A Guide to Buying and Selling a Home
Like finding the right house, selecting a REALTOR® you can trust and comfortably work with is paramount. Just as you wouldn’t be casual in the selection of your doctor or your attorney, you shouldn’t take the selection of your REALTOR® lightly. Indeed, the best way to find such a professional is through recommendations from family and friends. Of course, you should interview several REALTORS® before you choose one. If you’re selling your home, you should ask the candidates how they plan to market your home, what pricing advice they can offer, and what other suggestions they can provide to further enhance the desirability of your home.
Whether you’re buying or selling, ask candidates about the transaction to evaluate their knowledge. Ask for–and check–references. And, finally, ask yourself whether you will feel comfortable working closely with this individual in the months ahead.
The following is a quick guide whether you are deciding to buy or sell a house.
The Selling Process
Unfortunately, home selling has become a more complex business than it used to be. New seller disclosure statements, longer and more mysterious form agreements, and a range of environmental concerns have all emerged in the past decade.
The home-selling process typically starts several months before a property is made available for sale. It’s necessary to look at a home through the eyes of a prospective buyer and determine what needs to be cleaned, painted, repaired and tossed out.
Ask yourself: If you were buying this home what would you want to see? The goal is to show a home which looks good, maximizes space and attracts as many buyers – and as much demand – as possible.
While part of the “getting ready” phase relates to repairs, painting and other home improvements, this is also a good time to ask why you really want to sell.
Step 1: Get a REALTOR®
While part of the “getting ready” phase relates to repairs, painting and other home improvements, this is also a good time to ask why you really want to sell.
Whether you’re a first-time seller or someone who has sold many homes, there are several ways to find a local REALTOR®:
- Use our “REALTOR® Agent Search” feature to find individuals who actively sell in your community.
- Get recommendations from past sellers.
- Look for REALTOR® signs in your community.
- Check the classifieds in local newspapers and “shopper” publications.
- Look at the listings in local real estate magazines.
In some cases, sellers elect to meet only with one REALTOR® while other owners elect to meet with several. Whatever your preference, there will be a number of questions you will want to ask, including:
Step 2: Set the Price
Every reasonable owner wants the best possible price and terms for his or her home. Several factors, including market conditions and interest rates, will determine how much you can get for your home. The idea is to get the maximum price and the best terms during the window of time when your home is being marketed.
All homes have a price, and sometimes more than one. There’s the price owners would like to get, the value buyers would like to offer and a point of agreement which can result in a sale.
In considering home values, here are several factors that are important:
The value of your home relates to local sale prices. The same home, located elsewhere, would likely have a different value. Sale prices are a product of supply and demand.
Owner needs can impact sale values. If owner Smith “must” sell quickly, he will have less leverage in the marketplace. Buyers may think that Smith is willing to trade a quick closing for a lower price.
Because all transactions are unique there is flexibility in the marketplace. The amount of flexibility depends on local conditions.
Step 3: Market It
Each home is unique, the marketplace is always in flux, interest rates constantly change and new buyers search for homes each day. With such fluidity, it requires REALTORS® to craft marketing plans specifically for individual homes and market conditions. Experienced REALTORS® base their marketing efforts on previous transactions and ongoing research.
Selling can entail a variety of marketing strategies. Once listed, it’s likely that the home will be quickly entered into the local MLS (Multiple Listing Service) and placed on our property search page. REALTORS® routinely market by mail with new-listing announcements and regular newsletters. Open houses, broker access to the home via the use of a lock box and networking with both local and out-of-town brokers are also common.
How to market your home. If you look at a typical transaction you can see that there are five general areas where REALTORS® can assist in the home-selling process.
- Preparation
- Pricing
- Marketing
- Negotiation
- Closing
Open House
In the case of an open house, a REALTOR® typically advertises that the home will be open for a given period (2-5 p.m. on Sunday). During the open period, the REALTOR® hosts the home while the owners leave for a few hours. the REALTOR® will provide literature, maintain a visitor log and answer questions. By interacting with visitors, the REALTOR® will seek feedback regarding the home and opportunities to follow up with prospective purchasers.
Step 4: Sell It
Because a home sale involves an array of both personal and business concerns, it’s important to get it done right. You need to carefully prepare your home, understand the market and see what alternatives are realistically available. The old motto “be prepared” is a good guide in such circumstances.
What’s an acceptable offer? The goal of every seller is to have a line of buyers outside the front door, each clutching higher and higher offers. And while this has been known to happen, in most markets there is some balance between the number of buyers and sellers. A number of factors determine whether a buyer’s offer is acceptable. They include:
- Is the offer at or near the asking price? Is the offer above the asking price?
- Has the buyer accepted the asking price or something close?
- What is the alternative to the buyer’s offer?
- Does the owner have enough time to wait for other offers?
- What if no other offers are received?
- What if several offers are received? Do you choose the high offer from the purchaser with questionable finances who may not be able to close, or a somewhat lesser offer from a buyer with preapproved financing?
In each case, owners — with assistance from REALTORS® — will need to carefully review offers, consider marketplace options and then determine whether an offer is acceptable.
What is a counter-offer?
A counter-offer is nothing more than a new offer. And just as the buyer had options in response to the owner’s original price and terms, the seller can now choose one of three reactions: accept the offer, decline the offer or make a fresh counter-offer.
Offers and counter-offers reflect the back-and-forth activity of the marketplace. It’s an efficient and practical process — but also one that may contain tricky clauses and hidden costs. The REALTOR® who lists your home can explain the local bargaining process in detail and assist in the actual negotiations
How do you negotiate? Negotiating should be seen as a natural business process; buyers should be treated with respect; and owners should never lose sight of either their best interests or their baseline transaction requirements. These are the standards unique to each owner, which must be met before the home can be sold.
Step 5: Close
What Happens? Closing — or “settlement” or “escrow” as it is known in some areas — is essentially a meeting where the closing agent (the party who conducts settlement) takes in money from the buyers, pays out money to the owner and makes sure that the purchaser’s title is properly recorded in local records along with any mortgage liens.
The closing agent reviews the sale agreement to determine what payments and credits the owner should receive and what amounts are due from the buyer. The closing agent also assures that certain transaction costs are paid (taxes and title searches).
How do you prepare to sell? It’s important to look at the sale agreement and review your obligations. For instance, if you have agreed to paint a room or replace the dishwasher, such work must be completed before closing. Your REALTOR® can discuss your agreement and the steps which must be taken to complete the transaction.
Step 6: Moving
Even the smallest home contains a lot of furniture, clothes, kitchen equipment, pictures and other items. For a short move, it may be worthwhile to transport small goods by yourself, but larger items will likely require a professional mover.
It’s ideally best to get rid of excess furniture and other goods by having a sale before you move. This will reduce the volume of goods to be moved and thus lower moving costs. Unwanted furniture which cannot be sold can often be donated to charitable groups, many of which will come to your home to pick up donations.
How do you plan a move? The time to plan your move begins once you’ve decided to sell your home. Some of the activities required to sell the home can actually help with the moving process. For example, cleaning out closets, basements and attics means there will be less to do once the home is under contract.
Movers
There are a number of factors to consider. Money is one issue: You’ll want to spend as little as possible, but choosing only on the basis of cost can be a mistake. Movers must have the right equipment, training and experience to do a good job. A mover, no matter how large or small, should be able to provide recent references for homesellers with a similar volume of goods to transport. Always confirm mover credentials. Movers should be licensed and bonded as required in your state, and employees should have workman’s comp insurance.
Get a checklist. Moving is a big job and checklists can make it more organized and easier. Here are some of the major items to consider:
- Money. If you’re moving more than a few miles then you should have enough cash or credit to cover travel, food, transportation and lodging.
- Number boxes so that all items can be counted on arrival. Make a list of boxes by number and indicate their contents.
- If moving with children, make sure that each has a favorite toy or toys, blankets, games, music and other goods.
- Moving historic, breakable or valued items? Such goods routinely require special handling and packaging.
- Have address books readily available in case you need help.
- If you have a laptop computer with a modem, make it accessible during your trip to pick up business and personal e-mail.
- Medicine. Keep medicines and related prescriptions in a place where they will be available during the move.