How do I set the sale price?
What are my legal options once an offer is received?
What must I legally disclose to buyers about my home?
Should I pay for an appraisal?
Will I need an attorney?
How do I qualify prospective buyers?
What is the most effective way to market my home?
If you do not know the answer to these and other questions relevant to the sell of your home, we need to talk.
Selling a home is one of the most important financial decisions you will ever make and seeking the advise of a professional REALTORŪ is the smart thing to do. You have found yourself here because you are no doubt interested in selling your home. I have designed this portion of my website to take you through some of the important parts of selling your home. While each home and transaction is unique, you will find that these are the guidelines by which I do my business for all my home sales. So please feel free to look around, you may follow it step by step or jump around to the specific parts you may find most interesting.
Step I - Sellers Initial Consultation
Initial Consultation
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So you are thinking of selling your home. The Ocala real estate market has been strong for several years now. We have seen strong growth in both the number of homes sold, as well as the dollars per transaction, over this time frame without the excess that other markets in the country are facing. However, pricing the property becomes the most important issue in determining the sale of your home. Here is where we will begin. At our inital meeting I will provide you with your Home Sellers Tips/Guide. I will guide and give you important information on how we are going to sell your home. In addition, it I will give you some information about my company as well as a sample sales contract that you can look through at your leisure. I will also be gathering information on your home, (i.e. - room sizes, special features, etc.) that I am going to need to help determine the market price for your home. This would also be the time to tell me what features you love about your home and your area, anything that can help sell it. You are also going to need to provide me information on any updates you have done, (i.e. - new roof, painting, etc.) and when, so you will want to review your records before we meet.
This meeting will probably take no longer than an hour, as I don't want to take up too much of your valuable time. Once I have all the informaiton I need, I can start your Home Evaluation.
Now on to the next step...
Step II - Your Home Evaluation
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Once I have all the pertinant information, I can then provide you with your Home Evalution. This is where we compare your home to similar ones to come up with the asking price. I will check all the acive homes for sale, the homes currently under contract, as well as all of the homes that have recently sold to find ones that compare favorably to yours. Once I have found a few in each category I will then view each of the properties, in person, to make sure that they are a comparable property. Once I have all of my information, we will review it together. I will give you information on each house and discuss its similarities and differences. Once we have reviewed all the comparables we will then find a price that we both think is acceptable to ask for your home. Generally this meeting takes about a half hour and it occurrs within a couple of days, depending on how easy it is to get into all of the comparable homes. Once we all agree and everything is signed, we can move on to marketing your home and getting it ready to sell.
Now on to the next step...
Step III - Marketing Your Home
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Now we come to the second most important part, pricing being the first. This sections is long but please read through the whole thing to learn all of the important things that will be done to market your home for sale. It has been shown in studies that over 80% of home buyers use the internet during their home search. With that kind of number, it is important to be with a RealtorŪ who has a strong internet presence. In addition to this website, here are some other examples of the internet presence that your home will have:
Individual Property Website -Your home will receive its very own web address complete with details of the home. This will be accessible through the MLS services and my personal website, Realtor.com and anywhere else I am able to post it on the web.
Realtor.com - The most popular real estate website on the net with 5.5 million consumers each month. Your home will receive an enhanced listing which would highlight it and move it to the top of the home searches in your area.
Exit Town & Country Realty Website - Your home will also be listed on my company's website which is accessed by thousands of people a day in the Ocala area.
Here is a list of other important steps taken in marketing your home for sale:
Target Marketing - As soon as your home is listed with me, an email will be sent out to all of the buyers currently in my company's database who are looking for a home like yours. In addition, an email will be sent to the top 50 agents who have sold homes in your area. It is said that the top 50 agents are consistently working with at least 5 buyers, that is potentially 250 who get to hear about your home. Finally, your listing will be emiled to every agent at Exit Town & County Realty.
Multiple Listing Service - That will insure that your listing is visible to every active agent in the Ocala area.
Flyers - Your home will receive flyers to highlight the special features of your home.
Open Houses - Once you decide to list your home with me, I will place your home on the next Agent Caravan. This is a day where all the agents in the area go around and preview homes that are on the market. It is important to let them see it as they may have a buyer who is looking for a home just like yours. We will also be placing your home in the Saturday and/or Sunday Open House section to allow the general public of buyers to see your home as well.
As I said, this is a long section, but an important one. These are just some of the things that I will do to sell your home.
Now let's move on to the next step...
Step IV - Preparing Your Home To Sale
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After we have found the right price to sell your home, we will then go through and discuss the steps we need to prepare your home for the buying public.
First we will look at the exterior of the home:
Landscaping is clean an neat - we will want to make sure leaves and branches are picked up. All the bushes are trimmed.
Make sure to remove clutter - All excess toys and yard tools are put away. All pets are "picked-up" after.
House "shows" well - Make sure any peeling paint or dirt is removed
These are all important points because the exterior of the home is your first impression to the potential buyer. We want to make sure to highlight the "curb appeal" of your home.
Next we will look at the interior of the home:
Remove clutter - Again we want to make sure all toys are picked up, counters are clean, and closets organized.
All lighting is working - We want to make sure all light bulbs and light fixtures are working to help brighten the home. We may put lamps in certain spots to help showcase.
Make sure home is "show-ready" - Here we want to make sure that some daily things take place to help show the house off. Make sure beds are made, counters are wiped down, dishes put away, and carpets vaccumed. This will help show off the inside of your home to all buyers, even the last minute showings when you are out.
Once we have gone through our checklist and the marketing is in place, we will be ready to sell your home.
This takes us to our next step...
Step V - Offer To Contract
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I wanted to take this time to walk through the steps of what will happen once we get an offer on your home.
Negotiating the Agreement
Explain the offer to you and answer your questions
Help you determine the best course of action by pointing out potential advantages and disadvantages of the offer and clarifying the choices available to you
Prepare an Estimate of Net Proceeds based on the proposed price and terms
Negotiate through the buyer's agent and handle possible counter offers, to reach a final agreement that is favorable to you
I will go through these steps with you for each offer and counter offer until we get a signed contract and get your home sold.
Once we have the contract agreed upon we will move on to our next step...
Step VI - Contract To Close
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We have found a buyer for your home, and have agreed to terms for the sale of your home and it is "Under Contract". We are almost finished, but there are several important steps I will be doing up until we are sitting at the closing table. Steps such as:
Explain to you, in detail, all the steps that will occur for a successful closing, and answer any questions you might have
Work with the buyer's agent, closing attorney, title officer and others to help coordinate their activities and keep the transaction moving forward
Monitor progress of inspections, the buyer's loan and other contingencies as called for in the purchase agreement. Resolve questions or problems that might arise in order to insure a timely closing
Accompany the buyer and buyer's agent during their final walk-through of the property
Assist you in handling details required for the completion of the transaction
Communicate with you on a regular basis so that you can stay informed and as worry-free as possible.
Once we have passed through all the steps, we can move onto the closing table, sign all the documents, collect your money, and sell your home.
Now we can move on to our next step...
Step VII - Moving
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While we will have discussed and planned for this long before the closing, you obviously do not have to move until the day possession is to be given. As moving can be stressful, I may suggest doing so beforehand as the buyers will have already made plans to move in on this day. (The date possession is given is the date agreed upon in the purchase and sales agreement.)
First thing we will want to make sure of is that your utilities will be transferred on the day possession is given. This time can be very stressful for you so please feel free to call me if you need anything. I am here to help.
Now as we have gone through the steps to selling your home, I would be happy to help you find your new home if you haven't already done so. Please feel free to look through the buyer's section of my website or if you are re-locating to another area, let me know and I will help find an agent to assist you there.
I hope you have found this information useful and if you have any further questions please don't hesitate to contact me.
Sonja Freeman - RealtorŪ
