You’ve finally decided to sell your home – what’s next? Selling your house is a long process and can be complicated and sometimes, downright stressful. But don’t fret, while each selling experience is unique, these transactions still have many things in common. For a smooth and potentially more profitable experience, check out this helpful guide in selling your home that we’ve prepared to help you navigate this new adventure from start to finish.

Let’s get started!

Step 1: Consult a Real Estate Agent 

The first step is contacting a real estate agent. Real estate agents will be your guide and is crucial throughout the process so make sure to find someone you can trust and who has an established record. They could be referred to by family and friends or even the agent who sold you your house in the first place. The agent you decide on will eventually be your listing agent and represent you throughout the whole process. 

Meet up and discuss your situation, goals, and overall plans. Collaborating with a real estate agent will help you create the listing for your house that will surely entice buyers to come and have a look at it. 

Step 2: Plan Out Your Repairs

Think Like A Buyer.

Putting yourself in a potential buyer’s shoes, go through your house and take note of any red flags from cracked walls to damaged floors, and even outdated kitchen appliances. List these out and strategize the order that you want to fix them. 

You might want to do this step before securing a listing agent but if you already have one, definitely consult them. They’ll be a goldmine of information on how to cross these items off your to-do list.

Step 3: The Exterior

Listen to this guide in selling your home and remember, first impressions last so make it a good one. What your buyers see as they pull up your house can be the hook you need so make sure to focus on the details and features of your exterior. Fix those cracking paints, check your roof, make your lawn and landscaping nice and tidy. With an exterior that evokes love at first sight, you’ll make sure that buyers will say yes as soon as they arrive.

Step 4: Update the Kitchen

Assuming you’ve moved out of the home when it gets listed on the market, most of it will be vacant space. However, buyers will surely be drawn to the kitchen as it’ll be partially outfitted. This is your opportunity to truly snare them by making a space a purchaser can envision themselves using.

In particular, look into updating your cabinets, countertops, and sinks. Upgrading your kitchen appliances will also be a bonus as your home go on the market, take it from this guide in selling your home. It might be an extra investment, but it can pay off when it increases the value of your house. A brand new and modernized kitchen might just be what you need to raise your asking price and cinch better profit. 

Step 5: Update Your Interior

Focus on your two essentials: walls and floors. Take a look at the condition of your floors. If they are carpeted or wood, are they faded or worn? Are your tiles cracking or do they have gaps? You might need to look into repairing these if you’ve made these observations.

The same should be done for your walls. See if you can make any little adjustments to them, such as filling in nail holes with spackle. One of the cheapest and most cost-effective methods to breathe new life into interior spaces is to apply a fresh coat of paint. Even a single ‘accent’ wall painted a different color can sometimes bring a new depth to a room with no effort.

Step 6: The Backyard

Having outdoor spaces is definitely a strong selling point. It doesn’t need to be this huge investment, just make sure that everything from the grass to the trees are nice and tidy. Buyers might be looking for the space to pamper their pets, others might have plans for a garden, a shed, or even small family events. Whatever it is, be sure to create a space that buyers will see themselves using. 

Step 7: Set the Stage

Polishing before the show is an important step. Go over everything from the repairs to the replacements and make sure that everything is in working order. Everything should be clean and tidy so be sure to sweep or vacuum and dispose of all the trash. You should also clean out any personal items and photos. Provide the buyer with a blank canvas to imagine themselves living in the home.

This may be simple if you’ve already moved out of the residence. If you’re still living in the house, make sure all of your furniture and decorations are in their right places. Also, make sure you dust and fold all of your laundries. It’s the small details like these that might make the difference between a sale and a loss. Because you’re putting on a show for the buyer, consider how you might set the stage for success.

Step 8: Do Your Research

You’ll need to know the current worth of your home once it’s ready to show, which includes any improvements or updates you made to get it to this stage. This guide in selling your home has been emphasizing your repairs because this can greatly add to your asking value. Using Frank Procopio │ The Naples Agent’s home valuation tool is one of the simplest ways to acquire an estimate.  We will be able to give you professional advice and create realistic sell prices for your neighborhood.

It’s preferable to think of a range, with your ideal offer at the top and the cheapest offer you’ll consider at the bottom. You can always order an assessment from a third party if you need a second opinion to ensure that the price you’re setting is as accurate as feasible to the current market.

Step 9: List Your Home

You and your real estate agent should have enough material by now to develop what is essentially an advertisement to attract potential buyers to your home. Because photos of the property are such an important element of the listing, make sure to spend the time necessary to get them just right.

Don’t forget to note any and all improvements you’ve made along the route as well. You never know what small feature, such as a freshly replaced water heater, will pique a buyer’s interest in your home or determine whether they choose your property over another.

Remember how this guide in selling your home told you real estate agents are crucial? This step, is where they will truly excel. These people are professionals so pay attention to what they say. When your listing gets public, you should start getting inquiries from potential buyers to come by and have a look at it.

Step 10: Consider Offers

Set your expectations, because depending on the state of the housing market in your location, this phase could take a long time. Whether you get a torrent of offers right away or a trickle over time, you’ll want to think about each one carefully. While it may be tempting to accept the first offer that fulfills your criteria, there may be more to the story. Is the buyer looking to flip your house or is it a family looking to purchase their first home? All of these things could come into play before you make your selection.

If you don’t receive any good offers on your home, it might be worth your time to go back over the previous procedures on this list to make sure everything is in order.

Step 11: Accept the Right Offer

Of course, accepting the right offer is not the end of the road. You and the buyer may have a back-and-forth conversation. They’ll hire an inspector to come to your home and evaluate everything from the foundation to the very minute details. This is the moment you’ve been planning for since the beginning, which is why so much of this checklist focuses on preparing your home.

In most circumstances, your real estate agent will operate as a middleman. Remember that purchasers are seeking the best bargain possible as well, so be patient with them as you work out their terms. But keep in mind that, as the seller, you are ultimately in control.

Step 12: Closing Expectations

At this point, it’s the end of the road. The final step in this guide in selling your home. The buyers have now become the new proprietors of the residence once the sale is completed. It’s advised that your move out entirely by the day the papers are all signed unless you’ve negotiated a leaseback from the buyer to stay in the house after closing. This will provide the new owners with the opportunity to do a final walk-through.