To sell or not to sell? that is the question. There are many reasons to sell your home, it may be that you want a bigger home, or a smaller home, you want to move closer to work or family, you may want a second home, or you just want something new. If you are thinking of selling your home, here is an overview of how it will go.
Preparation
Condition of the home
As soon as you decide to sell your home, walk through out your house and analyze it. Are there some things that need fixing, or a touch up? Doing this, will let you know in advance the conditions of your home and things to tackle so your home has great success selling.
On that note, get a pre-sale home inspection. This is not mandatory, but doing so will let you know the conditions of the house and if there is anything that needs fixing. Doing so, you will be one step ahead of the buyers who will also do a home inspection.
If you decide to do the inspection, you will know what to fix and what not to fix. I would recommend fixing these things right away or if not, be willing to cut the selling price.
While preparing your home for sale, you can also do renovations, however, what to upgrade should have a high return on investment since you do not want to spend extra money on an upgrade and it not pay off after selling.
Some high return on investment home upgrades are:
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Kitchen remodel
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Bathroom remodel
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Well maintained landscaping
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A new roof
Consider where you’ll move
Where will you move after you sell? Are you selling to buy? Or are you selling, renting and then buying? Know what your plans are before putting your house on the market.
Note: If you want to buy a new house but you need to sell your current one. Consult with an agent. After considering your situation, they may be able to put a clause in the listing that states that the house can be sold but the buyer is “subject to the seller finding suitable housing”. Then you go look for a house to buy and they will include in the offer a home contingency of home sale so that if your home does not sell, you are able to back out of the home buying transaction and not lose your earnest money deposit. This is a complex process so make sure to consult with your agent.
The seller 7s
When working with me, you should expect 7 questions that I’ll ask you on our first call or meeting. I call them “the seller 7s”. Other professionals have similar questions even if not in the exact format.
The questions to expect from your agent are:
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Why are you looking to move?
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When would you like to move by?
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What is your home’s current value?
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How much do you owe on the home?
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What are the home’s special features?
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Is the interior in good shape?
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What home upgrades or improvements have you made?
These questions are to determine your situation as a seller, so I or any agent can determine how best to support you on the selling journey so that it is as smooth and stressless as possible.
These questions also help, when the agent comes to your house to take a walk through and talk to you about the selling process.
The appointment
After the initial call or meeting, the agent will set up an appointment with you at your house. There, you will give the agent a tour of the home, then the agent will give you a Competitive Market Analysis report along with the selling price of the home, finally, they will inform you about the market, how they work and how they plan to sell your home.
The tour
You will give the agent a tour of your home, while pointing out the upgrades and special features of the home, as well as the aspects of the house that you enjoy.
Competitive Market Analysis report (CMA)
The CMA is an analysis of all the homes that are similar to yours and close to yours location wise. It contains homes that have been sold, are on the market, are pending, or are expired. The purpose of the CMA is to come up with an accurate evaluation of your home so that the home sells.
Selling price
The agent will give you the price they think the home will sell for and explain why, according to the CMA and the dangers of pricing the house to high and the unprofitability of pricing it too low.
The market and how they work
They will explain the market your home is located in, whether it is a seller’s or buyer’s market, what is the selling price of homes similar to yours, and how long they take to sell. They will also mention how you should expect working with them will be like and what the broker commission is.
How they plan to sell your home
They will explain how they plan to sell your home and the strategies and tools they have at their disposal.
The contract
Finally, they will present to you the listing contract for you to sign. Which gives the agent the right to put your house on the market.
The selling process
Putting the house on the market
After the appointment, the agent will start getting your home ready for sale. They will hire photographers to take pictures of the home. They will get a lockbox in which to put the key of the home in for showings. They will put your home’s information and photos in the Multiple Listing Service MLS which will push your home to all the home buying and selling sites online.
Open house and showings
Open houses will be set up for your home. On these days, buyers will show up at your house and the agent will show them the house and answer any questions they have.
Some buyers may have missed the open house and may want to see the house still, so they will set up a showing, where their agent will set up an appointment with your agent to see the home on a certain day, the agent will then follow up with you to see if that is okay with you.
Reviewing offers
Then, offers will start coming in for your house. Your agent will gather them and bring them to you, for you to analyze and choose which ones are best for you. Your agent will guide you to make that decision. However, you should make the decision you are comfortable with after considering all the facts.
If you find an offer that you like but something about it you do not, you can counteroffer and let the other party what they’ll need to change for their offer to be accepted. Expect back and forth negotiation with offers, which your agent will be of good help.
The closing
You will need to sign some documents at the closing. Your agent will let you which ones to bring. Also, you will need to bring the following:
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The keys, and codes of the house
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A photo ID
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If your home is paid off, the deed
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A checkbook if applicable
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Other documents your agent might tell you to bring
With these, also bring payment for the fees and the keys of the house to give to the buyers.
Some of the real estate fees at closing will be:
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Broker commission
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Transfer tax
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Recording fees
When everything is done, you will finally have sold your house.
Thinking of selling?
If you’ve read this far, then, you may be looking to sell your home, and I would like to be your real estate professional.
I provide a clear path for people looking to sell their home, and my goal is to get you the highest reasonable price for your home and take care of all the details and annoyances that come from contracts and coordination of the sale.
If you are ready to sell your home in Massachusetts, fill out the form below and I will reach out to you shortly!
