Steps For Selling Your Home

Find a Trusted Agent

If you are considering selling your home, the first order of business is to find a trusted real estate agent to guide you through the process. There are several benefits to using a real estate agent. You’ll make more money on the sale of your home than if you were to try and sell it yourself. According to the NAR, the average For Sale By Owner property sold for $58,000 less than the median agent-sold home in 2021. And most likely you’d pay the buyer agent fees as well. An agent can better market your listing and negotiate on your behalf. An agent is familiar with writing contracts, terminology, and the timeline necessary to get your property closed. While an agent won’t have all the answers, they will most likely know someone who does have the answers. An agent is skilled in negotiations and while negotiations weren’t necessary over the past couple of years, you can bet they are now! An agent can also look at your home objectively without the emotion attached to having lived in the home, and help you to prepare it so that you get the most money possible.

Prepare Your Home For the Sale

Once you’ve found the perfect agent, the next step is to prepare your home. Try to look at your home from a buyer’s perspective. Start with curb appeal. Clean up your yard. Make any minor fixes to the exterior of your home. Plant some colorful flowers if the season allows. You want the first impression the buyer has as they drive up to your property to be a good one. 

Next, declutter and depersonalize your home. You want the buyers to be looking at the house -not at all the STUFF IN your house. Too much stuff can make rooms appear smaller than they are. Clean out and organize closets and any storage spaces. Don't store excess clutter in the garage or basement, buyers will be looking in those areas as well! Donate, sell, and/or consider renting a storage unit or pod. Remove personal items such as photos so that buyers can imagine their own furnishings and decor in the home.

Make any minor repairs to the interior. Fix any holes in the walls or doors. Tighten any loose handles or cabinet doors in the kitchen and bathrooms. Touch up scuff marks on walls and doors and consider repainting a neutral color especially if any walls are discolored, are unusual colors, or are full of nail holes. Speaking of repainting, a fresh coat of paint can help your home to smell better as well. Keep in mind that we can become “nose blind” to the smell of our own homes. Like paint color, the smell of your home should be neutral. So while you don't want it to smell like your dog or rotting garbage, you also don't want it to smell like bleach or disinfectants. None of these smells are very appealing and the smell of bleach may lead buyers to wonder if you are trying to cover something up.

Clean, clean, and clean some more. Once you’ve decluttered and fixed any minor repairs, clean your house from top to bottom. Not only will they look better, but deep cleaning any carpets will help with lingering odors as well -especially pet smells. Pay special attention to your kitchen and bathrooms. We tend to overlook our own dirt and messes so be sure to take an objective look around. Wipe down your cabinets. Shine your appliances. Wash your floors. If you cannot find the time to deep clean your home, hire a professional cleaner to do it and then commit to keeping your home clean and tidy throughout the selling process.

Add some plants and fresh flowers or a bowl of fruit. However, be sure to care for the plants, change out the flowers before they die, and the fruit before it rots or attracts fruit flies! Consider hiring a stager or ask your agent about staging your home before having professional photos taken.

Determine Asking Price

Though you may have a certain amount of money you need or want to get for the sale of your property, your agent will use recently sold homes in your neighborhood to determine the correct price to list your home. Your agent will know the current market and be able to objectively price your home. If your property is priced too high, it might sit on the market leaving buyers to wonder why it hasn't sold. If it is priced too low, you may be leaving money at  the table. 

Professional Photographs Will Be Taken

A professional photographer should be used to take photos of your property and a good agent will have a relationship with a photographer. Depending on where you live, your agent may ask for aerial photographs to show your property’s location relative to other landmarks, neighbors, bodies of water, etc. Some photographers will create videos and floor plans as well.

Market Your Home

Your agent should market your home not only in the MLS, but also through social media, YouTube, and other avenues. Often, your home should be marketed in other states as well. For example, if your property is in southern coastal Maine, your property should be marketed in Massachusetts and New York, and even Canada!

Show Your Home

Your agent will start showing your home. You want to make sure to keep your home neat and tidy so it is always ready to show. If it is easy to show your home, it will be easier to get prospective buyers into your home. Your agent will probably have at least one open house where anyone can stop by and take a tour of your property. The more people that see your home, the better your chances of getting it sold!

Receive Offers and Negotiate

Now that prospective buyers have seen your property, you should start to receive offers. Your agent will present any and all offers to you and help you to understand all terms of the offers. Once you receive or choose an, your agent will begin to negotiate on your behalf and you will be moving toward the closing!