Selling Your home?. Here at Five Star Real Estate & Property Management, we would like to offer you a quick explanation of what you can expect when selling your home.
- Step One – Identify a REALTOR with market knowledge in your area. Make sure this is someone you trust to do what is in your best interests, not theirs. Someone you feel comfortable discussing hard issues with and are able to trust with advice, because this is a decision that can have a large effect on the outcome of this sale. There are at least 88 things that can go wrong in a transaction and a good agent can help steer clear of those. See our free report about Types_of_Turbulence_List.
- Step Two – Determine a Plan of Action before you list your home. Do the carpets need cleaned? Shelves need to be decluttered? Do the closets need some of the bulk removed? We can do a walk of the property and look at it through the eyes of a buyer. That will help us determine what should stay and what should take a leave of absence while your home is marketed to buyers. Another valuable item to do now is to have your home inspected by a professional. This will help us in multiple ways. First, we will know what items a buyer will find wrong and ask to be repaired. If we are in a time crunch you may not get the best price on that repair, whereas handling it now could save you money. Second, having this home inspection done and available for buyers to review will give them assurance that they can make an educated offer on this home, knowing it is in good condition.
- Step Three – Selecting the right buyer and negotiating their offer. It is a misconception that the highest dollar amount makes the best offer. That is not the case at all. As an example, the highest offer could include a 3 month contingency period, multiple financing contingency needs, the seller paying closing costs for the buyer as well as for appraisals, reports, etc. This is why it is vital that we sit and discuss all terms and review a Net sheet together to see what will help you achieve your goals and reasons for selling your home.
- Step Four – Open Escrow and Prepare for Property Inspections. As your agents, we will open escrow for you and order all preliminary reports from the title company. We will verify the buyer has deposited their required Earnest Money Deposit in a timely manner and schedule inspections/appraisals, if applicable. Since we already had our home inspection done before we listed the property, we know that there is not much to stress about now. Keep in mind, it is good to keep the home kept up well with manicured yard and a tidy interior so that it continues to show well for the buyers and appraisers. You don’t want to give anyone a reason to second guess their purchase.
- Step Five – Handle Any Turbulence. As previously discussed, we know there are at least 88 things that can cause turbulence in a transaction. Luckily we have proactively combatted most of those. However, if we are to see an issue pop up, now is probably the time it will surface. Luckily you have someone on your side that has dealt with this many times. Rest assured, with your approval, we will handle all items for you and keep you up to date every step of the way. Keep in mind, we are almost ready to close and you should be boxing up your remaining items once the contingency periods are expired.
- Step Six – Final Walk-Through and Closing Escrow. Since these two items occur within days of each other, we grouped them together. Just a couple of days prior to closing the buyer will walk the property for a final inspection and sign off that the property is still in good enough condition to complete the transaction. You should plan to be out of the property a few days prior to closing. Please do not shut off the utilities without informing us a week in advance. Otherwise just schedule them to be turned off the day after escrow and still let us know. To Close Escrow, you will meet your agent and maybe lender at the escrow company to sign the loan documents and deed. Remember that everyone is there to help you. Do not feel like any question is silly or does not matter. Please ask us anything. It has probably been asked of us dozens of times anyways. In Southern Nevada, it is typical that you will sign one day and not “record” until the next day. It is not until then, that you have legal ownership to the home and can take possession of the keys, unless otherwise agreed up by seller.
- Step Seven – High Five! We Did it! You should be on to your next adventure by now and only be watching for your closing package and final check from the escrow company. Make sure you save the closing package as your accountant may need it come tax time. Please remember that our relationship does not end here. Whenever you have a question about something, please contact us. We have a rolodex full of people that can service your needs that we have worked with in the past. We want to be your Real Estate Professionals for life and hope to help your family, friends and co-workers as well.
What To Expect in a Short Sale Purchase
In addition to Steps One through Seven above, there is an added step in Step 3, lets call 3.5. It is that once the buyer and seller accept an offer, the seller’s agent submits all of the required short sale documents to the bank, which include personal financials of the seller, taxes, paystubs, the listing agreement, the sale agreement and sometimes more. Step 3.5 typically adds about 90 days to the sale timeline as the lender(s) are very diligent and take their time assessing the deal. Once they approve, they will issue an approval letter stating the terms that they agree to release the lien and allow the sale to complete. At this point is where the standard escrow period starts and the buyer begins their inspections and financing starts rolling into action.
