PREPARING TO SELL YOUR HOME

I help you to have an entire plan of your goals and a timeline to help you get the most money you can.

Here are some ways that will help you understand the listing process and what I can do for you to market your home in the best way possible.

1. Timing.  Plan ahead:  Get your house ready to sell and put it on the market during the best time of the year.  

          Time on the market and when to put on: 
           1.  The best time to put your home on the market is Jan 7^th thru May 1.  By mid May    
                people are attending graduations and end of school events as well as getting ready for  
                summer
           2.  Second best time is Mid August thru Nov. 1^st.
           3.  Third best time is May1 thru Mid August. 
           4.  Worst time is over the holidays.  November and December.

1. Compare and Analyze -  Ask your realtor to email you homes in your subdivision that are active, pending & sold, contingent, expired and withdrawn homes.  Look especially at homes and the days number of days on the market…. The active homes will be your competition, and the sold homes will be your “gage” for  estimating how long it will take to sell your home.  Also look at the original listing price, and compare it to the sold price.  It is sometimes a good idea to go “preview” homes with your realtor and know what your competition is, and this will help you to determine a competitive price. It will also let you be aware of the future buyers and what they will be comparing your house to.
2. Assess the Condition of your Home:  Most home buyers want to be able to move right in to a home without doing much.  The best scenario is to have new carpet, paint and everything cleaned and working well.  I can help with suggestions.  If potential home buyers like your house, they order an inspection at their own expense, and all of the things will have to be fixed before they buy it anyway, so you might as well have things all repaired and ready from the get go.    The price will be renegotiated keeping the things that need to be repaired in mind.
3. Declutter and Depersonalize.  Interior Decorators are so smart!  They put few items and small furniture into rooms to make them look larger!  What this means for you is decluttering each of your rooms, closets and storage spaces.  You may need to donate a lot to the Good Will – or rent a storage unit and put a lot of your additional items that you don’t need in temporary storage.  This helps people focus on your house ….. (not your things).  Interior decorators also help people envision themselves in the house.  This is done with no personal pictures or items.
4. Additional paperwork FOR YOU to gather:  Upgrades and costs of items you  have added to your house since purchasing it, which may include receipts and warrantees.  Covenants and Restrictions agreement if you have one.  Plot Plan if you have one.  Blueprints of the house, if you have one.  Sometimes your initial contract is good for me to look over in case I missed anything that is an upgrade to list on the special features section.  It will sometimes also help you fill out the sellers disclosure as well.

Initial Paperwork I will give you:

1. Showing instructions:  Think how you want the house to be shown.  Most people would like to have 2 hours notice.  Then decide on who you would like centralized showing to call – give 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd choice options.  Plan on weekends being the busiest time for showings.  It is best to leave the house during showing.  If you have an animal, plan on communicating where the animal is located and if they are friendly or not, forewarn the people viewing.  Some  people have severe allergies to pets and so they need to know as well.
2. Sellers Disclosure:  This is a legal document, and everything that you know about your house, including problems, need to be disclosed.  The realtor cannot fill out anything for you, but can guide you with filling it out.
3. Utility Cost Sheet:  This should be filled out for 2006 – the past year.  Also included is the trash company and pick up day & time, HOA information and contact and any other information that is important. This is typed into a professional looking form that I will post on the MLS, email and also that is left on the table for showings.
4. “The PLAN” sheet.  So nothing is left unwritten or words floating, our agreement is documented along with a timeline.  After we come up with a firm plan – including an amount that is “bottom line’ and negotiating objects (refrigerator, mower, warranty, etc.) we are able to then move forward.  I generally leave a blank one along with an example of one filled out so that people will have time to think about what they would like to do.  Once filled out and agreed to, you, myself and each of my realtors get one as well to keep with us and refer to.  This includes the timeline of when we will put out the sign & brochures, post to the MLS and when we start the visual tour as well as dates, time and who will be hosting your open houses.

Other documents to complete the paperwork (In addition to the above.)

                                i.            Legal Description

                               ii.            Agency disclosure – I will be your representing you as a sellers agent, but if I sell your house as well, we will redo this paper to where I am a transaction agent – aiding the transaction and communication between the buyer and seller and helping it to flow smoothly. 

                              iii.            MLS – This has a complete description of the house including dimentions of rooms and extras.  I try to fill this out thoroughly, and this is the one piece that is time consuming if I need to measure and to through each room.

                             iv.            Franchise Disclosure:  This has companies that Realty Executives has an agreement with and partnership with that if you use them, RE has to disclose that they will get a financial kickback.  The only one we will be using – if any – will be Old Republic Home Warranty service.  Generally homes past 5 years old should have a one year warranty included or have as a negotiation piece included in their asking price.

                               v.            Exclusive Right to Sell:  This legally give me the right to list and sell your property.  It includes the listing and selling percentage agreed to as well as the title company.  We like using Coffelt Title, as we have relationships with people that make the transaction and title work go smoothly. We try to do everything we can to make the sale of your home go smoothly, and this is key.

                            vi.            Other:  If your home was built in 1978 or previous, you will need a Lead Based Paint form.  If we plan on lowering the price of your home, I will have you fill out an Amendment ahead of time with the price it will be changed to and date.

It is not very time consuming to come up with a plan and fill out all of the paperwork.  I ask that sellers give me at least 1 week to gather all of the paperwork together and do a visual tour.  Depending on the time of year, I may need more time.  The visual tour is the most time consuming to put together.  The day your house goes on the market I like to put everything out;  the sign, the brochures and faxing all of the paperwork to Realty Executives to post on the MLS and internet.