So you are ready to list, and need to know what is next? First and foremost, make sure your home is prepared as if you have family coming over that you haven't seen in years. The house should be clean, smelling good, light bulbs all on and working, landscaping should be well trimmed and no weeds, fresh paint is not required but a great idea to give that “new, fresh feel.” Have your porch and door clean and free of any spiderwebs or debris, get some fresh potted flowers, or a spring wreath if needed to add some color. The biggest items of note are that front curb appeal, and the feel your home gives the moment you walk in the front door. This is the first impression for buyers and home searching is an emotional experience. A home speaks to you, and we want to make sure we set that tone as quickly as possible. Make the buyer fall in love early so they are creating excuses for why they still love the home when they see imperfections rather than reasons to not move forward. For more information on home prep, visit the Staging your Home video in your resources.
Next, make sure to obtain pertinent information about your home. If you are in an HOA, you will want to contact your HOA and let them know you are selling your home and need to provide disclosures and HOA costs for the new buyers. Sometimes they will provide this detail directly over the phone, sometimes they will need to email you this information. Print out your seller property disclosure statement and fill this out for a future inquiring buyer, contact your homeowners insurance and let them know you are selling your home and need a claims history report. If you have solar, start to compile this documentation as the buyers will need this detail as well.
Lastly, determine your list price. During the listing process, we will ask details on your list price and provide tools to determine this price. There is a video on pulling comparables and searching for homes that have sold near you to help with this. As well as a calculator for estimated value, the ability to order an official appraisal with a lender, and options to have one of our Real Estate Agents provide a valuation. Just remember, this price does not have to be final if you select an appraisal or an agent evaluation, but should be relatively within the range of what you’re hoping to sell for. Once we finalize our valuation, this is also just information for you to take in. As a seller, you ultimately choose what you list and sell your home for. If you are undecided between a range of pricing, and you have a little more time, it's always a better idea to start off a little on the higher side. You can always come down as needed, but you can’t really go up. List your price, gauge your interest, and adjust accordingly. Always remember a buyer's mentality when they are searching for a home. They will search “up to” specific milestones such as $500k max price, $600k max price, $650k and so on. For example, we had a listing that values came in right at the $600k mark, however, the seller felt they wanted to list at $609k. We moved forward, and did not receive much interest. Lowered to $605k, still the same result. We lowered to $599k, we received multiple offers and ended up selling for $607k. So keep those milestones in mind when determining your list price.
Now that you have completed those final steps, you are ready to start listing your home! Log into your sellers portal and our checklist will guide you through all the steps including photography and our sign install. Just remember, this isn’t the big scary, finalized step. We are here to assist in the process, can make changes to the listing as needed, and when you submit your listing, it is still reviewed by our agents to ensure we have all the correct information according to you and tax records. Any conflicting information will be confirmed before we go live. Good luck, we are so excited you selected Sold By You to assist in your real estate dreams, and lets go sell your home!