List Day - The Listing Agreement and the SUD List

 

Part 4 of the Series - Are You a First Time Home Seller? – What to Expect From Your Real Estate Agent

 

If you haven’t read the previous posts in this series, you may want to read those first.

Part 1 of this series. – Contacting a Real Estate Agent

Part 2 of this series – The Initial Visit

Part 3 of this series – The Comparative Market Analysis (CMA)

 

The CMA has been completed.  I’m going to call you and visit about the results.  If you’re ready for me to list your house for sale at the price that the CMA has indicated, it’s time to set up an appointment to do the paperwork. 

 

Hopefully you’ve already started taking care of the items on the list that needed to done to prepare the house for sale. Highly unlikely that it looked like the list on the left... but it might have!

 

Sometimes we wait to do the listing agreement until the house is ready to show. Sometimes we do the listing agreement and postpone marketing and showing until those items are complete. It depends upon your situation.

There are several forms that will need to be explained and signed when I list your property for sale in addition to the forms and pamphlets that I provided to you on our initial visit.

The forms that were provided when I visited your property were:

·  Transaction Broker Disclosure Form

·       Lead Based Paint Information Pamphlet and disclosure, if your house was built before 1978.

·       Information Pamphlet about selling and buying property in Oklahoma

·      Equal Housing Law Pamphlet

·       Property Condition Disclosure Form or Disclaimer, depending upon whether you have lived in the house or have reason to know its condition.

Today is Listing Day.  The forms that we will be going over and you will need to sign are:

·    The Listing Agreement

·      The Seller’s Estimate of Expenses

In addition, I will need the completed Property Condition Disclosure Form and Lead Based Paint Disclosure Form from you since I already have a signed Transaction Broker Disclosure Form for you.

 

 

In addition, we may look over together, the photos that were taken when we visited your property. 

 

This helps illustrate the need for the SUD list (Spruce Up and Declutter) and sometimes we’ll both decide, based upon these photos that other things need to be added to the SUD list.

After the SUD list has all been taken care of, it will be time for listing photos.

Let’s go over the kinds of items that you can expect to see on a SUD list:

·      Usually a home needs to be “de-personalized”.  Put away your personal photos and things that draw attention to you instead of to the house’s good points. 

You want buyers to see themselves living in the house, not you.

·    Usually when those personal photos etc have been put away, there will be small holes in the wall. These to be repaired.  If it’s drywall, this probably means paint also.

·     De-Clutter the home.  I know that you’ve probably heard this over and over.  There’s a reason that this is the most often given advice on preparing a home for sale.  The reason is that most of us have too much stuff in our home for our home to look it’s best and you want your home to look it’s best when buyers walk through.

·    Replace fixtures that you do not want to sell.  The mirror in your bathroom that you purchased at that antique store or maybe your grandmother left it to you and you absolutely do not want to sell it… replace it with another one if that spot needs a mirror. OR if you can’t part with the curtains or draperies for one reason or another, hang some different ones.

·       Often painting is on the list.  It’s a fairly inexpensive way to make a big difference.  

 

·     Minor repairs – leaky faucets, squeaky doors, doors that do not close properly, etc.. There will usually be some of these things on your SUD list.

 

 

·  Clean, Clean, Clean.  Make the house shine, including refrigerators, closets, ceiling fans, bathroom fixtures, grout, garages, anything and everything…. clean, clean, clean.

·   If new towels (to show off the bathrooms) or bedspreads (one of the major décor items in the bedroom) are needed, do it.

·   Get the lawn in tip top shape and the front walk way into your home.  Curb appeal brings them in and if they don’t come in. . .

·      Bring in the light.. make sure the windows are clean and bright light bulbs are in place. 

·      Rearrange the furniture if necessary, and remove items that make a room look too small and sometimes it could be a good idea to remove items that create confusion about the room’s purpose.

Also it can be a good idea to walk around with the original photos, while looking at the same area in your house.  Does it look better?  Hopefully it does.  Is there something else that needs to be done to that area?

Photo Shoot coming next.

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Some photos today are courtesy of Flickr.com

Life in Southeast Oklahoma is GREAT! If you're looking for a home or land in my part of the country, give me a call: Judi Barrett, broker, Integrity Real Estate Services, 580-212-5946

Or visit one of our websites:

Integrity Realty

Integrity Real Estate

Lake Raymond Gary Homes

Fort Towson Homes

Valliant Homes

McCurtain County

Choctaw County

Broken Bow Lake

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Commercial Property List

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Judi Barrett

Broker - Integrity Real Estate Services
Our Name Says It All.
Real Estate Services You Can Trust.
580-212-5946