The Home Selling Process

A guide to the home selling process.

By +Sarah Marrinan

1) Choose a Listing Agent

• A listing agent will represent you and have a fiduciary responsibility to look out for your best interests.
• Interview agents and review their experience and marketing plan.
• Negotiate and sign your listing agreement, including term.

2) Get Home Ready for Sale

• Prepare your home for sale by cleaning, decluttering and improving curb appeal.
• Hire a professional stager to stage your home, or ask your real estate agent for help in staging.
• Make repairs before selling. Get a home inspection if you are not sure what the most important repairs will be.
• Hire a handyman for repairs you can't make on your own.
• Protect your privacy while your home is on the market.  Keep all your personal documents locked away. Remove personal photos. Lock up your valuables.
• If you're selling a home where pets live, make alternate plans for your pets.

3) Figure Out How Much Your Home is Worth

• A seller's biggest mistake is to overprice.
• Price your home in line with sold homes identified in a comparative market analysis report.
• Consider your market competition. 
• Consider whether your market is hot, cold or neutral, and price according to the market temperature.

4) Obtain Seller-Required Inspections

• If your contract calls for a Truth-in-Housing inspection, your agent will help arrange it. 

5) Seller Disclosures

• All homes in the US are subject to lead-based paint and Radon disclosures.
• If you are aware of material facts, disclose them. Hiding material defects could result in a lawsuit down the road.
• If you are in an association you will be required to provide copies of the association documents to the buyer.

6) Market Your Home

• You or your agent should identify the selling points and choose advertising words to sell.
• Approve your agent's marketing campaign and advertise your house for sale yourself amongst family and friends.
• Follow the top 10 home marketing tips for selling your home.
• Hire a virtual tour company to take quality photographs and put a 360-degree virtual tour online.
• Tweak marketing to increase traffic and showings while the home is on the market.
• Your agent should saturate the internet with photographs and description of your home.

7) Receive Purchase Offers and Negotiate

• Make certain that buyers use the right form for writing a purchase offer.
• Even if you receive a lowball offer, negotiate by issuing a counter offer. Don't ignore offers.
• Ask for first right of refusal if the buyer's offer is contingent on selling a home.
• Consider making a counter offer contingent on buying a home, if market conditions warrant.
• Don't be afraid to make a full-price counter offer based on your agents suggestion, if you are priced competitively.
• If you are priced right, you may receive multiple offers depending on the level of competition and local market activity.

8) Show Your Home

• Most agents use a lockbox.
• Your home may show better if you are selling in spring-fall than selling in winter.
• Selling during the holidays will likely result in a lower sales price, regardless of what agents tell you.
• Follow the top 10 home showing tips. You've got only one chance -- and sometimes only 3 seconds -- to make a good first impression.
• Prepare for an open house and use the approach sparingly.
• Ask for buyer feedback so you can adjust your price, condition or marketing campaigns accordingly.

9) Cooperate with Home Inspection

• Get ready for the home inspector.
• Ask your agent to provide you with a home inspection checklist so you will know which items an inspector will want to see.
• Expect that the inspector will want access for an attic inspection and will look for a wet basement; prepare those areas for inspection.

10) Negotiate Request for Repair

• Ordinarily, sellers do not need to accept a buyer's request for repair; however, buyers can generally then cancel.
• You are entitled to a copy of the home inspection report, if the buyers request repairs.
• If you do not choose to make repairs, a buyer might instead accept a closing cost credit.

11) Open Escrow / Order Title

• Your agent or transaction coordinator will open escrow and order a title policy.
• Write down the contact information for the closing agent.
• Select a date to close based on when the buyer's loan will fund.
• Ask for a receipt for the buyer's earnest money deposit.

12) Appraiser Appointment

• Clean the house the day before the appraiser arrives.
• If you receive a low appraisal, ask your agent about alternatives.
• You are not entitled to receive a copy of the appraisal because you did not pay for it.
• If the buyer decides to cancel the contract based on an appraisal, ask your agent or lawyer about your rights.
• This is separate from the home inspection but looks at many of the same items to determine a condition level

13) Ask Buyer to Release Contingencies

• If you do not demand a release, buyers are not obligated to provide it.

14) Move Out

• Once all contingencies have been removed and all parties have receive a final closing notice move out.
• Unless otherwise agreed, the house should be completely empty before final walk-through

15) Final Walk-thru

• The buyer is entitled to a final walk-through just before closing to make sure the home is in the same condition and when they agreed to purchase it and all negotiated repairs/updates have been done.

16) Closing

• Bring a valid picture ID.
• Bring keys and garage door openers.
• Be on time.

17) Post Closing

• File for homestead if the property will be your primary residence
• Your property deed, reconveyance and deed of trust will record in the public records.
• Title will notify you when it records.
• Depending on buyer's possession rights specified in the contract, you may be required to move on the day it closes.