8 STEPS TO SELLING YOUR HOME

Step Eight - Close the Deal

"Closing" refers to transferring ownership of the house from you to the buyer. Traditionally everyone, the buyer and their agent, the seller and their agent, and the escrow officer would all come together to go over paperwork. Once everyone agreed with the numbers they would sign, the buyer would pay their closing costs, and the keys would be handed over. 

While that may still happen today, it can also go quite differently. New technology allows buyers and sellers to sign remotely or with Esignatures. Your agent can go over all final costs with you and once you're ready you can sign wherever is most convenient for you. 

To be helpful to the new buyer you can prepare a "to do" list for them which includes reminders to switch all utilities into their name. It's also a good idea to gather all warranties and maintenance manuals for the home appliances and leave them in an easy to find place. 

Before you leave your home for the last time gather all your house keys, including any copies, and leave them inside the house for the new owners. The buyer's agent will be able to let them in by removing the showing key from the keybox, which will also be given to them. 

Remember, this is just a couple of ways closing may happen. How your agent manages closing will depend on whether they prefer to do things the traditional way or with a more modern flair. 

Step One - Define your Goals

Step Two - Name Your Price

Step Three - Preparing Your Home

Step Four - Marketing

Step Five - Receiving an Offer

Step Six - Negotiations

Step Seven - Preparing to Close

8 STEPS TO SELLING YOUR HOME

Step Seven - Preparing to Close

Now that you have accepted an offer on your home it's time to prepare for closing. Your agent will lead and guide you through each step, but it's important that you make yourself as available as possible. There will be time deadlines for each step and it's important to meet them if the sale of the house is to go through. 

The Inspection - Generally the first step is for the buyer to have the house inspected for any problems. Once they receive the results they can choose to 

1. Ask you to repair the problems found by the inspector
2. Choose to repair the problems themselves
3. Walk away from the deal

Negotiations will open up again at this point. If you are asked to make repairs you can agree to all, some, or none of the requests. Choosing not to make any repairs could result in the buyer walking away from the deal and ignoring repairs marked as a safety concern can cause problems later. Your agent will go over the inspection report with you and help you come up with a decision that makes everyone happy. 

If you decide to make repairs on your home you must hire a bonded and certified professional, you cannot make them yourself. The buyer will expect to have receipts to prove the repairs were  made. 

The Appraisal - Once the terms of the inspection have been worked out the buyer's lender will have the home appraised to be sure it's worth the amount they'll be lending. If the appraiser finds any safety concerns that were not taken care after the inspection he can halt the proceedings until they're addressed. This is why taking care of safety issues brought up at inspection is so important. 

If the home is appraised for less than the agreed upon purchase price there are a few steps you can take.

1. Your agent can fight the results by gathering info on similar homes in the area which sold for a higher amount, but this doesn't work very often.
2. You can terminate the deal, but keep in mind this problem will most likely come up again with the next buyer.
3. The buyer can agree to pay the excess balance in cash.
4. You can agree to lower the price to the appraised value. 

 Your agent may have other ideas or suggestions for dealing with this problem so be sure to discuss alternative methods with them. 

These are the two major events that will happen before the closing date. Once they're worked out you won't have too much to do other than be available. It isn't uncommon for forms to be misplaced, or for random signatures to be needed, so it's important that your agent be able to reach you for anything they may need. Chasing someone down while trying to get a home sale to close isn't fun for anyone, and missing a deadline can result in the termination of the contract. 

Step One - Define your Goals

Step Two - Name Your Price

Step Three - Preparing Your Home

Step Four - Marketing

Step Five - Receiving an Offer

Step Six - Negotiations

Step Eight - Close the Deal

8 STEPS TO SELLING YOUR HOME

Step Six - Negotiations

Now that you have received an offer it's time to negotiate your terms. The goal here is to create a win-win scenario for both you and the buyer, not to simply get everything you want. Your agent will work with you to ensure you get the best deal possible in the current market. 

Almost every part of a contract is negotiable, but the most commonly negotiated areas are:

• Price - In a buyer's market you may not get as much as you'd like for your home, but in a seller's market you may find your home in the middle of a bidding war. 
• Financing - There are many different ways a buyer can find the funding to purchase your home, but you don't have to accept all of them. Discuss with your agent which loan types you're comfortable with, and which ones you'd rather not deal with.
• Closing Costs - It is very common for buyers to ask sellers to pay all or some of the closing costs. Your agent can guide you with this decision based on the current market. 
• Appliances and Fixtures - Sometimes buyer's will want to keep certain things you planned on taking with you when you move. They can always ask but you don't have to say yes. 
• Move-in Date - In general, the move-in date is the day of closing, but this can be negotiated if it doesn't work for you or the buyer. However, remaining in the home after closing could result in you paying rent to the new owner.

Your agent will write up a new offer with the changes you ask for and send it back to the buyer's agent. The buyer can then accept the changes, or make further changes that will be sent back to you. This can go on indefinitely until both parties agree, or one party rejects the offer outright. 

Once an agreement has been made and both parties have signed the offer becomes a legally binding contract. However, there may still be some negotiations to come in Step Seven.  

Step One - Define Your Goals and Needs

Step Two - Name Your Price

Step Three - Preparing Your Home

Step Four - Marketing

Step Five - Receiving an Offer

Step Seven - Preparing to Close

Step Eight - Close the Deal

8 STEPS TO SELLING YOUR HOME

Step Five - Receiving an Offer

Written offers from potential buyers will not be received by you personally, instead they will be sent to your agent, who will then forward them to you. If your agent believes your home will be highly sought after they may set up a date and time for all offers to be reviewed. This allows all buyers an equal opportunity to get their bids in and reviewed. 

Your agent is required by law to show you every offer they receive, even if the offer is really low or if it comes in after you have accepted another offer. Only you can decide to accept or reject an offer, your agent does not have that power.

Once an offer, or offers, are received, your agent will sit with you and go over all the terms, which must include, but not be limited to, the following:

1. Legal description of the property
2. Offer price amount
3. Down payment amount
4. Financing arrangements
5. Who will pay certain fees
6. Deposit amount (not the same as a down payment)
7. Inspection rights
8. Method of transferring title
9. Escrow agent who will handle closing
10. Appliances that will stay in with the house
11. Closing date
12. Contingencies

Once the offer has been reviewed you have three options:

1. Counter the offer - If there are parts of the contract you agree with, but parts you don't, you can discuss with your agents which changes you would like made and she will write up the counteroffer and send it back to the potential buyer. The buyer can then accept your offer, reject your offer, or counter your offer with a new one. Countering can go back and forth as many times as needed until an agreement is reached or one party walks away.
2. Reject the offer - If you feel the offer is unfair or so low that there is no point in countering, or if you have better offers to choose from, you can reject the offer. However, you CAN NOT reject an offer based on the potential buyer's race, religion, sexual orientation, marriage or family status, disability, or any other form of discrimination. If the offer is at full price, and the buyer has proven he is financially capable of purchasing the home there is no reason to reject the offer (unless a better offer has been presented). Rejecting an offer based on a discrimination can lead to substantial fines and legal charges.
3. Accept the offer - If you feel the offer is fair and no changes are necessary you can accept it as is. 

Once you sign an offer it becomes a legally binding contract, so it is very important that you understanding what you're signing. If you are uncertain or confused about any aspect of the contract be sure to ask your agent questions BEFORE signing. 

Back-up offers - If, after you sign an offer, a better offer comes in you can save it as a back-up offer if the potential buyer who sent the better offer agrees. If the original offer fails to close for any reason the back-up offer will automatically come into play. However, it the back-up offer buyer finds another home while the first contract is still active, they can terminate. 

Remember, all offers are not the same, and there are a myriad of different contingencies that can be added or removed. This post describes the most simple of contracts for Washington State. The rules for what must be in included may differ from state to state.

Step One - Define your Goals

Step Two - Name Your Price

Step Three - Preparing Your Home

Step Four - Marketing

Step Six - Negotiations

Step Seven - Preparing to Close

Step Eight - Close the Deal

8 STEPS TO SELLING YOUR HOME

Step Four - Marketing

Now that your house is prepped and ready to sell your agent will design a marketing plan specifically for your home. A good marketing plan generally includes all or some of the following:

Internet Advertising - This includes listing your home on the MLS (Multiple Listing Service) as well as on the agent's personal website or brokerage website. Once your home is listed on these sites it will automatically appear on popular home search sites such as Zillow and Trulia. Your agent may also make ads for Facebook, or post your listing on Linkedin groups. Internet advertising is the most important aspect of marketing.

Yard Signs - The "For Sale" sign in the yard is what generally comes to mind when people think of selling a home. Yard signs are important because they often bring interest from people who might not have even been thinking about buying. However, they can also bring in a lot of looky-loos and if you're selling a high priced luxury home your agent may choose not to hang a sign. This will prevent people who aren't serious or capable of buying your home from traipsing around the property. 

Agent to Agent Marketing - It's common for agents to mass email your listing to other agents who may have buyers interested in your home. This is a very cost effective and efficient way of bringing in potential buyers that For Sale By Owner sellers don't have access to. 

Direct Mail Campaigns - This type of marketing can be costly and hit or miss. Out of every 100 people to receive a mailer about your home, maybe 1 or 2 will be interested. 

Open House - A lot of sellers believe in order to sell their home the agent must hold it open. The truth is, only 1% of homes actually sell at an open house. A more efficient marketing strategy is to hold a broker's open. This is an open house in which only other agents are invited and they're usually served drinks and a light lunch. The agents will then tell their buyers about the home and bring in a lot more traffic than an open house for the public would generate. 

Media Advertising - Advertising in newspapers or magazines typically yields the lowest results, but can come with the highest cost, so most agents no longer utilize this method. 

Photography - I personally believe your agent should always bring in a professional photographer to shoot your home. I have specific photography packages that I offer for free based on the price the house is selling at. If the seller would like additional photos they are required to pay for them, usually at $10 a photo or whatever price is set by the photography company. Some agents feel that snapping a pic with their cell phone is sufficient, but when a buyer is deciding which homes they want to look at they will almost always choose the one with the professional photos. 

How many of these methods your agents uses will depend on the price range of your home. Remember, your agent has to pay for all marketing costs in the hopes they will make the money back once your home sells. If your house is selling for $250,000 your agent probably won't do a direct mailer or media advertisement simply because the price is too high for such minor results.

If you think your agent should be using a certain method and they are not, ask them why, but remember they probably have a good reason for doing so. Ask to discuss their marketing plan in detail before they begin so you have a firm understanding of what they will be doing. Keep in mind your agent does not want to simply bring in a lot of people, they want to bring in the most qualified buyers. 

Finally, your home should be marketed to it's strengths. If you're selling a luxury home all printed materials should appear luxurious. You can also market your home to the decade it was built (such as my favorite, Mid Century Moderns) the location it's in (urban, city dwelling, country living) or any historical significance that may be attached to it. 

Your agent's main goal should be to make your home stand out from the rest and bring in the majority of traffic within the first 3 to 6 weeks your home is on the market.

Step One - Define your Goals

Step Two - Name Your Price

Step Three - Preparing Your Home

Step Five - Receiving an Offer

Step Six - Negotiations

Step Seven - Preparing to Close

Step Eight - Close the Deal

8 STEPS TO SELLING YOUR HOME

Step Three - Preparing Your Home

When trying to sell a house, first impressions mean everything. When you have lived in your home for a long time it's easy to get used to minor imperfections, such as doors that stick or a missing section of baseboard, but potential buyers will notice immediately. 

The condition of your house can and will affect how long it takes to sell, and how much buyers are willing to offer, so let's get it in showroom condition!

1. Clear the Clutter. Begin by packing up and removing anything you don't need to use on a daily basis, such as knick-knacks, excess books and movies, piles of mail, and anything else that causes clutter. De-cluttering kitchen and bathroom counters is especially important. You want potential buyers to be able to move freely around your house without bumping into things and you want their focus to be on the house, not the stuff on your shelves!

2.  Remove Personal Items. Removing items such as family photos and drawings your
children  made will help buyers picture their own family living in your house. People often think keeping family photos up will give the house a homey feel, but it actually makes buyers feel as though they are intruding in someone's home. Take them all down and give the buyers a clean slate to work with.

3.  Clear the Way. Remove or rearrange furniture to create open walk ways around your home. Pull all furniture away from windows and walls and remove anything that makes a room feel tight. This is also important for the garage, which is often used by sellers to store their things before moving. Buyers love looking at the garage and it always excites them to see a clean, open space just waiting for their car and new work bench.

4.  Make Minor Repairs. This is the time to fix all those little things around the house you've been meaning to get to for years. Leaking faucets, doors and windows that stick, and that cracked tile in the bathroom are all simple and affordable fixes. Changing light switch plate covers so they all match, replacing light bulbs, and laying out a new welcome mat will make a huge difference in how a buyer views your home. Major renovations, such as a new kitchen, are usually unnecessary and won't raise the value of your home by much. Keep it simple and focus on the small things.

 5.  Paint. A fresh coat of can make a world of difference in the land of first impressions. Choose neutral tones that are easy on the eyes and keep it simple. Buyers can be finicky and as silly as it sounds the wrong shade of blue on your walls can turn away a potential buyer.

6.  Garden. The front yard is usually the first thing a buyer sees, so don't forget to work on that curb appeal! Sweep the walkway and trim back any hedges or plants that may be growing over it. Rid your doorway of spider webs and add a nice hanging basket of seasonal flowers. If you can, plant some flowers, add some mulch, and above anything keep the lawn mowed! The same can be done with the backyard to create a relaxing and inviting feel. 

Your home is now ready to sell! If you don't feel up to doing some of the things on this list you may want to consider hiring professionals, such as painters, gardeners, and home stagers. Spending a little money on prepping your home will help it sell faster and may even yield you a bigger profit in the end. 

Step One - Define Your Goals

Step Two - Name Your Price

Step Four - Marketing

Step Five - Receiving an Offer

Step Six - Negotiations

Step Seven - Preparing to Close

Step Eight - Close the Deal

8 STEPS TO SELLING YOUR HOME

Step Two - Name Your Price

Pricing your home is not as simple as deciding how much you want for it and slapping on a price tag. The value of your home is determined by the follow:

• the current market
• the condition of your house
• what similar homes are selling for in the area

The value of your home is NOT determined by the following:

• what you originally paid for it
• what your neighbor, friends, co-workers say it's worth
• what you need or want it to be worth
• what it would cost to rebuild it today

In order to determine what your home is worth your agent will perform a Comparative Market Analysis, or CMA. To do this the agent will find a list of similar homes in and around your neighborhood that are currently for sale or that have sold in the last few months. She will then compile the data to show you a low and high price range of homes selling in your area. A good CMA will also include photos of the comparative homes as a visual example of what low end and high end homes look like. This will give you a good idea of how your home compares in the current market and will help you determine a fair asking price. 

Just like your neighbors, friends and co-workers, your agent should not decide what your home is worth simply by looking at it. It is common for agents to make an educated guess based on the current market and the condition of your home, but it is in your best interest to ask that a CMA is performed.

If you want an extremely accurate price point you can have an appraisal done on your home. This is something you would arrange with a home appraisal professional and typically costs a few hundred dollars.

The Market

The housing market fluctuates like any other market, and like any other market, this fluctuation is caused by supply and demand. 

When very few homes are on the market the supply is low and the demand will be high. This is known as a Seller's Market because the demand for homes will cause the prices to rise, thus being more profitable to the sellers. This will lead to more homeowners deciding to sell in order to reap the benefits of rising values. 

As more people begin to sell the supply begins to go up until the market becomes saturated. Now the supply is high and the demand will lower, making it a Buyer's Market. During this phase of the market the buyers get to call the shots. Sellers will be offered much lower prices for their homes because the buyers know they have plenty more options if the sellers turn their offer down. 

Pricing Too High

Pricing your home too high is one of the biggest mistakes that can be made when selling a home. Unless your home is truly unique, no one will pay above market value if they can purchase a similar home down the street for a fair price. 

Studies show that homes priced 3% above market value take longer to sell. If your home sits on the market too long buyers will begin to think something is wrong with it, and they will avoid it. This generally leads to homeowners dropping the price of the home way below market value and receiving less of a profit than they would have had they priced it fairly. 

This may seem like it would only be a problem in a buyer's market, why be worried about pricing too high in a seller's market when prices are rising anyways? In a seller's market, buyers know they will be paying a pretty penny for their home, so they are always in search of a deal. Pricing your home fairly will bring a flock of buyers to your door and could even result in a bidding war. This will have a much more beneficial outcome for you than pricing so high buyers simply walk on by.

If you are unsure about the current market and whether or not you should wait to sell, many agents will perform free CMAs to give you an idea of what your home is currently worth. Once you have that information you can determine a fair price and move on to step 3, preparing your home!

Step One - Define Your Goals

Step Three - Preparing Your Home

Step Four - Marketing

Step Five - Receiving an Offer

Step Six - Negotiations

Step Seven - Preparing to Close

Step Eight - Close the Deal