How to Sell Your House with a Realtor®
Selling your home can be a stressful, emotional and overwhelming experience. Ideally, you want your home – which you’ve lived in, maintained and collected memories in over the years – to sell for the best price.
Where do you start?
Working with a Realtor® can help you sell your home quickly, efficiently and for the best price. It may be tempting to try to sell your home by yourself, but research shows that without a Realtor®, For Sale By Owner homes sell for about 26% less than agented properties. From guiding you on the best market pricing to explaining technicalities in the final contract, a Realtor® will help you every step of the way. Here are seven steps for how to sell your home with a Realtor® to reach your homeselling goals.
Find a Realtor® Who Is Right for You
Many people think the term “Realtor®” applies to all real estate practitioners, but Realtors® are actually real estate professionals who are members of the National Association of Realtors®. Realtors® have extensive knowledge of the local economy and subscribe to a strict Code of Ethics that promotes best practices. They’re dedicated to helping consumers build wealth while staying protected.
The first step to selling your home efficiently and for the best price is to find a Realtor® who understands your goals. You can search for Realtors® online, ask family and friends for recommendations and take your time to interview a few before choosing.
When you find the right Realtor® for you, you’ll sign a listing agreement. This agreement gives them authority to market your home, install a lockbox, show your home to potential buyers and represent you when selling your home. It should include some specifics like a general list of services, the fee and payment structure and how long the agreement will last.
Create a Strategy with Your Realtor®
Developing a strategy helps ensure your home sells for the best price according to your ideal selling timeline. Discussing your goals and interests with your Realtor® can help you both come up with a strategy that best supports you during the homeselling process. This strategy will likely include these steps:
Estimate Your Listing Price
Work with your Realtor® to establish the best listing price for your home. This allows you to estimate your homeselling timeline to plan your next steps. Your Realtor® will likely complete a comparative market analysis to compare your property to similar properties in the area. This information helps you both price your property accurately.
Set a Selling Timeline
How quickly do you want to sell your home? Do you have a place to live once your home is sold, or are you also looking to buy or rent at the same time? Consider these important factors when developing your selling timeline. Discuss all of your goals with your Realtor® to ensure you’re both on the same page.
Determine Next Steps
Once you have a listing price and a timeline, talk with your Realtor® about your next steps. This may include ways to prepare your home for selling, including decluttering, cleaning or making minor repairs.
Consider a Pre-Sale Home Inspection
Pre-sale home inspections can be beneficial in some scenarios, particularly if you’re looking to make some repairs prior to selling. Discuss this process with your Realtor® to determine if a pre-sale inspection is a good next step for you. If it is, they may be able to recommend a trusted inspector.
A home inspection typically assesses:
- Condition of windows and doors
- Level or unlevel floors and their condition
- Plumbing condition and evidence of leaks
- Signs of moisture in the basement
- Condition of foundation and structural elements
- Status of the roof
- Visible electrical wiring in good condition
- Heating and cooling system status and age.
Once your inspection is complete, determine what repairs you would like to make and the next steps you may need to take.
Prepare Your Home for Listing
Complete the Seller’s Disclosure Statement
Before your property is listed for sale, you must complete the Seller’s Property Disclosure Statement. This form discloses known defects and conditions on your property. The seller’s disclosure form covers all details of the property (type of property, type of roofing, heating and cooling systems, etc.) and whether there are any known defects to each element.
State law requires sellers to complete the seller’s disclosure form.
Prepare for Listing Photos
When selling your home, you’ll want it to look presentable and clean for photos and showings. Ask your Realtor® how you can prepare for sale, as different homes may require additional preparation depending on the overall condition.
Here are some small repairs you may consider:
- Fix leaky faucets
- Touch up paint
- Deep clean
- Declutter by removing personal items (photos, valuables, etc.)
The majority of buyers search for homes online, so high-quality photos are extremely important for showing off your home and attracting buyers. Your Realtor will help coordinate professional photographs to showcase your home’s best features.
Your Home is Listed
After you’ve prepared your home and completed the necessary paperwork, your home is ready to be listed for sale. Your Realtor® will list your home on a Multiple Listing Service where other agents and their buyers can view the details and determine whether they would like to see more.
Show Your Home to Prospective Buyers
There are two ways your Realtor® may suggest showing your home: private showings and open houses.
Private showings are a great option for prospective buyers to view your home. Typically, they’ll schedule a time to view your home with their real estate agent. Private showings allow prospective buyers to take their time to go through each room.
Open houses are usually scheduled for a few hours on weekends. They allow prospective buyers to enter your home and walk through at their own pace. Hosting an open house can let multiple prospective buyers see the property at once. Ask your Realtor® how to prepare for and schedule an open house.
Review Offers with Your Realtor®
When prospective buyers want to make an offer on your home, they’ll send an Agreement of Sale and any other necessary documents to you through your Realtor®. Your Realtor® will help you review all of the offers and prioritize them, considering contingencies, lending requirements and requests from buyers.
Finalize the Sale
Once both parties agree to the offer, it’s time to close the deal. However, there are several steps to complete before you sell your home, such as the appraisal, title search and buyer inspections. Your Realtor® will help you coordinate these.
Additionally, the buyer may be contractually entitled to one or two final walkthroughs with their agent before buying your home. If everything goes as planned, your Realtor® will work with a settlement agent to coordinate the document signing for all parties to verify both you and the buyer have met the terms of the purchase agreement. Once those terms are met, funds will be paid, the title will be transferred and the deed will be recorded. Your Realtor® will help you collect the sale proceeds via a predetermined method. Congratulations, you’ve sold your home!
Start the Homeselling Process
Now that you know how to sell your home with a Realtor®, start your search to find a Realtor® who will work with you toward your goals, help sell your home for the best price and make the homeselling process relatively stress-free.
