We will now take a look at the process of selling a home. In today’s market I cannot stress the importance of using an agent to sell your home. Imagine this, in the years that the real estate market was booming 9 out of 10 for sale by owners still ended up using an agent to sell their home.  Today’s market is one the most challenging our profession has ever seen. It is our duty to be honest with seller’s and our seller’s to be honest with us. I can’t stress the importance of this.

Find an Agent: The first and most important step!  Make sure you hire someone you are comfortable with. Interview them and they should interview you. I always approach each listing appointment with an idea that I am interviewing them as they interview me. The process of selling a home can build some great friendships and also destroy them. I like to make sure that I am working for a seller that I feel is honest, understanding and willing to do what I need them to. Make sure you build a relationship built on trust. You will most likely disclose things to your agent that your close friends don’t know.

Run a CMA & Estimate Closing Costs: Once you have hired an agent it will be time to decide pricing. The first step would be to gather your mortgage statement and figure a payoff. The agent will then run a CMA on your home. This is basically an appraisal for real estate agents. The agent should also run an estimated closing costs sheet. This will include your loan payoff. Once you and the agent determine that the market at least supports the price you need to payoff the loan and closing costs, you should then set a list price. I like to offer my clients 2 different types of pricing. An aggressive and conservative price. I then explain the different type of marketing packages that come with it. The seller then makes a decision based on the information I gave them. In most cases we meet in the middle of the two prices.

Sign a Listing Agreement: Once you have determined a price and start date, you will then sign a listing agreement. Make sure you read carefully through the entire agreement before signing anything. You may also have other documents to fill out such as: Lead-Based Paint Disclosure, Seller’s Disclosure & more. It will depend on which state you are located in or which agent you hired.

Get an Offer: Once the property is put up for sale and has been placed in the local MLS, it’s time to hopefully get an offer. Please note that in this market, it takes time to sell a home. I never promise a seller I will sell their home in a timely fashion. What I do promise is to give 110% to achieve that goal. Ask your agent to run a new net sheet at the offer price to see what you would net if you accepted that offer.

Negotiate & Contingencies: Once you have received an offer you can then counter, decline or accept it. Please have your agent explain all the contingencies the buyer has put in place and what are the key dates. In SC, the seller is usually asked per the contract, to provide a clear CL100. In most cases you will be required to deliver a free & clear title.  Some buyer contingencies you may see is: inspection, financing, insurance, cl100, clear title, contingent on the sale of the buyer’s home & more.

Hire an Attorney: You will then need to hire an attorney to handle your deed prep. I suggest hiring the attorney and doing the CL100 after the buyer has removed some of the contingencies. Of course I make sure that the dates on the contract allow me to hold off and everything will still be done in a timely fashion. By holding off that decreases the chance you would owe any monies to the attorney or have paid for a CL100 you cannot use if the buyer backed out of the deal.

Possession: Make sure that you are packed up and cleared out the day of closing. In most cases the buyer will take possession as soon as the closing is over. Unless you negotiate possession after closing, make sure you are prepared. During the process of this contract make sure to maintain the home in the same condition it was when the buyer made the offer. Make sure to ask your agent about possession.

HUD & Closing: When you get to the attorney’s office you will sign deed documents and review the HUD. The HUD a.k.a settlement statement will itemize all the costs of your transaction. The seller usually has 5 closing costs. These are: Real Estate Fee, Deed Prep, Pro-rated taxes, CL100 and Deed Stamps. Once all the documents are signed and the monies have been received you will have sold your home! Please note that closing costs vary from transaction to transaction. In no way, shape or form is this a guarantee of what your closing costs will be or only be.

There is so much more to a selling a home but hopefully this will give a little insight on what to expect. You should always consult your local agent. The Fred Holland Team truly wishes that your transaction is a successful one and we are available 24/7 for all your real estate needs.