The Road to Selling Your Home
Have you thought about selling your home and not quite sure where to begin or what to expect? Well, I am here to guide you through each step of the process! Below is a summary of the steps from the very beginning, meeting with a Real Estate agent, to the end result, your SOLD home!
1. Meet with A Real Estate Professional: Getting started is pretty easy! The first step is to set up a listing appointment with a Real Estate Broker. There is NO commitment required from you when you set up this first meeting. It is educational and will show you what the listing agent has to offer as well as your next steps. Once you have determined the listing agent/broker you would like to use, you will move onto the next steps.
2. Establish a Price: Using a Comparative Market Analysis, as your agent I will provide comparables that include sales from all real estate agents and companies. These comparables will help you set an asking price based on the parameters of your home compared to other homes that have recently sold in the area. It is extremely important to price your home correctly. The first week of selling your home is when you will get the most views, so having it priced right is paramount.
3. Prepare Your Home: When preparing your home to sell, you want to view your home from the eyes of the buyer. You should ask yourself what you would expect when you go into a home that is for sale. As your agent, I will walk through your home and offer suggestions on how to prepare your home for listing. Once your home is prepped and ready to go, as your agent we will have a professional photographer come to take pictures for your listing and marketing materials.
4. List Your Home for Sale: When all documents have been prepared and signed, your agent will put your home on the market! You will want to make it as easy as possible for potential buyers to see your home. Potential buyers will schedule showings, sometimes even with short notice. It is important to accommodate them as much as you can so that you don’t miss out on the opportunity of a potential sale.
5. Offers and Negotiation: As long as everything goes well and as planned, a buyer and their agent will present an offer to your listing agent. As your listing agent, we will discuss the offer to include the benefits and risks. Sometimes, you might get multiple offers. In this case, we will go through all offers that were submitted and I will inform you of your options. When choosing an offer, you have the option to accept, counter the offer, or reject it based on its qualities and terms.
6. Under Contract/Escrow: Once you have an accepted offer on your home, it is considered under contract/in escrow. At this point, you and the buyer have agreed upon the terms of the purchase and both parties have signed the agreements.
7. Final Details: After your home is under contract, the buyer will work with their lender to finalize the loan and complete other items like an appraisal. The buyer will usually have an inspection of the home and most likely will ask you to repair certain physical items that come upon inspection. The inspection response is another negotiation between you and the buyer. As your agent, I will explain all of your options in regard to the inspection response. Once you are through inspection and appraisal, you have jumped over the last two big hurdles in the selling process!
8. Closing Day: The big day! On closing day, both parties (buyer and seller) come together and complete the transfer of funds and ownership. Depending on the purchase agreement, you might need to be all packed and ready to move on this day, but you can also ask for days of possession after closing to get out of the home. Congratulations, once closing is complete, you have officially SOLD your home!
As always, it would be my pleasure to guide you through the home selling process. I take listing a home very seriously. If you are considering putting your home on the market, I would love to set up an appointment to discuss! Please contact me at 317.691.1875 or Melissa@smithfamilyrealtyindy.com
Happy House Hunting!
Melissa Smith
