Home Selling Process
Selling a home or investment property can be a challenging process. Accurate pricing, home preparation, innovative marketing, and professional experience are critical to the home selling process. Real estate expert, Josh Gainer, reviews the steps to a successful and enjoyable transaction.
8 STEPS TO SELLING YOUR HOME:
STEP 1 - Initial Consultation
Selling a home requires an understanding of the property and what makes it unique. During the initial consulation Josh walks through your property, collecting information and discussing your real estate expectations. It’s a chance to get familiar with your potential agent.
STEP 2 - Pricing Report
Accurately determining your home’s value requires intensive analysis of active, pending and sold homes in the area. Multiple adjustments are made for quality and condition, age, garages, land characteristics and others.
Algorithm estimates, such as Zillow’s zestimate and Redfin, do not include upgrades or improvements by a homeowner and can be misleading, especially with luxury and custom properties. As a former investor analyst, Josh will confidently identify the market value of your home with his price report.
STEP 3 - Listing Agreement
Formalize the agreement to work together. Sell your house with the parameters that you’re comfortable with. Once the listing agreement is signed you’ll work together to prepare the home for photography and marketing.
STEP 4 - Home Preparation
Presenting the best version of your home to the market is critical. First impressions matter! According to Zillow, the more favorites ♥ your listing has in the first week the quicker it sells. Remember buyers are looking at photos of multiple homes. You want to appeal to as many buyers as possible.
Prior to professional photography and videography, Josh works with you to make the home picture perfect. De-cluttering, deep cleaning and tidy landscaping should be the minimum preparation. Working within your budget and time frame we identify potential improvements. Staging consultations can help make empty or small spaces look inviting. Josh connects with contractors to correct deferred maintenance that will make the house look newer.
This step is essential in creating great marketing material for your home. Generate more buyer demand and earn top dollar.
STEP 5 - Marketing
Real estate agents typically pay for marketing expenses. Discount or part time agents often cut costs here. Josh sets himself apart using the top real estate photographers and videographers.
To get your listing in front of as many local and out of state buyers he creates innovative and effective marketing strategies customized to your home. In addition to listing on the MLS and multiple internet real estate sites (Zillow, Redfin, Realtor.com, Listhub) your property has a dedicated website. Links from all the social media platforms featuring the attributes and photos of your home are targeted to the dedicated site. A listing page is featured on Eleete Real Estate’s site for additional exposure.
Josh utilizes his in-house marketing department to create high-quality print brochures for direct mail to targeted markets, as well as, e-fliers for distribution to our extensive mailing list of potential buyers.
STEP 6 - Showings & Offers
As soon as your home is ‘Active’ on the market, buyers will request to view the property in person. You should strive to keep the home in its ideal showing condition. Josh arranges the showings according to your preferences. Keeping a log of the buyers agents he asks for showing feedback.
Offers can be reviewed as they come in or set an offer deadline in a hotter market. Each offer is reviewed and either accepted or rejected. It’s important to review the details with your agent. Once an offer is accepted the terms of the transaction are identified within the contract.
STEP 7 - Inspections
Most purchase agreements stipulate a period of time to perform inspections and/or appraisals, if financing. According to Redfin data, 10-22% of buyers waived either inspection or appraisal contingencies since 2018. In a seller’s market, like we’ve experienced in Portland 2021, buyers may waive these inspections to present a stronger offer.
The standard Oregon purchase agreement allows buyers 10 business days to perform inspections and negotiate repairs, called the inspection contingency period. This period can be shortened or lengthened depending on the offer. If repairs are requested you and your agent negotiate what repairs to perform or credit. When both parties agree to repairs or credits in writing the contingency period is closed.
STEP 8 - Closing
To get over the finish line it’s the buyer responsibility to provide financing. Josh works with the buyers agent and lender to make sure the appraisal is scheduled. He will provide favorable sold comps to ensure the appraisal meets the asking price for the home. Once the lender secures financing escrow is informed to arrange buyer and seller signings.
Escrow manages the disbursement of funds, arranges the legal transfer documents and records the new deed. This is the closing date. Possession occurs when you hand over the keys and the property to the seller. Closing and possession dates are not always the same since some sellers need extra time to move out.
To help with moving costs, Josh & Eleete Real Estate offer complimentary moving trucks for their client’s local moves. Congratulations your home is now sold!
