Everything you need to know about putting your home on the market, accepting an offer, and closing on your home sale
Putting your home on the market can be a stressful experience if the process isn't well executed, and not knowing where to start can make it even more overwhelming. To help prepare you for what to expect, this seller's guide provides you with all the information you'll need to reduce the angst, get organized, and sell your home for the best price possible.
What do you want to accomplish with the sale of your home? Do you need to make a certain amount of money that you can put toward a new home? Do you have to sell it as soon as possible to facilitate a move to a new city or area? Are you downsizing and want to sell it furnished? The details of your "why" will help decide the approach we take. Once you have a better understanding of your needs, we'll work together to come up with a strong game plan that ensures your goals are met.
Knowing where 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 other prospective buyers and their agents. Overpricing your home, for example, could lead to reduced interest and longer days on market, which often ultimately results in getting less than what your home is worth. The pricing strategy employed can completely change the outcome of your sale. To ensure we are setting ourselves up for success, I will evaluate the current market, your home's competition, historic data and trends, and review all of this information with you. While our homes are our very special to us, it's important to look at it through a buyer's eyes in order to objectively determine the pricing, rather than emotionally.
Decluttering, depersonalizing and staging are the basics, but with stiff competition in our market, in order to stand out from the crowd you need to put in the work that they won't. Having a keen eye for detail, I will do a walk-through of your home with you and we will come up with a list of items to address that will offer you the most value. While having a potentially long to-do list may seem overwhelming, our White Glove program is there to handle exactly that- tackling your list for you. White Glove offers a range of services from our partner vendors, everything from cleaning and staging, to repairs and renovations, both large and small. Best of all- you don't pay for any of it until closing and can rest easy that everything has been done. When it comes to my listings, I am absolutely meticulous in ensuring they present impeccably to the public, so if that means having to scrub the floors or wipe down windows just before our first showing (both of which have happened), then that's what I'll be doing in order to ensure it meets my standards of what it means to be "show ready".
A comprehensive marketing strategy is not only necessary for a successful sale, but also something we specialize in at Sotheby's International Realty. Making sure all the right eyes see your home begins before we even hit the market, as we promote it through our private network. Once your home is live, it will be marketed not just locally, but globally across our offices in 75+ countries, on 100+ websites worldwide (including our own which is translated into 14 languages and receives 37+ millions visits a year), through every major social media channel, and with our exclusive global advertising partnerships with major publications including The Wall Street Journal and Mansion Global and Architectural Digest to name a few. This doesn't include our email and print marketing campaigns that we employ as well. Our goal is to get the most possible traffic to your listing in order to secure a strong offer, if not multiple most times.
Receiving an offer is an exciting part of the process, but it doesn’t mean the journey is over. When faced with a multiple offer situation, we will evaluate each offer and their strengths and weaknesses. It is important to be sure the party making the offer is pre-approved by a reputable mortgage lender and the lender doesn't foresee there being an issues with their financing. If the offer is too low or the terms are uncompelling, we will either negotiate a counter-offer or find other creative ways to bridge the gap. When sending out a counter-offer, having a dynamic negotiator advocating on your behalf will put you in a position of strength and ensure a positive outcome.
Once we deem the offer is acceptable, we will do a final review of the proposed contract to make sure it’s all in order and includes the necessary components such as deposit amount, down payment, financing, contingency timeframes, settlement date, and if applicable, a list of fees and who will pay them. Once both parties have signed off, you will officially be "under contract" and the clock will start ticking for the buyer to fulfill their contingencies.
You have accepted an offer and are now very close to the end of your selling journey, but first, we need to make a list of what needs to be done before closing. In some cases, minor or major repairs will need to be made per the home inspection. In other cases, you just need to make sure the home has been maintained- lawn cut, house cleaned, filters changed, etc. I will head up efforts to develop and execute this list, get each action item paid for by the correct party, and make sure everything is in order by the closing date. You'll also want to check in with your utility providers and schedule to have your accounts closed or transferred as appropriate When it comes to moving arrangements, you can count on White Glove to also take care of that headache for you as well. Our reputable moving partners will safely and securely pack your belongings move them for you whether you're going down the street or overseas- and you won't be paying for it until closing.
While emotional for some, closing day is also a very exciting day for most. We will meet with the title to sign the final paperwork, which includes items such as a deed transfer, title work, your mortgage payoff, etc. Sellers typically sign off on their paperwork a couple of days before the buyer. Your settlement appointment to sign these documents can be as quick as ten minutes, or over half an hour depending on how many questions you might have. Once everything is signed by both parties, you will officially have sold your home, congratulations! Your proceeds will be wired directly to you, usually the same day the final signatures are collected. Though you have now closed on your home, I will always be available for any questions you may have as you settle in and beyond. I pride myself in the fact that my relationships don't end on closing day, and instead extend for years to come!
Working with buyers, sellers and investors alike, Homaira is committed to forging lasting relationships with every client by serving them with the utmost professionalism, while providing a highly personalized experience.