First Steps
One of the first things to do is consider your thoughts and needs when selling. To help simplify this process, find a real estate agent with an excellent track record who you can trust.
No matter what the reason—a new job offer, a dream home becomes available across town, or maybe you’re simply seeking a change—the time may come when you will need to sell your home. That can sound daunting, but the steps below will streamline the process and provide ease of mind.
One of the first things to do is consider your thoughts and needs when selling. To help simplify this process, find a real estate agent with an excellent track record who you can trust.
Now that you’ve made sure to get the best help around, it’s time to actually start preparing and then selling your property. The help of a real estate agent will aid things such as correctly pricing your home, marketing your home—which can be especially tricky—and finding great staging companies, professional home photographers, and more. Photos are particularly important considering the growing influence of online home buying.
Once you are sure that your home has been well-priced and it’s ready to be marketed, the next steps can be considered. Your real estate agent will help draft, negotiate, and then present the offer, price, or counter-offer of your home. A great way to improve your selling points is by offering a home warranty with the sale, which is a repair policy for appliances and systems in your home. Buyers will feel more secure knowing they are protected when they purchase the property.
One of the first things to consider is how you will react to a potential offer. There are a few choices: accept, reject, or respond with a count-offer. No matter which you choose at first, eventually, if everything goes well, you will be selling your home to one lucky buyer. That introduces its own long list of steps and things to contemplate.
Say everything has gone well, and you’re ready to sell. Now is time to understand loans, escrow, and what to do after an offer has been accepted.
The loan process can look different from state to state, but generally, the prospective buyer of your home will apply for a loan, send proper documentation (oftentimes through a professional), submit the loan, and wait for approval. Then, after loaning disclosure and the preparation of more documents, the loan will be funded, allowing the buyer to purchase your property. When the funding occurs, the title company will record the Deed of Trust with the county where the property is located. The receipt following that makes when the escrow will disburse monies to the appropriate parties.
Escrow is its own complicated process, which can be explored through this guide, but at its basics, it exists for the time between accepting an offer and a property officially changing hands. The buyer will put “earnest money” in an account up front during this time, often managed by an escrow officer or bank, to demonstrate commitment. The seller will provide necessary documents such as tax receipts, equipment warranties, or more. Usually, escrow also works to protect the seller’s investments—say you have paid taxes for your property for the whole year, but the property is sold before that year is up. Escrow will ensure you get that money returned. The length of time between accepting an offer, escrow, and the last steps generally falls between 30 and 90 days.
Throughout this process, there are physical inspections to ensure the best for both you and your buyer. Home inspections are usually one of the final chances for a buyer to discover issues with the house. In that same vein, it’s a good opportunity for the seller to find out what to fix and address those issues. Things home inspectors typically look for include foundation, HVAC systems, roofing, electrical systems, and other essentials. The inspection can take hours to be thorough.
Once everything is finalized, the home inspection is finished with good results, and the buyer is ready to move in, it’s time for the last steps. Traditionally, at this stage, the buyer will do one final walkthrough to check over everything one last time. At the final meeting, the seller will sign the final documents, pay fees accrued throughout the process, and go over the forms. The forms may include a warranty deed, personal affidavits, a bill of sale, and a certificate of real estate value (C. R. V.). Once everything has been finalized, it’s time to hand over the keys!
It is our commitment to you as a homebuyer help you obtain the American Dream of "the white picket fence" which symbolizes home ownership. Together with our team of professionals, we are here to make all things Real Estate possible. We will help you successfully acquire an investment that will reward you for years to come.