How to Sell a Home

HOW TO SELL A HOME FOR SOLD ALE Selling a house in the current market takes much more than simple luck -- proper staging, marketing, and competitive pricing are all important factors. Here is a step-by-step route to getting your property sold: FOR RENT Rent out or Sell? FOR SALE FOR RENT ADVANTAGES DISADVANTAGE ADVANTAGES DISADVANTAGE • Tax-free capital gain (if any) • Lose potential property appreciation •Keep property as it appreciates • Possible property damage • May free up equity that can be invested or put in a • Tax breaks could offset • Could be taxed on whole profit if sold • May have to sell at a bad time for real-estate market income tax on rent new home and swallow a loss • Potential tenant problems • If moving, you'll only have one house to maintain Selling A House Once you've decided that it's time to put your home on the market, you must choose whether to use a realtor or sell your home on HOME OWNER your own. Before you price your home, you and your If you decide to go with a realtor, be prepared to sign an Exclusive Seller Representation Agreement and discuss the agent's realtor need to assess the market. It is important to investigate how much similar houses in your neighborhood (comps) have sold for in recent months. REALTOR commission. Selling on your own will save you the broker's commission, but you'll have to do your own marketing and research, including pricing your home and listing it on places like CraigsList and forsalebyowner.com. EXCLUSIVE SELLER REPRESENTATION AGREEMENT Marketing your house is particularly important in a slow economy. You or your realtor should find compelling ways to Ed FO For Sale! make your home stand out from others in the market. MARKETING OPEN HOUSE CLEANING HOUSE PHOTOGRAPHY CURB APPEAL ONLINE MARKETING 77% of buyers drive by a 90% of home buyers look online. Make sure you have strong web presence. Buyers are attracted to a clean and spacious Photographing your house properly is key to driving interest. property after seeing it online. Maintain your front lawn or yard meticulously. home. De-clutter. OPEN HOUSE Receiving an offer can take months. Once you've got one, it's time to negotiate with the potential buyer. When holding an open house, it is important to present your home in the best light possible. Some realtors even hire "staging" companies who rearrange your furniture (or even replace it). AN OFFER If the initial offer is too low, Counter -offer counter-offer. Sometimes including appliances or furniture will increase the offer on the house. Reject and accept a different buyer. You have three options when an offer is made on your house. You can either counter, reject or accept Reject the offer. Accept Accept the buyer's offer. Escrow: Money held by a third-party on behalf of transacting parties. It is now time to find an escrow agent that will hold the buyer's down payment until closing. This agent will obtain and hold the deed for your Buyer's appraisal takes place property, and also arrange for it to be recorded by the appropriate office or agency at closing. ESCROW ESCROW AGENT You now take the offer to an attorney where final price, financial contingencies, possession date and closing date are negotiated with the buyer. НОME INSPECTION CLOSING ATTORNEY The buyer will typically ask for a home inspection and title search. Repairs or contingencies may be negotiated at this point. CLOSING DATE CLOSING At the closing, all remaining funds are transferred into escrow and multiple forms are signed and exchanged. After the final walkthrough inspection the remainder of the funds are put into escrow. FORMS THE SELLER SIGNS DEED I SWEAR 1099-S ESCROW TRANSFER DEED TITLE BILL OF SALE AFFIDAVIT OF TITLE 1099-S FORMS THE BUYER & SELLER SIGN RESPA I SWEAR After all the necessary forms are AFFIDAVIT PURCHASE PRICE RESPA FORM TRANSFER DECLARATIONS filled out and notarized, a transfer of keys indicates the completion of the sale. Sources: Realtor.org, Lawyers.com, Remax.com, public.findlaw.com, SmartMoney.com mint.com ()