Step 1: Understand Why You're Selling
What do you want to accomplish with the sale of your home? Do you want to make a certain amount of money that you can put toward a larger or nicer home? Do you need to sell it as soon as possible to facilitate a move to a new city or area? Once you understand your needs, you can better craft your offer. For example, if you need to sell quickly, you might want to price your home lower than if your goal is to make a certain profit margin. Make sure you convey these needs to your real estate team so they can adjust your selling strategy accordingly.
Step 2: Determine Selling Price
Knowing how to price your home is one of the most important parts of the selling process. When you set a fair price in the beginning, you’ll get the most interest from real estate agents and prospective buyers. Overpricing your home could lead to reduced interest, and underpricing leads to receiving less than what your home is worth. An experienced real estate team can review comparable sales, evaluate the current market, and may suggest a home appraisal.
Step 3: Start Preparations
Once you price your home, it’s time to start getting it ready to be shown to potential buyers. This includes getting rid of clutter, depersonalizing the space so buyers can envision themselves there, making small repairs, and completing a deep clean so your home is in pristine condition.
Step 4: Develop a Marketing Strategy
We will develop a marketing strategy for advertising your home. This involves listing the home and driving the right people to that listing through social media campaigns, agent-to-agent referrals, traditional media, or search advertising. Our team creates a campaign designed to generate strong attention when your listing launches.
Step 5: Evaluate Offers
Receiving an offer is exciting, but it doesn’t mean the journey is over. We will help evaluate each offer, including whether the buyer is prequalified or pre-approved and whether the terms are acceptable to you. If an offer is too low, you may counter or explore other ways to bridge the gap, such as closing costs, repairs, move-in timing, appliances, or fixtures.
Step 6: Accept an Offer
Once an offer is acceptable, we will review the proposed contract and its key components, including deposit amount, down payment, financing, inspection rights and repair allowances, contingencies, settlement date, and the allocation of fees. When both parties agree to the terms, the final contract can be prepared and signed.
Step 7: Get Ready to Close
After accepting an offer, you and the buyer must complete what is required before closing. Your home may need to be inspected, surveyed, appraised, or repaired. We will help coordinate the action items, responsibilities, and timing so everything is ready by the closing date. You will also need to make arrangements to move out so the buyer can take possession.
Step 8: Close
At closing, ownership of the property is legally transferred to the buyer. You will sign the final paperwork and address any remaining issues. This is also the time to handle final details such as canceling utilities and services, changing retained accounts, and leaving instructions for appliances that remain with the home.
Congratulations!
Once your home is sold, the next chapter opens — whether that means relocating, stepping into a larger home, or downsizing with peace of mind. The stories you leave behind become someone else’s beginning.
This guide describes a general selling process. Contract rights, fees, timelines, and closing procedures vary by transaction; confirm the applicable details with your agent and closing professional.