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.​​​​​​​

main

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.

main

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.

main

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.

main

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.

main

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.

main

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.

main

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.

main

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

Allie & Isaac

Allie & Isaac

Michelle is wonderful! When we first met Michelle, we instantly connected with her. Her knowledge and patience was invaluable. She helped us find and buy the perfect home. We highly recommend her as a buying agent.
Read More
Hal & Erika

Hal & Erika

Fantastic Realtor! Michelle was the primary partner and coach of experts we assembled to guide us through the process of selling our home. She worked tirelessly to ensure we were prepared and educated on the details of each ste...
Read More
Mark & Florence W.

Mark & Florence W.

Very professional and easy to work with. Michelle is the best. She is very knowledgeable about real estate on both the selling and purchasing end. We fully enjoyed our time looking at different properties. If Michelle didn’t ha...
Read More
Reid & Dianna M.

Reid & Dianna M.

Michelle Ziesch did an excellent job selling our house in Westminster, Colorado. Michelle was always very responsive to any questions or concerns we had throughout the process. Michelle assisted us with recommendations to stage...
Read More
Kerry W.

Kerry W.

Had a wonderful experience! She communicated with me throughout the process and answered all my questions! This was my first time selling a house, and she made sure to keep in contact with me throughout the process! Communicati...
Read More
Lucy H.

Lucy H.

An amazing experience from start to finish! I recently had the pleasure of working with Michelle to find my dream home, and I couldn't be happier with the experience! From start to finish, Michelle was professional, knowledgeab...
Read More
Tim & Nicole L.

Tim & Nicole L.

Wonderful and responsive. Working with Michelle was a pleasure. She is easy to talk with, immediately responsive to questions, and worked well to anticipate our needs. I would highly recommend her to anyone needing realtor serv...
Read More
Nicole & Tim L.

Nicole & Tim L.

Knowledgeable and Professional. Michelle understands the market well and gave us good advice on selling our house, including prep and pricing. She also has a good sense of value for helping us decide on our new home.
Read More
Jose R.

Jose R.

Great experience selling our house. I had an outstanding experience working with Michelle and Orchard. Their expertise, professionalism, and dedication made our selling process seamless and stress-free. I highly recommend Miche...
Read More
Hank M.

Hank M.

Perfect Agent for Selling! We chose Michelle for the sale of our property, as she had helped us with a purchase recently. Selling and buying are different in many ways, and she was an expert in helping us navigate the process. ...
Read More
Hank M.

Hank M.

Great Agent! We were in the market for a new house and hired Michelle to represent us both on the buying of a new property and selling of the current property. Michelle was very open right from the start about how she communica...
Read More
Mark & Ana O.

Mark & Ana O.

A highly responsive professional who is caring, patient, knowledgeable and trustworthy. The best! Michelle navigated us through a remote search that involved countless virtual tours (We were very picky). She took the time to un...
Read More

How much is your home worth?

  • Instant property valuation
  • Expert advice
  • Sell for more

Work With Michelle

Ready to buy or sell? Michelle brings 10 years of experience and local expertise to make your real estate journey smooth and successful. Whether you're seeking your first home, downsizing, upsizing, relocating or even an investment property, reach out to Michelle today!

Follow Me on Instagram