Steps to Successfully Selling your Home

• What Shannon will do for you.
  
• Getting your house ready to show
  
• Pricing your home
  
• Estimating your net
  
• Marketing your home
  
• Going to closing

What Shannon will do for you.

• Represent YOU in the sale of your home.
  
• Work to get you the most money for your home in the shortest amount of time with the least amount of inconvenience.
  
• Prepare a comparative property report (CPR) that will assist you in pricing your home. Promote the sale of your home through the local Multiple Listing Service (MLS) computer.
  
• Advertise in selected local newspapers and other specialized market-specific publications.
  
• Aggressively promote your property through other local real estate firms. Up to 50% of our sales involve other cooperating brokers acting on your behalf.
  
• Make an appointment for each showing.
  
• Qualify buyers before showing your home.
  
• Contact you after your property is shown to let you know what happened and pass along comments made by buyers and their agents.
  
• Present all offers to you and estimate your net proceeds from the offer.
  
• Help you with all sales negotiations to maximize your bottom line.
  
• Help you through necessary inspections, appraisals, buyer's loan approval process, escrow, and closing.
  
• Take care of the dozens of details that must be carefully monitored prior to settlement to ensure your home really gets SOLD after you accept an offer from a buyer.
  
• Keep you informed every step of the way.
  
• Attend the settlement or closing as your representative.
  
• Help you locate another home locally or in another city, and make your move as easy as possible.

Getting your house ready to show

Outside

• Keep the lawn trimmed and edged.
  
• Weed and cultivate flower gardens.
  
• Trim shrubs and eliminate dead trees or branches.
  
• Pick up any debris, toys and lawn equipment.
  
• Repair any fences and gates and give them a fresh coat of paint or stain if necessary.
  
• Have the exterior clean and attractive, the roof in good repair, and the gutters and downspouts in good condition.
  
• Have the exterior, driveway and sidewalk professionally washed.
  
• Replace any cracked windows and torn screens.
  
• Make the entrance-way clean and inviting.
  
• Be sure the doorbell works.
  
• Wash down the mailbox and porch light, sweep the porch.

Inside

• Walls should be clean and free of smudges, fingerprints and dents.
  
• Consider a fresh coat of paint, if a good washing doesn't work.
  
• Inspect woodwork and wallpaper for areas that need attention.
  
• Arrange furniture to make each room appear more spacious and attractive.
  
• If a piece of furniture is badly worn, store it temporarily in the attic, basement or at your neighbor's house.
  
• Wash windows and sills until sparkling clean.
  
• Curtains and drapes should be freshly laundered.
  
• Shampoo rugs and carpets.
  
• Floors should be waxed.
  
• Repair loose doorknobs, sticking doors and windows, and warped kitchen drawers and cabinet doors.
  
• Fix leaky faucets and eliminate stains on sinks and counter tops.
  
• Tighten loose stair banisters and be sure steps are free of objects.
  
• Light fixtures should be in good repair
  
• Replace discolored or cracked switch and outlet plates.
  
• Clean out closets to display their roominess.
  
• Be sure clothes are hung neatly and shoes and other objects are tidily arranged.
  
• Bathrooms should be sparkling clean with no stains or mildew.
  
• Repair the caulking in tubs and showers.
  
• If necessary, replace shower curtain and set out fresh towels.
  
• Bedrooms should appear neat with attractive spreads and curtains.
  
• Remove any clutter (including wall posters) from kid's rooms.
  
• Use packing boxes to clean up the attic and garage.
  
• The kitchen should be especially clean and dishes put away.
  
• Clear the fireplace of ashes.
  
• Make sure the garbage is always taken out.

Pricing your home

As a home seller, your primary goal is to get the most money possible for your home in the shortest amount of time. Bottom Line, how you price your home will determine your success in reaching your goal.

Regardless of what you paid for your house, regardless of what you think your house is worth, and regardless of what other homes for sale are priced at, the value is determined by the buyer. Buyers devote considerable effort in finding the best house at the lowest price that is, finding the best value. Every buyer who looks at your house is comparing your home's value with that of others they've seen.

A well-trained agent is always in touch with market trends and has access to all of the recent home sale transactions in your area. Equipped with this knowledge and data they will prepare an informative comparative property report (CPR) for you. Using the CPR you can price your home properly to maximize the money you receive from the sale of your home.

What happens to the overpriced house?

• Helps to sell the competition (Most buyers are competitive shoppers.)
  
• On the market a long time (Studies show that 80% of your potential buyers see the house in the first 4-6 weeks. If you don't sell then it takes about 3 months to replace them with an equal number of newcomers.)
  
• Loss of market interest and qualified buyers (Buyers use value, quality and price of similar properties as deciding factors.)
  
• Negative impression is created (People wonder why the house is still on the market. They believe something must be wrong with it.)
  
• Seller continues to lose money (As long as your home is on the market you must continue to make mortgage payments and pay to maintain the property.)
  
• Seller accepts less money (Studies show that the longer a house is on the market, the greater the discount off list price is ultimately given.)
  
• Appraisal problems (Even if you find someone who is willing to pay your inflated price, you still may not be able to sell the house because the lender must agree that the home is worth the asking price or they won't lend money to the buyer.)
  

Again, a well-trained real estate agent will help you avoid the pitfalls of an overpriced listing and help you get the most money possible for your home in the shortest possible time, with the least amount of inconvenience.

Estimating your net

More important than the price you sell your home for is the actual net you receive from the transaction. A higher sales price doesn't necessarily mean a higher net. For example, a contract that offers your list price but requires you to pay a couple of points (percent) of the buyer's loan may not be as good as a contract that offers less than the price your asking but doesn't require that you pay any points. So don't focus just on the sales price...

Focus on the bottom line!

To estimate what you will actually receive from the sale of your home, from the sales price you need to subtract the outstanding balance of your mortgage(s) and the settlement fees such as the sales commission, attorney fees, transfer taxes paid to the state, and other fees. These fees vary jurisdiction to jurisdiction, but are generally in the range of 2-5% of the sales price plus the sales commission paid to your real estate agent.

Marketing your home

Many homeowners think that "marketing" their home amounts to planting a "For Sale" sign in the front yard and placing a classified ad in the paper. While these are elements of a marketing plan, they are only a small piece of a comprehensive marketing campaign.

The primary reason that most sellers use a professional real estate agent is that the agent and his or her company have the knowledge and resources that cannot be matched by a typical homeowner -- a marketing services department to prepare brochures and flyers, direct mail agency to send mass mail-outs to prospective buyers, television advertising production, connections with other cooperating brokers in the area, hundreds of agents who will try to sell their company's listings, access to the Multiple Listing System (MLS) used by all real estate agents in the area, the ability to market homes on the Internet and other mass media, an "inventory" of ready and willing buyers, knowledge of the financial and legal requirements of selling a home, and so on.

As part of our marketing plan I will

• Perform a comprehensive comparative property report.
  
• Provide you with a market preparation guide.
  
• Put a RE/MAX "For Sale" sing in the yard.
  
• Place a secure lockbox on the door to facilitate ease of showing by other licensed agents, with your approval of course.
  
• List the property in the local Multiple Listing Service.
  
• List the property as a featured property on my website and on RE/MAX local and International websites.
  
• Prepare a detailed informational flyer with facts and photographs.
  
• Prepare a home features flyer to provide information on your property for agents and prospects viewing your house.
  
• Notify other agents about the property through: Hot sheets, E-mail and personal phone calls.
  
• Send flyers to local agencies and agents.
  
• Conduct a home tour for RE/MAX Sales Associates.
  
• Provide feedback from "Tour Appraisals" by Sales Associates.
  
• Place classified advertising in various home magazines.
  
• Mail promotional pieces to your neighborhood.
  
• Follow-up with you at least every two weeks with a progress report.
  
• Regularly review the marketing plan and price to stay competitive.

Going to closing

After you've accepted an offer on your home there are still a number of things that must be done before you can get your money and move out. The buyer will undoubtedly request a home inspection by a professional who will determine the condition and integrity of your property. The buyer's mortgage company will send out an appraiser who will determine if your property is worth what the buyer offered. The title company will warranty that there are no encumbrances or liens from unpaid contractors, IRS, or others which place a "cloud" on the title and prevent a transfer of title to the buyer.

Finally, at settlement, also referred to as closing, the transfer of ownership actually takes place between you and the purchaser. Either you or the buyer may chose to be represented by an attorney, but generally this is not necessary, unless it's the common practice in your area. If everything has been planned right, settlement should be primarily a big paper pushing and signing ceremony -- with no surprises!

In a few circumstances, an escrow agent prepares the documents and then collects and pays out the various funds. More often, all parties to the transaction, including the lender; buyer, seller, and their attorneys; real estate agents; and someone from the title company will meet with the closing agent to settle the paperwork and exchange monies associated with the deal.

You will be presented with a settlement or closing sheet that reflects all the applicable details of the transaction. The settlement sheet details the amount of money due to and from various parties. You might want to bring along a calculator and add up these charges. Although they are totaled on the settlement sheet, errors may occur. The net you receive (or in some cases pay) should be in the ballpark of the net proceeds calculated by your agent. It won't be exact however, since not all closing fees are known at the time a sales contract is signed.

Your agent will review the documents, explain them to you, and protect your interests. You'll sign numerous documents and receive copies of them all. The closing agent will then inform you when a check will be prepared for your proceeds. Sometimes this can be done the same day. Typically, however, it takes several days for a check to be prepared, since all the funds necessary to pay off your mortgage and other settlement fees must be disbursed before you are paid.