Home Selling in 8 Easy Steps

Top $ and Fast

In an ever-changing real estate marketplace, listing your home, or putting it on the market, at just the right time is critical. Omaha, Nebraska continues to be a favorable market for sellers. Let a real estate agent assist you in making sure buyers find and fall in love with your property.

Here are the 8 steps you will go through to get your home sold quickly, and for top dollar.

  1. Decide to Sell Your Home

Only you can decide if it’s the right time to move. Is your job relocating? Is your family growing? Are you downsizing? Are you getting married? Whatever the reason, a real estate agent can help you both sell your home and buy your next one.

  1. Meet with a Real Estate Agent

In recent years, home selling has become more complex with new seller disclosure statements, longer agreement forms and a range of environmental concerns. A professional real estate agent will take the lead and successfully guide you through all of the forms, financing, inspections, marketing, pricing and negotiating. She will know the community and the sales process well. She will use her expertise to present data supporting the best list price that will sell your home for top dollar quickly. At the meeting, she will tour your home and present a Comparative Market Analysis (CMA)-recent comparable sales in your neighborhood. Together you will agree on a list price and sign a listing agreement.

 3. Marketing & Strategy

Home selling is part art, science, marketing, strategy and negotiation.

Several factors, including market conditions and interest rates, will determine how much you can get for your home. It’s the real estate agent’s job to be informed and objective. Your home is a place where you’ve lived and made memories. She respects that and also understands that buyers will see your home as a product. Together you will decide what improvements to make, what will be included in the sale (home warranty, washer and dryer, assistance with closing costs, etc.) and how best to prepare your home for sale.

  1. Prepare Your Home

Your home being market-ready is essential to a quick and top dollar sale. After touring your home, there may be a number of things that need to be done to prepare it for sale. Don’t worry. Your agent will have a list of industry professionals who will prepare bids and complete the job so your home shows well and sells quickly. Not all resale repairs and improvements add value to the sale of your home. Your agent will help you decide what does. When your home is “open house ready”, a photo shoot will happen. These listing photos make your home’s first impression. Once the house is listed and the photos are posted, your home is ready for showings.

  1. Marketing & Showings

It’s time to show off your home. Most buyers spend time looking for a new home on the Internet and your home will be listed on multiple websites. Your agent will get the word out through promotion and social media. Together you will work to schedule showings and she will keep you informed every step of the way.

  1. Receive Offer & Negotiate

Once an offer has been received (or multiple offers), your real estate agent will help you review the standard forms, understand the many transactional issues and negotiate the best terms to meet your goals. She will be promoting and protecting your interests and assisting in getting to closing with a clear and binding sales agreement. Receiving an offer from a pre-qualified buyer is only the beginning of the sales negotiations that she will guide you through. She also will lead all counter-offers and further negotiations to get your home sold.

  1. Contract to Closing

Your agent will prepare you for the home inspection and appraisal and closely monitor the process to ensure that all actions and contingencies are met on time. If any requests for repairs are made, she will negotiate these on your behalf. You will be busy packing and preparing to move. Before closing, the buyer will have a final walk through to ensure you have left the house in the agreed upon condition and with agreed upon fixtures. Your real estate agent will keep you updated on the progress to ensure  peace of mind that your home sale will close as agreed upon.

  1. Closing Day

Closing is a formal process where both the buyer and seller are given papers to review, understand and sign, making the sale legal. The property title is transferred to the new buyer and funds are dispersed, including payment to your existing mortgage lender. Keys are presented to the new buyer.

See, it’s really not that difficult if you are led by a trusted real estate professional that understands the process, simply explains it and smoothly guides you through all the necessary steps.

Ready to sell?

Let’s meet.

Contact me today.

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Megan Owens

Real Estate Professional 
Phone Number: 402-689-4984
megan.owens@bhhsamb.com

©Copyright. January 2016. Linda Leier Thomason.

All Rights Reserved.