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Selling
Your Home In Maryland Outline |
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Step
1 – Set-up Your “Home For Sale” Game Plan. |
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Take a critical look at your home's appearance.
- Are the lawn and shrubs trimmed and smart looking?
- Are there cracks in the sidewalks, foundation, patio,
etc.?
- Does the driveway need resurfacing?
- Are the gutters cleaned, does the chimney need to be
parged and is the siding clean and mold free?
- Does the window casing, doors and frames and siding
need painting?
- Is there trash all over the yard (i.e. junk cars, broken
toys, sheds in need of repair, etc.)?
- Are your lawn tools out of sight?
Cosmetic upgrades do not have to be expensive, but can
do a world of good in improving your home's appearance.
How and Where do you want you home advertised?
- Do you want your home listed in the local real estate
agent's multiple listing service (MLS)?
- Do you want to advertise in the local newspapers?
- What about the home buyer magazines?
- Do you want your home shown as an "Open House"?
- Where do you want your home listed on the internet?
- Do you want a virtual tour done for your home?
- Do you want to use a Talking House® system?
- Are you going to place a professional looking sign in
the yard.
- Who is going to prepare the brochures?
Showing Your Home.
- Are you planning on being home? Who is going to answer
the phone and schedule the showing appointments?
- Are you going to walk the prospective buyers through
your home?
- How much information are you going to disclose? What
legal obligations do you have in disclosing information?
Compliance with State and Federal laws? Do you have the
forms you need?
- Are you planning on keeping a log of the prospective
home buyers? What security issues do you have? Are you
going to check ID's? What information are you going to
record about the prospective home buyers?
- How are you going to determine if the prospective buyer
is qualified to purchase your home?
Note: Remove from your home or lock all of your valuables
in a safe place. Items like furs, jewelry, coins or other
valuables should not be left in the open. Absolutely, lock
all firearms in appropriate storage facilities or remove
them from the premises.
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Step
2 – Choose an Agent or Go It Alone. |
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Some home owners can and will sell their homes themselves
and save the commission paid to the real estate agents.
However, as you have read above, selling your home means
that you will be responsible for placing ads, answering
phones, showing your home to strangers, evaluating and pre-qualifying
buyers, attempting to negotiate the offer(s) and dealing
with the buyers that realize you are not dealing with a
real estate agent and will offer less for your home.
The first time a prospective buyer
just shows up at your door during dinner hour, or wants
a showing when you are on your way to church, your child's
ball game, on your way to work, etc.; may help you to decide
that an agent's commission is a bargain. Also remember,
a real estate agent's business is selling homes. The agent
is probably knows a great deal more about marketing your
property, setting a sales price, preparing for the buyer's
offer(s), evaluating the offer and the different types of
financing that an offer may entail. Here are some of the
advantages professional agents offer:
- They will help you to establish
a fair asking price for your home.
- They will list your home for
sale in their multiple list system (MLS) and the internet.
- They will set up and pay for
the advertising of your home for sale.
- Their office will coordinate,
schedule and a real estate agent will be present during
the showing of your home.
- A keybox system will be set up
at your home so your home will be availble for showings
at reasonable hours when you are not home.
- The buyer's agent will screen
out most of the buyers that are not capable of purchasing
your home, since they will not waste their time showing
a home that their buyer cannot purchase.
- The agent will also be able to
refer you to resources for insurance, inspections, legal
counsel and mortgage financing.
- Your agent will negotiate with
the buyer on your behalf.
Negotiate the Listing Agreement
- Interview several real estate agents. Understand the program
the agent proposes for selling your home. Understand what
services are included in the commission. Are there any fees
other than the commission charged? What is the commission
and how is the commission split between the buying agent
and the listing agent. Understand who the agent represents
and under what circumstances that representation may change.
Determine the Listing Price
- Have the real estate agent you chose provide you with
a comparative marketing analysis of your property as compared
to other like properties. Ask for the agent's assessment
of the market and their strategy for pricing your home for
sale.
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Step
3 – Getting Your House Ready to Sell. |
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What sells real estate? - The
condition of your home, the sales price, the terms and conditions
of the sale, is your home available for showings and the
shape of the market.
In preparing to list your home for
sale, do the following:
- Locate your deed, your property
tax bill, any other information about assessments or liens
on the property.
- Obtain a resale package for your
homeowner's or condo owner's association.
- Identify what is going to be
sold with the home. i.e. washer, dryer, hot tub, drapes,
rods, etc.
- Talk to your agent about offering
a Homeowner's Warranty.
Prepare your home to be shown.
- Pick up clutter. Make room. Place
extra furniture in storage. Remove your valuables, if
necessary.
- Do those small repair projects
that you have been putting off.
- Clean everything. First impressions
upon walking into your home are the lasting ones.
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Step
4 – Advertising the Sale of Your Home. |
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Your agent has a program set
up to do this for you. It should encompass the MLS, the
internet, local newspapers, home buying magazines, open
houses, electronic aids (i.e. Talking House transmitters,
800 telephone numbers, etc.), brochures and agent tours.
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Step
5 – Showing Your Home to Buyers. |
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This is always a controversial
issue. Let commonsense be your guide.
Don't be in the home during
a showing. If at all practical, take a walk, go to the
store, drive around for 15 minutes but it is better if
you are not on the premises when the property is being
shown. Buyers can and will feel uneasy if they feel the
home owner in the area. The last thing you want is for
the buyer to feel uncomfortable in your home. If you do
need to be there because the baby is sleeping, you are
having dinner, an individual needs care or some other
just as valid reason, then by all means be there. Just
smile and try to make the buyer feel welcome, assure the
buyer that you will stay out of their way and let it go
from there.
Security can be a concern.
Never let a buyer in your home without their buyer agent,
especially if you are alone. Their buyer agent will have
done some preliminary work with the prospective buyer
for mortgage pre-qualification. The agent will also be
watching their clients as the home is shown. For the most
part there are rarily problems, but crime does happen.
Jewelry will walk away, so will money and other valuables.
Always lock your valuables
away or remove them from the premises before your home
is shown.
During the day, have the
curtains/drapes open. Some fresh air spray, carpet deodorizer
and a clean home thoughout can't hurt. You want your home
to be bright, cheery, uncluttered and open.
During the evening, turn
the lights on, add a little mellow music, focus on nice
fresh scents throughout your home (fresh scents can also
be your dinner cooking on the stove) and again, have a
clean home.
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Step
6 – O.K. You Just Got an Offer, Now What! |
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Sit down with your agent and review the offer.
What terms and conditions
are being proposed? Have they included all of the appropriate
and practical forms, notices and disclosures required
to sell your home under the terms that you desire.
Have they included the Lead Based Paint disclosure and
Maryland's Disclosure or Disclaimer Statement?
Are they going to conduct a home inspection, pest inspection,
water test, well test and/or other inspections or testing?
Your agent will estimate your closing
costs and arrive at an approximate net proceeds derived
from the sale of your home should you accept the offer before
you.
Now is the time to strategize: Can you determine if the
buyer is able or willing to pay more for your home? Can
you anticipate a better offer from some other buyer? Do
the offer's terms meet your needs and are they acceptable?
If you find the offer acceptable,
sign it. If you find the offer close to the terms and price
that you need, then have your agent modify the buyer's offer
and make the buyer a counter-offer. If you see no merit
in the offer, reject it and look for the next buyer's offer.
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Step
7 – Under Contract, the Buyers Inspections. |
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Ok, you accepted the buyer's offer and you are now under
contract. Timeline the inspections that were included in
the contract. Look for a Home, Radium, Radon, Pest, Water,
Septic, Mold and other possible Inspections. Mark the due
dates of the different inspections on a calender.
Once the different inspection
results are given to your agent (presumably in writing),
be prepared ahead of time to respond back if required.
Follow the terms and conditions stated in the contract and
seek legal advice if you have any contractual questions.
The final walk through is
the final inspection before settlement. At that time, the
buyer walks through the home, testing appliances and viewing
any repairs that were performed during the contract period
in accordance with the contract and ensures that the home
is in the same condition as when the contract was first
ratified.
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Step
8 – Settlement and the Transfer of Ownership. |
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The contract was ratified,
the inspections passed, the buyer's financing is in place
and its time for settlement. Follow the settlement agent
as they review the HUD-1, the document quantifying the different
outstanding bills and applying credit where credit is due.
If you have any questions about the transaction this is
the time to speak up. Once the documents are signed, it
is generally too late to effect any major changes in the
transaction.
Your ordeal is finally over and you are now homeless. Hopefully
it has not been an arduous ordeal and you are ready to do
it again next year.
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