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Home Seller’s Guide to Planning the Sale

Home Seller’s Guide to Planning the Sale

An Overall View Of How To Sell A House:

  • Choose the best real estate sales professional.
  • Determine and set the right price.
  • Sign the Listing Agreement.
  • Review financing available to potential buyers.
  • Arrange for pest/termite inspections.
  • Make major repairs.
  • Clean and polish the house.
  • Be patient while the house is shown and marketed.
  • Negotiate offers.
  • Close the deal.
  • Move.

The Best Way To Sell Your House:

Once you have made the initial decision to sell, you will immediately be faced with another tough question – is it best to hire a real estate sales associate or try to sell the house yourself?

To sell and market a house requires specialized skills, is time consuming, and costs money. Are you prepared to buy advertising space? Advertising is one way to let the buying public know your house is on the market. If not, can you afford the time it will take to sell your house with only a sign inn the yard? Are you willing to stay close to home for days, weeks, maybe months to show your house? Do you possess the necessary legal and financial knowledge to answer buyers’ questions, negotiate a contract, or close a sale?

If you answered “NO” to any of the above questions, perhaps hiring a real estate firm to help would be the most efficient way to sell your house. They can be indispensable to you in the following ways. A real estate professional will:

  • Access the Multiple Listing Service (MLS), which exposes your house to all cooperating member brokers.
  • Assist with pricing the house properly based on Comparative Market Analysis.
  • Provide a detailed marketing plan.
  • Screen potential buyers
  • Show your home whether you are there or not.
  • Provide suggestions for making your property more attractive to potential buyers.
  • Answer potential buyers’ questions.
  • Present all offers.
  • Assist with negotiating the sale.
  • Facilitate the closing process.

Choosing An Agent:

Before deciding on a specific office, there are a few things you can do to narrow the choice. Ask friends and neighbors who have recently sold homes for recommendations. Attend open houses and ask the sales associate questions about the house. This will give you a feel for the professionalism of the company and its sales associates.

Finally, interview a representative from more than one firm. The following points should be discussed:

  • Are you a licensed broker or sales associate?
  • Do you belong to MLS?
  • How long has your company been in business?
  • What are your qualifications, experience, and education?
  • How many homes has your office sold in the past three months?
  • Do you belong to any out-of-town referral organizations?
  • Names of references whose homes you have recently sold.
  • How did you arrive at your price evaluation of my home?
  • How much can I expect to walk away with?
  • Explain the terms of the listing agreement.
  • How would you market and advertise my house?
  • How often will you communicate with me?
  • What if you don’t perform?

Pricing It Right:

Determining the “right” selling price for you home will take some work. If the set price is too low, you could lose thousands of dollars. If it is too high, the home may not sell within your time frame, costing you time, money, and anxiety. The “right” price is a balance between the maximum amount the current housing market will allow, your “competition”, and your own time limits in selling. A reasonable time frame for selling a house may be between 30 and 90 days. If a house is on the market too long, potential buyers may avoid the house, wondering if something is wrong with it.

Three Major Steps In Selling A House