Selling Your Home 101
Okay so you want to sell your home and take advantage of this seller's market... how do you start?
Obviously, finding a professional, local Realtor who you CLICK WITH is important! Find them FIRST before starting the process!
You then need to have the conversation with yourself, your family, and your realtor and answer these questions:
- Why are you moving?
- Where am I moving to?
- How long do you have to sell your home?
- What is the net profit I need to make off my current home to make this achievable?
Second, you need to think about how to get your home prepared for the market.
There are 3 types of improvements that will impress buyers and help sell your home:
Cost Effective Improvements - Things that will genuinely increase the value of your home without going over board and breaking the bank.
Upgrades & Repairs - need to fix that broken window? Now's the time. Need to paint your daughter's purple room? Yep now's the time.
Reorganization & Maintenance - Pressure wash your driveway, clean up your storage room, take down some pictures & DECLUTTER!
Third, let's talk pricing. This is where a professional Realtor with local market knowledge will help you out.
1. Discussing Market Conditions - is it a seller's or buyer's market? is inventory low? etc. etc. THESE THINGS AFFECT HOW TO PRICE YOUR HOME - LISTEN TO YOUR REALTOR.
2. Get a Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) - your realtor should provide this for you.
- A comparative market analysis (CMA) is a document drawn from a local multiple listing service (MLS) database. To create a CMA, a Realtor considers the average price of recently sold, active, and expired listings that are comparable to the home currently being sold by the agent (known in the industry as “comps”).
After price is set and dates are confirmed, your Realtor will basically take over.
They will:
- Provide a lockbox and sign.
- Market your property.
- Schedule showings and communicate with buyer's agents.
- Host an open house if needed.
- Present you with all offers & help you understand the details of the offer to help you decide which works best with your situation.
What to expect after you accept an offer and are under contract:
- Buyer's Due Diligence - whatever time period you guys decided on - they will have to get an inspection and decide whether or not to go through with the deal or not.
- Appraisal - buyer's also take care of this but it's very important your home appraises for contract price, unless buyer has offered to pay the difference. If it does not appraise, then buyer can back out or they may ask for you to come down on the price.
- I always recommend to my seller's that we accept a back up offer - you never know what could happen with the buyer's situation on the offer you accepted. If for whatever reason they back out, you have that back up offer to go back to so you don't have to put your house on the market.
Your Realtor will guide the entire process from contract to close and make sure everything is on track and happening in a timely manner. That's why it's SO important to work with a Realtor who is communicative and organized. If you're in the North GA area and thinking about selling this year, CONTACT ME TODAY!
