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Seller's Guide

A Step-by-Step First Time Seller's Guide

Putting your home on the market can be a stressful process, especially when you don’t know what to expect. Fortunately, with the help of an experienced agent and this easy to follow guide, you can smoothly complete the process. Following these steps will help you prepare so you can get organized and sell your home for the best price possible.​​​​​​​

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Step 1: Understand Why You're Selling

What do you want to accomplish with the sale of your home? Do you want to make a certain amount of money that you can put toward a larger or nicer home? Do you need to sell it as soon as possible to facilitate a move to a new city or area? Once you understand your needs, you can better craft your offer. For example, if you need to sell quickly, you might want to price your home lower than if your goal is to make a certain profit margin. Make sure you convey these needs to your real estate agent once you choose one so he or she can adjust your selling price accordingly.

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Step 2: Determine Selling Price

Knowing how to price your home is one of the most important parts of the selling process. When you set a fair price in the beginning, you’ll get the most interest from other real estate agents and prospective buyers. Overpricing your home could lead to reduced interest, and underpricing leads to receiving less than what your home is worth. Working with a real estate agent is the best way to determine the right selling price for your home. An agent with experience can determine what other comparable homes are selling for, evaluate the current market, and may even suggest a home appraisal.

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Step 3: Start Preparations

If you’ve kept your home in showroom condition since you’ve lived in it, you’re in the minority of homeowners. Once you price your home, it’s time to start getting it ready to be shown to potential buyers. This includes getting rid of clutter, depersonalizing the space so that buyers can envision themselves in the space, making any small repairs, and doing a deep clean to make sure your home is in pristine condition.

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Step 4: Develop a Marketing Strategy

I will develop a marketing strategy that is perfect for advertising your home. This involves listing the home and then driving the right people to that listing through social media campaigns, agent-to-agent referrals, traditional media, or SEO advertising. My team creates a marketing campaign that aims to get the most possible traffic to your listing in the first three weeks after becoming a client.

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Step 5: Evaluate Offers

Receiving an offer is an exciting part of the process, but it doesn’t mean the journey is over. I will evaluate each offer and make sure the party making the offer is prequalified or pre-approved by a mortgage lender and that their offer is acceptable to you. If the offer is too low, you can make a counter-offer or offer other ways to bridge the gap, such as covering some or all of the closing costs, making repairs, adjusting the move-in date, or leaving some appliances or fixtures for the new buyer.

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Step 6: Accept an Offer

Once I deem the offer is acceptable, I will review the proposed contract to make sure it’s all in order and includes the necessary components such as deposit amount, down payment, financing, inspection rights and repair allowances, contingencies, settlement date, and a list of fees and who will pay them. When both parties have agreed to the term, a final contract will be prepared by your agent.

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Step 7: Get Ready to Close

You have accepted an offer and are now very close to the end of your selling journey. But first, you and the buyer must make a list of what needs to be done before closing. In some cases, your home may need to be formally inspected, surveyed, and appraised. In other cases, major or minor repairs will need to be made before the house can close. I will head up efforts to develop and execute this list, get each action item paid for by the correct party, and make sure everything is in order by the closing date. A few days before the closing date, I will call the company closing the transaction to make sure everything is ready to go. If you haven’t done so already, you also need to make arrangements to move out of the home so the new buyer can take possession.

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Step 8: Close

You’ve reached the last step in the seller’s process. When you close on a home you are selling, you are legally transferring ownership of the property to the new buyer. I will meet with the company closing the transaction to sign the final paperwork and go over any issues that have not yet been taken care of. During this time, you can also make plans with your real estate agent to handle final details such as canceling utilities, cable, and lawn or trash services, changing the name on accounts that the new owner is retaining and ensuring the new owner has instructions for all appliances that will remain in the home.

Congratulations!

Once you have sold your home, you’re free to take the next step on your journey. Whether this is relocating to a new city, moving into a larger home, or downsizing and enjoying your life as empty-nesters, knowing all your selling responsibilities have been taken care of will help you achieve peace of mind for your new path.

Testimonials

Kim B

Kim B

Kristi is an amazing real estate agent! Not only is she knowledgeable, but she truly cares about her clients. I am very grateful to her for working with me on not only selling a home but also securing a new home for my family.
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Lourdes C.

Lourdes C.

Kristi is an incredible professional. She has an impeccable work ethic! She took us by the hand during the whole process and did not let go until our house was sold for top dollar. She makes it all easier and even enjoyable. I ...
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Damon S.

Damon S.

Working with Kristi Smith was a profitable pleasure. I chose Kristi because of her very personable and professional manner during her market assessment of my home. At the time of my home sale, she had close to 20 years of exper...
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David & Joan G.

David & Joan G.

When we decided to sell our home, Kristi was recommended to us by our daughter. Kristi had very current information about the value of our home, and we had two offers on our home within four days. We began the search for our ne...
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Ryan D.

Ryan D.

I would highly recommend Kristi Smith. Kristi helped me with a home purchase in Carmel Valley, CA. She was hard-working and professional during the entire escrow process.
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Kono & Whatt B.

Kono & Whatt B.

Kristi is beyond qualified and extremely knowledgeable about real estate. We knew we could trust her with the biggest purchase of our lives! Her patience with us was incredible. Throughout a five-year search, she was always wil...
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Al M.

Al M.

Dear Kristi, Please accept my sincere thanks for the fabulous job you did in the sale of my beautiful condo in Solana Beach. I couldn't be more impressed with your professionalism and your hard work. You were always there when ...
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Buyer

Buyer

Kristi was a fantastic real estate agent. She represented us in the sale of our house and the purchase of our current house. We never felt pressured to buy into a competitive seller's market during the Spring and Summer of 2013...
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Buyer | Seller

Buyer | Seller

Kristi is very professional and personable. She is proficient, competent, and thorough and makes every part of the home selling/buying process comfortable and manageable! I highly recommend Kristi if you are looking to sell you...
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Buyer

Buyer

Working with Kristi Smith was a profitable pleasure! I chose Kristi because of her very personable and professional manner during her market assessment of my home. At the time of my home sale, she had close to 20 years of exper...
Read More
Julia E.

Julia E.

I highly recommend Kristi Smith to help you with any real estate transaction! Kristi did a wonderful job selling our family home of 37 years. Kristi did the research and priced it just right! It sold in less than 30 days. Krist...
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