The Selling Process

If you are selling your home, it can be difficult to know where to start. There are a lot of steps to follow even before you list your home for sale, and having getting advice or guidance from an agent is the best way to assure that everything goes smoothly. Maybe you aren’t even ready to consult an agent, and are simply considering selling your home and looking to learn more about the process. If that is the case, we’ve compiled this guide to selling your home from pre-listing to closing,

Before You List

There are a ton of preparations to do before you even list your home for sale to make sure that the selling process goes well and your home doesn’t linger on the market for too long. A few months before listing, it is important to do your homework. Research your local market to get an idea of what you should be listing your home for and to gauge interest. This is also the time to gather all your important documents, such as those for mortgage and insurance, and to add up the costs associated with selling your home.

After you have done your research and gathered all the important documents you will need, it is time to get your home ready to sell. Make sure to look at your home like a buyer would, and make any repairs that you have been putting off. This can include small cosmetic repairs like a new paint job or replacing light fixtures, but can expand to include new appliances. It is also important to make yourself aware of what you can’t fix, such as noise and traffic patterns, and be prepared to find a way to market your home around those problems.

After these steps have been handled, it is time to list your home. Now is the time to meet with an agent if you were planning on it, because they can help you with the trickier details. You will need to know what you want your listing price to be, how to list your home online and how to get professional photos taken. Then, you will work with the realtors to officially list your home and start scheduling open houses!

After You List

Once your home is on the market, the next step for you will come once a buyer is ready to make an offer. An agent can also help you negotiate through this process, and help you figure out what to consider. The best thing to do is to aim for a win-win agreement between you and the buyer, while keeping your bottom line in mind. There are also factors outside of just the numbers to consider, such as contingency and being able to set the closing date.

Once you have negotiated a deal that both you and the buyer are satisfied with, it will be time to close. There will be a list of things to do before the actual closing day, including:

• Setting an inspection with the buyer’s home inspector
• Working with the buyer’s appraiser
• Provide documents to the buyer’s agent and lawyer
• Contact your lender to start your own mortgage payoff process

After these steps are all finished, it will be time to meet for closing day. You will need to bring a variety of forms to the closing day, and it is a good idea to also have your agent or your lawyer there with you as well to make sure all the negotiating and signing goes smoothly. Once the closing is completed and the many forms are signed, you can relax knowing you have officially sold your home!