As a seller there are several things that you MUST do BEFORE you decide to sell your house. First, you have to determine what your house can reasonably sell for. Then you have to have a marketing plan to get your home sold. You have to Stage your home for possibe buyers. You should have home inspections done and a book of information about your home for a possible buyer to see. What about finding a lender for your buyer, and who will do the contract for sale? Have you disclosed all the informtion to keep you out of hot water?
OK, first, let's talk about determining an asking price. When you finish a Comparative Market Analysis, or see what is now on the market and what has recently sold (last 3 months), it would be best to preview what is for sale so you can pretend to be a buyer and compare yours against other competition. If you see the stain on the ceiling, a prospective buyer will too. FIX IT! If your house is not up to the standard of the others, then you have some work to do. Now, if you have seen your competition and have priced your house just below them, you are off to a good start. But you have to keep up and stay ahead of the market, not always trying to catch up to it. In today's buyer's market, a buyer has a number of homes to compare to yours, yours has to be the best looking and the best priced to get it sold first. If you are waiting for someone to come along who is stupid, keep on dreaming, it isn't going to happen. Price it right FIRST.
Now that you know how to price it, how will you market it? There are lawn signs, newspapers, magazines and posts in local restaurants and stores. But, do you know how most people look for a new home? They use the internet. That means if you don't have an internet presence, your house is not going to be seen by the majority of buyers who are ready and willing to buy. You can go to "GoDaddy.com" and buy a domain name. There are companies that will build you a website, or you can do it yourself with Go Daddy's help. All that is costly, but worth it if you really want your house seen.
Now comes the staging. Your house has to stand out from the crowd, you must make it sparkle. There are professional stagers who will use yours stuff and re-arrange it, or they will even bring in entire loads of furniture if your house is empty. You need to paint, repair and do lawn work. You must be the best on the block. Don't think you will give a credit for carpet or paint, that doesn't work, it just costs you more than just fixing the problem before you show it. Remember, as soon as you make the decision to sell, you stop living in your house. You now must just use it gently as it will belong to someone else soon.
Get your book put together of all your house has to offer, like your instant hot water or water purifier, central vac system, termite bond etc. If a buyer can't see it, they don't know it's there. Have a professional home inspection done and ready to be seen by a buyer. That means that your house is in good condition and doesn't need any repair. You should have a seller's disclosure and mold disclosure filled out and available for your prospective buyer to see. Don't forget a copy of the plot plan and survey.
Have a local lender put together a rate sheet and loan options with paymemt and down payment options, add those to your book. If you want to do owner financing, first find out if your loan is assumable. Read your loan document, whatever the note and deed of trust say rules. Is there a prepayment penalty on your loan? Is it a government loan and do you get part of your MIP back that you have paid over the years?
Then, finally when you have that offer, have an attorney help you with the contract. There is much you may not know, leave it to the experts. You don't want to get stuck paying fo repairs to the roof or termite damage for any amount, you want to place limits. Don't forget to have your buyer sign your seller's disclosure, this can avoid lawsuits down the road.
Then, you have to give everything to the title company you have chosen on the contract so they can handle all the details of closing. Don't forget the inspections the new lender may require, you will have to be available to them.
If you are up to the challenge and have the time and money, by all means, sell your home yourself. But the little fee you may pay a licensed Realtor may be the best thing you can do, they will handle everything while you are at the beach!
Call me for your CMA, and ask how I can help you.
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