SELLERS GUIDE
Greg offers his clients the best in class marketing package and many additional extras that will make you feel valued. He is truly the person to list your home and achieve the highest price possible. You will find his communication will never leave you in the dark.
Understand Cost of Sale
Before listing your home understand what expenses will be incurred. Below are a few things to consider:
- Title Insurance. It is customary for the Seller to provide an owner’s title policy to protect the buyer from issues in title. An estimate can be found on almost any title company website or can be provided by your Realtor.
- Real Estate Agent Commissions.Understand appropriate going rates for commissions. Know that commissions are negotiable, but remember that price is what you pay and value is what you get.
- Moving Costs.How do you plan to move? Have you got a moving quote?
- Minor Repairs. Are you aware of some things that need fixed? Do you want to fix them to maximize your net proceeds from the sale or do you want to just hit the easy button?
Shop for a Realtor
Pick out a Realtor that complements what you need most. Interview several before you choose. Below are just a few things to consider:
- Does he/she fit well with your personality?
- Do you think they are self-serving and after commissions or after your best interests? What is your “gut feel”?
- Time/Energy.Do you think they will have the time to attend to your needs? Do you feel enough energy from them to meet your needs? Do you feel rushed or do you feel you can ask an infinite number of questions?
- Are they thoroughly answering your questions? Do you feel like they are hiding something?
- Do you feel the marketing they will provide is best in class? Is their strategy likely to maximize the number of offers?
- Can your Realtor offer you more than one option for selling your home? Greg has access to iBuyer pools that can close quickly with cash offers.
As a side note, Realtors will require an Exclusive Agency Agreement that protects both parties and spells out the commission rates.
Price the Home
Ultimately it is your decision on how you want to price your home, but your agent will give you guidance. Below are a few different strategies and how they work to consider for your circumstance:
- Price it Low.This works fine in a hot market like Denver. The advantage is that you will get a lot of offers very quickly and will be able to pick and choose the right buyer and move forward. Many of the offers will likely be above list price and make up for the shortfall that you thought you may have had by pricing it low. The con is that it will sell very fast and sometimes buyers feel rushed to get in on the deal, just to back out later. This strategy is most likely to bring all cash offers.
- Price it Right.This is the most common strategy and one I recommend. Good buyers are willing to pay a fair price for a home and it helps ensure you don’t sell too low by not timing it right with the “price it low” strategy.
- Price it High.This is never recommended. Even if you find someone to pay more than it is worth, they probably aren’t the right buyer. After all, why are they willing to pay so much? Are they not properly educated about the value of the home? Are they likely to back out when the appraisal comes in low? Is there a backup strategy to drop the price if it gets little interest?
Market the Home
Marketing is over 90% digital as that is where the search lies, so your presentation of the home is very important. The average person shopping for a home spends about 5 seconds on a listing before moving on, you must capture their attention by doing at least the following:
- Optimal Condition.Is the home in optimal condition for sale? Have you thought about what little inexpensive things can be done to increase the net proceeds? It isn’t worth it to spend $5,000 if you aren’t going to get at least $5,000 back, so discuss repairs and improvements with your Realtor and how they may affect both net proceeds and the ability to bring in offers. Everyone looks at photos before touring a home, so make sure the eyesores are taken care of.
- Best in Class Marketing. Make sure your agent uses Best in Class Marketing techniques like Greg uses to market the property to the widest audience possible to bring in offers and find the right buyer.
- Get Creative.Sometimes even the best Realtors and the best marketing can’t sell a home. Every home is unique, so you must adjust as you go to keep bringing attention to it. While time is of the essence and homes get a stigma when they are on the market too long, don’t panic and get creative.
Accept Offer and Close
Ultimately you want to maximize the proceeds in your pocket and close. The highest offer may not be the best, here are some things to consider in the process:
- Assess Offer & Accept.Does the offer match your expectations? How long has your home been on the market? What are all the little things they are asking for that can affect closing? Your agent should talk with the buyer’s agent to qualify the buyer and their ability to carry out the transaction. Once you are convinced it is the right buyer at the right price you sign a binding sale agreement.
- It is possible that your home will have some repairs you didn’t know about. Be prepared to fix some items. Do note that if the repairs are non-cosmetic in nature it is likely that most inspectors will find them, and you will need to fix them anyway. Homes that go back on the market for repair issues tend to get a stigma that something is wrong with the home.
- Typically, a title company will hold closing and the money is in an escrow account. Since you will be paying for the title insurance you will pick the title insurance company when you sign an Exclusive Agency Agreement to list your home. You sign and exchange paperwork, hand the keys and off you go.
The closing process takes 30-60 days depending on your lender, inspection issues, etc. Just take it one step at a time.