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Planning and Preparing 
Extensive planning is essential in home selling especially in today’s market. It has become a more complex business than it used to be. Existence of buyer’s agent is just one of many changes in this industry. A good buyer’s agent always wants the best for their clients. Homeowners and listing agents should be prepared to best show the property at a competitive price.
Planning to put your home for sale should happen months before actually putting it on the market. Certain preparation should be taken into consideration. Always look at your home as if you were the one buying it. What would you like to have and see before buying a home? Perhaps, some cosmetic repair is enough, such as interior paints (this is essential especially if you have darker paint colors, older or chipping paints) refinish the wood floorings, cleaning the windows, cleaning the entire interior and exterior of the house and making sure that all your electrical and heating systems are functional. These are just some suggestions that you might want to consider before putting your home for sale. Ask your realtor, friends, relatives, or perhaps your neighbors for suggestion on how to make your house more presentable and saleable. Ultimately, it’s up to you as a seller to make a decision on how much you want to improve your home to gain a maximum profit.
Your home must have a WOW factor and a competitive price to sell in today’s real estate market. As a seller, you might also want to know the reason for selling your home, perhaps a job change to a new community, or the need for more space. Your reason for selling can impact the negotiating process so it’s important to discuss your needs and wants with your listing agent.
Always consult your professional real estate agent as to when would be the best time
to put your home for sale as it varies from time to time depending on current market condition.
Selecting a Real Estate Agent
You should ask the following questions in selecting a real estate agent:
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How many years of experience do they have in real estate market?
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Are they full time or part time real estate agent?
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What services do they offer?
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What kind of representation does their company have?
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What kind of agency does their company have?
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How would they price your home?
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Always ask for a comparative market analysis (CMA) of your home
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Do they have a marketing plan?
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What happens if another agent locates a purchaser?
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How would the commission split between a listing agent and a selling agent?
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What is the total commission fee?
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How will they market your home?
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How long will it take to sell your home?
Marketing your home
Once you and your home are ready and you have selected the right professional real estate agent to list your home, now its time to market the property.
Putting a for sale sign outside your property is always the first step in marketing your home. This will let neighbors and passing traffic know that your property is for sale. They might know of someone who wants to move to your neighborhood.
Your real estate agent should always post your listing on Multiple Listing Systems (MLS). This will allow your listing to be on the World Wide Web or internet to get the most exposure. In addition to advertising your listing to local newspaper, your real estate agent might also want to post it to another site for even more exposures.
Holding an open house is also one of the marketing tools that your real estate agent might want to use. This will allow prospective buyers to view your home without making any appointments. Open houses are usually scheduled on Sunday.
Selling
After all the planning, preparation, looking for a real estate agent and marketing your home, now you have received an offer for your home. Here are some the questions that you as a seller should ask yourself before accepting an offer.
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Is the offer reasonable?
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Are the terms and conditions meeting your requirements?
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Is the offer accompanied by a valid pre-approval letter?
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What kind of representation do the buyers have?
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What additional terms do the buyers have?
Your listing agent will discuss the offer with you to determine whether it’s acceptable to you or not. If any of the above is not acceptable to you, you as a seller can always present a counter offer.
Closing
Let us assume that all the terms and conditions have been met by both the seller and buyer.Now is the day that everybody is waiting for, the closing day. This is the day when all parties meet to sign closing documents, either at the Registry of Deeds, or the bank’s closing attorney’s office. After everybody agree and signs all closing documents and deeds are recorded, keys are release to the buyer, funds are release to the seller and commissions are paid to the agents.
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