Sell Your Home

1. Finding and Working with Your Agent

• Find a Trusted Real Estate Agent: Look for an agent with experience in your local market who understands your goals and can provide expert guidance. 

• Discuss Expectations: Communicate your expectations for selling, including your desired price, timeline, and how involved you’d like to be in the process.

• Sign a Listing Agreement: Once you’ve chosen an agent, you’ll sign a listing agreement that outlines their commission and responsibilities. This agreement gives them permission to market and sell your home.

2. Understanding the Costs

• Agent Commission: Typically, agent commission ranges between 2.5% to 3% of the sale price.

• Closing Costs: Title fees, escrow fees, these costs can range from 1-3% of the home’s sale price.

• Repairs and Staging: Consider any out-of-pocket expenses for repairs, staging, or updates that can help attract buyers and increase the sale price.

• While not required, sellers may sometimes be asked to cover certain costs to help facilitate the sale. These may include covering a portion of the buyer’s closing costs, addressing repairs requested after inspections, or offering to pay part or all of the buyer’s agent commission. Though optional, offering these incentives can help make your home more attractive to potential buyers and expedite the selling process.

3. Preparing Your Home

• Declutter and Depersonalize: Remove personal items and declutter to allow buyers to imagine themselves living in the space.

• Clean and Make Repairs: Deep clean your home and take care of any minor repairs, such as fixing leaky faucets or patching holes in the wall. This boosts your home’s appeal.

• Stage the Home: Staging can make your home look more attractive by arranging furniture and décor to highlight its best features. A well-staged home can sell faster and for a higher price.

• Professional Photos: Invest in professional photography to make your online listing stand out.

4. Negotiating and Accepting the Offer

• Review Offers: Once your home is listed, and you receive an offers, your agent will present them to you, explaining the pros and cons of each. Offers may include contingencies like inspections, appraisals, or financing.

• Negotiate: You can counter any offers to get better terms, whether it’s a higher price or fewer contingencies. Your agent will handle negotiations on your behalf.

• Accept the Offer: Once you’re satisfied with an offer, you’ll accept it, and the sale will move into the next stage of escrow. During escrow, the buyer will conduct inspections and finalize their financing.

5. Inspections & Appraisal

• Home Inspection: The buyer may arrange for an inspection to ensure the home is in good condition. If any issues arise during the inspection, the buyer may request repairs or a credit to address the concerns. However, it’s important to note that the seller is not required to agree to these requests. 

• Appraisal: The lender will arrange an appraisal to verify the home’s value. If the appraisal comes in lower than expected, the buyer may seek to renegotiate the purchase price to align with the appraised value.

5. Closing

• Final Walkthrough: The buyer will conduct a final walkthrough to ensure the property is in the same condition as when they originally viewed it. This is also an opportunity to confirm that any agreed-upon repairs have been properly completed.

• Utilities: As a courtesy to the buyer, the seller should arrange to have the utilities transferred out of their name on the close of escrow date. This ensures that the buyer will have uninterrupted access to utilities, particularly important if the closing falls on a weekend.

• Close of Escrow: Once all final details are in place, you’ll sign the necessary paperwork to transfer ownership to the buyer. After the deed is recorded, the sale is officially closed. At this point, you’ll receive the proceeds from the sale.  The keys will be handed over to the buyer, and the yard sign and lockbox will be promptly removed from the property, marking the completion of the process.