Being prepared and informed as a seller helps your sales transaction go smoother and helps to maximize your bottom line. Whether this is your first time selling a home; you are a veteran to the home selling process; or an investor looking to sell investment property, our agents at Zip Line Realty can help zip you through your transaction!
Below are 10 steps to sell your home:
1. Start your Home Sale with a Licensed Realtor
Your real estate agent represents YOU in the transaction to sell your home. Your agent will look out for your best interests when helping you through the journey of the sale as smoothly as possible. Your agent will help with setting a realistic price; getting your house on the market; scheduling showings for potential buyers to see your home; negotiating terms; and answering any questions you may have along the way.
We have the following three options for getting you setup with one of our realtors:
Give us a Call
For immediate assistance, you may call our Main Office phone at: 281.994.9663 to reach an agent directly
Request a Call
To have the next available agent call you, Click Here.
Find an Agent
To see a list of all of our real estate agents and to select one yourself, Click Here.
2. Begin the House Search (If Necessary)
If you need to find a new place to live after you sell your home, your real estate agent can help also help you find homes that fit your budget, search criteria, and to make sure you are overall prepared to act when you find your replacement home on the market to purchase. For more guidance on the Buying Process, see our Buyer Process page by Clicking Here.
If you already have this part covered, move onto Step 3 below.
Otherwise, to help facilitate this search process between you and your agent, we have created a brief Buyer Questionnaire. It has a section for you to state your absolute hard requirements for the search and another section for you to state your preferences. The results of the form will go to your agent so he or she can best help you with your search.
To access the Buyer Questionnaire, Click Here.
3. Understand the Sales Timeline
Many factors can impact the time it takes to sell your home such as the time of year; the state of the economy; local market conditions; and the number of other homes on the market competing with yours. Typically, it takes 2 to 6 months (sometimes longer) to sell your home from start to finish.
However, there are things you can do to help facilitate the process:
- Clean and declutter the house;
- Put away all personal belongings such as family photos, jewelry, and other valuables;
- Order an optional home inspection to identify potential issues and schedule repairs, if necessary (more on this below);
- Do a deep cleaning to ensure everything is as clean as possible;
- Stage the house to make the home warm and welcoming for potential buyers to have a good experience when they visit; and
- Consider having a professional photographer come take photos of your home.
4. Get a Pre-Sale Home Inspection (Optional):
Later in the sales process (after you accept an offer), a buyer is likely to hire an independent licensed inspector to inspect the home.
While it is optional, doing a pre-sale home inspection to identify any potential structural or mechanical issues may be a wise choice for a few reasons.
By proactively identifying and correcting potential issues in advance, it gives the buyer less reason to walk away, and less things to attempt to negotiate after a buyer reads his own inspection report. For example, a buyer can ask for Repairs; Closing Cost Credits; a Discounted Purchase Price; or some combination of above. By getting ahead of the buyer and making various corrections, not only does it give the seller less ammunition to attempt to negotiate, but it will also help speed up the sales process.
Of course, ultimately, it is up to you as the seller whether or not you will be open to making such concessions or adjustments if the buyer asks for them, but if the buyer is still in his/her Termination Option Period, the buyer will have the option to terminate the contract without risk of losing his/her Earnest Money. As such, if the buyer has no reason to ask for concessions, then it should not become a factor in the sale of your home.
While you may use any inspector you want, we would like to give you a few options to choose from for your convenience:
Steve McGown
Professional Inspector, MPI Professional Inspections (Click Here for Referral).
Michael Race
Licensed Home Inspector – Pro House Inspections (Click Here for Referral).
Joe Bates
Licensed Professional Inspector & Licensed Mold Assessment Consultant – NationSpec (Click Here for Referral).
5. Talk to your Realtor about Selective Upgrades
Fixing problems with your home before listing it for sale is one thing, but making optional upgrades is something entirely different (e.g. installing granite countertops, marble floors in entryway, or upgrading kitchen appliances, etc.).
The last thing you want to do is make upgrades to your house that will not help to increase the home’s value because it would be wasteful if you did not get any additional value from such expenditure.
Your realtor can help you with this dilemma. Depending on market conditions, it may not even be necessary to make ANY upgrades and still get top dollar for your house in your neighborhood. If you are striving to get top dollar and are considering making upgrades, your realtor can help you determine if it is necessary.
The best return on investment is typically upgrades to the kitchen and bathrooms, but sometimes all you may need is a fresh coat of paint on a few key walls and to paint accent walls neutral if we have walls that are not. Again, these are all discussions to have with your realtor.
6. Submit Seller Valuation Form to Help Realtor Determine Reasonable List Price
When listing your property on the market, it is crucial to determine a “List Price”. If your price is too high, there will be very few showings, if any. If you list it too low, you may sell it quickly, but will lose the potential to sell for the maximum price.
Your agent will be able to assist you with determining an appropriate amount for your home’s list price from the beginning. To do this, he or she will look at comparable homes (“comps”) that have recently sold in your neighborhood and/or surrounding area to help set a baseline. Your agent will also look at the condition of your home, and specific features or upgrades that your home may have (e.g. a pool, outdoor patio with kitchen, etc.).
To help facilitate the home valuation process between you and your agent, we have created a brief Seller Valuation Form to capture specific information about your home. The results of the form will go to your agent so he or she can come up with a proposed List Price. Then, you and your agent can discuss and agree on the price at which to list your home.
Click Here to complete the Seller Valuation Form so our agents can help you with what price is best to list your property.
7. Schedule Digital Photography / Videography
A professional photographer who specializes in real estate photography has the skillset to make your house look digitally amazing! They will take high-quality photos of every area in and around your house, and even make rooms look larger, brighter, and more welcoming to attract buyers.
Talk to your real estate agent about the best time to schedule your professional photographer for your home photos.
8. List your House on the Market with your Realtor
As you can see, there are many steps to take prior to listing your house on the market. This prep work is essential for a good experience for attracting potential buyers.
Once everything necessary is complete, and you and your realtor have agreed upon a listing price, your realtor will begin the process of getting your house listed and published on the market so potential buyers can start scheduling showings to see your house.
Meanwhile, there are a few things to remember
It is NOT Recommended that you Show Your Own House;
It is standard industry practice, and always best to allow a neutral party to be the one to show your house to potential buyers for many reasons. Typically, buyers are accompanied by their realtor and it is best not to be present in the house during the showing so that they can imagine themselves in the space.
Keep Home Clean & Decluttered for Showings:
Treat every showing as if the person coming through that door is the person who will be buying your home— because every showing is a real potential buyer who has been vetted and is accompanied by a realtor.
Here are a few key tips for making the best impression:
- Turn on all lights—the more light the better (replace any bad bulbs).
- Open all blinds and/or shutters to maximize natural light entering the rooms.
- Put away all personal belongings such as family photos, jewelry, and other small valuables.
- When you leave for showings, take pets with you, or put them away so that they do not interfere with the showing.
Keep Home Clean & Decluttered for Showings:
Be sure to let your realtor know when you want to allow showings and when you do not. HOWEVER, keep in mind that if you have limited availability for when you allow showings, you may be limiting your pool of potential buyers. Below are a few examples to consider:
- Example 1:
If you do not allow weekend showings, you may lose buyers because that may be the only time a buyer can get the family together to go look at houses.
- Example 2:
If you do not allow late afternoon showings, you may lose buyers because the only time they can come is after work specifically only during the week. Their weekends could be completely booked by their kid’s extracurricular activities like soccer games, basketball games, piano, or whatever else may be scheduled.
9. Receive, Review, and Negotiate Offers
After potential buyers have viewed your home, you should start to receive offers to buy your house.
Your real estate agent will send you all offers they receive for your property.
When you receive an offer, you can respond in one of three ways:
Accept Offer
You can accept the offer as is. If so, you can move to the next step of the selling process
Reject Offer
If you reject the offer, the buyer may revise and resubmit the offer or move on and make an offer on another home of interest.
Give Counteroffer
You could also respond with a counteroffer with various terms changed such as purchase price, contingencies, proposed closing date, or something else. It is then up to the buyer if he or she wants to accept the counteroffer, reject it, or make another counteroffer.
If you get multiple offers, you may be tempted to simply accept the highest offer price, but one should be mindful of other important details in the offer, including but not limited to:
- Cash Offers vs Financing
- Third-Party Financing Addendum
- Amount of Earnest Money
- Requests for Closing Credits
- Requests for Personal Property
- Proposed Closing Date
NOTE: Offers will include a deposit of Earnest Money (typically 1% of Purchase Price), which is a good faith deposit. This money is required to be deposited with the escrow agent at the title company when you (the seller) accept the offer. The deposited Earnest Money goes toward the buyer’s down payment and closing costs if he or she buys the home. However, if buyer defaults on the contract, they typically lose the deposit and it goes to you as the seller.
Be sure to ask your agent about the Third-Party Financing Addendum to help protect your Earnest Money in case there is a problem with financing.
Finally, it is important to mention that if your buyer is relying on financing, it is required that the property be appraised. The purchase can fail if there is a big disparity between the property’s appraised value and the purchase price.
Your real estate agent will help you with reviewing and negotiating offers that you receive.
10. Attend the Home Closing
Sellers should be informed of the following few things before attending the final closing:
Seller’s Closing Costs
Not only do buyers have closing costs, but sellers do as well. Below is a list of some of the cost sellers could see at closing:
- 6% of Property Sale to Real Estate Agent Commissions (3% to Listing Agent & 3% to Buyer’s Agent)
- Title Insurance Policy
- Prorated Property Taxes
- Attorney Fees
- Recording Fees
- Outstanding Property Liens, if any
- Outstanding Mortgage Balance, if any
Pre-Closing Checklist & Documents to Bring:
Buyers and Sellers typically attend the final closing at the address of the title company that is listed on the sale agreement. Often times the buyer and seller will not even see each other at closing because they will go in and sign at different closing times. Other options sometimes allow for use of a remote notary. The exchanging of keys/remotes can be coordinated through your realtor.
It is always a good idea to communicate with your title company and realtor before closing to ensure that you do the following:
- Bring everything to closing that may be necessary:
- Government-Issued ID (e.g. Driver’s License, Passport, Social Security Card, and Credit Cards in your name) for the notary, which may be required before one begins to sign documents;
- Possibly a Cashier’s Check to cover various items (e.g. Closing Costs, Repair Credits, etc.);
- All Door Keys (e.g. front door, back door, garage, porch, backyard gates, attic doors, etc.);
- Garage Door Openers;
- Community Gate Remotes;
- Community Clubhouse Access Cards/Keys;
- Any other Community Access Devices;
- Mailbox Keys;
- Login Credentials to any smart lock control devices, locks, thermometers, doorbells, and/or appliances
- Review closing documents, including financials, in advance so you are familiar with the what you will be expected to sign at the closing table. Some potential documents to review before closing could be:
- The Closing Disclosure (CD);
- Conveyance Documents;
- Tax Disclosures; etc.
Tax Considerations
Sellers should never forget about Uncle Sam and this is especially true when selling a property. If you are selling your primary residence, you typically will not owe any tax from the appreciation of your home when converted into income. However, there are time and profit limitations and these may vary from year to year so it is ALWAYS good to consult a CPA or other tax professional who understands your financial situation and therefore your potential tax liability when selling your property. Be sure to also ask them if you are subject to capital gains and if a 1031 exchange applies to your situation.
Other Miscellaneous Items
Notify USPS of Official Change of Address so you can continue to receive mail from people or vendors to whom you may have forgotten to give your new address.