. Our knowledge of your needs will enable your agent to represent you in the best way possible.
8. Under Contract
At this point, you have accepted an offer and have agreed to all the terms set forth in the contract.
9. Conditional Phase
When the agreement of purchase and sale is accepted and signed by all parties, the conditional phrase begins. The buyers will have a pre-determined amount of time to fulfill items likely including home inspection, financing, home insurance, etc. The date the conditions are removed, you now have a firm and binding contract for the sale of your home. SOLD!
10. Closing
This is the date of transfer of funds and ownership that was agreed upon in your binding contract. Be sure you are packed up and ready to go before this date!
The Home Seller's Checklist
Before you put your house on the market, ask your real estate agent for guidance on improving your home's presentation. Your agent can tell you what buyers expect in your particular market and at your home's price point. The following 10 steps are a way to get a good head start on preparing to sell your home.
1. Welcome buyers. Make your front door visible and accessible to buyers. Paint the door, clear debris and clutter from the walkway and yard, mow the lawn and prune hedges. Pot or plant colorful annuals and perennials to attract attention from the street. Fix broken screens, doorbells, roof tiles, shingles and outdoor lighting, and replace your doormat. Exterior defects can make a poor first impression on buyers.
2. Make it sparkle. Cleanliness implies a home has been well taken care of, so deep cleaning can win points with buyers. Buyers scrutinize homes, especially kitchens and bathrooms. Recaulk and repaint to give these grime-prone rooms a fresh and clean look. Clean rugs and carpets to eliminate unsightly stains or dinginess and eliminate odors. Tidy each room, including cabinets, closets and the garage, before showing. And if it seems daunting to do all that cleaning yourself, consider hiring a professional cleaning company to take care of all of it for you.
3. Start packing. Cramped and cluttered rooms turn buyers off and make your house look smaller. A home packed with your personal belongings also makes it difficult for others to envision living there. Start by storing away excess furniture, toys and personal decorations, such as family photos. Pack up things you don’t use on a daily basis, and put them in storage or ask a friend to hold onto them. Decluttering your house also gives you a head start on your move.
4. Paint wisely. A well-done, no-frills paint job is all you need. Put a fresh coat of paint on white or beige walls, and repaint walls that have eccentric or unconventional colors. Nature- and spa-inspired neutral colors, such as taupe and subtle gray, are the best choices. Definitely don’t forget the trim and molding either. And a fresh paint job on outdated or worn cabinetry goes a long way, too.
5. Fix the small stuff. Repair or replace broken or outdated hardware throughout your home. You can install new door handles, faucets, towel bars and curtain rods – fixtures that are readily visible to homebuyers – rather inexpensively. New hardware in the bathroom, kitchen and on windows and doors also improves the functionality and safety of these components.
6. Update lighting. Replace decorative light fixtures that no longer fit your home’s cleaner, fresher look. Install new bulbs with the appropriate lighting for specific areas of your home. For example, ambient, low-key lighting fills a room, whereas directional or task lighting works better in areas like a reading nook. Use accent lighting to highlight focal points in a room, such as the artwork above a mantle, to draw buyers’ attention to certain selling points.
7. Frame windows. Ensure you have the right window treatments, which enhance natural brightness and boost the appearance of a home. Window treatments also can impact a room’s temperature because they reduce or increase the amount of light entering the space. Adjust window treatments appropriately when showing your home in the mornings, afternoon and evenings.
8. Set the table. Fresh, decorative flowers in the kitchen or on the dining room table are always a nice touch. Also, keep place settings handy for your tables so you can quickly set them out right before showings or an open house. Pull out all the formal stops for a dining room, and keep the table casual in the kitchen.
9. Hide unsightly everyday items. Don’t leave children’s toys and pet belongings out in the open during showings and open houses. Move litter boxes, pet dishes, toys, animal crates and kids’ entertainment to less conspicuous areas of the home, such as an outdoor storage unit or garage before each showing or open house. Also think about where you can store things like dirty laundry and dirty kitchen sponges.
10. Don’t forget the back. Keep your backyard looking spacious and functional. Plant or pot colorful flowers and keep the landscaping trimmed and neat. Consistently pick up after your pets so buyers feel comfortable touring the yard.