Thinking of Selling your First Home
It's on your mind, should you sell your home and invest in a new one? Is now the best time to sell? Will the market continue to rise or have you missed the boat?
Decisions like these are very common and this page will hopefully give you some good answers. Go ahead and read through this article, and if you still have unanswered questions, please feel welcome to contact me with your questions or concerns. The answers are always FREE.
When is the Best Time to Sell Your Home?
Everyone seems to have specific ideas on when the right time is to sell. Some base their theories on the overall economy, while others will tell you that there are key buying months that you'll want to capitalize on. The real question is 'when is the best time for YOU to sell?' And unfortunately only you can answer that. The market ebbs and flows, offering strong and weak markets. Working with an honest agent will help you make the right decision for your situation regardless of the market conditions. Opportunities are always out there, you just need to arm yourself with a good team and jump on in.
Are There Costs Involved in Selling?
Of course. It takes money sometimes to make money. Even if you think your home is perfect, you may have to do some minor repairs or upgrades to make your home more attractive to potential purchasers. But if you plan smart from the start you can maximize your resale costs and come out ahead.
Buy or Sell First?
Another tough question. After all, if you find a purchaser for your existing home, before you find a new one for yourself, you may find yourself living out of a suitcase mutually agreeable dates can not be negotiated. On the other hand, if you find your dream home before you sell your old one, you may be faced with carrying two mortgages and bridge financing.
If you are not buying and selling strategically or for investment, the best time to sell is really when you feel your existing home will not meet your future needs. The best long-term reason to purchase a new home is to take advantage of your family and lifestyle changes. Do you wish to be closer to a school? Are you switching jobs? Do you have an aging parent to care for?
Another key factor to consider is the economy. Are interest rates higher or lower in comparison to your current mortgage? If they are higher, you may want to stick with your current home, as your new mortgage payments could be a challenge. If rates are lower, you might be able to trade up to a more expensive home without a significant increase in your monthly mortgage obligation.
What's more, if it is a buyers' market, you may be in a strong position to purchase a new home, especially if you have accumulated some equity in your current property. So how do you manage? Easy. Do your homework and an honest evaluation of your family's needs and budget. Then speak to your agent and start your search for your new home as soon as your existing home hits the market.
If it happens that you find a home before you sell your existing one, you can ask your agent to use the "sale of your existing home" as a condition on your offer. If you do not sell your house within a fixed period of time, you can then choose not to go through with the offer. This, however, is a difficult condition for many sellers to agree upon and you may find that you have to forgo your price negotiating power.
Alternatively, purchasing a home before you sell could be a risky strategy if you are counting on the proceeds from the sale. Again, it depends on your unique situation.
If your agent finds a purchaser before you find your next home, you can use the "purchase of a new home" as a condition when you sign back the agreement. Again, it will only be for a fixed time. Even if you have not found the ideal next house by the time the deal closes, you may still wish to proceed with the offer. As a buyer with a "sold house" you will be in a better position to negotiate price.
The Documents Needed
Decisions like these are not easy to make. If you have questions about selling your home, call me today for a no-pressure, honest conversation on buying and selling in our current market. Direct 864-918-1799.
If you have any questions please fill out the form below and a representative will be in contact with you shortly.
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Listing Services
After you have interviewed a few agents and made the decision to list your home, there are a series of tasks your Listing Agent will need to complete. While each real estate agent has his or her own service plan, the majority of listing procedures are pretty standard. However, one distinct difference between myself and other agents, is that I make a point of keeping my customers updated on what I am doing to sell their home.
When you meet with your chosen agent to list your home, expect to spend an hour or so (depending on your level of questions) to complete the paperwork, finalize terms, negotiate commissions and discuss the marketing program.
When You Are Ready to List
One of the first things you will do together is draft a MLS® Listing Agreement. This legal contract provides prospective purchasers with:
A comprehensive, legal overview of your property:
The agreed-upon asking price
Details about the square footage, room dimensions, features
Exclusions from or inclusions with the sale
Mortgage details (only if an assumable mortgage)
Property Disclosure Statement details
This service is only available to real estate agents through their brokerage. The MLS® or Multiple Listing Service, is a database of all the homes for sale through licensed agents. Details about your home will be available to other agents and the public searching for homes in your area, in the range of your asking price. After the contracts needed to register your home on the MLS® are completed, you and your agent can move on to other issues.
Schedule Showings
In order to sell quickly, you need to let people have access to your home so they can preview what their money will buy. Second to Open Houses, showings are the best way to let people see how great your home really is. At this point in listing your home, you will need to arrange a mutually convenient showing schedule with your Listing Agent. Some people prefer to have showings at set times or specific days while others will take them as they come. If you choose set times or days, make sure prospects have a few options. You do not want to loose a sale because people cannot get in to see the property.
In preparation for showings, it is customary for the Listing Agent to provide an information sheet. This is a one page synopsis of your home that highlights lot size, room dimensions, features and upgrades as well as other MLS® information. Prospective buyers receive these sheets at Open Houses or showings and often refer to it while viewing your home. When it comes to creating a memorable information sheet, not all agent sheets are created equal. I really like to wow my clients and start by creating a full Property Book that features your home, the sellers disclosures, photos, community details and anything else a potential buyer may inquire about. This book is made available at all showings and open houses, and is a very useful tool when it comes time for offers--everything is already right there!
About Showings: When a Buyer Agent has a customer who is interested in your home, they will call your agent to make an appointment. If you are lucky, you will have time for any last-minute tidying, but since most showings come up last minute, be prepared to accommodate such inconveniences and keep the home looking its best. At a showing, your agent and/or the Buyer Agent will tour the prospective buyer(s) through the home. As I mentioned before, I create a Property Book and this will be made available to the Buyer Agent and his or her clients at the showing. This book will answer many questions the buyers may have about the property.
Warning - If anyone ever contacts you directly for a showing, ALWAYS take their name, number and find out how they heard about the property being for sale. Do not engage in conversation as you could be giving them valuable information without realizing it. When you hang up, immediately phone and give their information to your agent to follow up. There are many scammers out there who prey on eager sellers and gain entry to a home by calling the homeowners direct only to come back and rob it later. It is a standard industry practice that all lead calls come through your agent. The public knows it, and we know it. So, if someone contacts you direct, be very suspicious.
Under The Microscope?
It's all about first impressions from now on. Is your home clean and organized? Is there an odor? Stale cooking? Garbage? Pets? If there is, it will be a deterrent to potential buyers. Do not wait to deal with such issues! If you are priced competitively for the current market the phone will start to ring and you may not have time for any updating. If you have followed through on your agent's advice you should be all set and ready for showings and opens.
The Marketing Program
Now that you and your Listing Agent have covered the MLS® contracts, showings, open houses and prepared the home for resale, it is time to let your agent go to work. In the next few days after listing, your agent will be very busy processing the paperwork, making copies, gathering relevant listing documents and launching their marketing plan. You will have already worked out a convenient communication schedule and should hear from them shortly with an update on what has been completed thus far. From here on out, you and your agent should be in touch quite regularly to discuss the progress of your property's resale. When an offer comes in, things will really heat up, so hang on and get ready!
If you have any questions please fill out the form below and a representative will be in contact with you shortly.
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Negotiating an Offer
As a Listing Agent, it is my job to negotiate the best possible terms for my customers. At the initial CMA appointment, it is my policy to provide an in-depth discussion on value and help customers truly understand the terms, subject conditions, closing dates, and lowest price they would accept from a potential purchaser. By understanding and having a clear sense of your parameters, I can then work with the potential purchaser's agent to create an offer that will be acceptable to you.
When An Offer Comes In
Interested buyers will typically submit an offer to us through their Agent. If the interested party walks in and asks me to write their offer, I will be able to handle both transactions without bias to achieve the best deal for both parties.
Once an offer is received, it is my job to take you through the offer to ensure that you understand all aspects and the legal ramifications of its contents. Before you accept or counter the offer. A counter offer voids the initial offer and replaces it with one that is more to your liking. Counter offers can go back and forth many times depending on the circumstances. Once an agreeable offer is accepted, the process can move forward.
Your offer will contain:
The names of the potential purchaser
A description of the property
The conditions they wish to attach to the purchase:
An irrevocable date (you have until this date to accept, or sign back a counter offer)
It may also contain mortgage details
Very often, the first thing vendors look at is the offer's purchase price. Remember that it the purchase price does equal your 'profits'. You need to first pay your:
real estate agent commissions (buying/listing agents)
bank (for the balance of your mortgage and for any prepayment or discharge penalties if applicable)
taxes (if there are any outstanding)
On the bright side, you have probably pre-paid a number of property expenses such as utilities, and taxes. In this case, you will receive additional funds back upon completion.
Evaluating the Offer
Before the first offer even comes in, you should have in mind how low you would go on price, what conditions you would accept and what terms would be agreeable. When an offer is presented, we will have a set of criteria by which to evaluate it.
Together, we will evaluate and discuss all of the offer's terms, inclusions, exclusions, closing dates, subject conditions, provisions and deposit. Don't worry--you are in the hands of a professional. When it comes time to sit down for this, we will thoroughly go over every detail together. If there's anything you don't understand at any time, please don't be shy, just ask!
Accepting the Offer
Once you are satisfied that the final offer has met your criteria, you can then accept it. To ensure that the purchaser won't get cold feet, we will require a significant deposit, usually 1-5% of the offer price, depending on the offer. The deposit will be in the form of a bank draft and is never paid directly to the agents. Deposit checks or drafts are ALWAYS held in trust by either my brokerage, RE/MAX Central Realty or a title company. When the transaction comes to a successful close, these funds will then form part of the purchase price.
After the offer is accepted by both parties, it is the Buyer Agent's job to help their customer satisfy and remove any and all subject conditions. I will help coordinate this process and make sure the buyer stays true to his/her conditions. Once these conditions have been successfully removed, congratulations, your home is SOLD!
Just Because Your House Has Sold, That Isn't the End
Chances are you have already bought your new home through me, but if not, I can still help. My comprehensive Buyer Services offer investors, experienced or first time home buyers with comprehensive worksheets, checklists, and all the insider secrets you need to ensure a smart purchase. Call me today and let's get you buying with confidence!
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Just Sold Report
Pssst....have you ever wondered what your neighbor's condominium suite or home sold for but were just too shy to ask them? Are you curious how your neighbor's condominium suite or home compares to the value of your home?
Now you can find out!
Simply fill in this form and I will contact you with recent sales in your area, on your street and most importantly, the sold price for next door!