6 Steps to Selling a Home

Selling your house can be an enjoyable and profitable experience when you’re prepared and have the right real estate agent on your side. Check out these six steps to selling a home before you begin the selling process.

Finding the best real estate agent with whom to work is paramount to the successful sale of your house. The right agent creates a positive experience and uses their skills to market your home.

Ask for referrals and recommendations from friends, family members, co-workers, associates, and on social media networks. You can then use those same social media platforms to read agent ratings and reviews.

Choose an agent who specializes in selling the type of property you own, and who also thoroughly knows your neighborhood.

Interview agents. Select an agent who not only specializes in your type of property and has good recommendations, but also with whom you can communicate clearly and easily.

Staging your home for sale is one of the most important tasks you can undergo to influence the expediency and price of your house. To stage a house means to prepare the house to be viewed by potential buyers. Preparing the house includes making repairs, updating, cleaning, decorating, and neutralizing the space.

Creating a neutral setting in a home includes applying a soft color palette that will appeal to most buyers. A potential buyer wants to see themselves living in the home. For this reason, it’s best to remove photographs, collections, and other items that may be controversial.

The goal when you stage a house is to present to the buyer a move-in ready space that is light, fresh, and full of potential.

Your real estate agent will present you with a comprehensive market analysis, or CMA. A CMA compiles data pertaining to recently sold houses in your area. By creating a profile of what buyers are spending for houses like yours, you can effectively price your home within the buyer’s market. Based on the CMA, the condition of your home, and other factors, your agent will recommend to you the best asking price.

Understand that the asking price for your home and the selling price are two different numbers. The asking price is what you hope to receive whereas the selling price is what the buyer was willing to pay.

Pricing your house above market value and out of the buyers’ budget will do you no favors. You may feel you have wiggle room to drop the price as you go, but the fact is that the more times you drop the price and the longer the house is on the market, the less interesting it becomes to buyers.

You may receive multiple offers on your house. Review each offer carefully and discuss any concerns with your agent. Don’t be swayed by the dollar amount alone.

Your agent can help you write negotiations and submit counter-offers until you reach an agreement with which you and the buyer are both pleased.

Before the closing date for the house, you can expect the house to be inspected and appraised. This is also the time you should be packing and moving because once the closing date arrives, you will turn the keys over to the new owner.

Don’t let the sale of your home become a source of stress. Instead, with a little bit of foresight and prep-work, as well as having the right agent on your side, you can enjoy the process of selling your home both quickly and for the most money.

Your real estate agent is the best source of information about the local community and real estate topics. Give Lesley Wagstaff a call today at 604-313-3358 to learn more about local areas, discuss selling a house, or tour available homes for sale.