For Sellers
If your move is immediate, you don't have the time or inclination to market and show your property yourself, or you simply want to rely on an experienced real estate professional to handle your transaction, consider interviewing Realtors® to list your home for sale. A Realtor® handles marketing, listing in the MLS (Multiple Listing Service of all homes for sale by agency in your area), advertising, showing your home, contract and closing. Allow a member of the Franzen team to help you through the following steps in selling your home: 1) Research your neighborhood sales history to determine your asking price. Select a price carefully and be sure it is realistic and will uphold an appraisal. You do not want to lose money on the sale; yet if you overprice for your neighborhood and comparable properties, your home will sit on the market. A Realtor® can offer a Comparative Market Analysis which takes size, amenities, condition, updating and other factors of the property into consideration. 2) Improve the marketability of your home with repairs, improvements & cleaning. You can never underestimate the power of curb appeal & first impressions cannot be recaptured. Some real estate agents believe that a buyer makes their decision within the first 10-20 minutes of seeing a home. This is when you have to look at your home and property with the critical eye of an outsider. one of the most important things you can do is remove all the clutter of everyday living. Create a nice entry with potpourri or candles. Click Here For A Checklist For Preparing Your Home For Sale 3) Show your home, consider offers and negotiate a sales contract. When buyers look at your home, give them some privacy and time to discuss it. If you are working with a Realtor®, allow him or her time alone with the buyers. Be available for questions, and to show them details on the aspects of your home that most interest them. It is very helpful to have on hand utility bills and literature/warranties on appliances, etc. Keep any pets outside if possible and the TV and radios off. All offers to buy should be in writing and should be accompanied by Earnest Money (similar to a deposit, this indicates that a buyer is serious and wants to take the property off the market.) Review any offers alone, away from the buyers and with your Realtor®, if you have one. Make all counter-offers in writing. Once a final offer is agreed to by both parties, either the Realtor® will write up the final contract; or if you are sale by owner, contact the title company you have decided to use. You and the buyers should set an appointment to meet at the title company to write the contract. 4) Proceed with mortgage qualification and the settlement closing. The buyer typically will have so many days (often 10-14) after the contract date to obtain a Qualifying Letter of Commitment from a mortgage company, if they have not already done so. The title company will handle the settlement closing process. Featured HomeCommunity |
Selling a house is complicated, and not an everyday matter for most of us. It is even more complicated when the sale must fit into the relocation puzzle of a new job start, moving the children, school issues, buying a new home and trying to coordinate the closings of this entire process. Planning a marketing strategy requires several decisions and steps.
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