Is your family growing and you need to expand? Is your family shrinking and you need to downsize? Though very different problems, both have the same solution. You need a new home. My Home Buying Process blog takes you through the steps of buying a new house. You will also want to sell your current home. Here are the steps in the home selling process.
Listing Your Home
Obtaining an agent can help you from the beginning to the end of your selling process. Agents have knowledge about the local neighborhoods and can help you feel at ease during the process. Agents will suggest any home improvements that can enhance your homes sale.
Marketing Plan
An agent will customize a marketing plan specific to the sale of your home. This plan will highlight your property’s best features in the current market and give you a Competitive Market Analysis (CMA). This will help determine the best price to list your house at. Your house will then be listed on multiple websites and social media sites to publicize your home. Your agent’s plan will include planning open houses, follow up to potential buyers, contact potential buyers and real estate agents, and interact with users on the websites with potential inquiries.
Pricing
Be careful when pricing your home, you want to make sure it is the right price. If you list your house too high, people may avoid it because it’s not in their price range. If you list your house too low, people may think there is something wrong with it. During your marketing plan, your agent should have prepared a CMA and analyzed the recently sold houses that are similar to your features. A few factors that help establish your selling price are location, condition, amenities, price per square foot, and home warranty. Don’t forget to ask your agent about the features of the house that could help it sell.
Preparation
You now need to prepare your home for the market. You want to make sure your house is clean, freshly painted, has curb appeal, and doesn’t come with any unwanted odors. These aspects help when the house begins to show.
Showing
Typically, real estate agents do the showings and the homeowner leaves the house. The current owner usually has an emotional connection and it can skew the showings. The agent will know the proper lighting, temperatures, decorating, and pathway to show the house to the best of its abilities.
Negotiating Price
More often than not, the listing price is not the final agreed on price. Your agent will help you through negotiating a price with the prospective homebuyer and create an outcome both will agree to. Compromise is needed during this step because you want to arrive at a fair price.
Home Inspection
Schedule a home inspection to detect any problems within the home. The process will take hours and depending on the size of the house, rooms, and amenities, it can take longer. The inspector will look at the foundation, basement, roof, chimney, walls, doors, and windows. You could even get an inspection before the showing process so you can disclose any problems that you don’t plan on fixing to the buyers.
Closing
Your agent can help you with the final documentation need at the closing of your house. The closing documents include:
Mortgage
Deed
Homeowners’ Insurance Policy
Title Insurance Policy and Certificate of Title
Property Tax Bill
Water and Sewer Bills
Utilities Records
Warranties, Service Records, and Referrals
Plot Plans
These documents will be transferred to the buyer after the sales agreement is complete and the payments are taken care of.