When you are thinking about selling your home here in Central Florida, there is, in a similar way to when you come to purchase a property a “Selling Process” that has to occur. Many people think about selling their home on their own without an agent. This is not a good idea!
So, what is a good sample of how the process should work? See below:
1. Contact us to talk to one of our agents here at Avalon Town Center Realty for professional advice on selling your home. After all selling your home is a big decision so you need to make sure that you get the right advice to help you with selling, what is for most, their largest asset.
2. Set a Price – Pricing your home is a blend of science and art! Our agents at Avalon Town Center Realty have access to the most up to date and current market data. We will consider recent sales in your neighborhood and will provide you with a recommended price for you home to be listed at. Remember, price your home too high and you won’t get much interest, price too low and you might get the true value of your home and could lose out! Pricing your home just right will create interest and demand for people to look at your property. Don’t forget, when it comes to pricing, all markets are local!
3. Listing Agreement – Once you have decided on a price as well as other terms of the sale then you will sign a listing agreement that will include a beginning date and a termination date of the agreement, the price of the property, what personal items are included within the sale of the home (furniture etc) as well as the compensation to the real estate broker. Always as your agent if you are unsure about the terms of the agreement. Here at Avalon Town Center Realty, our agents spend time going through the agreement in detail to make sure it is fully understood.
4. Home Inspection – Many people wonder why it is a good idea for a seller to have a home inspection as the buyer and their lender will commission one anyway. Well, it is a good idea so that you know ahead of time what a buyers home inspector might report. Also, it will give you adequate time to fix any issues that come up before you start to get potential buyers in the door. Of course there is no requirement that you do this, it is just a good idea!
5. “Showing Your Home” – This is the fun part for those who enjoy playing interior designer! Selling your home full of clutter, or disorganized items will be difficult, staging your home is the best way of ensuring that it is shown in its best light. The trick with staging your home is to make sure that there are minimal personal items in the property allowing potential buyers to see themselves living there. It is often an exercise in de-cluttering and reorganizing furniture to make the best use of the spaces in your home. Creating curb appeal on your Central Florida home is critical to the selling process.
6. Receiving offers from potential buyers – When you start receiving offers on your home it can be exciting! You can accept the offer, reject it or make changes and send it back to the buyer. The buyer can then accept the counter offer, reject it or come back with another counter offer. This back and forth can continue until both parties reach an agreement or decide to call it off. Each offer will come with an irrevocable date by which the other party must accept the offer. Your agent can help advice you throughout the negotiating process. Once agreed, buyers will likely order their home inspection immediately as sales contracts are typically contingent on inspection, giving buyers the opportunity to renegotiate if there are any surprises.
7. Appraisal – This report is commissioned by a buyer and or the buyers lender which values the property for mortgage purposes compared with other like homes in the immediate area. Most appraisals turn out fine, if they don’t and turn out lower, then there are four options – a) the buyer purchases at the contracted price and makes up the difference with a larger downpayment. b) the buyer purchases the home somewhere in between the appraised price and the contract price. c) the buyer purchases at the appraised price d) the contract is cancelled by the seller.
8. Final Walk Through & Closing – Once the paperwork is done it is time for the buyer to undertake a final walk through of the home before closing. The walk through is so that the buyer can make sure that the home is in the same or better state of repair that it was when the contract was agreed and that all items that were conveyed as remaining in the home at the time of the contract are still there. Typically the walk through is undertaken the day of or the day before closing. Closing itself is the final step of the process where all parties will typically meet at the Title Company or Attorneys office to sign all paperwork including the deed, closing papers, and loan papers. The closing representative will explain all documents and then have you sign each item. After all items are signed a check is given to the seller for the proceeds on the sale and the property is conveyed to the new home owner.
Throughout the process, having an agent from Avalon Town Center Realty by your side is an asset to guide you through the process and help you get your home sold!