Roadmap to Selling Your Home
So you've decided to sell your house.
Before anything else it's a good idea to
sit down and clarify your motivations
and draw up a basic time frame for the
selling process.
Why Sell?
Why do you want to sell
your house? Do you intend to simply find
a larger home, or do you plan on moving
to another neighborhood, school
district, city or state? You might think
your reasons are obvious, but it would
do well to consider the implications of
each option for your family's lifestyle,
opportunities and finances. Being clear
about your intentions for selling will
make it easier for us to determine the
most appropriate option for your
specified financial, lifestyle and real
estate goals.
When Should I Sell? You should
immediately establish your time frame
for selling. If you need to sell
quickly, you can speed up the process by
hiring an experienced agent as opposed
to selling it yourself. If there's no
pressing need to sell immediately, you
can sit down with an expert real estate
team to thoroughly review the current
market conditions and find the most
favorable time to sell.
What's The Market Like?
When you work
with Florida Executive Realty Management
Corporation, you can be sure that you'll
have our knowledge, expertise and
negotiating skills at work for you to
arrive at the best market prices and
terms. We'll keep you up-to-date on what
is happening in the marketplace and the
price, financing, terms and conditions
of competing properties. With us, you'll
know exactly how to price and when to
sell your home. Contact us at
(561) 687-1901 to learn more about how
you can optimize your sale for the Palm
Beaches real estate market.
How Do I Optimize My Finances?
Deciding to sell your home in today's
demands a serious consideration of your
current financial situation and future
possibilities. With the help of your
Acme agent, you'll be able to
effectively assess the cumulative impact
of these changes, estimate potential
proceeds of selling your home, and plan
effective tax savings and estate
planning strategies. We'll ensure that
you not only take control of your
finances, but use them to their fullest
potential. Send us an email at
fermc@aol.com to learn more.
Why
Should You Choose Our Professionals?
You may opt to sell your property
independently. There are many excellent
reasons, however, why you should choose
us to assist you in this important
undertaking. We will ensure that you
maximize your opportunities in the
current real estate market. With our
extensive contact networks that we have
developed through the many national and
international organizations, of which we
are members, as well as our current and
past clients, we will employ the most
effective marketing and advertising
strategies for your property. We will
also guide you through the complicated
paperwork involved, from the initial
agreement to the final documents.
What
To Look For In An Agent. The
following are a couple of factors to
keep in mind when looking for a listing
agent:
1.
Education. The most important factor
in choosing a real estate professional
is their education in the real estate
industry. Our professionals have
advanced training and education,
allowing them to be among the top agents
in the world and earning prestigious
designations in the various fields of
real estate.
2.
Experience and Expertise. You want a
full-time agent who is familiar with
your area and with the type of property
you intend to sell. Does he or she
employ a diverse range of marketing and
advertising strategies? How tech-savvy
is your agent? How many similar
properties has he or she been able to
sell in the past?
3.
Availability and Commitment. Your
agent should be capable of prompt and
decisive action during the course of
selling your property. Does your agent
make it a point to keep in touch with
you constantly? Can your agent easily be
contacted in case of emergencies or even
for the simplest questions? Is your
agent available on the weekends or in
the evenings when most buyers are out
looking?
4.
Rapport. Does your agent take the
time to listen to your goals and clarify
your needs? Can your agent understand
your unique situation and be genuinely
concerned about the outcome of the
process? Your listing agent will be your
guide and partner in this crucial
decision, so it is important to find one
with whom you can get along.
What
Is Your Property Worth? Without a
professional agent, most independent
property sellers tend to overestimate
the value of their property. You can
avoid this pitfall by consulting with an
experienced real estate listing agent.
Prepare to Sell You can do a lot to
increase the appeal of your property and
to create a lasting impact on potential
buyers.
What
To Do To Prepare. The following are
a couple of factors to keep in mind when
listing your property for sale:
1.
Curb Appeal. Keeping your landscape
pristine, and adding creative touches to
your yard, such as colorful annuals,
will create an immediate impact on
passers-by and potential buyers.
2.
Property Repairs. Simple upgrades
such as window repairs, polishing the
doorknobs, and a fresh coat of paint in
the most frequently used rooms will
instantly brighten up the property.
3.
Cleanliness and Staging. Keep your
property uncluttered, sweet-smelling and
well-lit from top-to-bottom. Pay
attention to details: put away the kitty
litter, place a vase of fresh flowers
near the entryway, pop a batch of
cinnamon rolls in the oven, have your
carpets cleaned. Your agent will scan
the property before it is listed for
sale to see how you can improve the
staging of your property.
4.
Disclosures and Inspections. We are
very familiar with the legal procedures
involved in disclosures and are ready to
help you develop a thorough disclosure
statement beneficial to both you and the
buyer, as well as suggest home
improvement measures before placing your
property on the market (such as termite
and pest inspections).
5.
Showtime. Presenting your property
to potential buyers is a job that we
will take care of for you. Buyers feel
more comfortable discussing the property
with the agent, if you are not there.
Moreover, your agent will know what
information will be most useful in
representing your interests when
speaking with prospective buyers.
The
Price Is Not Always Right. "The
higher the price, the better the offer."
Do not let yourself be fooled by this
popular misconception. Price is not
always the determining factor when
accepting an offer for several important
reasons: the initial offer is usually
not final, and there are a number of
terms and conditions that may influence
the final outcome of a price. You can
trust our professionals to help you
thoroughly evaluate every proposal
without compromising your marketing
position.
Negotiating The Right Way. We take
the ethical responsibility of fairly
negotiating contractual terms very
seriously. It is our job to find a
win-win agreement that is beneficial to
all parties involved. You may even have
to deal with multiple offers before
ratifying the one you judge to be the
most suitable for you - and as your
agents, we will guarantee a thorough and
objective assessment of each offer to
help you make the right choice.
The
Initial Agreement and Deposit. An
effective agreement is a legal
arrangement between a potential
purchaser and the property’s seller.
Laws vary from state to state, but in
order to be a legally, binding
agreement, the agreement may require
consideration. This consideration
(initial and additional deposit) is to
be held in the closing agent’s escrow
account pending the fulfillment of
conditions or contingencies in the
effective agreement.
Some
important tips to keep in mind to
streamline the process even further:
Keep written records of everything. For
the sake of clarity, it will be
extremely useful to transcribe all
verbal agreements including
counter-offers and addendums, and
convert them to written agreements to be
signed by both parties. We will assist
you in drafting all the paperwork for
your sale and make sure that you have
copies of everything. Stick to the
schedule. Now that you have chosen your
offer, you and the buyer will be given a
timeline to mark every stage in the
process of closing the real estate
contract. Meeting the requirements on
time ensures a smoother flow of
negotiations and also ensures that each
party involved is not in breach of their
agreements. During the process we will
keep you constantly updated so you will
always be prepared for the next step.
Inspection and Appraisals Most buyers
will have the property inspected by a
licensed property inspector within the
timeframe that was agreed upon in the
effective contract to purchase. Some
buyers will have several different
inspectors inspect the property, if they
wish to obtain professional opinions
from inspectors who specialize in a
specific area (eg. roof, HVAC,
structure). If the agreement is
conditional upon financing, then the
property will be appraised by a licensed
appraiser to determine the value for the
lending institution via third party.
This is done so that the lending
institution can confirm their investment
in your property is accurate. A buyer of
a commercial property may also have a
complete environmental audit performed
and/or soil test, if required by the
lending institution.
The
Closing Agent. Either a title
company or an attorney will be selected
as the closing agent, whose job is to
examine and insure clear title to real
estate. After researching the complete
recorded history of your property, they
will certify that 1) your title is free
and clear of encumbrances (eg.
mortgages, leases, or restrictions,
liens) by the date of closing; and 2)
all new encumbrances are duly included
in the title.
Contingencies. A contingency is a
condition that must be met before a
contract becomes legally binding. For
instance, a buyer will usually include a
contingency stating that their contract
is binding only when there is a
satisfactory home inspection report from
a qualified inspector.
Before
completing his or her purchase of your
property, the buyer goes over every
aspect of the property, as provided for
by purchase agreements and any
applicable addendums. These include:
Obtaining financing and insurance;
Reviewing all pertinent documents, such
as preliminary title reports and
disclosure documents; and Inspecting the
property. The buyer has the right to
determine the condition of your property
by subjecting it to a wide range of
inspections, such as roof, termite/pest,
chimney/fireplace, property boundary
survey, well, septic, pool/spa,
arborist, mold, lead based paint, HVAC,
etc. Depending on the outcome of these
inspections, one of two things may
happen: Either each milestone is
successfully closed and the
contingencies will be removed, bringing
you one step closer to the closing; or
The buyer, after reviewing the property
and the papers, requests a renegotiation
of the terms of contract (usually the
price). How do you respond objectively
and fairly to the buyer when a
renegotiation is demanded, while acting
in your best interests? This is when a
professional listing agent can make a
real difference in the outcome of the
transaction. Having dealt with various
property sales in the past, we guarantee
our expertise and total commitment to
every customer, no matter what their
situation is.
Loan
Approval and Appraisal. We suggest
that you accept buyers who have a
lender's pre-approval, approval letter,
or written loan commitment, which is a
better guarantee of loan approval than a
pre-qualification or no documentation
from a lending institute. Expect an
appraiser from the lender's company to
review your property and verify that the
sales price is appropriate.
Closing Day If you have come this
far, this means that it is almost time
for a congratulations, but not yet. Do
not forget to tie up these loose ends:
Final Walk-Through Inspection. More
of a formality than anything else, the
final inspection takes place the day
before, or the day of the closing. The
buyer visits the property to verify that
all is in working order, everything is
the same as when the buyer last viewed
the property, and that there are no
extra items left behind.
Cancel Home Services and Utilities.
We will provide a list of useful numbers
for the termination of home services and
utilities after the closing occurs.
Be
Prepared. We are ready to assist you
should an unforeseen glitch pop up, even
at this last stage. If something at the
property breaks down or the buyers' loan
does not pull through on time, there is
no need to worry. We have encountered
these problems before so we know how to
handle them efficiently and in a
stress-free manner.
Closing. The closing agent will
furnish all parties involved with a
settlement statement, which summarizes
and details the financial transactions
enacted in the process. The buyer(s)
will sign this statement and then you
will sign as well as the closing agent,
certifying its accuracy. If you are
unable to attend the scheduled closing,
then arrangements can be made depending
on the circumstances and the notice that
we receive. If you are receiving funds
from the transaction, you can elect to
either have the funds wired
electronically to an account at your
financial institution, or have a check
issued to you at the closing. The seller
should arrange to have all property keys
and any other important information for
the new purchaser at the closing, so
that the purchaser may receive these
items at this time.
