Steps to Selling a Home

Without a signed agreement, your broker is not allowed to give you any real estate advice. Once signed, your agent can then offer concrete strategies for pricing and marketing your home.

Here are some tips we suggest you discuss with your broker as you begin the process:

• Establish your preferred way of communicating – do you read and respond better to texts, or are phone calls best? If you have multiple email addresses, make sure your broker has the most appropriate one to make sure you receive all information in a timely manner.
• Do you have any important needs when it comes to target closing dates, or any special requests that may make the process work better for you? Make sure to let your broker know.
• Discuss what prep work may need to be done to your home in advance of hitting the market, such as cleaning, home touch-ups, etc.

Be sure to ask your broker for an outline of all costs you will need to pay. The seller is traditionally responsible for the following:

• Any house prep necessary to get your home ready to sell, i.e. painting, cleaning, repair work, etc.
• Other strategies that may be set forth, i.e. staging, transaction coordination, etc.
• Real estate brokerage fees
• Closing costs, title insurance, title closing fees, and/or HOA (please note these expenses vary from transaction to transaction)

Broker commissions are often paid by the seller, but you and your listing broker can discuss the various commission structures available. Commission percentages are negotiable.

A Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) is an important tool for pricing a home based on what buyers are willing to pay in today’s market. In most instances, this information is obtained from the Multiple Listing Service database and includes:

Comparable Sold Information: Comparable properties sold within the last several months will tell you what has been recently purchased and how much buyers are willing to pay for the area, size, features, etc.

Public Records Data: This information, provided from county records on your specific location, helps establish baseline information regarding lot size, square footage, number of bedrooms, baths, garage, etc.

Area Boundaries: Factors such as major streets and parks are considered.

Current Market Activity: This will help determine how much competition you can expect, seeing how these other homes are priced, and how their features compare to yours.

CLICK HERE to read more about what is involved in a CMA.

There are many factors involved in determining a list price, including location, condition, and the age of your home. Your broker will review all of these with you.

The decision is ultimately yours about the price to list your home. Your broker can make suggestions based on the CMA and past experience, and they can advise you on market-based strategies.

While every home has different needs, here are some basic things we suggest to get your home looking its best:

• Give it a deep clean
• Declutter by removing personal items and putting things inside closets and drawers
• Tidy up any overgrown landscaping
• Touching up any chipped paint
• Steam clean carpets

CLICK HERE for more tips to prepare your home.

There may be some larger projects that, even if they come at a high cost now, could likely bring a greater return when it comes time to sell. Talk to your broker – they can help to determine what construction or renovations might be worth considering before hitting the market.

There have been many studies that show that staging a home can result in a higher sale price and faster sale. Buyers emotionally connect to a place where they can envision themselves living there, and a professional stager has the experience to know what can make a home more attractive to buyers. CLICK HERE to read more about the benefits of staging, and if you have any questions, be sure to ask your broker.

Stagers costs vary, and your broker can source a few different quotes so you can decide which one to use, if you go this route.

From handymen to cleaners, your broker may have referrals of people and businesses who can help get your home ready. Be sure to ask if they can recommend anyone to assist you.

A Seller’s Disclosure is an important document where the seller provides details and history about the property’s condition that will mitigate your risk. Talk to your broker if you have any questions when filling it out.

Your broker will create a custom plan to get the maximum exposure for your listing. They will first enter your property into the MLS, which then will syndicate your house and its details to all of the popular consumer sites where people are searching, such as RE/MAX, Zillow, Redfin, and more. Additional strategies they may implement, include:

• Brochures
• Direct Mail Postcards
• Open House
• Social Media Campaigns
• Email to all Denver area brokers
• And more!

Be sure to discuss your expectations with your broker, and they can review everything with you and explain in more detail the most impactful ways to market your home.

Yes! Once the property is active, you are welcome to share the information. This can be a great way to spread the word, as family and friends may know of others who may be interested in a home like yours. Be sure to chat with your broker about this – they can supply you with images and links to include, and they can also make sure you are aware of the fair housing rules to follow when you share.

Be sure to let your broker know in advance if you have pets, video monitors, alarms, or anything else that may need to be disclosed to visitors.

Before each showing arrives, you should brush up your home to make it show-ready by making beds, wiping surfaces, clearing counters, and vacuuming/sweeping floors, and it’s a nice touch to turn on lights to make everything bright and welcoming. You want to make sure it looks well-kept and tidy to leave a great impression with potential buyers.

Your broker will discuss with you in advance what schedule works best for accepting showings, since you must be out of the home while people come to view it. Once you decide on a schedule, your broker can enter that availability into our online platform, allowing buyer agents the ability schedule showings for their clients within those timeframes. For each showing, you can receive a notification if desired. Be sure to talk to your broker about how the bookings and information will be communicated.

Showing windows (the amount of time a buyer has to view the home) are generally anytime between 15-30 minutes and will be designated within the platform.

Make sure to let your broker know ASAP if your availability changes and you need to be in the house for any reason so they can make sure to update the showing platform and block out the timeframe and make sure nothing is booked during those times.

If there is a need to negotiate any terms or pricing, your broker will help to come up with a counter-offer.

Your contract is in electronic format using CTM software, and you will be able to access it through links in the emails that your broker will send. Anything you see in the contract that is blue is editable, while anything in black is set forth by the real estate board and can’t be changed. Be sure to located where you need to sign and/or initial on each electronic document you receive and that you take care of completing these in a timely manner.

The designated Title Company or listing brokerage will hold the earnest money. See below for more information about title.

The contract will outline the buyer’s contingencies and the date when their earnest money becomes non-refundable.

The first document you’ll receive from the Title Company is called a Title Commitment which is a record of your home’s ownership details, outstanding liens (like mortgages), property taxes, and more. Just before closing, the Title Company will also prepare your Settlement Statement, a document that details the financials involved in your sale like sales price, closing fees, and mortgage payoffs.

CLICK HERE to read tips on how to prepare for the inspection. Proper attention to these items in advance can prevent them from becoming issues that need to be resolved. 

The home inspector will look at items like the house’s foundation, structure, HVAC, plumbing, roof, and electrical systems. They will make their way around your home to see if there is anything that is in need of repair or that the buyer should be aware of.

The buyer will schedule the inspection, and your broker will let you know the confirmed date and time. It should last at least a few hours (it can be longer, depending on the size of your house), so expect to stay out of the house for that amount of time.

You have the choice to do what you wish, but consider that if negotiations are not successful, the deal may fall through as the buyer can back out. A few suggestions to think about:

• If the repair is minimal, is the cost of doing it yourself be worth it to you to continue with this buyer?
• If the buyer backs out of the contract, will you regret not doing the repair?
• Could you hire a handyman to complete some of the tasks in a relatively quick amount of time to keep the process going?

Be sure to ask your broker any questions as you consider your options.

Check with your broker to see if they have people that can help. They likely have contacts in all areas that they can pass along for you to reach out to hire.

If the appraisal shows the value lower than what they are under contract for, then the buyer has a few options:

• Object and ask you to adjust the purchase price
• Terminate and walk away
• Take the property as-is under value and provide additional funds

You will need a government-issued ID as well as any wiring info for the funds to be transferred to your bank. CLICK HERE to follow our Pre-Closing Checklist to make sure you have everything you need.

It is helpful to fill out a Seller Questionnaire that you can leave for the buyer to help them transition smoothly into your home. CLICK HERE to view the fillable form that you can complete and send to your broker to pass along to the buyer’s agent.

It depends. They may be present at the same time to sign their required documents, or it could be a split closing, in which case they will have taken care of what they need to do at another time.

You can bring everything to closing or leave them for the buyer at a designated spot in the home. Be sure to let your broker know.