Selling 101: What First-Time Sellers Can Expect from the Process

The selling process can be very intimidating for anyone putting their property on the market for the first time. Naturally, you can expect to find a variety of emotions involved; as you move towards a new home—perhaps to accommodate a growing family, save money, or downsize after your children have left the nest—you’ll likely find that there are many steps involved in the selling process. For some early research, you should refer to a full-service realty company with boutique home selling services. The more you learn about what to expect, the better prepared you’ll be to take the next step. Here’s what you can expect over the selling process. 

Working With an Agent

There’s a common misconception that sellers who sell their home independently will make more money from the sale. While there are certainly some cases where this is true, this is often the exception—especially if you’re selling a home for the first time and have no real estate experience. Think back to when you used a real estate agent and how the process was much more streamlined. The same applies to home selling: your real estate agent will become the gateway to your selling efforts. They’ll advocate for you throughout your selling journey and help ease the transition from one place to the next. 

Creating a Gameplan

As you might imagine, there are many moving parts to selling a home. Creating a plan is the first step towards taking action. When you work with a real estate agency, this part of the process is fairly straightforward. Your real estate agent will work with you to discuss a timeline, work out what inspections need to be made, the paperwork you can expect moving forward, and the best marketing tactics necessary to get your home off the market fast. 

At this point, your home is also priced based on thorough market research. Believe it or not, it’s possible for your home to be priced too low or too high. With the right home price, you can sell your home quicker and appeal to the right type of buyers. 

Prep Your Home

Now that you’ve got a general plan for selling your property, it’s time to start getting it ready. First and foremost, you’ll want to take care of any glaring structural or electrical issues that could be off putting to buyers. If you have a bit of a budget to work with, you can then focus on value-boosting renovations such as residential roofing repairs that improve your home’s value perception without breaking the bank. 

Small updates to your kitchen and bathroom can go a long way with the appeal factor. You’ll also want to consider home staging, which can increase the selling price and give your home’s appearance a major boost. Although there are many simple and effective staging tips you can execute on your own, there are also plenty of staging companies that offer furniture and decor on loan specifically for staging purposes.

Listing Your Property

Listing your property is one of the most important steps you’ll take on your journey as a home seller. Marketing plays a big role here, and it begins with photography. The photos used in your real estate listing create a lasting first impression, and can mean the difference between someone coming to see your property in person or pass up the opportunity. Because of this, you’ll need professional photography to shed light on your home’s best features. The listing also needs to contain great copywriting to paint a perfect picture. From here, an agent will use their own marketing tactics to advertise your property in the best way possible. 

Hosting an Open Houses

Open houses are a key component of the sales strategy. Not only is it smart to show your home to several interested buyers at once, but it also helps convey the level of competition amongst those buyers. Additionally, you’ll get face time with the people who may be potentially taking over your home. If you have an agent, they’ll be responsible for setting up your open house, promoting it, and running it. The overarching goal is to appeal to all five senses for each person that walks through the door, and you’ll leverage several home buying tips to achieve this. 

Discussing Offers

After you’ve hosted open houses and a few private viewings, you can start to entertain different offers. In some cases, depending on your goals, you’ll analyze offers as they come in. Some sellers, however, like to check all applications at once during a predetermined date. Once you’ve settled on the right buyer at the right price, you’ll enter the escrow and due diligence process, where the buyer submits their deposits and conducts further investigation on your home’s integrity.