If you’ve been thinking of selling your house, it can be a very scary and overwhelming time. I want to take some of that stress out for you and explain every step that you will take to sell your house. So, take a deep breath and let’s go through the process with knowledge and understanding.
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#1. Figure out where you’re going.
Okay, this may seem obvious…but you’d be surprised. Make sure you have a clear view of where you’re going after selling your house and why. Do you need to buy a new house before you can sell this one? Are you moving out of state? Looking for something bigger? Smaller? Have a vacation house you are moving to? Wherever you are going, make sure it’s figured out and feasible before you sell your house – or you’ll end up with no where to live. Having a clear path ahead will help take some stress out for you, and hopefully get you excited about the future.
Know your why. Why are you moving? Lifelong dream of living on the ocean? Growing family? Want to be closer to your job? Whatever the reason, keep reminding yourself through the whole process. Keep your end goal in sight and it will help you push through the difficult times when selling your house.
#2. Meet with a Realtor
Your Realtor will guide you throughout this entire process. They will help you determine the market value of your home, whether it’s a buyer’s market or seller’s market, what needs to be done to get your home show ready, and what paperwork must be completed first. Make sure you are up front and honest about things like if your mortgage payments are up to date, if you need a contingency on buying another home or if there are any major problems. (such as roof, septic, etc.) Need a great Realtor? Check out How to Find the Best Realtor.
The realtor you choose should be familiar with the area and bring comps to show you. Realtors use comps of similar homes, in your area, that have sold in the last year. It doesn’t matter what your one neighbor’s house sold for 5 years ago. That was a different market then, and they had a brand new kitchen, while you do not. Just be reasonable and realistic when selling your house. Seeing comps can be a shocker sometimes. In good ways and bad. Find out if you are in a Seller’s Market or not. But just remember that your house is only worth what someone else is willing to pay for it. And do yourself a favor and stay off Zillow. A Zestimate isn’t even a real word!
#3. Declutter/Freshen Up/Depersonalize
Next up, you need to get your house show ready! In order to get the most money for you house, check out How to Get Your House Ready to Sell. Put things away, live minimally for a while. If a room feels too crowded, take out some furniture. Take some jackets out of the closet to make room. Put holiday decorations away. Slap a fresh coat of paint on where needed. Scrub the floors and showers. Take down personal pictures. Do you really want strangers looking at your kids anyways? You need to start separating yourself from the house. You are selling a product, the house. Already moved out? Think about hiring a stager. Buyers need to be able to see themselves living in this house now, and making it a home to them.
#4. Market The House
Your Realtor will set up a time for photos to be taken. The photographer will take about 25 pictures of the inside and outside of the house, showcasing the best angles, lighting, and space. These photos will be put on the multiple listings services in your area, as well as Zillow, realtor.com, Trulia, and all over the internet. They will also be used for your marketing materials, and be key pieces to selling your house. Make sure your house is show ready with these 5 easy updates that you can do in a weekend. Your Realtor will send out just listed cards with you house information and pictures, hopefully set up a social media ad, and make up flyers for your Open House and brochures for showings. Your Realtor covers the expense for all of this. They will also have a for sale sign installed in the front yard and a lockbox set up on the door/railing. You just need to supply a key or two. Make sure your curb appeal is up to par. Check out 8 Simple Ways to Increase Your Curb Appeal before you get those photos taken.
#5. Hold Showings & Open Houses
This is the crazy part. This is when you are afraid to sit on your own couch because you don’t want to mess up the pillows. You are on edge trying to keep everything looking nice, even with kids running around – and having to eat. The best way to get through this, is to simply keep up with it. Clean up at the end of each day, make sure everything looks great before you leave in the morning. Coordinate showings with your Realtor. You can tell them no showings past 7pm if you need to get your kids to bed. Or have them put that you need a 2 hour window before showings. This way you have some time to clean up, get the dogs out of the house, etc. Try to be flexible though, you do need people to be able to come see the house!
These days, there are Open Houses signs all over the place every weekend. It’s tempting to go in and take a look, whether you’re actually looking to buy or just curious. Many people say that Open Houses are for the Realtors to meet buyers (to work with, not necessarily to buy your house), because many people in that stage aren’t ready to buy. More the “looky loos”. I have had great success with Open Houses – in both respects. Open Houses can sell houses, but a lot of the more serious buyers want their own private time to view a house that they are interested in. I have had sellers that don’t want to do an Open House. I’d suggest doing one, but there is no need to do one every weekend. Also, have your Realtor hold the Open House. They have the knowledge and information to sell your house. Feel free to ask them for feedback after Open Houses and each showing.
#6. Consider Offers/Negotiate
When that blessed day comes when you get an offer on your house, it’s exciting! Until it’s not. Sometimes the price is insulting. No where near what you expected or think your house is worth. You can always counter. Try to get them to come up. If they don’t, maybe they couldn’t afford it to begin with. But if they do, maybe you can both get to a number you are happy with.
If you are lucky enough to get multiple offers, that’s fantastic! That’s the fun part about selling your house. You will then need to sit down with your Realtor and discuss them. If they are all around the same offer price, you need to next look at the financing. Any cash offers? Those are the best, as you don’t need to wait for the financing to go through (and sometimes deals fall apart because people can’t get their financing). What are the down payments like? Are there any letters of intent? When are the closing dates? Does anyone need a contingency on selling their house first, in order to buy yours? Take a really good look at the offers and take your time deciding. Have your agent keep the doors open, in case the one you choose falls through, you will have back up offers to reach out to.
#7. Enter Attorney Review
Once you have arrived at a number that you and the buyers are happy with, both parties will sign the contract and send to their attorneys for review. Make sure you use a real estate attorney! Ask you Realtor for recommendations if you do not have one. The attorneys then change a few things and go back and forth for a few days. It can take a couple of days, it can take 2 weeks. It’s not a set amount of time – although everyone always thinks it’s 3 days. It’s actually just that you have 3 days to get into attorney review once the contracts are signed. It will take as long as it needs to for the attorneys to correspond and everyone to come to an agreement on any changes to the contract.
During attorney review, you will be nervous. You really want this to work out. Every day you’re hoping that the attorneys conclude attorney review and get you under contract. Because you see, during attorney review, either side can back out for any reason. The buyers can get cold feet, regret their decision, find another house, and back out. Leaving you to continue with more showings and hoping for more offers, or hopefully going back to your other offers waiting to hear from you. Or, you could continue to show your house, get a way better offer and back out.
#8. Get Under Contract
Getting Under Contract is exciting! It’s much harder for either side to back out, and there are no more showings. Now you wait for the inspections, appraisal, and the buyer’s mortgage commitment. You can live a little more comfortably for a bit, but still keep the house clean, as the buyers will be coming soon (about 7-10 days) for inspections. Hopefully you got your house all ready to go before you put in on the market so you won’t need to worry so much. Just know – the inspector will find issues in your house. It’s their job. Even things that you don’t know about, or things that you’ve been living with and think are fine. They may not be fine.
#9. Home Inspections
Inspections are paid for by the buyers. They are accompanied by their Realtor. I’d suggest your Realtor attend as well, so they will know first hand what is happening. You as the seller are not supposed to go – it’s just uncomfortable. Your Realtor will talk to you about how it went afterwards, and you will get a detailed report in a few days.
If you have a septic system, this will also be getting inspected as well as the home, and a radon test usually. As long as you have maintained your systems, hopefully there are no big surprises. I have had it happen however, where the sellers didn’t know there was a leak in their bathroom ceiling. And one that refused to believe that their home could have radon. Radon is supposed to be under 4.0 pCi. Theirs was a 4.1. They refused to fix it, because they were “fine”. Radon levels should really be under 2 to be at ease. The levels were high and they should have paid for the remediation. Instead, they let the deal fall apart over a $1500 solution.
Be reasonable about the inspections. If something needs to be replaced or repaired, try to work something out to save the deal. See what kinds of requests the buyers come up with, and try to take care of the main things or offer a credit. Otherwise you will have to start this process all over again. Now, I’m not saying to give in to every demand. You will likely get a 20-30 page report, and a list of requests from there. Fix a few simple things and the main things, or offer a credit and call it day. Don’t get hung up on “My house is fine, I’ve lived with it like this for years.” It’s just a house. Soon it won’t even be your house. Get it ready for the next owner. Keep your end goal in mind.
#10. Obtain CCO or CO
The CCO is the Certificate of Continued Occupancy and you must have it in order to close. A CO is for new builds and stands for Certificate of Occupancy. You should check on your town’s website and see what they require. Some towns are very picky while some only care about the smoke certification. (Which is having all of your smoke detectors up to date, working, and linked to one another. Plus the correct type and size fire extinguishers located in the correct place.)
This is something simple that you take care of as the home owner. But keep in mind, you need to go through the town. So, you will have to set up an appointment for the fire inspector to come. Be sure that everything is correct and you have checked off whatever is needed for your town. It does cost about $100-$150 and the inspectors may only do inspections a couple days per week. If you fail, you will need to reschedule so make sure you take care of it with plenty of time to close. A CCO is usually good for 90 days after issuance, and the smoke cert for 6 months.
Also make sure that you do not have any open permits on your house. If you do, be sure to close them or that can delay closing. You will also need approval from the Health Department for your well and septic in order to get the CCO or CO. These things are very important to get done ahead of time when selling your house.
#11. Walk through & Closing
Hooray! If you’ve made it this far, that’s amazing. You should be all packed up and out of the house for the walk through. The house should be in broom swept condition, with everything left behind that is included in the sale. Anything not included should be taken with you unless discussed prior.
You can choose to sign everything ahead of time with your attorney and skip the closing, or attend and sign then. You will leave extra keys at the home or with your Realtor. They will have a key from the lockbox to give the buyer.
It’s always nice when the seller does something a little extra for the new owner to come home to. A vase of flowers, a bottle of champagne and balloons, even just a pile of the best take out menus in town. I’ve even seen a seller leave her book of paint swatches for each room in case the new owner needs to touch up one day or match a color. Whatever the case, begin your new journey knowing that a new owner will be caring for that house and loving it as much as you did.
Are you selling your house and also buying? Read my 10 Step Guide to Buying a House, and you will be all set!
