Selling Your Home

Since your home is one of the most valuable assets you will ever sell, it requires the skill of a licensed real estate professional with experience and knowledge of the current market to represent you. A good realtor can save you money and help you get more for your home than you could by selling it yourself.

One of the first things your realtor will do is help you price your home. A home must be priced correctly in order to sell it. If it is overpriced, it will be seen only by buyers who can obtain more for their money elsewhere. In other words, a Chevrolet will not sell in a Cadillac showroom. That is not what those buyers are looking for. You simply cannot give the Chevrolet a Cadillac price in hopes of fooling a buyer. Conversely, you do not want to give a Cadillac a Chevrolet price. In any price range, it is the properly priced homes that jump out as good value and obtain offers. You need some basis of objectivity and you can find it by having a realtor rate your home against other similar homes in the Village. He/She will prepare a Comparative Market Analysis involving a survey of homes that are on the market, or have recently sold, that are similar to yours.

You will be advised, by your realtor, about ways to make your house show better and repairs that should be made to maximize your return. You have to put yourself into the shoes of potential buyer to see if your home measures up to a home you would buy. You may want to offer a Home Warranty Insurance Policy as a buying incentive, especially for an older home.

Your realtor will guide you through signing a listing agreement and all the necessary disclosures. Making sure you comply with all the legal aspects of selling is one of a realtor’s most important services. Your realtor will discuss the ways the firm will market your property. Your home will be put on the multi-list service (MLS) to make it available for other realtors in the area to show. Advertising in the right places is vital and your realtor will tell you how they plan to advertise your home.

When an offer is made, your realtor will assist and advise you in the negotiation process with the best possible terms for you. After an agreement has been reached, your realtor will help you through the inspection process. If the inspection reveals some necessary repairs, your realtor will help you find a contractor to do the work.

At closing, your realtor will be there with you to make sure everything goes smoothly.

If you count the number of times that the word "realtor" appears on this page, you will see that a realtor can make the home selling process much less stressful and put your mind at ease.