Your Realtor® will complete a Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) for you.  They will research the current properties on the market that are comparable to yours as well as recent sales over the past months to determine an estimate of what fair market value would be for your property.  Based on this, you will determine what price to list your property at.  Pricing is very important, one of the primary reasons houses don’t sell is because they are overpriced.  Pricing is not determined solely based on what you have invested in your home; it must be based on market values.  Just as you did when you originally purchased your property, buyers will be comparing your property to similar ones on the market at the time.  The longer your property sits on the market the less likely you are to receive a full price offer.  So, if you and your Realtor® notice that you are not receiving any offers or few showings on your home while it is on the market, you need to discuss the showing comments to determine why you haven’t received any offers, if many of the buyers feel it’s priced too high, it is time to reevaluate the listing price based on the market values and continue this process until it is sold.

However there are additional things you can do besides adjusting the price to entice buyers.  First, is preparing your home for sale with staging and curb appeal. After your home looks its best, here are some other incentives you can use to entice buyers and give your home a competitive edge in the market.

• Home Warranty – Providing a home warranty reassures buyers that the property is in good condition.  A home warranty usually covers major appliances in the home in the event that they break, like an insurance policy.
• Allowance for Decorating – If you know that your paint or carpet is a bold color that not everyone may like or may need replacing, but you do not want to do it prior to sale, you can offer an allowance for re-carpeting or painting, etc.
• Seller Financing – If you have a lot of equity in your property, this might be an option that you could offer a buyer, but first make sure the buyer is creditworthy.
• Closing Costs – Offering to pay a certain amount towards closing costs or particular closing costs can make your house affordable for buyers who are cash-short.
• Lease Option – This would allow a buyer to rent the property for a time with an option to buy.  Often a percentage of the rent is set aside to serve as a buyer’s down payment if they exercise the option to buy

Multiple Listing Service

If you list your home with a Realtor® then he/she will input your house into the local Multiple Listing Service (MLS) database.  It is in your best interest to have your house listed.  All of the members of the local Realtor® board will have access to this database and they will find your home when looking for relevant searches for their buyers.  So, instead of just you trying to advertise your home or your associate working alone, it is now available to multiple agents.  Also, the Multiple Listing Service is used to populate other home search websites such as REALTOR.com where buyers are searching the internet on their own to find homes.   
So now you’ve spruced up your home, the “For Sale” sign is in the yard, the lockbox is on the door, your house is listed in the MLS database and the flyers are sitting on your table.  Your home is ready to be shown.

Showing the House

You should try your best to make your home available to show.  It may be a little inconvenient if you are still living in the home, but it is very hard to sell something if you do not let the buyers come to see it.  A lockbox is a benefit because then agents can show it when you are not home.  If you are uncomfortable with a lockbox and require that you are there and the agents make appointments to meet you there, please be available because if it seems too difficult to make an appointment, many agents will skip your home and show a home which is more convenient.

Be Absent                                                                                                    
Try not to be home when your house is being shown.  Take the dog for a walk or run an errand.  If you must be home, try to stay out of the way; do not follow the buyers from room to room.  You want the buyers to feel comfortable viewing your home and discussing their thoughts amongst themselves and with their agent. 

Turn on the Lights
Turn on the lights when you know someone is coming to view your home.  Even if it’s the daytime turn on the lights and open the blinds to show the nice views.

Odors and Pets
Be careful of strong scents in the home, many people are allergic or find them overwhelming.  Also, if you have pets, make sure there is not a pet odor in the home.  Also, let your Realtor® know so they can put a note of it in the showing instructions and no one lets your pets out or is surprised to enter.  When people come by to view the home, keep the pets confined to a certain area, like the back yard, porch or garage.  You may have to put out your trash more than you usually would, keeping a fresh smell in the house is very important and especially if your trash does not have a lid, make sure you empty it before someone comes to see your home.

Keep it Clean
You spruced it up for putting it on the market and now it’s time to maintain it for a while.  Even if you don’t normally make your bed every day, while your home is on the market you should try to get in that habit.  Keep the mail off the counter tops, clothes off the floors and keep the floors vacuumed.  You may still be living there, but you want it to look as close to a model home as possible.

Offers

You now have your first offer.  A buyer liked your home and wrote up an offer to purchase with their agent and now they have scheduled a contract presentation with you and your Realtor®.  If you are out of town then your agent will review the terms with you by phone, email or fax.  Your Realtor® will then advise you as to the buyer’s qualification and review the terms in the offer such as:

• Earnest Money Deposit – this amount shows how serious the buyer is about purchasing your property
• Sales Price
• Contingencies – if there are finance contingencies or contingencies on another home selling first
• Closing Date
• Repair costs
• Closing Costs – title insurance and other settlement fees

Then your agent will take all of this into consideration and prepare a Net Sheet showing all the estimated costs in black and white so you can see your bottom line.  At this point you can either accept the offer, counter the offer on any terms not acceptable, or reject the offer entirely.  Once you come to an agreement, both parties will sign the offer making it a binding contract.

Why hire a REALTOR®?

Deciding to sell your home is a large decision with many steps and a lot of paperwork involved.  In today’s world with so much information available on the internet, you have access to a lot of general questions to be answered, but still not answering specific questions related to your transaction.  Your Realtor® is your professional with knowledge to help you with your home sale.  Your Realtor® will guide you from how to set up your property to completing paperwork and coordinating all the way through closing.

When marketing your home, if you were to do it on your own, you are limited to where you market to a yard sign, newspaper ad and some online places. Your Realtor® will list your home on the Multiple Listing Service which is accessible to all of the other Realtors® and also populates individual office searches and sites such as Realtor.com where many buyers are searching on their own giving you vast exposure.  You may also be limited on time to answer inquiries about your property and be available for showings.  Your Realtor® will be available to show your property and can make it accessible with a lockbox for other Realtors® to show to their customers.

Here are some aspects of your home sale a Realtor® can help you with:

• Determine market value of your home by researching comparable properties that are currently listed and recent sales present you with a Comparable Market Analysis (CMA)
• Provide you with an overview of current market conditions and offer pricing strategy based upon market conditions
• Assess the interior and exterior of the home for staging and curb appeal
• Advise on repairs you may want to make prior to listing
• List home information and selling points
• Take photos to best market the property
• Input home into Multiple Listing Service, this populates onto multiple agent’s searches including Realtor.com
• Agents screen for qualified buyers
• Availability to show property while seller may be at work or away and answer inquiries
• Coordinate showings with owners, tenants and other Realtors®
• Stay current on market trends to ensure property remains competitively priced
• Providing lists of repair contractors and inspectors
• Ensuring paperwork is complete and accurate
• Review offers to purchase and prepare a net sheet for each offer, counsel seller with strengths and weaknesses of each offer
• Ensure all parties have copies of offer
• Verify buyer is current with all dates in contract (loan application, inspections, etc.)
• Follow up with buyer’s agent on status of buyer’s loan application
• Coordinate with inspectors for entry and review inspection reports
• Order necessary repairs and coordinate with repair contractors for entry to home
• Coordinate entry for appraiser and follow up with appraiser
• Coordinate between all parties (buyer, seller, buyer’s agent, title company, lender) to pull closing together
• Review HUD statement with closing costs prior to closing and explain to seller
• Attend closing and answer any questions that may arise

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