Seller's Guide

A Step-by-Step First Time Seller's Guide

Putting your home on the market can be a stressful process, especially when you don’t know what to expect. Fortunately, with the help of an experienced agent and this easy to follow guide, you can smoothly complete the process. Following these steps will help you prepare so you can get organized and sell your home for the best price possible.​​​​​​​

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Step 1: Understand Why You're Selling

What do you want to accomplish with the sale of your home? Do you want to make a certain amount of money that you can put toward a larger or nicer home? Do you need to sell it as soon as possible to facilitate a move to a new city or area? Once you understand your needs, you can better craft your offer. For example, if you need to sell quickly, you might want to price your home lower than if your goal is to make a certain profit margin. Make sure you convey these needs to your Real Estate Agent once you choose one so he or she can adjust your selling price accordingly.

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Step 2: Determine Selling Price

Knowing how to price your home is one of the most important parts of the selling process. When you set a fair price in the beginning, you’ll get the most interest from other Real Estate Agents and prospective buyers. Overpricing your home could lead to reduced interest, and underpricing leads to receiving less than what your home is worth. Working with a Real Estate Agent is the best way to determine the right selling price for your home. An agent with experience can determine what other comparable homes are selling for, evaluate the current market, and may even suggest a home appraisal.

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Step 3: Start Preparations

If you’ve kept your home in showroom condition since you’ve lived in it, you’re in the minority of homeowners. Once you price your home, it’s time to start getting it ready to be shown to potential buyers. This includes getting rid of clutter, depersonalizing the space so that buyers can envision themselves in the space, making any small repairs, and doing a deep clean to make sure your home is in pristine condition.

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Step 4: Develop a Marketing Strategy

I will develop a marketing strategy that is perfect for advertising your home. This involves listing the home and then driving the right people to that listing through social media campaigns, agent-to-agent referrals, traditional media, or SEO advertising. My team creates a marketing campaign that aims to get the most possible traffic to your listing in the first three weeks after becoming a client.

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Step 5: Evaluate Offers

Receiving an offer is an exciting part of the process, but it doesn’t mean the journey is over. I will evaluate each offer and make sure the party making the offer is prequalified or pre-approved by a mortgage lender and that their offer is acceptable to you. If the offer is too low, you can make a counter-offer or offer other ways to bridge the gap, such as covering some or all of the closing costs, making repairs, adjusting the move-in date, or leaving some appliances or fixtures for the new buyer.

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Step 6: Accept an Offer

Once I deem the offer is acceptable, I will review the proposed contract to make sure it’s all in order and includes the necessary components such as deposit amount, down payment, financing, inspection rights and repair allowances, contingencies, settlement date, and a list of fees and who will pay them. When both parties have agreed to the term, a final contract will be prepared by your agent.

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Step 7: Get Ready to Close

You have accepted an offer and are now very close to the end of your selling journey. But first, you and the buyer must make a list of what needs to be done before closing. In some cases, your home may need to be formally inspected, surveyed, and appraised. In other cases, major or minor repairs will need to be made before the house can close. I will head up efforts to develop and execute this list, get each action item paid for by the correct party, and make sure everything is in order by the closing date. A few days before the closing date, we will call the company closing the transaction to make sure everything is ready to go. If you haven’t done so already, you also need to make arrangements to move out of the home so the new buyer can take possession.

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Step 8: Close

You’ve reached the last step in the seller’s process. When you close on a home you are selling, you are legally transferring ownership of the property to the new buyer. I will meet with the company closing the transaction to sign the final paperwork and go over any issues that have not yet been taken care of. During this time, you can also make plans with your Real Estate Agent to handle final details such as canceling utilities, cable, and lawn or trash services, changing the name on accounts that the new owner is retaining and ensuring the new owner has instructions for all appliances that will remain in the home.

Congratulations!

Once you have sold your home, you’re free to take the next step on your journey. Whether this is relocating to a new city, moving into a larger home, or downsizing and enjoying your life as empty-nesters, knowing all your selling responsibilities have been taken care of will help you achieve peace of mind for your new path.

Testimonials

Liz Talbott

Seller

Tina Lane

Seller

Vivek and Mala Singh

Jim and Donna Fleming

Mike and Joyce Kandes

Bill Stief

I recently hired Kelly Knight to sell my home. At the time of listing, she became a mentor and absolute professional guiding the experience at every step. Because I had to leave the area, she took on additional responsibilities when minor issues came up. I was cognizant of her presence in the community and that was one of the reasons I chose her. If you are looking for the best results, chose Kelly Knight. She will be the best decision you make.
Great experience working with Kelly Knight at Coldwell Banker for both selling and buying! Kelly was a delight to work with and she provided professional and knowledgeable customer service with a quick response time for both real estate transactions. In this crazy real estate market, Kelly made the process smooth and enjoyable because of her expertise in marketing our previous home and excellent negotiating skills for both deals. Highly recommend!
Kelly Knight was outstanding from the beginning in helping us prepare the house for sale, guiding us on the correct pricing, and extending superb support through the entire process from listing, showings, inspections, appraisal- the works. She managed our anxieties beautifully and even pulled us through the unexpected problem towards the end. Her brother helped us buy this house. Frank would have been proud of her. Kelly is a realtor par excellence. She is strongly recommended
Kelly is fantastic. She guided us through every step of the process. Any questions we had were quickly answered. Would highly recommend Kelly and her team to anyone who is considering selling their home.
We selected Kelly as our realtor based on her experience and knowledge of the real estate market in our area. We can say, without hesitation, that Kelly has excelled in ever aspect of the selling process. She is very pleasant, expedient and knowledgeable. We would highly recommend her services to anyone looking for the best in a realtor to guide them through one of the major events in their life. She is a credit to her profession. Mike and Joyce K
Kelly is a consummate professional. Navigating the sale of my mother's house from out-of-state could have been an overwhelming process, yet Kelly made it fluid and pleasant. Communications regarding the sale were prompt and punctual. Signing the closing documents could not have been made easier. Kelly was selected after extensive research. In conversation with my mother's good friend and neighbor, the issue of selling my mother's house arose. This good friend's unsolicited recommendation was for the realtor who had sold her house, who happened to be Kelly. I highly recommend her.

Work With Kelly

Understanding your goals, concerns, and budget is my first priority in assisting you in choosing a home for your next step in life. I will present you with realistic options, help you make an offer, negotiate, obtain financing, and close on your purchase.

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