10 STEPS TO SELLING YOUR HOME
1. FINDING A REALTOR
Ask for a seller's presentation, always meet your REALTOR® in person to understand what he/she has to offer in order to sell your property at your best interest. Share your own thoughts with the REALTOR® to see if he/she is a great fit to do business with.
2. PRICING YOUR PROPERTY
The market value of your property today might be different from a few weeks ago, this is why running a CMA (Comparison Market Analysis) report is important when you are ready to sell your property; to find out the current market value of your home, click on the button below to obtain a free CMA report with no obligation.
3. PRE-LISTING PREPARATION
If the property is occupied, occupant should declutter, and move some of their personal belongs to the garage. The main goal is to make every person who tours the property feels like they are walking into their own space. Make sure all light bulbs work, and the property is in fairly clean condition.
This is also the time your REALTOR® will send the production team for photos and videos. It is definitely a red flag if a REALTOR® is taking photos with a cell phone, and the photos come out dark and crooked.
4. LISTING YOUR PROPERTY
Your REALTOR® will list your property on MLS (Multiple Listing Services), and your property will appear on many different real estate platforms.
5. MARKETING STRATEGY
Professional photography is the first step to connect your property with any potential buyers, it is one of the major factors how your listing will get more traffic, which leads to more offers on the table for you to choose from. We provide professional photos and videos for every single one of our listing; in 2022, we also started incorporating drone footage for all single-home and commercial listings.
If your REALTOR® is a member of multiple MLS, he/she can also list your property in a different market to maximize exposure. Open houses and social media advertising are also very effective ways to market the listing.
6. FEEDBACKS
Your REALTOR® collects feedbacks from showing agents, discuss it with you and make all necessarily changes per your request if needed.
7. PICKING AN OFFER
If your listing runs into multiple-offer situation, your REALTOR® must present all offers to you. More money doesn't always mean better, a lot of times Seller picks the cash offer even if it is not the highest offer. Ask your REALTOR® to break down all the pros and cons of each offer; and remember, the decision is ALWAYS yours.
8. INSPECTION
An inspection by a licensed home inspector is an optional common practice for most buyers.
9. REPAIRS AND APPRAISAL
This step is likely to be the last round of negotiation. Rather if it is something major or cosmetic, the buyer can either ask the seller to repair the problems, or ask for money and get the problems addressed by their trusted vendors after closing. Buyer can also ask you to repair some items, and ask for money for the rest.
Buyer can also further negotiate if the property does not appraise at/above sales price.
10. PRE-CLOSING AND CLOSING
It is extremely important for any buyer not to make any big purchases nor changing jobs prior to closing; not even the morning of closing day. Remember that nothing is official until you get the notification from your lender stating that "THE LOAN IS FUNDED".
When the buyer gets a clear-to-close from their lender, both seller and buyer will schedule a time with the title company to sign. And finally, once we get the "THE LOAN IS FUNDED" notification from the buyer's lender, then it becomes official.