Below are some question and answers that every home seller should know.
Home For Sale!
Ever wonder what happens when your property first gets listed?
Every real estate company and Realtor have their own unique way in which they advertise and promote their new listings. Here is the short list of what typically happens in my office:
- Listing preview – First we bring all of the Realtors at our company to see the house prior to it going on the market.
- Advertising collateral – Pictures, flyers and ad copy are sent to the local newspapers.
- Your home online – The seller gets an email with links to the dozens of different property websites that we submit our listings too.
- Social Media Marketing – Colby Real Estate video walk through of your property is uploaded to Youtube, Realtor.com, Postlets and various other sites.
- Local Realtor Marketing -Your property is emailed to all local real estate agents.
- A Realtor Open House is scheduled – Realtor open houses happen frequently so that local area Realtors can preview a listing and see if it will be a good fit for their buyers.
What happens during a showing?
All listing agents differ but many will tell the Buyers Agent, a combination to a lock box and let them have free-rain at the house. Others, like us at Colby Real Estate will be there to show the house. It is important to know that by showing the property we are there to answer questions, point out important features the buyers might miss and make sure your property is securely locked up when we leave. We always make sure to give the buyers space and privacy while at the property so that they may feel comfortable and relaxed when viewing your home.
Congratulations your house is under agreement!!! What happens next?
During any real estate market it is always exciting once you get your home under agreement. In today’s challenging market, it is exciting but even more important that you and your Realtor have a plan. Make sure you discuss all of the what ifs that may pop up along the way. Typically the first thing that happens at your house is a home inspection. During this, it is expected for you to not be at the property so that the buyers and the home inspector can talk and discuss their concerns. The inspection, depending on the size of your property could take anywhere from two hours to close to six hours! The home inspector will check everything in the house including – electrical, plumbing, heating, etc and will also test the water quality from your well. In our area, we have seen high levels of Radon, Arsenic and Uranium to name just a few. All of these can cause health problems but are easily fixed with different water treatment systems. Unfortunately if you do have high levels, most buyers will not feel comfortable occupying the property unless treatment is in place. So be prepared for the buyer to ask for you to pay to install a treatment system, take money off the sales price, or disperse money at closing to a water treatment professional. These systems can cost anywhere from $2,000 to over $5,000 so be ready.
Ok, so you’ve made it past the home inspections….here’s comes the appraiser! Most of the time buyers are financing their purchase and if a property doesn’t appraise they can walk away from the purchase of your home and get their deposit money back. When the appraiser schedules to come to the house, you need to treat their visit like the most discriminating buyer is showing up. Make sure the house is clean, decluttered, smells good, the lawn is mowed, etc in preparation for their visit. Trust me, it makes a difference. Appraisers are human and while they crunch numbers to generate the “purchase value” of your home, first impressions matter.
If you have any questions please feel free to comment below or give me a call on my cell 603-252-6428. If you are thinking about selling or buying call or email me anytime.
-Dan
dano@colbyinc.com
Curious about buying real estate? Check out this post of mine that details, “must know information for buyers.”
http://www.sunapeeregionblog.com/2010/06/real-estate-tips-101-import-costs-every-home-buyer-should-know/
