Selling Your Home: A Guide for First Time Home Sellers
How to figure out exactly what you want, and how to work with the experts who’ll help you get it.
You love and cherish your home. You want the next owner to fall in love with it, too — through photos, through words, and through the experience of walking through your front door. But, perhaps most, you want to get the price you want. Either way, there are numerous things to consider before and after you put your home on the market.
From picking the right agent to pricing your home correctly, you put yourself in the best position to get the desired results when you do things right.
No matter what the market is doing now, understand that you can sell your home if you want to.
When it's time to move, you need someone who will advertise your home, show to prospective buyers, negotiate the purchase contract, arrange financing, oversee the inspections, handle all necessary paperwork and supervise the closing. I can take care of everything you need, from start to close.
Things like staging the home, making repairs or minor improvements, or even simply painting the walls can be the difference between a home resting on the market and one that's sold fast.
Now, let’s talk about selling your house.
First Time Home Sellers Guide 2024
If you’re a first-time home seller and need to sell your property, I’ve got you covered.
In this first-time home sellers guide, I’ll share some best practices that all new sellers must follow. This free guide will help you get ready for every step of the home-selling process. You can download the guide (via PDF) here - or towards the bottom of this blog post.
Step One: Find Your Motivation
Know What You Want: First things first, You need to know what you want (and what your partner wants) in order to sell your home with minimum frustration. Why are you moving? What do you expect from the process? When, exactly, should you put that For Sale sign in the yard? I can help you get your thoughts in order with this Home Selling Worksheet.
Do Your Research: Unless you bought your home last week, the housing market changed since you became a homeowner. Mortgage rates fluctuate, inventory shifts over time — these are just a few of the factors that affect the state of the market, and every market is unique. Educate yourself on what to expect.
Step Two: Complete Listing Agreement
Interview & Select an Agent: This is the most important relationship you’ll form on your home selling journey. Pick the right agent and you’ll likely get a better sales price for your house.
Interested in working with me directly? Tap the button below and let’s chat!
Step Three: Complete Home Improvements
It is important to show your home at its best in order to get it sold quickly and for the most value. Some common home improvements sellers may need to make before getting your home on the market are things like: Painting walls neutral color, get your home professionally cleaned including your floors and carpets, power washing the driveway and porch.
Step Four: Market Your Home
Home buyers look at countless listings online. The best-marketed homes have beautiful photos and compelling property descriptions, so they can get likes — which can amount to buyer interest — on social media. Agents may also use videos, virtual tours, texts, and audio messages. It’s time to consider how to promote your property.
Step Five: Stage Your House to Sell
Prep Your Home for Sale: Today, home buyers have unfettered access to property listings online, so you have to make a great first impression — on the internet and in real life. That means you’ll have to declutter all the stuff you’ve accumulated over the years, make any necessary repairs, and get your home in swoon-worthy condition.
Step Six: Price Your Home
How much is your home worth? That’s the … $500,000 question. Whatever the number, you need to know it.
Step Seven: Receive Offers & Negotiate
Yes, you might get offers plural, depending on your market. Assuming you’ve collaborated with your agent, you’ve likely positioned yourself to receive attractive bids. Your agent will review each offer with you to determine which is best for you.
Negotiate With the Buyer: To get the best deal for you, you’ll likely have to do some negotiating. Your agent will help you craft a strategic counteroffer to the buyer’s offer, factoring in not only money, but contingencies, etc.
Ideally, as a seller, you’ll want to find a buyer who is reliable, has a strong financing method, and wants to close the deal quickly.
Step Eight: Accept an Offer
You have 3 choices when you get an offer for your home: Accept, Reject or Counter-Offer.
Don’t be tempted to take the highest offer – it’s not always the best one!
A lot can happen in a real estate transaction, and deals can fall through at the last minute. A good agent can manage any complexity to avoid delays and ensure a smooth process.
Step Nine: Prepare for Closing
Settlement, or closing, is the last step in the home selling process. This is where you sign the final paperwork, make this whole thing official, and collect your check. Before that can happen though, you’ll have to prepare your home for the buyer’s final walk-through and troubleshoot any last-minute issues.
Step Ten: Move Out!
Double check your closets, drawers, storage, and garage to make sure you don’t leave anything behind.
Close windows and drapes/blinds.
Lock all the doors.
If you still have electricity, turn everything off, including the lights.
Save closing documents for reporting the sale on federal and state tax forms.
Change your address!
GET THE FULL SELLERS GUIDE HERE
While this blog post is geared towards Home Sellers, I’d like to add that we have designed a BUYERS GUIDE, too. Get the BUYERS Guide Here!
Want to work with me directly? You call, I answer!
While it may seem like a lot of daunting tasks, I am here to help guide you and make the process easy and effortless. I am a firm believer in choosing an agent who works for you and with you. With me as your agent, you will never have to go down the long road with doubts or confusions. I will continuously be right by your side every step of the way. I’ll always be honest and direct with you and only take on the project if I feel confident, we can help you reach your goals.
Trying to sell a house fast can be an emotional process with multiple steps to go through to get your house sold. The idea, however, is to understand the market and make the right choices to prepare your home. As first-time sellers, do your due diligence ahead of time and it will pay off later. Utilize real estate professionals that have the tools and knowledge to make these processes easy. By following the best practices detailed in our first-time home sellers guide, you can sell your house fast and get the best price for your home.
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If you have any questions regarding the home selling process, reach out to me here. If you are local or thinking about selling in the Ventura County area, I’d love to meet over coffee.
It is my commitment to provide you with reliable, professional and courteous service to help you understand and feel comfortable throughout your home selling journey.
Are you looking to sell your first home in 2024?
Let me know in the comments!
-Susan
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Designer | Stylist | REALTOR
Susan Ashouri is founder of Livin With Susan and SugarPartiesLA. When she’s not working, you'll find her cherishing moments with her loved ones, getting creative with design, and sipping on refreshing iced coffees.
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