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- SELLING INFORMATION
The following articles will help you address some of
the important issues surrounding the decision to sell your home. They
are used with permission of the author, Thomas Ervin, a nationally
syndicated real estate columnist.
The following guides are provided by Greenleaf Realty
as additional resources to answer any questions you may have and to
further help you understand the selling process.
Seller's Resource Guide
Your Greenleaf Realty agent will also assist you in preparing for your closing,
typically held at a community
title company, where professionals will oversee and insure the
smooth transfer of funds and title.
Eleven Important Steps in the Selling Process
There are many things to take into account when selling
your house. Below is a list of the eleven most important steps of the
selling process, along with a Moving Checklist, which presents a clear
timetable and outlines your next tasks at each step:
-
Needs Analysis
-
Seller Representation
-
Pricing Strategy
-
Preparing Your Property
-
Marketing Strategy
-
Receiving an Offer
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Negotiating to Sell
-
The Sale
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Pre-Closing Preparation
-
Closing
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Post-Closing
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Needs Analysis
It is important to set
out in writing the reasons that are motivating you to sell your
current home. You might ask yourself, "Why am I selling my home
and what do I expect to accomplish?" If you have a growing
family and you need more space you may be under less pressure to get
your house ready to sell than if you were, let's say, moving to a
new city due to career opportunity.
Explore your short and long term goals and decide how selling your
house fits into those goals. Your
Greenleaf Realty agent will identify all of the variables within
your individual goals and how best to achieve them in your local
real estate market. Your real estate agent will apply his or her
expert knowledge to your particular needs and set a realistic time
frame for the process to proceed. This will help you to establish a
time management path for selling your home.
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Seller Representation
Make sure you have representation!
When Greenleaf Realtors
advise you about what
you can do to make the transaction work, they are acting as part
coach and part business consultant. Remember the agent is there to
work for YOU and is acting in your best interest.
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Pricing Strategy
Your next objective is to consult with one
of our Realtors to determine the best possible selling price of
your home. Issues to address include: state of the local market, the
condition of your home and sales of comparable homes in your
neighborhood. We will create a comparative market analysis by taking
into consideration the type of market you are in and recent sales of
comparable properties. Our Realtor will then guide you to the best
fair market price that will help sell your home within your desired
time frame. Knowing the Southwest Michigan area as we do, our agents
most likely have a clearer and more objective sense of market value
than anyone else- including appraisers!
Often, it can be hard for you, as a seller, to maintain objectivity,
so remember to be reasonable about the price you set. You will always
be better off setting a fair market value price than setting your
price high, expecting that someone will come along and be willing to
pay it. If your home stays on the market too long because it is
overpriced, potential buyers may think that something is wrong with it
and you may end up selling it for less than what you could have gotten
if you had started out with a realistic asking price.
MORE TIPS ON PRICING
Your home has been on the market
for four weeks. There have been a lot of showings but no bites,
so you are wondering if you should consider a price reduction.
You want to get as much as you can for your home, but more
importantly you want it to sell! This may be the time to
have a frank discussion with your
Realtor. While price may be a
major factor, it may not be the only consideration:
- Are you
making your house easy for agents to show?
- Have you completed
the necessary maintenance and cleaning so that your property is as
appealing as possible?
Review with your agent the current market
conditions and the prices of other homes in your neighborhood before
determining that a price reduction is in order.
Our Realtors determine
the asking price of a property by examining the selling price of
comparable homes in the area which have closed. We always work to maximize
your profit by helping you price your
home based on our careful calculation of the maximum amount the
market should yield. Home sellers certainly want the best price
that the market will allow, which can make timing the sale of the home
and pricing the home tricky for home sellers trying to sell their home
on their own.
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Preparing Your Property
Now is the time to get your home in "showing and
selling" condition. Most of us don't keep our homes in the
condition it would need to be in to sell. Over the years those boxes
in the corner of the garage just seem to multiply on their own. Things
have broken that we just never get around to fixing and some things
have just worn out. We just accept the fact that they will always be
this way. It is this frame of mind that you have to break out of in
order to get your house ready to show. How your home looks will
have an immense impact on how quickly it sells and whether or not you
get full market value for it.
First impressions are very important and you only get to make one.
A Greenleaf Realtor can assist you in approaching your home from the
buyer's standpoint. What needs to be changed to make a good first
impression? This may mean that all you do is prune the trees and
shrubs. On the other hand, it may mean that you completely repaint the
house, inside and out. Do a "curb-to-door" check. Give the
potential buyers a clear path to enter the home. The fewer obstacles
between the buyer and the true appeal of your home the better. Keep in
mind that over time we become accustomed to our surroundings. What's
normal for you may be detrimental to the buyer.
Make your home look as spacious as possible. Organize your
closets and kitchen cabinets, and if you have things stored in the
attic or basement, make sure they are presentable. If you are showing
during the day, pull back your curtains and drapes to show how bright
and cheery your home is. If you are showing at night, turn on all of
the lights to create a warm and welcoming environment for the
prospective buyers. A home that is marked with your personality and
style may be harder to sell. You might even consider such things as
removing obvious clues to your political affiliation and tucking away
any biased literature that may be visible. This will reduce
distractions and help the buyers to visualize the home as their own.
If you are selling a home the buyers will probably include a home
inspection clause in the offer. This will allow them to hire an
expert to make sure that the house is structurally sound and all the
systems are working properly. The time to get ready for an home
inspection is before you sell the house!! Owners usually
know about most of the defects in their house. When you get
ready to put you home on the market you should repair any defects
immediately. You won't save any money by delaying repairs, and
buyers may be frightened away by an inspection report that contains a
long list of needed repairs.
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Marketing Strategy
Now that your home is ready, it's time to put it up for sale and
market it. Establishing a marketing strategy is a must. Our
Realtors will expose your home to the most potential buyers
possible using a marketing plan that will have the highest
possibility of bringing the most qualified buyers to your
doorstep.
There are many different ways to convey that your home is for sale.
A yard sign, flyers, mailings and direct marketing are just a few of
the many options available. If you are in a buyer's market you will
have to be extra careful when choosing a plan. You don't want your
home to sit with no one showing interest. We will structure your
marketing strategy so that the first 3-6 weeks that your house is on
the market will be the busiest.
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Receiving An Offer
When a buyer decides to buy your home, an offer will be
presented. Our agent will advise you as to whether or not the
prospective buyer is qualified to purchase your home. After all,
there is no reason to review an offer if the party making it
will not be able to actually buy your home.
You and your agent will then review the written document, taking
care to note what is required of both parties to execute the
transaction. The contract should protect the best interests of all
parties involved and should be comprehensive in nature.
Once you accept the contract, it may be too late to make any
changes. The contract, though not limited to this list, should
include the following:
· A legal description of the property
· The offering price
· The down payment
· Financing arrangements
· A list of fees and who will pay them
· Amount of the deposit
· Inspection rights and possible repair allowances
· The method of conveying the title and who will handle the closing
· A list of appliances and furnishings which will stay with the
home
· The settlement date
· Any relevant contingencies
Remember that the legalities of this phase are very important. If
you have any questions or concerns, be certain to address them with
your real estate agent right away.
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Negotiating To Sell
Most offers to purchase your home will require some level of
negotiation to come to a win-win agreement. Your
real estate agent is well versed on the legalities of the real
estate contract used in this area and will handle the responsibility
of protecting your best interest throughout the negotiations.
In addition, your agent has a thorough understanding of the contract
itself, including what each contract clause means to you and your
buyer, what you will net from the sale of your home and what areas
in the contract lend themselves easiest to negotiation. Your agent
will review the written offer with you to make sure that you
thoroughly understand what the buyers are offering and what they are
asking in return.
Some of the items that you may have to negotiate are:
· The price
· Financing
· Closing costs
· Repairs that need to be done
· Appliances and fixtures
· Landscaping
· Painting
· Occupancy time frame
To really gain some insight into why potential buyers are pursuing
the purchase of your home and how they might proceed in the
negotiations, it is also important to know as much about the buyer
as possible, especially their motivation for buying. Once both
parties have reached a point where the deal is acceptable, your
agent will be certain that you have a legally executable contract.
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The Sale
Once you have accepted an offer to sell your home, Your
Realtor will inform you of all the procedures involved in order
to proceed successfully to closing, as well as the parties
responsible for completing those procedures and estimates of
completion. For instance, the property may need to be formally
appraised, surveyed, inspected or repaired. Depending on the
specifics reached during the negotiations, you may pay for all,
some, or none of these items.
Your agent will then coordinate with all the parties and keep you
informed as to the results of the various procedures. If each
procedure returns acceptable results as defined by the contract,
then the sale may continue. If there are problems with the property
the terms set forth in the contract will dictate your next step.
Depending on the contract, you or the buyer may decide to walk away,
open a new round of negotiations, or close. Your agent will advise
you throughout this process and will help you coordinate any actions
you must take to keep the sale moving forward.
There are some sales that go smoothly and some that require a lot of
work to get to the closing table. Until you get into it, you won't
know which one you have on your hands. Either way, your Greenleaf Realty
agent will be there with you every step of the way.
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Pre-Closing Preparation
A few days before the closing, your
agent will contact the entity closing the transaction to make sure
that all of the necessary forms and documents have been prepared and
are going to be available for you to sign on the appropriate date.
Your Realtor will also contact each party to the transaction to be
certain that they have taken each action necessary for closing, so
that the entire closing can proceed on the date and time planned.
At this point, you and your agent should find out what form of payment
you will need to bring to the closing for any unpaid fees. Make sure
that your payment is made out to the appropriate party. Ensuring
that each closing document is ready and available will enable you to
have a quick, easy closing.
Your agent will also prepare you in advance for the process of the
closing, advising you of any documents you must bring to the closing,
how much time to block off for the closing, and any other information
that is pertinent to the closing meeting itself.
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Closing
"Closing" refers to the meeting where ownership of the
property is legally transferred to the buyer. Your
agent will be present during the closing to help explain the
process and forms to you and make sure everything goes as planned. By
being there during the closing, h/she can mediate any last minute
issues that may arise.
As the seller, you will need to be prepared to give over any necessary
documentation regarding the property and, depending on the
arrangements made during negotiations, you may be required to have
done something specific in order to close. Be sure to read all the
documents and ask any questions you may have. It is important that you
understand every document you are signing.
All of the Greenleaf Realty Realtors are well- qualified to handle all
the details of your sale from contract to the closing. Their years of
experience insure a smooth transaction. Your agent monitors not only
the inspections, appraisals, and details of your closing statement,
but all important particulars of the contract so that nothing falls
through the cracks.
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Post-Closing
Congratulations on the successful sale of your home!
Your agent can
help you create a checklist of all the things you will need to do to
turn the property over to the new owners. You will need to make sure
that all of the local services (i.e. electricity, gas, lawn care,
cable, etc.) have been cancelled or, if the new owner is going to
retain some of the services, the name for the account is
changed. The property and anything assigned to the buyer according to
the contract should be prepared appropriately for the new owners. This
will make the transition as smooth and effortless as possible.
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Questions for the Seller
Are you going to be selling your home in the future or
do you have it for sale now? It’s not
as easy as it may appear. As in every other phase of our lives, things
are more complicated today than ever before. This is particularly true
when putting your house on the market. Here are some questions that you
should have answered:
1.
What is your home worth on today’s market?
2.
What are the asking prices of competitive properties?
3.
How much have similar homes sold for in the recent past?
4.
How much should you ask for your property?
5.
What should you do to prepare your home for the market?
6.
How can you keep your home ready to show at all times?
7.
What should you do and not do during showings?
8.
Do you need to provide a seller disclosure form to buyers?
9.
What should you do if your home is not getting showings?
10.
Should you consider a price reduction?
11.
How should you respond to a low offer?
12.
Can you buy another home while yours is for sale?
OUR
ADVICE: Don’t attempt to sell your home without the assistance of a Realtor. Many tools are available to our
Greenleaf
Realty agents that enable you to attract the greatest number of
potential buyers for your property-- including
completing a comprehensive Market Analysis (that we include in our
service for each seller) on your home.
We have the experience to help you
obtain the best answers to the above questions!
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