Thinking of Selling?

   Once we (you and your Agent) have set a price and a strategy to market your house, Janet will be a great source of advice on specifics for your home preparations so that your house is positioned competitively in the market. Preparation includes before pictures are taken and the next preparation will be prior to every showing. 

What is a showing?

A showing is usually scheduled ahead of time or it could happen during an Open House. It is an appointment of the prospect buyer with their Agent or with you if they don't have an Agent, where they will walk your property and sometimes even open closets and be nosey to see if it is of their liking.

What can I expect or do when I have a showing? 

1. Leave when a showing is scheduled. Buyers like to feel free to roam around our house.

2. Make it available and showcase it every time as if they were taken pictures of it for every showing. Every buyer would like to picture and feel as if they could live there, make it welcoming for them!

3. Receive feedback regardless of what it is so you can make it more appealing for next visitors if that's the case.

*Checkout some of the articles on the BLOG section. We may have some tricks and tips for you in this process!

   Great News! At this point, your house has been on the market and I have informed you that we have received an offer, or maybe even more than one!

Now it's time to evaluate that offer an decide how to respond.

How to evaluate the offer?

This is when you decide if you would like to accept it or not. I will look at the following and help you in this process:

- Amount offered

- Whether contingencies were included or waived in the offer

- Where the funds are coming from (All cash, local lender, online lender, unknown out of town lender, etc)

- Proposed closing date and date of possession of the house

- Option Period Timeframe or waived

-Any special requests for items to convey or for special inspections, etc.

Multiple Offers?

This is common in a Seller's Market. If so, we have a few options:

- Accept the best Offer

- Counteroffer or ask all buyers for their best offer to be resubmitted

You and the buyer can always negotiate through your Agents until all parties agree on the final contract price. I will be your best ally during negotiations and we will make sure to guide you in the best possible way in this process.

Upon acceptance on an offer, most likely you have agreed to an Option Period, which starts the day after you have accepted and executed the offer. This timeframe, allows the Buyers to request a home inspection as a condition of their offer and they are able to do this inspection within that timeframe with the ability of opting out of the contract (within that timeframe) if inspector finds anything out of the ordinary, something very hard to fix or if it will incur a big expense, unless they are able to negotiate with Seller. In some cases, a home inspection is solely for the buyer's information and can't be used to  negotiate.

How to prepare for a home inspection?

I suggest you prepare your home ahead of time, before that first showing. Professional home inspectors will review your home's structure and systems, for example:

 - Structural conditions such as Foundation, beams and floors

- Roof condition

- Mechanical systems (HVAC / AC)

- Plumbing

- Electrical systems such as grounded outlets and code violations

- Safety issues such as stairs, handrails, mold, etc.

We will walk your home together and I will provide a list of basic things to take care of prior to listing your home and make sure your home is also ready for inspection. We might even need some documents about maintenance and repairs, so don't throw any receipts or invoices from services done to your home!

What is an appraisal?

When there is financing involved, in other words, when it is not a cash offer, an appraisal of the property is always needed. This is an objective valuation of your property that allows lender to feel comfortable with the loan amount. 

How is a home appraised?

What appraisers look for, is tall the data available to provide an accurate value of your property, including:

- Comparable properties in your area

- The Condition of your home's systems and structure

- The square footage of your property

- The quality of flooring, plumbing and electrical systems, etc.

How can an appraisal affect my home sale?

If the property value comes in lower than the sales price, this may invite or require for a renegotiation. This value dictates the maximum

amount the lender will allow the buyers to borrow, minus their down payment. 

If the appraisal is low, you can:

- Ask buyer to come up with extra cash to make up the difference between the loan and the purchase price

- Reduce your price to the appraised value

- Split the difference with the buyer

- Cancel the Contract 

Depending on the context of the contract and the market conditions, I will make sure to give you the best advise!

What is an appraisal?

When there is financing involved, in other words, when it is not a cash offer, an appraisal of the property is always needed. This is an objective valuation of your property that allows lender to feel comfortable with the loan amount. 

How is a home appraised?

What appraisers look for, is tall the data available to provide an accurate value of your property, including:

- Comparable properties in your area

- The Condition of your home's systems and structure

- The square footage of your property

- The quality of flooring, plumbing and electrical systems, etc.

How can an appraisal affect my home sale?

If the property value comes in lower than the sales price, this may invite or require for a renegotiation. This value dictates the maximum

amount the lender will allow the buyers to borrow, minus their down payment. 

If the appraisal is low, you can:

- Ask buyer to come up with extra cash to make up the difference between the loan and the purchase price

- Reduce your price to the appraised value

- Split the difference with the buyer

- Cancel the Contract 

Depending on the context of the contract and the market conditions, I will make sure to give you the best advise!

Don't forget to take a break and travel if you can! You deserve a vacation and time off before you get busy and wrapped up organizing your new place but wait, before you go on your vacation...

- Turn off  and cancel all services from your home, for example, your Cable service, Alarm systems, Video camera systems, pool service, yard service

- Make sure all your utilities are also cancelled and turned off or transferred to your new home if it applies.

- Notify your job, banks, schools, post office, Doctors, etc of your change of address. 

- Update necessary documents such as Driver's License, Passports, etc with your new address if you have one.

- Let your closest friends know you are moving!