Selling your home can be a long, stressful, and expensive process. At Apple Country Realty, our job is to help make it as short, stress-free, and as financially beneficial for you as possible. We hope that the information provided below is helpful to you in your journey.
There are seven steps involved in selling your home:
- Choose the right real estate agent. Finding the right person to sell your home is important. Look for someone who listens, who’s knowledgeable and experienced, who is responsive, and who you enjoy working with. Download and read the Working With Real Estate Agents form to learn more about the duties of buyer's and seller's agents.
- Set the value of your home. Determining the proper price when you list your home is essential. Many factors can affect the list price of a home, including its location, age, size, condition, amenities, supply and demand, and market conditions.
- Prepare a marketing plan and promotional materials. You may have the best home in the area, but if it isn’t marketed properly, it won’t sell. Good marketing includes a full MLS listing, local and regional online and newspaper ads, and yard signs. High-quality photography that shows off your home’s best assets is a must in all promotions.
- Show your home. Potential homebuyers will usually decide whether they like your property within the first 30 seconds of viewing it. Your home is a product being sold in a very competitive market, and it’s important to present it in the best light possible. As soon as you choose us to represent you, we will conduct an on-site analysis of your home and property to help you decide what additional investments of time and money — such as repainting a room, adding lighting, or decluttering — might lead to a quicker sale at a better price.
- Receive and review offers. When you get an offer on your home, a good agent will help you review it, make sure you understand all the information presented, and then advise you as to how to respond to its specific terms and conditions. In addition to a price, offers often include the amount the buyer needs to borrow, closing dates, contingencies such as inspections and appraisals, and any personal property, such as appliances, that the potential buyer would like included.
- Meet required follow up deadlines. The work is far from over once you’ve agreed to an offer. Your real estate agent will work closely with you — and the buyer — to monitor progress and meet deadlines for home inspections, appraisals, surveys, title insurance, agreed upon repairs, and final walkthroughs.
- Close the sale. At the closing, all parties will sign the necessary paperwork needed to complete the transaction. The title to the property will be transferred from you to the buyer, any existing liabilities such as your remaining mortgage are paid off, documents are filed with the local property records office, and you receive payment for your house! (Congratulations!) A good real estate agent will continue to work closely with you, the buyer’s agent, and both attorneys to ensure that no last minute issues pop up to stop the sale.
Words to the Wise
With over 25 years’ experience in the Henderson County real estate market, we’ve seen some folks have negative experiences selling their home when they tried using avenues other than a licensed REALTOR®. As you navigate the process of selling your home, please keep this advice in mind:
Setting an initial asking price is the most important step in the home selling process. Too high, and you delay your sale by months or years. Too low, and you may shortchange yourself by thousands of dollars.
Online estimates of home values, like the Zestimate® from Zillow, are only a computer algorithm’s best guess, and can often be tens of thousands of dollars off. To get an accurate assessment, it’s best to use a Certified Residential Appraiser with first-hand knowledge of your area.
According to a recent study, just 9% of homeowners opted to sell their home without the services of a real estate professional, and many of those “For Sale by Owner” transactions involved buyers and sellers who were related or already knew each other.
If you’ve already read our Services for Sellers page, you know that selling your home will be complicated and time consuming, not to mention requiring extensive expertise and resources. Trusting the sale of your home to a trained, licensed Realtor is essential to getting a price that is fair to both the buyer and to YOU.
If you choose to sell your home without a REALTOR® be aware of the following:
- The paperwork involved in selling and buying a home has increased dramatically as industry disclosures and regulations have expanded.
- What you save in commissions may be lost by underpricing your home. In addition, someone buying a For Sale By Owner home will try to get you to lower your asking price since he knows you aren’t paying a commission.
- Finally, if your buyer is represented by a broker, that broker won’t work with you since he or she would normally be paid out of the selling agent’s commission.