Home Selling Guide
Congratulations on deciding to sell your home! Use this step-by-step guide as a
way to prepare yourself for the process.
On Market
- Talk to your agent about staging tips. Make sure the house is
properly staged to appeal to the broadest number of buyers.
- Have your agent give you a checklist of house-related repairs
to complete prior to listing.
- Collect all receipts and work orders of repairs and maintenance
that have been performed on the home throughout your ownership. Also have handy
all warranty and appliance information.
- Plan to spend about an hour with your agent filling out the listing
paperwork.
- Make sure you understand and agree to the showing procedures and
how and when agents will access your home for tours.
- Set the Go-Live date. Discuss timing with your agent.
- The single most important thing you can do is have your listing
posted in the local MLS (Multiple Listing Service), as 90% + of buyers find their
home by searching online listings. Your agent should also ensure it is posted in
a variety of other top real estate websites.
- Since the majority of buyers view your home online, the photos
that are used with your listing are critical. Insist that your agent pay for professional
photographs.
- Review your listing statistics on a weekly or bi-weekly basis
with your agent. Know who is seeing your house, what their feedback is, and how
your home is actively being marketed. Make sure you have your agent keep an eye
on market activity – what are comparative homes selling for? Are they dropping
their price? It is important to know what your competitors are doing.
- Having a For Sale sign is a great way to market to neighbors and
those driving-by. It also makes it easier for agents / buyers to find your home
when they are out touring.
- Your agent should plan to host an open house when the listing
first goes live. This is a great chance to introduce the listing to the customers
in your market.
- If the number of showings is low, or if you are getting negative
feedback, be prepared to discuss a price drop with your agent.
