Steps in the home selling process can be the key to a good or bad experience. Nick & Cindy have put into place in our business a home selling step by step process to ensure that your home selling experience is a pleasant one that ensures we get you the highest amount for your home. That we sell the house in the shortest amount of time and with the most favorable terms for you our client.
Home Selling step by step process
So you have made a decision to sell your home. Now what? Well we have a plan for you to use that we call the home selling step by step process.
- Prepare to sell the home
- Find a Realtor®
- Interview the Realtor®
- List your home
- Show your home
- Negotiate the offer
- Home Inspections
- Appraisal
- Pre-Closing Process
- Preparation for moving day
- Closing
Prepare to sell the home
There are a few things that we would recommend that you do just before you get ready to sell your home.
A home inspection
This will assist you in knowing if there is anything that you will need to fix prior to an offer being submitted to purchase your home. We have had several owners do a home inspection prior to placing their home on the market and find out that they needed to do some repairs prior to selling their home. This may not sound like good news, but it actually is. Being proactive and having the items that need to be taken care of prior to an offer coming in will assist you in selling your home.
DE clutter
This may cause some people to get upset with us. It is essential in selling your home. Nick always explains to the owners when he meet with them on the pre-listing meeting. Stand in the middle of room and look in a complete 360. If you see things that you cannot remember when the last time you have used them; it is time to pack it away or put it away. Counter-tops; you want to show off how much space you have and that cannot be accomplished if they are covered.
Consider a Purchasing a Home Warranty
Several companies offer a Home Warranty program that actually will cover while you have your home on the market for sale. And it is an added benefit to the buyer of your home that they know that at least for the first year that they will be covered under a home warranty.
Gather necessary documents
You should find the copy of your survey from when you purchased your home. This is typically going to be found in the closing packet you received from your Title Company when you purchased your home. (I know because that is where ours was) this can save the buyer a few dollars when they are purchasing your home.
Your Owner’s Title Policy; it will be in the same place as the survey most likely. If you are selling in less than three years you could be eligible for a discount on your Owner’s Title Policy charge now.
Home Owner’s Association (HOA) Contact information. This will assist us when we have an offer on your home so that the Estoppel Certificate is ordered or in some cases HOA approval may be needed for purchasing.
Curb Appeal
Having your mulch in your flower beds spruced up, trees trimmed, yard fertilized will go a long way. Remember we only have one chance to make a good first impression on the buyer’s when they pull up in front of your house.
Find a Realtor® in the Home Selling step by step process
Here are a few ways that you can find a Realtor® who can assist you in selling your home.
1.Ask your family, friends or neighbor who they would recommend. Usually if their Realtor® did a stellar job, they will be more than willing to give you their contact information.
2.You can also use search tools on the National Association of Realtors or Council of Residential Specialist websites to assist you in finding your Realtor®.
3.Choose a Brokerage or Agency First; remember you want a Real Estate Brokerage that you have heard of. Chance are if you never heard of the company you probably will be disappointed with their service.
4.Call the office and ask for the names of the top 3 producing agents, so you can do some research on your own.
Here are a few things to avoid when you are looking for a Realtor® to sell your home.
1.They advertise a discounted commission so I will use them. This is always makes me smile. In order to properly service a listing it costs money to do so. So the question is if a agent discounts their commission what aren’t they doing to sell your home?
2.They give you a price over the phone. In our experience this is virtually impossible to do. We cannot do this with out seeing a home. There are too many variables.
Interview the Realtor® in the Home Selling step by step process
1.How long have you been in residential real estate sales? Is it your full-time job? While experience is no guarantee of skill, real estate — like many other professions — is mostly learned on the job.
2.What designations do you hold? Designations such as CRS® , which require that agents take additional, specialized real estate training, are held only by about one-quarter of real estate practitioners.
3.How many homes did you and your real estate brokerage sell last year? By asking this question, you’ll get a good idea of how much experience the practitioner has.
4.How many days did it take you to sell the average home? How did that compare to the overall market? The REALTOR® you interview should have these facts on hand, and be able to present market statistics from the local MLS to provide a comparison.
5.How close to the initial asking prices of the homes you sold were the final sale prices? This is one indication of how skilled the REALTOR® is at pricing homes and marketing to suitable buyers. Of course, other factors also may be at play, including an exceptionally hot or cool real estate market.
6.What types of specific marketing systems and approaches will you use to sell my home? You don’t want someone who’s going to put a For Sale sign in the yard and hope for the best. Look for someone who has aggressive and innovative approaches, and knows how to market your property competitively on the Internet. Buyers today want information fast, so it’s important that your REALTOR® is responsive.
7.Can you recommend service providers who can help me obtain a mortgage, make home repairs, and help with other things I need done? Because REALTORS® are immersed in the industry, they’re wonderful resources as you seek lenders, home improvement companies, and other home service providers. Practitioners should generally recommend more than one provider and let you know if they have any special relationship with or receive compensation from any of the providers.
8.What type of support and supervision does your brokerage office provide to you? Having resources such as in-house support staff, access to a real estate attorney, and assistance with technology can help an agent sell your home.
9.What’s your business philosophy? While there’s no right answer to this question, the response will help you assess what’s important to the agent and determine how closely the agent’s goals and business emphasis mesh with your own.
10.How will you keep me informed about the progress of my transaction? How frequently? Again, this is not a question with a correct answer, but how you judge the response will reflect your own desires. Do you want updates twice a week or do you prefer not to be bothered unless there’s a hot prospect? Do you prefer phone, e-mail, or a personal visit?
11.Could you please give me the names and phone numbers of your three most recent clients? Ask recent clients if they would work with this REALTOR® again. Find out whether they were pleased with the communication style, follow-up, and work ethic of the REALTOR®
Listing your home in the Home Selling step by step process
Nick & Cindy Davis’s team which includes our lender, an Administrative Assistant, Title Company and the office staff will work together with you to reach your goal. Communication is the key to a satisfactory business relationship, and our aim is to give you the best service possible. Since we cannot possibly cover everything during our meeting together, we will give you a detailed overview of what to expect while your home is on the market. If you have concerns about any of the items in this letter, please express them to us. Nothing is carved in stone and we strive to work with you in the way that is best for you.
Multiple Listing Service (MLS) Your home will be entered into the multiple listing service (MLS) computers immediately after your listing agreement. This means information on your home will be immediately available to agents through the MLS. If an agent is actively searching for a new listing with special features that your home offers, then it is possible that your home will b shown within a few days after it has entered the marketplace. We are looking for that one right buyer.
Virtual Tour & Listing Photos. A Virtual Tour, which is a custom developed tour of your home, will be created for buyers to see on all Real Estate Search Engines. Nick & Cindy Davis typically will take in excess of 35 photos of your home for advertising purposes. Each Website allows a Realtor® to upload a certain amount of listing photos. The more photos the better.
Lock Box:When utilizing the advantages of the lock box system, there are some steps of precaution. It is recommended that you install a door chain on the inside of the door (this is in case you are involved in an activity that impair you from hearing a knock at the door if a Realtor® wishes to enter the home).
Yard Sign. Nick & Cindy Davis always come to list your home with sign ready to be installed within a day or two of signing the listing agreement.(Weekends may cause this to be three days) Nick & Cindy Davis also use a Call Capture System. We include a Rider attached to our sign that buyers can call 24/7 and get information about your home. The features and price. This system automatically sends a text message and email to Nick & Cindy Davis. Who will personally call each potential buyer to see if they would like to see your house.
Showing your home in the Home Selling step by step process
When a Realtor wants to show your home, they will call Centralized Showing Service (CSS) and schedule a time after CSS contacts you to see if that time is convenient. They will usually give a window for which they would like to come and see the house. (Monday between 4-5pm) As we probably have discussed, we do not want to lose a showing, so (unless we have made other arrangements) our procedure is we will coordinate times where CSS can schedule showings without speaking with you. They will always send an email confirmation to you. An example would be you work Monday through Friday 9am to 5pm. We would typically inform CSS that during those times to schedule the showing and give a courtesy call to you. You will always get the email notification as well. Again you need to be ready at all times for a showing. We realize this is hard to do, but the more prepared you are, the faster your home is likely to sell.
Although an agent may anticipate showing your home during a specified time period, an agent cannot know the exact time. Sometimes a buyer will take five minutes in a house, another will take twenty, as we as realtors never know their pace until we actually work with the buyer. Sometimes a buyers change their mind about what kind of home or what they want to see. If this happens, the showing Realtor® may not be able to call us immediately to cancel the appointment. It doesn’t often, but no shows are a possibility, so let’s plan for
them.
If is preferable that you leave the house during showings. We want the buyer to be relaxed and free to voice opinions. The Realtor® can overcome the possible objections only after they have been spoken. If you are home when a showing is taking place, take a walk outside so that you will out of earshot from the buyer. Although your intentions may be to help the buyer, your comments may actually detract from the property. Perhaps the thing you love most about your home is just not what the buyer is looking for, you may see the yard as over-sized and big enough for family reunions but the buyer may see weekends filled with nothing but yard work.
After the showing Centralized Showing Service will email the showing agent one hour after the scheduled showing time requesting feedback from the buyer. If the agent does not reply the system will email the showing agent for the next three days. If the agent still fails to respond either Nick, Cindy or our Assistant will call the showing agent for feedback.
Negotiating the offer in the Home Selling step by step process
By Law a Realtor® is required to present all offers. Typically the buyer’s agent will email or fax their customers offer to us. We in turn will immediately call, email or text you to let you know that we have an offer and schedule a time when we can sit down and go over the details of the offer. We use a system called APP FILES that allows you to digitally sign documents. So if you are not local to the area. We can email the offer documents to you and then go over the details of the offer over the phone with you. We always prepare a Seller Estimated Worksheet that will show you exactly what you should receive under the terms and conditions of the offer.
Home Inspections in the Home Selling step by step process
The buyer has a choice whether they will hire a professional home inspector. Home inspections are a routine part of nearly every residential purchase, whether a resale or, yes, even a new-construction home. Here are a few areas home inspectors look at:
Structural:. Home inspectors are not structural engineers, but they can identify visual defects in areas requiring immediate repairs and will recommend a structural engineer should they feel it is warranted.
Electrical: Do all the outlets work? Are the GFCI (ground-fault circuit interrupters) operational? Is there any reverse polarity? Is there evidence of double lugging of breakers at the service panel? Any wiring not properly encased? Landscape watering or lighting systems improperly installed?
Plumbing: Are there any leaks or annoying drips? Are there any pipes that are vibrating because they are not properly secured? Reverse hot and cold taps in bathrooms or kitchen? Are there any toilets not secured to the floor? What about cracks in the shower-tub surrounds? Is the water pressure sufficient? Are there any slow-draining sinks or tubs?
Built-In Appliances: All appliances are tested, including running a dishwasher cycle, testing microwaves, and checking oven temperatures and burners.
Safety Hazards: Some of these items cross over electrical and plumbing and include making certain hot-water tanks are secured; verifying there is proper ventilation of all systems supplied by natural gas; and testing temperature variations on the furnace, weather conditions permitting.
Miscellaneous: Other items may or may not be included, but should be reviewed by a qualified professional, such as wells, septic systems, roofs, sufficient sealing of flashing, noting cracked tiles, exposed felt, adequate attic insulation and ventilation, drainage problems, wood decks, wood-infestation evidence (dry rot), patios, or other exterior structures.
There may be some deficiencies that are considered Warranted and depending upon which type of purchase contract was used and negotiated. You as a seller may be required to pay for repairs to an agreed upon amount. Having an agent who knows what items are warranted can save you money that should have to spend.
The Appraisal in the Home Selling step by step process
A buyer who is using a mortgage to purchase your home is required to have an appraisal of the home being purchased to determine the value of the home. Nick or Cindy Davis attend every appraisal as a representative of our customers. We always bring MLS Sheet with the comparable homes that have Sold, which are under Contract to be Sold and that are Active on the market for sale. This can assist in the appraisal process.
Provided we were all in agreement when we listed your home this usually is not a problem . Once the appraisal is completed it will be returned back to the buyers mortgage provider. The only time we will know what the value was assessed is if the home did not appraise for the contract price.
This can happen and sometimes does. In the past if this happens and the value is truly off. We can dispute the value of the appraisal. This process can add a week or two to the home selling process, but is worth the wait. Nick & Cindy Davis have been successful disputing an appraisal that did not truly reflect the true value of the home.
Pre-Closing Process in the Home Selling step by step process
During this phase of the home selling process there will be several people working with all of us to ensure that your home selling process goes smoothly.
In the getting ready to sell your home phase we explained how you should Gather necessary documents that will assist us in selling your home. The title company will send an estoppel request to verify various types of seller-related fees that must be accounted for at closing. The applicable organization will respond to its request with an estoppel letter that clearly states the amount of the fee and the amount of any late or advance payments associated with the seller’s account. This prevents the organizations from making future requests for additional payments.
The title company will also request from your Mortgage Company (if applicable) A payoff statement. The payoff statement is basically a document signed by a lender indicating the amount required to pay a loan balance in full and satisfy the debt. The payoff statement normally shows the remaining loan balance and number of payments in addition to the amount of interest that will be rebated due to prepayment by the borrower. This will be used to ultimately determine what the exact amount of proceeds you will receive at closing from the sale of your home.
Preparing for the move in the Home Selling step by step process
One month before your move:
Arrange for moving your furniture and personal belongings either by hiring a moving company or renting a truck. Get estimates from several moving companies or truck-rental companies and be sure to obtain a hand truck (appliance dolly) if you’re moving yourself.
Gather moving supplies: boxes, tape, rope, and anything else you might need. Plan your travel itinerary and make transportation and lodging reservations in advance if you are driving to your new home. (Leave a copy with a friend or relative.)
Some moving expenses are tax deductible, so you will want to save your moving-expense receipts for tax deductions, including meals, lodging and gasoline or mileage. Record expenses incurred during your house-hunting trips. Develop a plan for packing, such as packing last the things you use the most.
Notify others of your new address: post office, charge accounts, subscriptions, relatives and friends, national and alumni organizations, church, mail order clubs (books, videos, catalogs), firms with which you have time payments, and your past employer to make sure that you receive W-2 forms and retirement-account information. Save your old address labels to speed up filling out change-of-address forms for your new address. Notify federal and state taxing authorities or any governmental agency necessary.
Closing Day in the Home Selling step by step process
What Charges can I expect to pay for at Closing?
The seller can normally be expected to pay for the following:
Real estate commission.
Owner’s title-insurance premiums.
Half of the Real Estate Closing Fee charged by the title company (except for VA loans, where the seller pays 100%).
Payoff of all loans in seller’s name.
Fees, re-conveyance fees, and prepayment penalties.
Home warranty according to the contract, if any.
Any judgments, tax liens, etc., against the seller.
Recording fees to clear all documents of record against the seller.
Tax pro-ration. This is for any unpaid taxes at the time of transfer of title.
Any unpaid homeowner-association dues.
Any assessments according to the contract.
Any and all delinquent taxes per the contract.
Half of the document-preparation fee (unless VA or FHA loan; then the seller pays 100%).
There are some mandatory costs:
Both FHA and VA require that the seller must pay certain costs including: document preparation, tax service, warehousing, and loan-review fee (if any).
VA: 100% of Real Estate Closing Fee.
So when you are ready to get started you can call us at 813-300-7116 or simply fill out the form below and we will in touch with you shortly to schedule a time that we can come and present how we will sell your home for you. Selling a home?
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