8 Steps to
Selling a House
Selling your house doesn't need to be overwhelming. We have boiled it down to 8 simple steps to selling a house.
Home selling
Made simple
Most of the horror stories we hear about selling a home come from people that didn’t know what to expect or were surprised by some unexpected aspect of the steps to selling a house. Understanding what to expect, and why things happen eliminates most of the surprises that can make selling your home so stressful. We have created this comprehensive guide "Steps to Selling a House" so that you can be informed and in control in order to help eliminate surprises, stress, and the headaches that potentially go along with selling a home. At first glance, the process of selling your home might seem simple enough. You empty it out, pick a sale price, list it, and wait for prospective buyers to bring a purchase agreement, right? Of course, the reality is this process isn’t quite so straightforward. Your time is important, and if you want to get top dollar for your home it’s important to recognize that knowledge and experience matter. In this guide, we’ve broken the sale of your home down into small, manageable steps. We’ll start with a look at preparing to sell, move through the marketing phase, and then look at contracts, contingencies, and closings. You can’t anticipate every scenario. Even experienced REALTORS® are continually learning. Our goal in this guide is to give you a solid framework in order to understand the basics of the process.
Full-service
Selling Experience
We will work tirelessly to ensure that your property sells quickly and at the best possible price.
Time to Sell? Assemble Your Team
Are you going to sell it yourself? Or enlist a professional?
Compiling Visuals
Professional photography & videos go a long way to showcasing your home.
Under Contract
Negotiating the offer can make the difference in thousands of dollars in your pocket.
Start with our
free Seller's Guide
This foundation is the best way to help you make informed decisions and successfully navigate the home-selling process –allowing you to sidestep any curveballs that are thrown your way and get the best possible price for your home.
As you go through this page guide please remember that a good REALTOR® will help you through every step of the process.
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Time to Sell? Assemble Your Team
Are you going to sell it yourself? Or enlist a professional?
“Selling my home, how hard can it be?” you might find yourself asking.
The truth, though, is that there are many different factors that go into the process of selling a home. From marketing and staging to networking and negotiating, to preparing contracts. No one could possibly be an expert in all of the associated phases. This is why the real estate industry has so many specialists, from marketing experts to title agents, there are experts at every turn.
You are going to need some specialists to help get your home sold and more importantly closed. You can find these people online or through referrals, but of course, we think choosing a REALTOR® with a team of specialists already in place makes the most sense for most sellers. in many cases you might have a family member that dabbles in real estate, this is not the person to use unless they have a track record of successfully selling homes.
Of course, we also understand some homeowners might prefer to go it alone, which is why we’ve covered both options in this guide.
Home Selling Process - The FSBO Route
If you instead decide to go the For Sale by Owner (FSBO) route, it’s a still a good idea to get help from the specialists.
A little research can go a long way in finding the help you need. From pricing, staging, and marketing to contract negotiation and closing, you can certainly find people who can help. Many of the same specialists that do work for REALTORS® will do that same work for private homeowners on a pay-per-transaction basis.
Steps to Selling FSBO
Stagers and photographers will help you at the beginning of the process to get your home ready to sell. These professionals will usually help private homeowners prepare their homes for sale as well as provide photos for marketing.
Stagers and photographers will help you at the beginning of the process to get your home ready to sell. These professionals will usually help private homeowners prepare their homes for sale as well as provide photos for marketing.
You’ll also need to prepare your own marketing materials and the data that you’ll need to document your home and answer potential buyers’ questions.
The resources available to FSBO marketers are more limited than what is available to REALTORS®, but there are some marketing channels out there that cater to homeowners. These include websites like Zillow and HomeFinder. A quick search on the internet will put you in touch with some of the resources available for homeowners looking to sell their home on their own.
Next, prepare to field calls, schedule appointments, perform showings, and answer any questions a potential buyer might have. If you’re going the FSBO route, this step is especially difficult to outsource to a professional. Depending on the market, the desirability of your home, and the flexibility of your family’s schedule, showing your home could be a breeze, or a never-ending nightmare of tidying, cleaning, and taking-the-kids-and-dog-to-the-park-down-the-street!
The value and experience of a REALTOR® become especially clear the moment you receive an offer on your home. While most people think it is all about the offer and the bottom line, the truth is the devil’s in the details. The bottom line is not determined by the purchase price alone, but by your net proceeds. An experienced REALTOR® will be able to look at the contract and make determinations about hidden dates, contingencies, and deadlines. All factors that can potentially impact the sale, and end up costing a seller tens of thousands of dollars.
For FSBO sellers, a real estate attorney can certainly help to translate and clarify potential pitfalls in any legal documents. Issues may also arise during the inspection and appraisal phase of the process that requires an attorney’s knowledge, experience, and advice. So, if your home’s condition or the FSBO contract is even moderately complicated, it would be wise to find a good real estate attorney.
Title companies are another must-have resource for FSBO sellers. Generally, the title company will see the transaction through to closing and can be a great resource for keeping you on track. It’s important to understand, though, that the title company doesn’t necessarily advocate for either side, but rather will act as a disinterested third-party. Their only real objective is to get the transaction closed but they are good at clarifying how things work. This means that you are going to need to do some vetting of your potential buyer and determine for yourself whether they will be able to close. As the home seller, you’ll have to contact the lender, or in the case of a cash deal, seek verification of funds.
The bottom line is that FSBO sellers cannot eliminate all of the real estate fees. Even straight-forward real estate transactions can be complicated, and the transaction cannot occur without hiring professionals to help you complete the transaction. Without a REALTOR® to help in managing the process; the time, cost, and stress involved in coordinating and managing all the pieces of the transaction will fall to you, the homeowner.
Although the FSBO selling route may appeal to some home sellers who may be trying to save money, the true value of working with a REALTOR® is in maximizing the speed and net dollar of your sale and, most importantly, helping to reduce much of the stress that’s involved in the process.
Steps to Sell Your Home-The Real Estate Agent Route
f you decide to work with a REALTOR® to sell your home this is called a listing. It gets this name because your home will be listed in the MLS or multiple listing service. This is valuable because it immediately exposes your home to thousands of REALTORS® with potential buyers, giving your home a lot more exposure.
To start, you’ll need to assemble documents and materials that answer the kind of questions potential buyers will have. Your REALTOR® will need things like plat maps and utility bills as well as loan and HOA information. Here’s a complete list of what you’ll need.
It’s important to understand that when working with an agent, both of you will also need to agree on some form of agency.
The agency refers to the relationship your REALTOR® has with your interests. For example, if you choose to work with a REALTOR® in a seller agency capacity, the REALTOR® must hold your best interests at the forefront for the entire transaction. The agent will also negotiate on your behalf and act as an advocate for you.
An alternative to seller agency is transaction brokerage. In this form of representation, the agent acts more like a referee than an advocate, and works to facilitate the transaction rather than as an agent for either of the parties.
Prepare to Sell
Don't skimp on the preparation step
Timing is everything. Before you jump into preparing your home for sale, it’s a good idea to get some advice about the best time to sell as well as the costs and benefits of repairs and improvements.
We’ve seen countless examples of homeowners who have spent thousands of dollars preparing to put their homes on the market, only to find out later, that their improvements didn’t make much if any impact on the sale of their home. My advice is, “Don’t spend a dollar unless it will make you five” and a good REALTOR® can help you to identify tasks that matter.
When it’s time to sell, the goal is to find the best-qualified buyers; buyers who understand the housing market, see the value of your home, who are pre-approved for a loan, and highly motivated to close.
Show-Ready Condition
The term “Show-Ready Condition” simply means that your home is in the best possible condition to present to any prospective home buyers.
Getting to this point may only require something as simple as a fresh coat of paint to improve curb appeal or removing personal items to create a cleaner look inside.
On the other hand, getting in show-ready condition may take a lot of work. In most cases, this hard work pays off because this is one of the most critical steps to achieving a successful home sale.
Prepare for the Home Inspection Early
This is also the best time to deal with any necessary repairs or deferred maintenance issues. Once the home is under contract the buyer will most likely do a home inspection to make sure the home is in good condition. The home inspector is going to call out these types of items, so it's better to take care of them now then when they show up on the inspection report later.
Ultimately, two factors will sell a home: list price and condition. The market controls the sales price but you have a great deal of control over the condition of your home, and it’s in your interest to embrace this fact and put in the work that’s required to successfully sell your home.
No matter what the state of the market, there is always competition for these types of home buyers. This is why at Springs Homes, we work with our home sellers to help them prepare their homes for sale before they hit the market. Decades of experience and hundreds of home sales under our belt have given us significant insight into what does and doesn’t appeal to home buyers.
For one thing, it’s essential that the home makes a great first impression. By the time they view your home, a potential buyer will usually have been looking at homes for a while and they’ll know a good home when they see it. This means that if your home hits the market in show-ready condition and with the correct pricing, it should go under contract quickly.
Pricing it correctly is something that a good real estate agent should help you with. In order to determine the best price, your agent should put together something called a CMA, or comparative market analysis.
Start by educating yourself about your competition. You can have your REALTOR® take you around to look at other homes that are for sale in your area and price range. This will give you an idea about how these home sellers have staged their homes and what your competition looks like. Think as a buyer would and compare your home to the other homes on the market. How does it measure up?
It’s also a really good idea to go look at some builder models. These models are professionally staged and many of the home buyers looking at your home will also be looking at these as well. Previewing builder models will give you a sense of what those buyers are seeing and more importantly, what their expectations will be.
When a home is heavily personalized with keepsakes, pictures, and family memorabilia, it is difficult for a home buyer to feel like they could own the home. The home is such a reflection of you and your family that the buyer is not able to protect their family and things in it.
In the National Association of REALTORS® 2021 Profile of Home Staging, 82% of buyers’ agents said staging a home made it easier for a buyer to visualize the property as a future home.
Staging to Sell
In some cases, simply decluttering and depersonalization aren’t enough. Other times, a vacant home just doesn’t create the right impression for the price the seller is asking. In other cases, the home may be dated or the owner’s furniture might show signs of wear and tear. In these situations, we might resort to home staging as a part of our marketing plan.
Home staging consists of bringing in a professional home stager to help create a look and feel that is more conducive to obtaining a higher sales price. These specialists have the furniture, decor, and most importantly, knowledge to make a home look appealing to a home buyer.
Cost is generally the first concern a home seller has about staging, staging can run the gamut from a professional stager utilizing your existing furniture and accessories to completely furnishing a vacant property.
According to the National Association of REALTORS®, the median cost to stage a 2,000-square-foot home is $2,000 to $2,400 per month. The important number to look at when considering whether or not to stage your home is the returns. In other words, don’t spend any money on staging until you are comfortable that it will increase your bottom line.
Staging your home is the ultimate in pre-sale preparation. Builders do this with their models and it works like a charm.
Compiling Visuals
Professional photography & videos go a long way to showcasing your home.
When it’s time to show the world your home, you want to do it in the best light possible. Homebuyers expect professional photos and in today’s real estate world, not having images is unacceptable.
According to the National Association of REALTORS® 2021 Home Buyer and Seller Generational Trends Report, 89% of home buyers said photos were the most helpful feature during the online home search process. This report also states that 95% of home buyers used the internet for their home search. With numbers like these, the importance of great listing photos becomes clear.
It’s important to make sure the photos you pay for are the correct resolution and size needed for the marketing medium that will be used. For example, photos that will be used in a print flyer have different requirements than photos used on websites like Zillow and Trulia.
Great listing photos involve paying close attention to lighting; a key component of all good photography. Shadows should be kept to a minimum and ideally, you should be able to see out of the windows as well. This kind of photo requires great lighting, the kind brought in by a high-end professional photographer or an advanced processing technique called HDR photography.
HDR stands for High Dynamic Range, this is a technique that most realistically represents what the human sees. Even the highest end digital cameras don’t have sensors that come close to collecting as much luminance information as the human eye.
HDR compensates for this shortcoming. At Springs Homes, when we photograph a home we take 5-exposures of each scene. These exposures range from very dark and almost completely black all the way up to nearly all white. The middle exposure of the group is actually shot at the correct exposure.
Next, we combine these images into a single photo using special software that interprets the data and produces a gorgeous image; the kind that stands out from others when a potential home buyer is looking online.
When you’re selling something as valuable as a house, you need to make the best possible first impression. Since this will often be your only chance at making an impression on a prospective buyer, why would you ever settle for low-quality photos?
Video
Video is another popular medium used in real estate marketing. We mostly see this in higher-end luxury marketing but there are cases where it can be effective at any price point.
We have produced video content for listings in all price ranges but have seen better engagement with videos that we produce for our higher-end listings. There are generally fewer homes available to view in the luxury market, so buyers tend to be more deliberate when browsing them. Homes that are in the lower price bracket are usually not on the market for long and therefore aren’t generally able to benefit from video.
We have had great success with videos produced from our Matterport walkthroughs. The authentic look and feel of these videos give home buyers a sense that what they are seeing is what they’ll be getting. This is especially important when you consider that the average home buyer only visits nine homes before making an offer.
At the end of the day, all of these visual tools are nothing more than resources or tools, but since they are the tools we use to market your home we want them to be high-quality and effective.
Virtual Tours
According to the 2021 National Association of Realtors Home Buyer and Seller Report, 43% of the homebuyers polled found virtual tours very useful when shopping online for a home. This is a significant percentage and most REALTORS® either don’t use virtual tours or simply assemble a slideshow from existing listing photos and call it a virtual tour.
A true virtual tour, though, gives the potential buyer a sense of room size, scale, and context. You just can’t do this with a slideshow. At Springs Homes, we use what we believe is the best virtual tour solution for residential real estate. Matterport is a sophisticated camera that is simple to use and produces amazing results.
EXAMPLE: The camera produces three different models, the most unique is the “dollhouse” –a 3D exterior model of the property. Other options include a flat floor plan and an interactive walk-through.
Both the dollhouse and floor plan views move seamlessly into the interactive walk-through mode. This technology gives the prospective home buyer the ability to move from room to room without obstacles or lengthy load times.
Marketing Your Home
This is where a good Realtor® pays off
The most hectic time for real estate marketers is that small window of time between the home being ready and when the agent wants it on the market.
It’s important that the home hits the market as close to being ready as possible. The first buyers to look at the home are generally the most serious. These are usually people that have been looking at houses and have either lost out on other homes or haven’t quite found what they were looking for. Either way, these buyers generally have a good nose for value when they see it. So if your home is priced well, staged well, and the marketing is attractive, these buyers will be waiting at your door.
It’s also important to realize that keeping your home in show-ready condition can be difficult; especially if you’re still living there during showings. Prolonged market times and lots of showings can be really de-motivating and stressful for home sellers. As such, we seek to eliminate this stress by working to obtain a great offer as soon as possible.
Hitting the Market
The first step in the marketing process is to put the property in our local MLS. This triggers a couple of processes, the first is called IDX or Broker Reciprocity. This process distributes your listing data to thousands of cooperating brokers' websites. The second important process is called Listing Syndication, syndication is the process of sharing your listing data across the internet with different real estate portals. Many of these are names you know well like Realtor and Zillow, but others are lesser-known yet still valuable platforms.
Because the listing data from the MLS is aggregated, it’s vital that the information, images, and any other supporting marketing material are input correctly from the beginning. The real estate portals refresh their content on different schedules which means that in some cases it can take days or weeks to replace incorrect information or bad photographs on a real estate portal. This equates to lost time and more importantly missed opportunities when it comes to selling your home.
Social Media
Social media is a phenomenon that can only be described as a game-changer for real estate marketing. When people are house shopping they tell their friends and of course, those friends want to help. This dynamic creates an entirely new network of people that can help you sell your home.
With social posts in real estate, shareability is key. Browse through the comments section of any attractive real estate listing on a social media site and you are bound to see a share from someone who thinks a listed home would be great for one of their friends.
Any effective real estate marketing campaign must have social media as a major pillar. There’s just too much traffic and activity to ignore this medium. Many of the luxury home marketers, though, disagree with the concept of marketing on social media, stating that their high-net-worth clients value their privacy. But while we can appreciate the idea that most people don’t want looky-loos eyeing up their belongings, this doesn’t mean that REALTORS® must forgo the idea of social media altogether. The truth is that there are techniques that effective real estate marketers can use to leverage the power of social media without compromising their clients’ security.
In their 2017 report The New Affluent, Sotheby’s International Real Estate examines the habits and preferences of their established and new affluent luxury clients. The finding clearly shows the emergence of social media as an important resource for newer affluent home buyers.
Traditional Marketing to Sell Your House
Real estate was bought and sold successfully before the internet, so traditional marketing methods shouldn’t be completely overlooked when selling your home. Traditional marketing includes things like print ads, open houses, and of course, word-of-mouth. Let’s look at each in turn now.
Print advertising can be a good choice, for the right property. A good candidate for print is usually a luxury property. The time it takes to put ads together, send proofs back and forth, then print and distribute publications is simply too long to be of value in the greater part of the real estate market. Homes that are priced below, at, or even slightly above the median of a market generally don’t stay on the market long enough to benefit from print advertising.
Luxury home marketing, on the other hand, can often find great success with print. You’ve probably seen the heavy-duty, high-quality, luxury home publications before; publications like the Robb Report. People do actually look through these magazines and find real estate in there.
Additionally, purchasing print advertising in many of these high-end real estate publications as well as newspapers like the Wall Street Journal also gives your home the opportunity to be featured on the publication’s website as well. At Springs Homes, often when we get a call from a luxury buyer who’s seen an ad in one of these publications, they’re calling a number that they found on our website but the print ad is what generated the lead in the first place.
Open houses are a very controversial subject in the residential real estate world. We watch reality TV shows like flip or flop and assume that open houses work because they do on these shows.
Unfortunately, though, the reality is they aren’t generally very effective. In a recent National Association of REALTORS® survey, only 22% of buyers said that they found open houses to be useful. (See chart below.)
It’s important to consider both the pros and cons when debating whether to put your home on social media, and to identify a strategy that will work well for you. At the same time, you should also ensure that you don’t share any potentially compromising data –like an address, for example, if the home is empty.
Like print advertising, open houses can work for a particular property type. For example, If the home is coming on the market after a long renovation period, an open house can be a real success. Generally speaking, when there’s time to build up curiosity about the final product you can really drive a lot of people into an open house.
In most cases, though, an open house becomes an attempt to drum up interest because the seller demands it in cases where there hasn’t been enough activity or showings. This is usually a result of incorrect pricing, poor staging, or poor or no marketing efforts. Additionally, there are homes that fall into price ranges that just don’t get a lot of activity. All of these are issues that an open house can’t fix.
The final traditional marketing tool we want to discuss is the age-old art of networking with other REALTORS®. In the chart below you can see real estate agent is the number two information source used by home buyers. Some 68% of home buyers say they frequently used their REALTOR® as an information source when home shopping.
Networking and spreading the word about new listings in your local market has always been an effective tool for real estate professionals, it’s just what good REALTORS® are wired to do. They see another REALTOR® they know and start talking, eventually, they get to, “Hey, I have a new listing it’s a good one and in a great neighborhood.” The other REALTOR® says, “Hey, I may have a buyer, how much?” And a window of opportunity is opened.
Other REALTORS® are more aggressive and may send email blasts and talk at marketing events about their new listings with other agents. These can also be great resources for an effective real estate marketer to attract interest to their listings.
At Springs Homes, REALTOR® open houses are the one form of open house that we really like. This is essentially a party for REALTORS®, at your house. Good REALTORS® have extensive networks and when necessary they can use those networks to encourage activity on their listings. The REALTOR® open house usually takes the form of a luncheon or cocktail party that’s held at the listing itself. This gives the REALTORS® an opportunity to see the house and allows your listing agent to encourage the attendees to show the property to prospective buyer clients.
Showings Start
Once showings start, you will see how your home compares to the market
Okay. Your home is in show-ready condition. The visuals have been compiled, and the marketing is in place and working. Leads are starting to trickle in and it’s time to start showings. At this stage of the game, it’s important to have a plan –and a checklist.
This Preparation Checklist is a sample checklist we use for our clients. This way they’re not running around looking for things to do to get ready for the showing. You’ll also want to check out our Start Showing guide, for more information on getting your home ready for viewings.
One question that often arises, is whether the seller should be home during the viewings. We feel very strongly that you need to leave the house and let the buyer’s agent do their job.
If the buyer is interested in your home, no question is so important that it needs to be answered immediately. Questions can wait until after the showing. Asking means they are interested and answering them creates opportunities for you or your agent to touch base and gauge interest.
The primary objective of the showings is to get the buyers to feel comfortable in your home so they can start imagining themselves living in the space. If you, the current owner are there, this becomes less likely.
So by all means, leave the house for every showing, your home will sell faster.
Obtaining Feedback
After every showing the buyer’s agent should be contacted to get buyer feedback after house viewing on how that showing went. This is a critically important part of the selling process because it gives us insight as to where your home stands in the marketplace.
The buyers that are looking at your home are also going to be looking at the other homes in your neighborhood, area, and price range. Soliciting feedback from them after showings gives us invaluable insight as to how your home’s value compares to the competition.
Buyers will tell their agent their true thoughts and agents will share those thoughts as well as their own thoughts with other agents.
What we’re looking for in feedback is information on staging, condition, and price. Other valuable information that may come out of this are details about things like odors or in some cases, even bizarre factors that we didn’t know about.
Feedback is essential because it gives us information on issues we might not even know we have. Learning about these issues allows us to make critical adjustments to either condition or price; helping to get the home sold faster.
The Offer
Evaluate all offers carefully and without bias.
The moment the first offer comes in is an exciting event for most home sellers. After all, it means somebody likes your house enough to buy it!
This excitement, though, often dissipates quickly after the seller hears the price and terms.
Depending on the market, offers can range the gamut from embarrassing lowball to above the asking price. It’s important to temper any emotions you have at this point; since being emotional creates problems during a transaction.
If you are working with a REALTOR® they should put together something called a net sheet. Most likely they’ll have several variations of this or an electronic version. A net sheet will show you how much money you will net at the end of the transaction based on different scenarios including closing costs, and real estate commissions.
Price, Terms, Condition & Occupancy
The best offer isn’t always just about the price. While getting a good price is important, there are other factors that contribute to the true value of an offer. One of these factors is the terms of the sale. Terms cover things like inspections, appraisals, occupancy, time frame, and other factors that can affect the bottom line of a real estate deal.
One good example is the inspection. If the offer comes in “as is,” the buyer is saying they won’t be asking the seller to fix any items they might discover during their inspection. They still have the ability to cancel the contract based on the inspection clause if they find major issues but that’s not generally their intent. Here's a detailed look at what "As-Is" really means in a real estate contract and if it's a good idea.
If you know that your home requires a lot of repairs and the replacement of critical systems, an “as is” deal could ultimately save you thousands of dollars in repair and replacement costs. Compare this to an offer that may have a higher offer price, but could ask for a lot of repairs. Ultimately this deal could net you less.
Occupancy is another term that can really affect a home seller’s bottom line. For example, the buyer might offer to let the seller stay in the house until a certain date in the future or until they find a new house. These occupancy terms vary widely from the stay-for-free option to the be-my-renter arrangement. Depending on the home seller’s situation, there could be a lot of value in this type of arrangement.
Other favorable terms can involve financing, cash offers, and appraisal waivers. This is why it’s always best to work with an experienced real estate agent that can evaluate the contract terms at the same time you look at the net sheet before launching your rejection or counter offer.
Under Contract
Negotiating the offer can make the difference in thousands of dollars in your pocket.
One of the requirements of the real estate contract should be that the seller provides a clear title, free of any encumbrances, liens, or clouds. The seller would do this by providing a title insurance policy. This type of policy is issued by a title insurance company. In addition to providing title insurance, the title company can also provide escrow services and closing services. While many areas still use attorneys and escrow services, the title company is the most common way to take a transaction from under contract to closing. This is why the choice of the title company is very important. Here’s a bit about how to choose a good title company. Colorado is what is known as a “Title Theory” state. This means that the buyer gives the Deed to the lender until the loan is completely paid off. It’s important to note that the buyer retains all rights associated with having “title” to the property. Here is a deeper dive into Title vs. Deed.
Why do I need Title Insurance? This is because there are a number of different scenarios that can potentially make a title problematic. A clear title means the property is free of any liens, judgments, encumbrances, or other potential clouds on the title. The seller will provide the buyer with a title insurance policy at closing. This policy acts as a guarantee that the title is clear. During this process you’ll receive a lot of paperwork to read through, and so will your REALTOR®. Part of a Buyer Agent's job is to read the title work looking for potential problems and or exceptions to the title. They will look for things like easements and right of way agreements. One aspect of the title work you are going to want to read carefully will be any restrictive covenants or homeowner’s association documents associated with the property. These will be included with the title work. Familiarizing yourself with the HOA requirements will save you potential headaches in the future.
The Contingencies and Closing Steps
You are in the home stretch!
The contract should outline what deadlines and contingencies need to be met in order for the property to close. We are now in what is known as the due diligence phase, the buyer will most likely do a property inspection, and be required by their lender to have an appraisal. They will also be digging into the title work, and any covenants related to the property.
Home Inspection
During the home inspection phase of the home buying process, the buyer will be establishing the physical condition of the property and its systems as well as assessing any potential health or safety issues.
Home inspectors are certified, not licensed. This means they voluntarily join an association and adhere to that organization's standards. Prior to the inspection date, you will want to familiarize yourself with the guidelines from the particular organization that certifies the inspector you ultimately choose.
You can usually download a set of the organization's standards from their website. In this article about home inspections, we include links to the appropriate inspection organization's websites. This will give you an idea of the scope of the inspection.
In addition to the primary home inspection, there are some additional inspections that the buyer may have performed. For example, Colorado has high radon levels, so a radon test is very important. If you're in an older neighborhood the buyer wants to do a sewer line scope. Also, for older homes, you might expect a lead-based paint assessment. Here's a list along with descriptions and prices of additional inspections the buyer might want to do.
The buyer will most likely submit a request for repairs based on the inspection report. You're going to want to study those carefully in order to figure out what is reasonable and what is not.
You're going to want to meet with your REALTOR® and decide how and if you want to proceed. Sometimes the results of an inspection are so discouraging that a buyer chooses to simply walk away rather than close on the house and deal with the issues.
If the buyer chooses to proceed they have two choices; first, they can take the house as-is and proceed to close. This tends to happen more in a seller's market; when the buyers are just happy to get a house. In a normal market, the buyer in conjunction with their REALTOR® will put together a list of what is called unsatisfactory conditions. The seller then has the right to fix these things, offer a dollar amount settlement, or flat-out reject the proposal.
Negotiating after the home inspection can be very stressful, This is because the new owners are weighing the cost of improvements or repairs against the price they are paying for the home. The buyer is also concerned about keeping their earnest money deposit in the event things don't work out.
The home seller of course is now focused on the selling price and their net profit. So, the idea of spending money on repairs is not appealing.
The best advice we can give is to pick a good REALTOR®, during the selection process you should discuss how they handle inspection negotiation. The answers should be clear, simple and easy to understand.
Appraisal
In addition to the inspection, your lender is going to require an appraisal. The mortgage lender wants to know if the house is worth what they're lending the buyer to purchase it. In the unlikely event, the buyer doesn’t make payments and they have to foreclose, the lender wants to know that they can resell this house and minimize any losses.
The home buyer will pay for the appraisal but the lender will order it. The appraiser unlike the inspector is licensed and adheres to a strict set of guidelines. Appraisers undergo continuing education in order to maintain their licensure as well.
The appraisal happens without the buyer being involved. The lender orders it, the REALTOR® will schedule it and the appraiser goes in alone and makes their assessment based on measurements, construction quality, number of rooms, floor plan, and condition. All of this data gets put into a spreadsheet, the appraiser applies debits and credits based on condition and quality as they relate to the comparable sales in the area.
Once complete, the results of the appraisal are sent to the lender and the buyer and their agent are notified as to the status, the property either appraised or didn't appraise.
Here is a thorough outline of how the appraisal process works.
The art of pricing a home is all about maximizing the seller’s net gain while being able to support and more importantly, defend that price with an appraiser if needed.
So price your home right from the beginning and avoid losing a deal this late in the game.
Title Contingency
The remaining contingencies have to do with the title and financing.
Title issues are generally things like incorrectly recorded liens, easements, or other issues. These items need to be cleaned up before closing so that the title company can present the buyer with a clear title as well as title insurance. This is important since title companies won’t insure a clouded title.
These items will generally be taken care of by the title company, or escrow company depending on who is processing your transaction. If it’s an extremely complicated title issue it may require the help of an attorney.
Any issues regarding HOAs would come up during this phase of the contingencies as well. These issues generally require legwork by either you, your REALTOR®, or an attorney.
Financing
he financing contingency is related to the appraisal contingency.
As we’ve seen, the appraisal exists to ensure the lender is making a good investment.
The remaining part of the financing contingency involves the lender processing the buyer’s file that contains the appraisal in order to confirm they are able to make the loan.
At this point, the listing agent or home seller should stay in contact with the lender to monitor progress. Problems at this point generally result in delayed closings. This is bad news for home sellers because it can mean additional house payments and problems with subsequent closings on the seller’s new home.
If the seller is purchasing their next home, they will most likely need funds from the closing of their current home in order to move forward. Any delay in the financing of the existing home can cause problems with subsequent closings. Like dominos, each closing depends on the previous closing, so problems with one can stop the entire sequence.
The Final Walk Through
The last step before closing is the final walk-through. This occurs just prior to closing and consists of the home buyer and their agent examining the home one last time.
The idea here is to make sure all the inspection items have been completed and all the expected attachments and inclusions are in the house.
Problems at this stage occur when the buyer is surprised.
Surprises include things like:
These issues can hold up a closing and in some cases kill a deal in what is clearly the eleventh hour. In most cases, these problems come down to a misunderstanding as to what was to be included and more importantly excluded in the sale. This is why it’s a good idea to clearly document inclusions and exclusions at the beginning of the home sale process. You don’t want to end up negotiating these things on the day of closing.
At Springs Homes, we put inclusions and exclusions in the MLS so that the buyer’s agent can answer any questions the buyer might have as to what stays and what goes. Additionally, this information goes into the seller’s property disclosure. If you’re selling FSBO, it’s a good idea to create a list of what stays and what goes and make sure everyone who looks at your property gets a copy of this.
Another important consideration is the disposal of unwanted items. If there are items that you don’t know what to do with or hazardous materials, your agent can help you to dispose of these things in the proper manner. Never leave them at the house. If you have paint that can be used for patches or as a reference or any extra floor coverings, those can be left.
It’s also a good idea to hire professional cleaners to come in after you move. The packing and moving process always take longer than you expect and even home sellers with the of best intentions often throw up their hands and walk away, neglecting to get the home in pristine condition for the new buyers. It is our experience, though, that if the home is not in great condition on the day of the walkthrough, the buyers tend to be on the defensive during the walk-through and can be less forgiving on items they feel should have been addressed prior to closing. So, the smart thing to do is leave the home spotless.
Closing Up House
A few weeks prior to your closing date you are going to want to start preparing for the move. This means taking care of things like changing your address, disconnecting utilities, and canceling your homeowner’s insurance policy. Here is a good list to use as you head into the home stretch: Preparing for Your Closing Checklist.
The Closing Process
Successfully getting to the closing table is the result of a lot of small things getting done the right way, from staging, pricing, and repairs to fixing problems with the title to the property.
If you have followed this guide from the beginning, congratulations, you’re almost there!
Final Details
As we get closer to the day of closing you will need to do a little homework.
First of all, you should have signed paperwork with the title company allowing them to get your loan payoff information from your lender. This should have been done when your file was started at the title company.
Next, you’re going to want to compile originals of any receipts you have regarding inspection items. When the inspection objection was written, it most likely asked for items to be done by professional licensed contractors. Receipts act as your proof that the work was done in accordance with the contract.
As you head to the closing table, you will also need a valid photo ID. A driver’s license and passport are the preferred forms of identification for the closing. You will also want to bring any keys and or garage door openers you have. Yes, it’s a symbolic gesture but it is important to the buyers that they receive these items at closing.
The closer or a real estate attorney will run the actual closing. Their job is to make sure all the documents like the deed of trust and other legal documents get signed the right way and that all parties have a thorough understanding of what they are signing.
The closing table is not the right place to read every document, so the closer will explain what each section means before you sign it. If you are what we call a “reader,” it’s a good idea to request copies of the documents you’ll be asked to sign ahead of time. Of course, you have every right to read before you sign it just gets a little uncomfortable for everybody involved if one person holds up the entire closing because they need to read every word.
By now you should have a pretty good idea of the basics of the home-selling process.
As you can see, there are a lot of different steps to take and potential scenarios to navigate; and success with of these is pivotal to a good end result. Having the right REALTOR® on your side, or being able to successfully assemble the right team of professionals on your own will be your key to closing the best deal; one that will impact not just your gross profit, but ultimately your bottom line.
If you’d like to learn more about selling your home, don’t forget to check out the links in the additional resources sections. And of course, if you’d like to enlist the help of a professional REALTOR® in Colorado Springs, don’t hesitate to reach out to Springs Homes today!
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Buying a home is sure a daunting and stressful process, but if you have a great REALTOR® that process will be so much easier and hopefully more fun! If you have any questions or would like to find a realtor through Springs Homes, we’d be happy to chat. We guarantee that you will be our next satisfied customer.