Steps in Selling Your Home

Choose.  Choose a Realtor you feel can trust and can do the best job for you.  Ask for referrals from friends, relatives and/or neighbors.  Or see who's doing a lot of the  business in your neighborhood and call them. 

Interview.  Be sure to interview your agent.  Have important issues ready to discuss.  If you're not comfortable with the agent you've chosen, interview others.  Ask them to give you a plan as to what exactly they're going to do to market your home.  Do they know your neighborhood?  What are the marketing tools available to them?  Where do they plan on advertising, and when?  Are they on the internet?  Ask for examples. 

Clean.  Once you've chosen the agent you'd like to market your home, start cleaning and getting rid of clutter.  Buyers need to see what their furnishings and personal items would look like in the home. Your agent will probably suggest what you should do to help make your   home more desirable to potential buyers. Don't forget curb appeal!  Most people's minds are made up before they enter the door!   

Easy.  Make your home as easy as possible to show if you're serious about selling.  If there's a buyer that needs to find a home on a time-frame, and yours is unavailable to show, you could have just lost out on selling.  Also, try to leave the house if you're home.  Buyers need to feel comfortable to make comments, look in closets, etc. without worrying if they're making the seller uncomfortable.   

Be Open.  Be open to offers and suggestions.  It's better to get any offer, rather than none.  An offer is just a starting point, usually.  Someone obviously liked your home enough to take the time to put in an offer, so try to be open-minded and if you don't like their offer make a  counter-offer!  Your agent will help you with which issues you should counter on.

Start Packing. Once you have gone under contract, completed the inspections, and the buyer has their loan commitment, start getting ready to be out by the day of closing and have the home broom-swept, or according to the agreement in the contract.  In Florida, the day of closing belongs to the buyer, so as soon as the closing occurs, the buyers can move in.

If you list your house with a National company, such as RE/MAX Consultants, your agent can refer you to a Realtor® in your new city.