1.
Prepare to Sell Your House
Millions of existing homes are sold each year and, while each transaction is different, every owner wants the same thing: the best possible deal with the least amount of hassle and aggravation. The result is that, while hundreds of thousands of existing homes may be sold each week, the process is not as easy for sellers as it was 5 or 10 years ago.
The home-selling process typically starts several months before a property is made available for sale. It’s necessary to look at a home through the eyes of a prospective buyer and determine what needs to be cleaned, painted, repaired and tossed out.
Ask yourself: If you were buying this home, what would you want to see? The goal is to show a home that looks good, maximizes space and attract as many buyers as possible. While part of the “getting ready” phase relates to repairs, painting and other home improvements, it is also a good time to ask why you really want to sell. Selling a home is an important matter and you should have a good reason to sell, perhaps a job change to a new community or the need for more space. Your reason for selling can impact the negotiating process, so it’s important to discuss your needs and wants in private with the REALTOR® who lists your home.
Prepare to Sell Your House
Millions of existing homes are sold each year and, while each transaction is different, every owner wants the same thing: the best possible deal with the least amount of hassle and aggravation. The result is that, while hundreds of thousands of existing homes may be sold each week, the process is not as easy for sellers as it was 5 or 10 years ago.
The home-selling process typically starts several months before a property is made available for sale. It’s necessary to look at a home through the eyes of a prospective buyer and determine what needs to be cleaned, painted, repaired and tossed out.
Ask yourself: If you were buying this home, what would you want to see? The goal is to show a home that looks good, maximizes space and attract as many buyers as possible. While part of the “getting ready” phase relates to repairs, painting and other home improvements, it is also a good time to ask why you really want to sell. Selling a home is an important matter and you should have a good reason to sell, perhaps a job change to a new community or the need for more space. Your reason for selling can impact the negotiating process, so it’s important to discuss your needs and wants in private with the REALTOR® who lists your home.
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2.
Choosing a REALTOR® When you’re choosing a REALTOR® to represent your interests as a buyer, your choice should be based on strong recommendations from a reliable source about your prospective agent’s attention to detail and communication skills. You will likely rely a lot on your own instinct, too, to decide whether you are compatible with a particular agent and will feel that he is someone you can trust. One more step you can take is to understand your REALTOR®’s training. In fact, the first step is to check that your sales agent is indeed a REALTOR®, which means she is a member of the National Association of REALTORS® and therefore adheres to NAR’s code of ethics. |
3.
Set the List Price of Your Home
Your Home’s First Price Should Be Its Best Price. If you’re putting your home on the market, especially if you live in an area where prices are going up and buyers are competing for homes, you may be tempted to try listing it at a high price just to see if you can get it. Don’t do it.
Experienced Realtors will tell you that pricing your home appropriately from the beginning is critical to getting it sold quickly and at the best price. Research shows that overpricing your home and then dropping the price several times while it languishes on the market usually leads to selling it at a much lower price than what you originally should have asked for it. The longer a home stays on the market, the deeper the discount is likely to be off the original price.
Price your home correctly
Many homeowners want to set their list price based on what they paid for their home, the balance of their mortgage, or on the profit they want to make so they can move into another home. In reality, your home is worth only what the market will bear. If you price your home too high, some potential buyers won’t want to look at it at all, while others will simply walk away without making an offer.
If you’re interviewing several Realtors to choose a listing agent, you may be tempted to pick the sales professional who suggests the highest price for your property. But sellers, like buyers, need to beware. The Realtor who provides the best comparative market analysis and explanation of how your home should be priced will be more likely to sell your home quicker and for a higher price than someone who tells you only what you want to hear.
A comparative market analysis should include sales prices for similar nearby homes that sold in the last month or two. In addition, many Realtors include prices for homes currently on the market that will be your competition, as well as homes taken off the market because they didn’t sell. Other data Realtors can use to suggest a price range include how many days homes were on the market at various price points and the average difference between the list prices and sale prices on homes that have sold. Your Realtor can help you estimate who might want to buy your house and what else those buyers are looking at so you can measure your price against the competition.
A knowledgeable Realtor can factor in all of these issues in the context of your local market conditions, including whether home prices are rising or falling and whether it’s a buyer’s or seller’s market. Choose the right professional to help you with your home sale and then listen to your Realtor’s advice and your transaction is more likely to go through quickly and smoothly from the beginning.
Set the List Price of Your Home
Your Home’s First Price Should Be Its Best Price. If you’re putting your home on the market, especially if you live in an area where prices are going up and buyers are competing for homes, you may be tempted to try listing it at a high price just to see if you can get it. Don’t do it.
Experienced Realtors will tell you that pricing your home appropriately from the beginning is critical to getting it sold quickly and at the best price. Research shows that overpricing your home and then dropping the price several times while it languishes on the market usually leads to selling it at a much lower price than what you originally should have asked for it. The longer a home stays on the market, the deeper the discount is likely to be off the original price.
Price your home correctly
Many homeowners want to set their list price based on what they paid for their home, the balance of their mortgage, or on the profit they want to make so they can move into another home. In reality, your home is worth only what the market will bear. If you price your home too high, some potential buyers won’t want to look at it at all, while others will simply walk away without making an offer.
If you’re interviewing several Realtors to choose a listing agent, you may be tempted to pick the sales professional who suggests the highest price for your property. But sellers, like buyers, need to beware. The Realtor who provides the best comparative market analysis and explanation of how your home should be priced will be more likely to sell your home quicker and for a higher price than someone who tells you only what you want to hear.
A comparative market analysis should include sales prices for similar nearby homes that sold in the last month or two. In addition, many Realtors include prices for homes currently on the market that will be your competition, as well as homes taken off the market because they didn’t sell. Other data Realtors can use to suggest a price range include how many days homes were on the market at various price points and the average difference between the list prices and sale prices on homes that have sold. Your Realtor can help you estimate who might want to buy your house and what else those buyers are looking at so you can measure your price against the competition.
A knowledgeable Realtor can factor in all of these issues in the context of your local market conditions, including whether home prices are rising or falling and whether it’s a buyer’s or seller’s market. Choose the right professional to help you with your home sale and then listen to your Realtor’s advice and your transaction is more likely to go through quickly and smoothly from the beginning.
4.
Market Your House for Maximum Exposure
Once you’ve made the commitment to sell your home, chosen a REALTOR® to represent you, your REALTOR® should share a marketing plan with you, the more you know about the process of selling your home the easier it is to support your REALTOR®’s efforts.
The day your home goes on the market it should be in prime condition and priced right to attract the most potential buyers. While your REALTOR® can help you determine an appropriate price and can offer suggestions to make your home more appealing, your job is to put in the work to get your home pristine clean and to remove clutter and personalization.
Buyers want to see a home where they can visualize themselves living. If buyers see an overstuffed closet, they’ll assume the home lacks storage space; and if your kitchen counters are cluttered, they’ll think the space is too small.
Provide your REALTOR® with tips about what you love best about your home and community that can be incorporated into your marketing materials.
Your REALTOR® can advise you on what you need to repair before putting your home on the market. You can also visit other homes that are for sale, or even local model homes for ideas on ways to present your home to potential buyers.
What to Expect From Your REALTOR®
Many REALTOR®s have experience staging homes, or they can bring in a stager to rearrange your place. In addition, your REALTOR® should market your home in multiple ways:
What Your REALTOR® Should Expect From You
While your REALTOR® does the heavy lifting when it comes to marketing, as a seller you need to support your REALTOR® in several ways:
Market Your House for Maximum Exposure
Once you’ve made the commitment to sell your home, chosen a REALTOR® to represent you, your REALTOR® should share a marketing plan with you, the more you know about the process of selling your home the easier it is to support your REALTOR®’s efforts.
The day your home goes on the market it should be in prime condition and priced right to attract the most potential buyers. While your REALTOR® can help you determine an appropriate price and can offer suggestions to make your home more appealing, your job is to put in the work to get your home pristine clean and to remove clutter and personalization.
Buyers want to see a home where they can visualize themselves living. If buyers see an overstuffed closet, they’ll assume the home lacks storage space; and if your kitchen counters are cluttered, they’ll think the space is too small.
Provide your REALTOR® with tips about what you love best about your home and community that can be incorporated into your marketing materials.
Your REALTOR® can advise you on what you need to repair before putting your home on the market. You can also visit other homes that are for sale, or even local model homes for ideas on ways to present your home to potential buyers.
What to Expect From Your REALTOR®
Many REALTOR®s have experience staging homes, or they can bring in a stager to rearrange your place. In addition, your REALTOR® should market your home in multiple ways:
- Research the market to identify potential buyers to target for direct contact.
- Reach out to other real estate brokers and agents who work with buyers in your area.
- Take excellent photos or hire a professional photographer to showcase your home online with attractive pictures.
- List your home on the local Multiple Listing Service and make sure it receives maximum exposure on multiple websites.
What Your REALTOR® Should Expect From You
While your REALTOR® does the heavy lifting when it comes to marketing, as a seller you need to support your REALTOR® in several ways:
- Keep your home as clean, neat and odor-free as possible while your home is on the market.
- Make your home as available as possible to buyers, no matter how inconvenient it is for you and your family. Your home won’t sell if no one can see it.
- Leave the house when buyers are there, since studies have shown that buyers linger and look more carefully when the homeowners aren’t present.
- Lock up your pets or take them away when buyers are visiting, especially during an open house when multiple visitors are expected.
5.
Negotiate the Best Real Estate Deal
Whether you’re a buyer or a seller you want to succeed in the realty marketplace. That’s natural and reasonable, but what are the steps you need to triumph?
Negotiation is a complex matter and all transactions are unique. Both sides – buyer and seller – want to feel that the outcome favors them, or at least represents a fair balance of interests. In the usual case there is a bit of bluff, some give-and-take, and neither party gets everything they want.
So how do you develop a strong bargaining position, one which will help you get the most from a transaction? Experience shows there are three basic keys which will determine who wins at the negotiating table.
1. What does the market say?
At various times we’re in a “buyers” market, a “sellers” market, or a market where housing supply and demand are roughly equal. If possible, you want to be in the market at a time when it favors your position as a buyer or seller.
Because all properties are unique – it is possible to buck general trends and have more leverage than the marketplace would seem to allow. For instance,
if you have a property in a desirable neighborhood with few sales, you may be able to get a better deal than elsewhere. Or, if you’re a buyer who can quickly close, that might be an important negotiating chip when dealing with an owner who just got a new job 500 miles away.
2. Who has leverage?
If you only receive one offer from a buyer – and the buyer knows it – you have little clout in the bargaining process. Alternatively, if you’re among six buyers clamoring for that one special property, forget about dictating an agreement’the owner can sit back and pick the offer which represents the highest price and best terms.
3. What are the details?
A lot of attention in real estate is paid to transaction prices. This surely makes sense, but the key to a good deal may be more complex.
Consider two identical properties that each sell on the same day for $275,000. The houses are the same, the sale prices are the same, but are the deals the same? Maybe not. For instance, one owner may have agreed to paint the property, replace the roof, purchase a new kitchen refrigerator, and pay the first $3,000 of the buyer’s closing costs. The second owner made no concessions.
In this example, the first house was actually sold at discount’the $275,000 purchase price less the value of the roof repairs, closing credit, and other items. If you’re a buyer, this is the deal you want. If you’re a seller, you would prefer to be the second owner and give up nothing.
Negotiate the Best Real Estate Deal
Whether you’re a buyer or a seller you want to succeed in the realty marketplace. That’s natural and reasonable, but what are the steps you need to triumph?
Negotiation is a complex matter and all transactions are unique. Both sides – buyer and seller – want to feel that the outcome favors them, or at least represents a fair balance of interests. In the usual case there is a bit of bluff, some give-and-take, and neither party gets everything they want.
So how do you develop a strong bargaining position, one which will help you get the most from a transaction? Experience shows there are three basic keys which will determine who wins at the negotiating table.
1. What does the market say?
At various times we’re in a “buyers” market, a “sellers” market, or a market where housing supply and demand are roughly equal. If possible, you want to be in the market at a time when it favors your position as a buyer or seller.
Because all properties are unique – it is possible to buck general trends and have more leverage than the marketplace would seem to allow. For instance,
if you have a property in a desirable neighborhood with few sales, you may be able to get a better deal than elsewhere. Or, if you’re a buyer who can quickly close, that might be an important negotiating chip when dealing with an owner who just got a new job 500 miles away.
2. Who has leverage?
If you only receive one offer from a buyer – and the buyer knows it – you have little clout in the bargaining process. Alternatively, if you’re among six buyers clamoring for that one special property, forget about dictating an agreement’the owner can sit back and pick the offer which represents the highest price and best terms.
3. What are the details?
A lot of attention in real estate is paid to transaction prices. This surely makes sense, but the key to a good deal may be more complex.
Consider two identical properties that each sell on the same day for $275,000. The houses are the same, the sale prices are the same, but are the deals the same? Maybe not. For instance, one owner may have agreed to paint the property, replace the roof, purchase a new kitchen refrigerator, and pay the first $3,000 of the buyer’s closing costs. The second owner made no concessions.
In this example, the first house was actually sold at discount’the $275,000 purchase price less the value of the roof repairs, closing credit, and other items. If you’re a buyer, this is the deal you want. If you’re a seller, you would prefer to be the second owner and give up nothing.
6.
Closing
When you have a signed contract with the buyer for your home, you may feel as if you can breathe a sigh of relief. While it’s certainly true that you can lighten up on the perfectionism required to show your home at any moment, as a seller you still need to cooperate with your buyer, the buyer’s or seller's agent and the commitments made in the contract.
In other words, before you can completely relax you need to get to the closing table.
Contingencies and Sellers
While the burden is on the buyer to finalize financing for the home purchase and to obtain homeowners insurance, some contract contingencies will impact you, too, especially if you’re living in the home. Most transactions include a home inspection, so you’ll need to make your home available to the inspector and then negotiate with the buyers about anything the inspection turns up according to the terms of your contract.
Besides the home inspection, some contracts and some lenders call for a termite inspection. In each case, you or your listing agent or the buyer’s agent will need to make the home available for inspection.
Another important step prior to closing is the appraisal. If the appraisal comes in higher than the sales price, then the buyers can relax and be happy that they have purchased a home for less than its market value. Once the contract has been signed, you as the seller cannot renegotiate the price higher. However, if the appraisal comes in lower than the sales price, then the buyer’s lender will limit the loan amount to that lower value. The buyer may have to come up with additional cash to cover the financing gap or may ask you to renegotiate the contract. Your REALTOR® can advise you about the best way to handle this situation, but in any case you and the buyer are also bound by the contract terms.
Before you go to closing, you might go over the contract with your attorney and make sure you’re fulfilling all the promises you made in terms of what items will be conveyed to the buyer and any repairs or improvements you promised to make.
Closing Date
Buyers and sellers typically negotiate a settlement date that is mutually agreeable. If you have sold your home and are not yet ready to move into your next residence, you can sometimes negotiate a "rent-back" with the buyer that allows you to stay in the home after the settlement by paying rent to the buyer.
Alternatively, some sellers allow the buyers to move in before settlement. In either case, it’s crucial to have a written agreement about who is responsible if something happens to the house or its contents during the transition period. Generally, you’re restricted to a maximum rent-back of 60 days because lenders would require the buyers to finance the home as an investment property if the rental period is any longer.
At the closing, the buyer will provide funds to buy your home and the attorney will review the sales contract to determine what payments you’ll receive. The title to the property is transferred to the buyers and arrangements are made to record that title transfer with the appropriate local records office.
At a typical closing, adjustments are made to the final amounts owed by the buyer and you as the seller. For example, if you’ve been paying your property taxes through an escrow account, you may be credited extra for prepaid taxes or you may receive less money at settlement if the property taxes haven’t been paid properly. Once the settlement papers are signed and the house keys are transferred, you’re free to move onto your next home.
Closing
When you have a signed contract with the buyer for your home, you may feel as if you can breathe a sigh of relief. While it’s certainly true that you can lighten up on the perfectionism required to show your home at any moment, as a seller you still need to cooperate with your buyer, the buyer’s or seller's agent and the commitments made in the contract.
In other words, before you can completely relax you need to get to the closing table.
Contingencies and Sellers
While the burden is on the buyer to finalize financing for the home purchase and to obtain homeowners insurance, some contract contingencies will impact you, too, especially if you’re living in the home. Most transactions include a home inspection, so you’ll need to make your home available to the inspector and then negotiate with the buyers about anything the inspection turns up according to the terms of your contract.
Besides the home inspection, some contracts and some lenders call for a termite inspection. In each case, you or your listing agent or the buyer’s agent will need to make the home available for inspection.
Another important step prior to closing is the appraisal. If the appraisal comes in higher than the sales price, then the buyers can relax and be happy that they have purchased a home for less than its market value. Once the contract has been signed, you as the seller cannot renegotiate the price higher. However, if the appraisal comes in lower than the sales price, then the buyer’s lender will limit the loan amount to that lower value. The buyer may have to come up with additional cash to cover the financing gap or may ask you to renegotiate the contract. Your REALTOR® can advise you about the best way to handle this situation, but in any case you and the buyer are also bound by the contract terms.
Before you go to closing, you might go over the contract with your attorney and make sure you’re fulfilling all the promises you made in terms of what items will be conveyed to the buyer and any repairs or improvements you promised to make.
Closing Date
Buyers and sellers typically negotiate a settlement date that is mutually agreeable. If you have sold your home and are not yet ready to move into your next residence, you can sometimes negotiate a "rent-back" with the buyer that allows you to stay in the home after the settlement by paying rent to the buyer.
Alternatively, some sellers allow the buyers to move in before settlement. In either case, it’s crucial to have a written agreement about who is responsible if something happens to the house or its contents during the transition period. Generally, you’re restricted to a maximum rent-back of 60 days because lenders would require the buyers to finance the home as an investment property if the rental period is any longer.
At the closing, the buyer will provide funds to buy your home and the attorney will review the sales contract to determine what payments you’ll receive. The title to the property is transferred to the buyers and arrangements are made to record that title transfer with the appropriate local records office.
At a typical closing, adjustments are made to the final amounts owed by the buyer and you as the seller. For example, if you’ve been paying your property taxes through an escrow account, you may be credited extra for prepaid taxes or you may receive less money at settlement if the property taxes haven’t been paid properly. Once the settlement papers are signed and the house keys are transferred, you’re free to move onto your next home.
Resouce From www.realtor.com
