Demystifying the Home-Selling Process – A Step-By-Step Guide

If you’re considering selling your home, or helping a loved one to sell their home, the process can be intimidating.  Your home is a very personal thing, full of memories with family and friends.  There are so many things to consider, from what to do with furnishings and possessions, to where to go after you sell! There are many things to do before putting your home on the market.  Then once you are under contract, the real fun begins!  And we haven’t even tackled moving you into your next home! This is why most sellers choose to work with a licensed agent to help untangle, coordinate, and execute all of these “to do’s”.  Don’t worry – we’ve put together a basic outline of what you can expect at every stop along the road to selling.  In our first blog post, we’ll discuss how to get your home ready to sell. In later posts, we’ll discuss the pre-contract period where you’ll make your home available for open houses, showings, and use marketing to get the word out about your wonderful home.  Finally, we’ll discuss the “under contract” phase, including negotiations, documentation, inspections, appraisals, and other important milestones that will get you to the closing table!  But first – how do you prepare your home to sell?

Get Your Home Ready!

Before you ever put your home on the market, there are several things you should consider doing to improve the marketability of your home. Are there any major maintenance issues looming? Maybe you still haven’t filed that roof claim from last year’s hail storm.  Or maybe you have neglected your landscaping and you have some trees that need to be trimmed away from the roof. Or maybe your collection of Christmas decorations is cluttering up your guest bedroom. Whatever the case may be, a home that is clean, maintained, and staged (either with your own things or with the help of a professional stager) will present better in listing photos, and will show better in person.  It is important to take personal items like family photos and religious pieces off of walls and shelves – remember, you want to cast a wide net and make your home appealing to ALL people. Take some time to tidy up the landscaping (or hire a professional yard crew if you want to outsource that task) – curb appeal is very important! You’ll want to make sure to thoroughly clean the inside of the house (again, a house keeping service can be very helpful if that is within your budget) – you’re going for a fresh clean scent, stain free carpets, and dust free furniture. It’s also time to declutter by going through your home room by room, and bringing things to a donation center that you no longer want, hosting an estate sale, or boxing items up for a storage unit. The idea is to have a cozy but uncluttered appearance.

Documentation

I know, I know – documentation is boring, but it’s CRITICAL to have all of these documents in place.  Not only do they clarify your agreement with your agent as well as your terms for selling your home, but many documents are required in order to be in compliance with regulations.  You don’t want a missed signature or a skipped page to hold up the sale of your house.  Don’t worry – your experienced agent knows exactly what you’ll need to have signed to be in compliance. Some documents serve to record the features of your house to be presented on the MLS, and some documents will help to define the nature of the relationship between you and your agent.  Most important to remember is that your agent is here to represent YOU, so make sure you clarify your wishes and requests so that everyone is on the same page and your agent can advocate for you! Remember to keep copies of each of these for your records.

Listing Photos

Professional photographs, without question, will show better on listing websites like the local MLS, Zillow, and other real estate websites.  To give your home that extra edge over other listings, consider a video tour or even a drone view of the outside of the property (especially if you have acreage or waterfront to show off!).

Pricing Your Home and Listing It!

The value of a comparative market analysis (CMA) cannot be overstated.  Your agent will look at homes nearby with similar features that have sold recently and determine a competitive asking price for your home.  Besides the number of bedrooms and bathrooms, other considerations in pricing include the condition of your home, upgrades or luxury finishes, the surrounding neighborhood amenities and, you guessed it – LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION! An experienced agent will also have a barometer on local market trends and be able to further adjust your home’s price accordingly.  Of course you want to maximize your sale price, but you also want to make sure your home is competitive in your market, and that it is able to appraise with your buyer’s lender.  Licensed agents have access to resources that assist in this valuation process, so it is important to use a reputable agent with experience running accurate CMAs.  Once you have determined an asking price with your agent, they will work some behind the scenes magic to have your home’s details and photos listed on the Billings Multiple Listing Service (MLS) and voila!  We are ready to start showing off your property to interested buyers.

If you are ready to take first steps, or simply want more information and recommendations on any of the services described in this blog, please feel free to reach out to Heidi with the Heidi Brosovich Real Estate Team at 406-671-0122. Stay tuned for our next blog post where we’ll discuss the role of showings, open houses, and marketing to get your house under contract!

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