INFORMATION FOR SELLERS
SELLING YOUR HOME
At BLUHOUZ, we are an experienced team of realtors with the #1 goal to provide our clients with a VIP style of service that leaves the process of selling a home enjoyable & seamless. When selling your home or property with the BLUHOUZ team you will immediately notice that we utilize advanced Technology and enhanced marketing strategies that get your property in front of the most potential buyers. This in turn gets buyers competing for your home and getting you the highest possible sales price in the least amount of time!
FINDING THE RIGHT REALTOR
Selling a home isn’t easy. It’s a high-stakes, complex transaction and requires a considerable amount of time and expertise to get a good outcome. If you’re looking to sell your Florida home for the best price — and minimize stress along the way — you need to contact a BLUHOUZ team member today!
We know exactly what local buyers want and how to reach them. We’ll offer expert advice, guidance, and support every step of the way, from the initial listing all the way through closing.
DECIDE WHEN TO SELL
The best time to sell isn’t just based on broader, constantly changing economic factors (interest rates, job growth, financial markets, etc.). It depends on micro-level, local market activity too. If you want advice on the best time to sell in your area specifically, contact a BLUHOUZ team member today!.
PRICE YOUR HOME....RIGHT
A comparative market analysis (CMA) is a tool used to get an accurate idea of your home’s value. It’s calculated by comparing sales prices of homes recently sold in your area and takes into consideration data points such as square footage, the condition of your home, and any special features it has.
It’s important to note that comparative market analysis is not an appraisal. However, a CMA can help you create a strategic and realistic pricing plan for your sales goals.
A BLUHOUZ team member is invaluable when it comes to accurately assess the value of your home — especially if you need a fast sale, without compromising on your sales price.
PREPARING & MARKETING YOUR HOME
We will create a game plan tailored for you. The process of preparing to list your home includes creating a timeline, discussing what you may need to do to prepare your home for showings, a professional photo shoot, and the act of filling out contracts and disclosures. Once complete, now we get busy with online, email, and print advertising to market your home in the best light.
SHOWINGS BEGIN!
If you want to sell your home, you have to be open and flexible to buyers stopping by to take a look. Often showings take less than 20 minutes, and it’s almost impossible to sell your home without them.
If you really want to make your home easily accessible for buyers, especially those with busy schedules, you should consider holding multiple open houses. Although an open house many seem inconvenient, it’s a highly effective way to ensure your home is exposed to buyers, and can actually be more convenient than scheduling individual showings.
REVIEWING OFFERS & NEGOTIATIONS
We will explain the terms of the offer and verify the buyer qualifications. Negotiation takes place between agents in order to come to agreeable terms. Once the offer is accepted by all parties and “executed” then shared with lenders, title companies and home owner associations. The buyer will begin their due diligence and perform inspections. Repairs may be negotiated. Lenders will perform appraisals.
APPRAISAL & INSPECTIONS
The next step in the sales process is the home inspection. Although most sellers dread the home inspection, it rarely highlights anything that homeowners aren’t already aware of.
Once the inspection period is over, the appraisal process begins. An appraisal is a professional opinion of a home’s market value and is performed by a licensed appraiser. The appraisal is ordered by the buyer’s lender and helps to protect the lender from giving the borrower more money than the home is worth. If your buyer is purchasing in cash, they may not request an appraisal.
CLOSING
Prior to closing, an additional document called a “Closing Statement” will be issued by the title company or closing agent. Arrangements will be made for the time you’ll come in to sign closing papers. Keep in mind this can be done in advance, or as a mail-away option. Rarely do we ever have buyer and seller sit together in the same room to sign all the papers due to confidentiality especially when buyers are signing financing paperwork. The day before, or the morning of closing, the buyer and their agent will perform a final walk-through. All keys, garage door openers, manuals and instructions for the buyer should be left in a conspicuous location.
TIPS FOR GETTING READY TO SELL
Before putting the sign on your lawn and advertising your home, there are a few key steps you can take to make your home more sellable for which we can coach you through.
Your home may be special to you, but for potential buyers, it’s just another property. To sell it, get over your emotional attachment and think of your home as a product. “For many retirees, this is probably the biggest hurdle to overcome, especially for those who’ve been living in their home for a decade or more,” says Lori Matzke, owner of Home Staging Expert in Arlington, Minn. Just because you love your home’s brightly painted accent wall or bold, patterned wallpaper doesn’t mean others will find it attractive. Look at the space as a buyer would — with a critical eye — to spot what needs changing.
Homebuyers like to picture themselves living in the home with their furnishings in the room. So put away family photos, knickknacks and collectibles, and remove pictures from the walls and mantels.
Downsizing your belongings helps your house command a higher selling price. “The less stuff in a room, the bigger it looks,” says Mary Kay Buysse, executive director of the National Association of Senior and Specialty Move Managers in Hinsdale, Ill. If weeding out a lifetime of possessions seems overwhelming, hire a professional organizer, who will even call the movers and donate your giveaways. Organizers charge between $50 and $125 an hour, or between $3,000 and $5,000 to help clean out an entire house.
Although rooms should be free of clutter, you don’t want them completely empty either. If you need to move out of the house while it’s on the market or just want more neutral, attractive furniture to show off the rooms, a staging company can help. Traditional staging usually involves furnishing only a few key rooms, such as the living room, dining room, master bedroom, master bathroom and a half bath. This can cost anywhere from a few hundred dollars to upwards of $6,000 if you end up renting the furniture for an extended period.
As a cheaper alternative to traditional staging, firms can digitally add pieces of furniture to pictures of the rooms in your house. These photographs can then be used on websites that show home listings. Virtual staging costs about $500 total and lets you furnish spaces you wouldn’t ordinarily do with traditional staging, like placing a pool table in a recreation room. The downside is the rooms you are virtually staging must be completely empty.
If more significant renovations are needed, limit them to simpler projects, such as upgrading kitchen appliances or bathroom cabinets, rather than knocking down walls to reconfigure the room’s footprint. Any improvements you make should be in line with the average home prices in your area. You don’t want the nicest house on the block, If your house is in a moderate price range, pick moderately priced cabinets and appliances. Otherwise, you aren’t going to make the money back.
