From the time you think of selling your house to closing the sale, the journey can be an emotional roller coaster ride. You may feel nostalgic about the precious time you had there and also feel the stress of finding out how to sell a house, selling the house quickly, and so on. However, we came up with 6 steps that may act as your guideline and reduce the stress of how to sell your house.
Step One: Finding the Desired Way of Selling House
Although people are tempted to choose the “For Sale by Owner (FSBO)” process, there are pros and cons to this process.
FSBO or With a Real Estate Agent
If your trying to sell your house in Dayton on your own, you can avoid the agent’s commission fee which is around 5-6% of the selling price; have the flexibility of the time of showing your house to potential customers but this process can be very time-consuming.
On the contrary, hiring a real estate agent has several benefits such as
- They have in-depth knowledge about the market.
- Licensed agents have access to the Multiple Listing Service (MLS).
- They are skilled in negotiating and have the knowledge to sell houses profitably and quickly.
How to Find a Real Estate Agent
If you decide to list a house through a realtor then research for finding a realtor who knows about the market of your area. For example, if your house is in California then you might opt in for a California’s local realtor. Then prepare screening questions to interview the potential realtors and select the one that falls into your desired criteria.
Step Two: Prepare and Stage the House
There are certain fixes you must complete which are- structural and mechanical, floorings, bathrooms, kitchen, roof, cosmetic, and exterior. You can also sell your house as it is but then you have to consider how much you lose because the buyer will pay a much lower price in that case.
How to make your house look appealing
To stage your house, declutter extra stuff, clean the house, and move or rearrange the furniture in a way so that the house looks larger and appealing to the buyers.
For curb appeal, maintain landscaping, and clean outside walls. And for online appeal, the agents will find a professional photographer to click enticing photos and make a 3D virtual tour of the house.
Step Three: List Your House
In this step, select the best listing price with your agent according to the market price and cost of selling the house. Consider the peak demand season of your location to get the best price. Then the agent will list the house for sale on MLS with the necessary details.
Step Four: Review Offers, Negotiate and Finalize Buyer
Buyers tend to offer lower prices than the listing price so your agent will send counter offers and negotiate. You can also accept the buyer’s price as it is or reject it in the beginning.
Factors to analyze before finalizing the buyer
- Contingencies (appraisal and home inspection contingencies)
- Form of payment (cash or financing)
- Type of Financing
- Down payment amount
And then you will finalize the buyer after discussing all the aspects with the agent.
Step Five: Execute Closing Obligations
In this stage, the selected buyer will hire a home inspector and check the condition of the house. And for appraisal contingency, the lender of the buyer will analyze the current market value of the house through an appraisal.
What are the Closing Costs
You will have to pay some closing costs such as repairing costs, transfer tax, title insurance, and most importantly your real estate agent’s commission fee.
Step Six: Close the Deal
After fulfilling all the obligations, you can proceed to close the deal. For closing the deal, many documents need to be prepared. For example-
Documents needed to sell house
- Original sales contract
- Property disclosure
- Tax record
- Homeowners’ insurance record
- Home appraisal report
- Home inspection report
Finally, you will sign the documents, close any necessary transaction, hand over the key, and move out!
