If you thought the home-buying process was stressful, selling your home is no walk in the park either. 

Unlike buyers, who often have the privilege of patience, many motivated sellers who rely on the sale of a home to finance the purchase of a new one need to act fast. 

To best prepare you for this process, we’ve outlined seven steps to selling a house that will help streamline your next real estate transaction. 

Step 1: Hire an Agent

Your first move when you decide it’s time to sell should be to contact your local real estate agent. Agents offer access to a bevy of important tools, including inspectors, marketing services, multiple listing services (MLS), and pricing tools to calculate the value of your home. 

Your agent can help you along every step of the process, from listing and marketing your home to negotiation. In turn, your agent will not only ensure your house sells on time but for the right price. 

This is why finding the right agent is so important to selling your home. 

Qualities to Look for in an Agent:

  • Reputation: Look for testimonials and reviews online from past clients who have used that agent to buy or sell a home.
  • Experience: Look through an agent’s portfolio to see what types of property they have sold in the past and their success rate at doing so.
  • Negotiation Skills: This may be a more interpersonal trait, but try and find an agent who you trust to negotiate on your behalf. 
Qualities to Avoid in an Agent:

    • Dual Agency: Agents who represent the buyer and seller often won’t have the best interest of either party at heart.
  • No Cancellation Options: Many agents offer listing agreements, which are binding contracts that hold for several months. This will be difficult to get out of if you are not satisfied with the agent. 

Step 2: Prepare the Home for Sale

Before you list and market your home, your agent will recommend you make any improvements that can increase the value of your home. 

Improvements may include minor, aesthetic, or even deep structural repairs, such as installing a new roof.  

Ideally, you’ll want to improve its curb appeal and eliminate any issues that could delay or sour any deals you try to make

To-Do List:

  • Clean up all clutter out of the yard and house.
  • Deep clean the interior of your home.
  • Remove any bugs or insects inside the home. 
  • Ensure proper landscaping, including mowing and pruning.
  • Apply a fresh coat of paint to doors, windows, and siding. 
  • Add fresh flowers and mulch to gardens and yards to spruce up the property.
  • Fix any minor issues, including malfunctioning lights, plumbing issues, etc.
  • Fix any deep structural issues, including roofing, foundation, or flooring (cost permitted). 

Step 3: Get Your Home Priced

Next, you’ll want to get your home accurately priced to ensure that you retain the maximum value of its sale and get it sold quickly. 

Your agent will offer several resources to accurately price your home, including online calculators, performing a comparative market analysis, or even hiring an appraiser. 

Common Pricing Mistakes to Avoid

  • Listing Too High: Listing homes too high often doesn’t yield the best returns. In fact, it may stifle competition for your home by preventing competitive bidding.
  • Continually Lowering the Price: Constantly lowering the price of your home and keeping it on a listing service for several months will give buyers the perception that something is wrong. 
  • Not Factoring in Closing Costs: Sellers can give buyers a break by factoring in closing costs to their final sales amount. Closing costs typically resemble 3% to 6% of the final price amount. 
  • Disregarding Seasonality: Homes sold in the spring tend to yield the highest price, so price your home strategically based on the seasons. 

Step 4: Market and List Your Home

Once priced, it’s time to start listing and marketing your home. There are a variety of online platforms like Zillow and Redfin to list your home, but your realtor will have access to an agent’s-only MLS. 

An MLS gives agents more detailed information about properties than traditional listing platforms and provides unique advantages to buyers and sellers alike. 

During this stage, you can also host open houses to invite competitive bids or let your agent show your home via private viewings. However, to make the most of your home online and in-person, it pays to properly stage and photograph your home. 

Tools Required:

  • Photography Equipment
  • Staging Materials (Furniture, Lighting, Decor)

 

Resources to Market Your Home:

  • MLS
  • Real Estate Platforms
  • Social Media
  • Newspaper

Step 5: Negotiate Offers

By this point, you should be starting to field a few offers if you priced and marketed your home properly. 

You can mostly leave negotiating up to your realtor to try and get the best price, though you’ll have the final say over what you are willing to sell your property for. 

Questions to Ask Before Accepting an Offer:

  • Does this buyer meet my price range?
  • What type of financing are they using? Cash? Loans?
  • Are they pre-approved for a mortgage?
  • Are they willing to pay for closing costs? Am I willing to pay for closing costs?
  • Are they the right buyer for my house? 
  • Are they amenable to waiving contingencies?

Step 6: Complete Inspection and Appraisal

Once a home is under contract, you will need to go through the stressful stages of inspection and appraisal.

Inspection comes first and can help identify any lingering issues that need addressing before selling a home. The buyer may waive these repairs or the need for inspection altogether, or they may ask for you to make the repairs before the home is sold. In other instances, they may even ask you to lower the price.

However, this doesn’t mean you can hide any lingering issues, as most states require you to disclose any issues to potential buyers before you close on a contract.

Furthermore, these issues will be priced into your appraisal. If the appraisal comes back at a different price than your home is under contract for, you or the buyer may be eligible to renegotiate the contract before closing on the home.

Since renegotiation can delay closing, it’s often ideal to complete these steps before even listing your home. 

Step 7: Finalize Closing

Once everything is squared away, you and the buyer can close on the sale of the home.

Luckily, there are several loopholes that allow you to avoid capital gains tax. For example, if you lived in a home for two out of the last five years (it doesn’t have to be consecutive), you don’t have to pay capital gains on the first $250,000 in equity you gain if you’re single or $500,000 if you’re married. 

The steps to selling a home are straightforward, though they do come with their ups and downs. To mitigate your stress, be sure to find a real estate agent you can trust who will walk you through the whole process. 

FAQs: Selling Your Home

What is the best time to sell a home?

Most experts recommend selling your home between March and Labor Day when real estate markets are hot. The slowest months of the year typically include November through February. 

Can I sell my home while still living in it?

There are ways to negotiate with a buyer to allow you to dwell in a home before it is sold. For example, some buyers will allow it, while some may require you to sign a leaseback agreement or home reversion.  

How long does the selling process typically take?

Selling a home can take anywhere from two to six months. Typically, it takes two to four months to list and market a home, while it takes 30 to 60 days for the home to close under contract.