Putting your home on the market can be a stressful process, especially when you don’t know what to expect. Fortunately, with the help of Caroline and this easy to follow guide, you can smoothly complete the process. Following these steps will help you set your expectations, prepare and get organized so you can move on to the next chapter of your life.
What brought you to consider selling your home? Have you outgrown your current home? Or, is it time to downsize? Each homeowner has a different why. Caroline will be there with you each step of the way to be sure your goals are met in the process.
Understanding the real estate market isn’t always easy. Caroline will take the time to explain the market at the hyper local level, as well as the larger picture. She will review with you the homes that have come on the market and sold within the last few months. This will help you to make a plan and timeline for pricing and expectations.
Each homeowner has their own ideas and perceptions of putting their home on the market for sale. Some want everyone to know, a sign and huge open houses. Others want a more low key approach. Both options, and everything in between, can get a house sold. The key to developing a custom marketing plan that will set you up for success is communication with Caroline. She will create a marketing campaign that will be tailored to meet your needs. This could involve social media campaigns, marketing to fellow agents, traditional media and internet advertising.
You only get one chance at a great first impression, and that’s no different for real estate. Caroline will work with you to prepare your home for its optimal condition for sale. That might just be a matter of decluttering a room or two, or making a few small repairs. Before you get carried away making changes and painting, review your plan with Caroline so she can guide you to trends of the marketplace.
The house is ready to come onto the market. The showings and/or open houses will begin. Once that happens, you will begin to get offers. Every seller has three options when an offer comes in. They can accept the offer, reject the offer, or negotiate with the offer. Caroline will help navigate you through the offers and next steps as they come in.
There are many things to consider about each offer. Such as the price, the amount of money financed, the timing of the sale, and does the buyer have something to sell in order to buy your home. All of these terms can affect the sale and need to be considered. Caroline will help guide you through them in order to move forward. Once you have made a decision as to which offer is best, Caroline will prepare all the documents for your attorney to draw up contracts.
As the seller, your attorney writes up the contract and sends it to the buyer’s attorney for review and signature. Once the half signed contracts and the buyer’s downpayment check are returned to your attorney, you as the seller will review and sign contracts. The downpayment check will be deposited into an escrow account controlled by your attorney and the fully executed contracts will be released to all parties.
In order to keep the sale moving, Caroline will stay on top of each step along the way. That could include an appraisal, an updated survey or any repairs that needed to be made. The contract will include dates for a mortgage commitment to be obtained and for the closing to happen, Caroline will work with all parties to be sure those dates are met. This will help you set an expectation and timeline for you to move onto your next chapter.
Now that your home has closed you are onto the next steps in your journey. Have peace of mind knowing you were in the best hands possible to get you there, and that you have a real estate advisor for life!
Ready to make your next move? Contact Caroline Sweezey today and experience the difference expertise, trust, and results can make!
