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.
|
