Get Top Dollar for Your Home

It takes a good strategy and commitment to get the price your house deserves.

Who Should Sell Your Home

• If you sell it yourself, you’ll save money on an agent commission, but it’s time-consuming, and you’ll face marketing costs, legal paperwork processing fees and other expenses.
• A real estate agent is a better bet if he or she can provide good references from former clients and has good answers to the following questions:
• How long have you worked in real estate?
• What price range do you work with?
• How familiar are you with the area?
• How many sellers and buyers are you working with now? (Too many means they’re overextended.)
• Can you give me references from former clients?
• And if you’re in the military, ask if they understand the unique challenges you face, such as buying a home with little equity due to frequent moves, the tax consequences for staying in the home for less than two years, and the chance of losing VA loan rights if you sign your loan over to someone else.

What is a fair listing price?

• Get opinions from agents who tour your home.
• Ask agents for a Comparative Market Analysis (CMA), which shows the current prices of comparable properties.
• Research market conditions: Are local home prices up or down? Will you sell in the spring homebuying season or winter? Are interest rates good? How strong is your local job market?
• Other Factors : Roof troubles, location issues, etc. They may affect your listing price.
• Get an appraisal, which usually costs under $500, if you think your home is worth significantly more than others in your area (due to improvements, for instance). If real estate sales are brisk, prospective buyers will probably pay extra for your upgrades. Note: The results of this appraisal may not be considered when applying for your mortgage; check with your lender.

How to Attract Buyers

• Have your agent post with the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) and on Web sites.
• Leave a house key in a lockbox. Your home will probably sell faster if it’s made accessible to more prospective buyers. Most sell in 120 days, but some sell in 7, depending on local markets.
• For open houses, open all blinds and draperies and increase light bulb wattage. Print copies of relevant information like room dimensions, school districts and utility costs.
• Consider offering a home warranty. Usually under $500, it covers certain repairs or emerging problems just before, during and up to a year after the sale.

How to Negotiate

• Every offer deserves a response, even if the buyer is thousands below your price. Most buyers start low to begin negotiations.
• An acceptable offer comes close to the minimum you’d happily accept for your property.
• Also consider whether or not the offer hinges on the sale of the buyer’s current home, which could take a while.
• Some buyers are preapproved for home-loan financing, which means they have already spoken to a lender and can probably close the deal quickly.

How to Close

Once the price is set, the purchaser and the buyer sign the contract specifying the sale’s terms and a title attorney searches the property records for outstanding liens.

On or near the day of the closing, there’s a walk-through. Ideally, the buyer should see your home with all belongings removed. Then you’ll sign over the property and turn your full attention to your new adventure—using the proceeds for your new home.