So you’ve decided you want to sell your house?
Congratulations!
But, now what?
The home selling process can seem pretty confusing but it really doesn’t have to be.
What are the steps of the HOme selling process?
Find the Right Agent
The very first thing you will want to do is to find the right real estate agent. It might be tempting to sell your home without an agent, but this usually ends up costing you more in the long run both in money and in hassle. The right real estate agent will be able to help with marketing, sales negotiating, and all of the paperwork.
Decide on an Asking Price
The next step is to decide on an asking price. Your real estate agent can pull comps from your area so that you can be sure to price your house to sell.
Develop a Marketing Plan
The next step in the home selling process is to figure out your marketing plan with your real estate agent. In your marketing plan, you’ll want to detail how many open houses you will have, when you’ll hold showings, what advertising strategies your agent will use, etc.
Prepare Your Home
Now that you have a plan in place, it’s time to get your house ready.
You’ll want to make as many improvements as you can. Homebuyers will be looking at anything that they will need to fix when they move in and this could sway them from purchasing your home.
Once the improvements are made, you will want to stage your home. This means making the house feel like home to someone else. Clean all clutter, put a fresh coat of neutral paint on the walls, and remove any personal-identifying things like pictures, etc. Home buyers will need to be able to imagine themselves living in the home. That is hard to do when they see pictures of your family.
Buyer makes an offer
Once a buyer is interested, they will make an offer. This is communicated from the buyer’s real estate agent to your seller’s agent.
Your agent will help you navigate the offer. If you feel the offer is too low, don’t be afraid to negotiate and offer a counteroffer.
Open Escrow
Once you accept an offer, you’ll enter into the escrow period. The buyer will pay a good faith deposit, which will be deposited into an escrow account toward closing. The escrow period lasts until the closing is completed.
Appraisal
Next, the buyer will need to get an appraisal on the home (their lender will require it). The buyer will order and pay for this. Make sure the house is clean and uncluttered for the appraisal.
Inspection
The buyer will also order and pay for an inspection (unless they waive the inspection, which can happen in a hot market).
An inspection helps the buyer make sure there are no structural issues with the home. If the inspector finds a serious issue, which can be anything from cracks in the foundation to plumbing that needs to be replaced, the buyer has the right to back out of the deal if they are not comfortable with the results.
Pack to Move
At this point, you should have your closing date scheduled, so now you can work on packing! You’ll want to be ready to move in advance of closing, so that the buyer has an empty house to walk through the day before closing.
Prepare for Closing
Now for the fun part! Closing is the formal process of signing all of the paperwork. Your real estate agent will accompany you to the closing and the buyers and the buyer’s agent will be there as well. Your agent should walk you through all of the paperwork ahead of time so there will be no surprises. But be prepared to sign a lot of documents! Once everything is signed, the house is officially sold and you will hand over the keys to the buyers.
There are a lot of moving parts involved in selling a home. But with the right real estate agent, the process should be straightforward and stress-free.