For Sellers
Sellers Guide:
There's more to selling your home than meets the eye. Our comprehensive, printable Sellers Guide helps you easily understand the selling process and outlines ways in which Home Selling Assistance can help you sell quickly and affordably.
Chapter 1:
How to set your price
Several factors must be considered when determining the list price for your home.
Comparable sales in your community, the condition of your home, and trends in the marketplace all bear weight on your asking price. Home Selling Assistance agents provide you with a complimentary market analysis which reviews the cost of recently sold homes, taking location, square footage and construction quality into account. We also evaluate the competition as well as provide you with helpful tips to potentially increase your property value (see Chapter 3 for home preparation checklist). A formal appraisal can also be performed by a professional estimator to determine the market value of your home. This service varies in cost according to the home price.
Chapter 2:
How to market your home
A comprehensive marketing plan is a critical ingredient to successfully distinguish your home and attract buyers. When you list your home with Home Selling Assistance, you'll have the advantage of participating in the strongest marketing program in the industry, which includes advertising in local papers, online advertising, full Multiple List Service capabilities, and professional listing brochures. Best of all, you'll pay no additional fees for these services as they are considered an essential part of Home Selling Assistance's job and your success. Showing your home properly also plays an important role in generating interest in your home. Chapter 4 provides more detail on how to give home tours, how much information to disclose, and how to protect yourself when open up your home to the public.
Chapter 3:
How to prepare your house for sale
To best prepare your house for sale, you should take into account all of the obvious areas that need cleaning, repairing or replacing. Dirty windows, broken fixtures and unkempt yards will do little to paint positive pictures for potential buyers. Once you list your home with Home Selling Assistance, we will tour your property and make recommendations to potentially increase the value and marketability of your home. We also provide a complete showing checklist to ensure you've done everything possible to put your home in the limelight. You'll want to be sure to clean every room of the house thoroughly and take the initiative to organize closets, put out some fresh flowers and make the house smell pleasant. And don't forget the outside as well! Your yard, front porch and entranceway are excellent opportunities to make a great first impression.
Chapter 4:
Showing your house
Your house is now uncluttered, sparkling clean and ready for showing. Our agents pre-qualify buyers before showing your house, saving you unnecessary traffic through your home, and time wasted in showing the property to people who will ultimately be unable to actually make the purchase.
Your Home Selling Assistance agent will give you as much notice as possible when scheduling showings, but you should make every effort to accommodate all appointments – you never know when your buyer could be walking through the front door!
If you're home when the appointment arrives, briefly greet them and excuse yourself. It's easier for the prospective buyer to picture themselves living in your home if the current owners are not there. Run to the grocery store, take the dog for a walk, take the kids to the park. Give the prospects plenty of time to look at your home. If you're not home during a scheduled appointment, make sure to tidy up before you leave the house, and put pets in the basement or back yard.
It's important that you do not discuss price, terms, possession, or other factors with the potential buyer. Your Home Selling Assistance agent is a trained real estate professional and most qualified to handle these details.
Chapter 5:
Negotiating a purchase offer
You receive an offer on your home. Now it's time to negotiate. Your Home Selling Assistance agent represents you in negotiations with the buyer and their agent and presents each written offer to you with an explanation of the terms and conditions. Now you have three choices: accept the offer, reject the offer, or make a counter offer where you address any portion of the original offer. When you make a counter offer, the buyers can then withdraw, accept or counter the counter offer.
Once there is a ratified contract signed by all parties, your Home Selling Assistance agent will coordinate all inspections of the property, and keep you informed on the buyer's progress in obtaining the necessary financing. As your settlement date gets closer, you may also need to perform repairs or do additional work to the house as agreed upon in your contract. A number of professionals come into the home selling process during this period, including a home inspector (if requested by the buyer), well and septic inspectors, termite inspector, appraiser and attorneys.
Usually just before settlement, the buyer will want to have a final walk-through of the property to ensure that all systems are still in working order.
Chapter 6:
Settlement
The day you've prepared and worked hard for is finally here. Your Home Selling Assistance agent will attend your settlement with you. In addition, there will be an attorney or title company, the buyer and their buyer's agent. Your Home Selling Assistance USA agent along with the title company representative will be there to guide you through the process and answer any questions you may have.
When you come to settlement, be sure to bring photo identification, as well as all house keys and garage door openers for the new owners. Also, if you have any appliance manuals or warranties for equipment in the home, you may bring those to settlement or leave them at the house for the new owners.
