Tips For Selling Your Home
Prepare your property for a successful sale with these essential steps
Give Your House a Deep Clean
First impressions are everything. Before you decide to list your home, give it a deep clean. Clean toilets, wipe down surfaces, mop floors, clean rugs and scrub bathrooms - even consider calling in the professionals to ensure that your home is in the best condition it can possibly be.
Declutter The Home
When a home is clutter-free, buyers are able to focus on the actual home instead of on the piles of mail, laundry, and general mess in your home. Potential buyers want to envision their items on your counter versus resisting the urge to clean up your mess. Decluttering & organizing will go a long way in appealing to potential buyers.
Call a Handyman
When selling a house, you should make sure everything that needs to be fixed has been taken care of before listing a home. Potential buyers will come into your home knowing you took care of it, giving them more peace of mind.
Paint the Walls
Not only is painting a great way to clean up the walls but making the overall color scheme neutral will increase the appeal to potential buyers, making it easier for them to envision their belongings in the house - get rid of any bright, outdated paint colors and go with a neutral palette throughout the house.
Increase Your Curb Appeal
The outside aesthetic of your home is just important as the inside. Give buyers a good feeling before they even open the front door. Landscaping, mulching, flowers, pressure washing the driveway and exterior of the home are all simple ways to increase the value of your home.
Stage Your Home
Staged homes tend to fill quickly because they feel homier - if you have neutral furniture that you can leave in the home, do it, otherwise consider a professional staging company.
Depersonalize Your Home
You want to leave a few nice, framed photos around the house to make the home appear inviting and lived in, but in general, removing your very personal items, such as family photos will let the potential buyers see their photos in those places, versus yours.
Preparing To Sell
Phoenix Area Real Estate
Why Sell?
Why do you want to sell your property? Do you intend to simply find a larger property, or do you plan on moving to another neighborhood, school district, city or state? You might think your reasons are obvious, but it would do well to consider the implications of each option for your lifestyle, opportunities, and finances. Being clear about your intentions for selling will make it easier for us to determine the most appropriate option for your specified financial, lifestyle, and real estate goals.
When Should I Sell?
Establish your time frame for selling early on. If you have a personal consideration, like a job offer, that doesn't allow you much flexibility for your selling time frame, then your agent will work with you. We can help you accelerate the process by giving you a thorough market analysis and action plan to best fit your goals. If you do not need to sell immediately, we will sit down with you and review current market conditions to find the ideal time to sell.
Choosing a Phoenix Real Estate Agent
Why Should You Choose Our Professionals?
You may choose to sell your property independently, but hiring a qualified listing agent will help you get the best price for your property, employ effective advertising and marketing strategies, guide you through negotiations, and help you organize the complicated paperwork involved from the initial agreement to the closing documents.
We understand how important selling your property is for your finances and future. That's why we make your goals as our top priority. Our professional agents will use their expertise to guide you seamlessly through the selling process and maximize your opportunities on the real estate market.
What To Look For In An Agent
The following are a couple of factors to keep in mind when looking for a listing agent:
Education
Our agents go through advanced training and education, allowing them esteemed recognition in the industry and market.
Experience and Expertise
You want a full-time agent who is familiar with the area and similar properties like the one you intend to sell. Do they possess a diverse range of marketing and advertising strategies? How many similar properties has he or she been able to sell in the past? How tech-savvy is your agent? Are they up to date on the power of social media?
Availability and Commitment
Your agent should be sharp and able to take decisive action during the process of selling your property. Is your agent intentional about staying in contact? Is your agent flexible for weekends and evenings? Are they willing to host open houses?
Compatibility
You will work with your agent through every stage of selling your property, so it's crucial you believe they will give you their best, understand your situation, and invest in the outcome of your property sale. Ultimately, you want to feel comfortable and confident in your agent.
We treat every property as if it was our own investment because we know how stressful selling a home can be for your finances and your future. Our professional listing agents will use their time, resources and expertise to ensure your property is strategically sold to benefit you.
The Price Is Not Always Right
The highest price is not always the determining factor when accepting an offer. The initial offer is usually not final, and there are a number of terms and conditions that may influence the final outcome of a price. You can trust our professionals to help you navigate proposals to accept the best offer - from the best buyer!
Negotiating To Win
We take the ethical responsibility of fairly negotiating contracts. We put our clients first when evaluating each offer to help you make the right choice while keeping the buyer engaged.
The Initial Agreement and Deposit
Once you and the buyer have come to an agreement, you will both sign the initial contract, or Purchase Agreement, and the buyer will place a deposit in the escrow account. An escrow, or closing agent, is either a title company or attorney who acts as the neutral third party that holds, receives, and distributes all funds associated with selling your property until the closing date.
Laws vary across states, but in order for an agreement to be legally binding, the agreement may require considerations. Considerations are deposits from the buyer held in the escrow account pending the fulfillment of contingencies or conditions in the Purchase Agreement.
Some important tips to keep in mind to streamline the process even further:
Keep written records of everything. Counter-offers, verbal agreements, and addendums should all be recorded. Make sure both parties sign these written documents. We will help draft all written records and provide copies for both parties to keep.
Stay on schedule. You and the buyer will be given a timeline to complete all contingencies laid out in the Purchase Agreement. Meeting the requirements on time ensures a smooth, more productive negotiation period. Staying on schedule will not only make the process less stressful, but it will guarantee neither party is in breach of their contract agreements. We will keep you updated throughout the process and prepare you for each step.
The Buyer's Property Inspection
Most buyers will have the property examined by a licensed property inspector to ensure everything in the contract is accurate. Inspection time frames will be laid out in the Purchase Agreement. Some buyers will choose to have separate inspectors look at different areas of the property (ie. roof, plumbing, or HVAC inspectors).
If the buyer is receiving a loan, a licensed appraiser will most likely examine your property as well. Since the agreement is contingent upon financing, the lending institute will require confirmation that their investment in your home is accurate. Therefore, they will require a third party appraiser to determine the value of your property.
The Closing Agent
Either a title company or an attorney will be chosen as the closing agent, or escrow, whose job is to examine and insure clear title to real estate. After reviewing the recorded history of your property, they will certify that your title is clear of encumbrances (ie. leases, mortgages, or restrictions) by the date of closing to allow the transfer of title to the buyer.
What else you should know...
Contingencies
A contingency is a condition that must be met before a contract becomes legally binding. For instance, buyers will typically include contingencies upon home inspections or securing their financing.
Before completing his or her purchase of your property, the buyer will complete the necessary steps. These include:
- Securing financing and insurance
- Reviewing all pertinent documents, such as preliminary title reports and disclosure documents
- Inspecting the property. The buyer has the right to pursue details on the condition of your property through a wide range of inspections, such as roof, termite/pest, chimney/fireplace, property boundary survey, well, septic, pool/spa, arborist, mold, lead based paint, HVAC, etc.
How do you respond objectively and fairly to the buyer when a renegotiation is demanded, while acting in your best interests? This is when a professional listing agent can make a real difference in the outcome of the transaction. Having dealt with various property sales in the past, we guarantee our expertise and total commitment to every customer, no matter what their situation is.
Loan Approval and Appraisal
We suggest that you accept buyers who have a lender's pre-approval, approval letter, or written loan commitment, which is a better guarantee of loan approval than a pre-qualification or no documentation from a lending institute. Expect an appraiser from the lender's company to review your property and verify that the sales price is appropriate.
Closing Day
If you have made it this far, it is almost time to celebrate, but there are still a few more items to check off until your property is officially sold. Check with your agent to clarify all items are in order, so you can tie up these loose ends. We will make sure everything is ready for a seamless and stress-free closing day.
Final Walk-Through Inspection
Either the day of closing, or the day before, the buyer will have the final walk-through inspection. This is to verify the property is still in the condition outlined in the Purchase Agreement, there are no new issues, and no items have been left behind from the seller.
Cancel Home Services and Utilities
After the closing, we will provide a helpful list of numbers for the cancellation of home service and utilities.
Be Prepared
Even during this last stage, unexpected issues may arise, but do not worry. We will help you through any unforeseen problems. If the buyer's loan does not process on time or an appliance on the property breaks, we know what to do. We have encountered these glitches before, so we know how to handle them effectively. We will get you back on track in a timely and stress-free manner.
Closing
After the final inspection, you, the buyer, and the closing agent will sign the settlement agreement, which details the financial transactions enacted through the process to certify accuracy. If you are unable to attend the closing, then you can make arrangements depending on the circumstances and notice given to all parties. If you are receiving funds, you can have them wired electronically to an account at your financial institution, or you can have the buyer issue a check at your closing. Make sure to arrange to have all property keys and other pertinent information for the buyer at the closing. Once everything is signed, you have officially sold your property.
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