Whether you’re looking to upgrade your current home, downsizing at retirement, or wanting to cash in on an investment property - selling your home can be overwhelming, especially if it’s your first time going through the process. Here are a few things to expect before, during, and after selling your home that aims to answer any questions you may have and make it a stress-free experience.
Property Walkthrough
One of the first steps in selling is to do a walkthrough of your property with your realtor. If necessary a stager, contractor or painter may come along to determine what other projects should be done prior to listing. After this meeting you will be given a detailed timeline on the upcoming phases of selling your home including cleaning, staging, and photography.
Market Conditions & Timing
Market conditions can play a big part when selling your home and can be impacted by several things like the economic situation, interest rates, and location of your home. It is important to be aware of the market conditions so that your expectations are aligned with the market at the time of listing. If it is a slower market, are you willing to let your property sit while you wait for the price you want? Or are you willing to let it go for slightly less than you originally thought for a quicker sale?
Another important component of market conditions is the time of year you choose to sell. Typically, the winter will have less listings available making it potentially easier to attract buyers and offers. Spring and summer are usually the busiest time for the housing market and while there may be more buyers looking, you may have to face more competition with increased listings available.
Deciding on a Price
Your realtor will have a price range in mind before seeing your home, but what you want to sell your property for or need to in order to buy is important as well. A number of factors like how many bedrooms or bathrooms it has, the outdoor space, parking, location or if it is in need of renovations will affect the list price. Market conditions and what comparable homes have been selling for in your area will also play a big part in deciding what to list at. If homes in your area have been sitting on the market for a while and selling below list price, you’ll want to consider listing below the price you hope to get.
Staging & Marketing
When listing your home for sale you want to make a strong first impression to potential buyers. This is where staging and marketing comes in. Once you have completed any minor repairs, cleaned, and de-personalized the space, your home will be staged for sale. Professional photos and videos will show your home int he best light possible and will be used to interest potential buyers. You want to make sure your realtor is aware of any upgrades that have been done to the property and provide information about local amenities so that these can be highlighted when marketing the listing.
Showing Your Home
Your home will be opened up for showings and potentially an open house once listed. It is usually recommended to move out during that time. While not always possible it does open up the property for the most amount of showings with the least amount of interruption to your daily life. After the showings your realtor will follow up with the potential buyers agents to get feedback on the property. This feedback is valuable input from potential buyers that helps better market the property.
Accepted Offer
Ideally all this work will get you multiple offers and you will choose the best one for you. You can accept, counter, or reject any offer you receive. When you have an accepted offer, it may have conditions that need to be fulfilled like buyer financing or an inspection. Once these conditions have been met or if there are none, the offer will go firm. At this point you will obtain a real estate lawyer who will coordinate with the buyer’s lawyer and act on your behalf to close the sale. Your lawyer will handle things like transferring the deed and organizing any balance on your mortgage to be paid off with the bank.
During this time before closing your home will be destaged, you will transfer or cancel your utilities and home insurance and change your address. The buyers will also have buyer visits during this time to view the property again and may have an appraisal which can be required for their mortgage financing.
Whether you’re a first-time seller or just have questions about the process we would love to chat and give you more details on Gilbert Real Estate’s streamlined service.
