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A Step-by-Step 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 team of real estate agents 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.

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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 listing REALTOR® once you choose one so they can adjust your selling plan accordingly.

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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 an experienced real estate agent is the best way to determine the right selling price for your home. Your listing agent can determine what other comparable homes are selling for, evaluate the current market, and may even suggest a home appraisal.

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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 removing clutter, depersonalizing the space so that buyers can envision themselves in the home, making any small repairs, and doing a deep clean to make sure your home is in pristine condition. We offer a free staging consultation for all our home sellers to help them prepare their home for sale.

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Step 4: Develop a Marketing Strategy

We 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. Our team creates a marketing campaign that aims to get the most possible traffic to your listing.

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Step 5: Evaluate Offers

Receiving an offer is an exciting part of the process, but it doesn’t mean the journey is over. We 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.

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Step 6: Accept an Offer

Once we deem the offer acceptable, we will review the proposed contract to make sure it’s all in order and includes the necessary components such as earnest money amount, financing, contingencies, and closing date. When both parties have agreed to the terms, a final contract will be prepared by your listing agent.

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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. We will head up efforts to develop and execute this list and make sure everything is in order by the closing date. Once all contingencies have been satisfied, you need to make arrangements to move out of the home so the new buyer can take possession.

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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. We will meet with the closing attorney 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 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.

Download Our Seller E-Book

Are you thinking about selling your house soon? It's difficult to know when is the best time to sell, or how to get the most money for your house, but you don't need to go through the process alone. This free e-Book will answer many of your questions and likely bring up a few things you haven't even thought about yet. Simply fill out the form below to receive your copy.
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WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

Laura was such a joy to work with throughout the home-buying process. She listened to what we wanted and sought it out. She encouraged us every step of the way. We could not be happier.

— Susan

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

Thanks to you my heart is happy. Being with our girls, grandson, great-granddaughter and back to the ocean is all thanks to you. We drove down to the town I grew up in which is about 20 minutes away and sat by the ocean for a few hours. It was so relaxing and beautiful. The kids could not be happier having us home. It is so nice having them drop by when they are out and about. Laura, I really feel we owe...

— Terry W.

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

We always enjoy working with Laura and her team on real estate transactions because they are simply the best in the business. Laura has handled 6 transactions for us over 20 years and every one was handled flawlessly! Way to go Team Laura!

— Jerry M.

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

Laura made selling my home a breeze. Her recommendations on things I could improve to get top dollar were right on. I had seventeen showings, and eleven offers and it sold in three days! I would recommend her with a ten-star rating if you had one.

— Patricia B.

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

Laura has been selling houses for many years and we have used her for the buying and selling of 3 houses. She is very professional and looks out for your best interests in every aspect of the sale. She has an expert knowledge of West Cobb. I would definitely recommend Laura to anyone looking for an agent.

— Lisa W.

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

This was the greatest experience I have had in a real estate transaction. Laura Miller Edwards Realty Group was very responsible responsive and always professional. I recommend this agent for any real estate transactions and would go to them again if I ever need that service. Their team kept me informed and represented me and my interests with utmost integrity.

— Martinez L.

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

Laura and her team were extremely professional, proactive, and responsive. Laura helped guide me through decisions during the selling and closing process and I know the sale of my home was not just a transaction to her. I left the closing table knowing I had made the right decision to have Laura market my home. I highly recommend Laura to anyone looking to sell or purchase a home.

— Loria L.

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

Laura is the best! My husband and I felt comfortable discussing every detail from selling our home to buying our new home. She knows the market and could guide us through what to expect and our responsibilities for having a successful transaction. Her team helped with details that needed immediate attention. Her high values are clear and make it easy to listen to her advice. She is there for you 100 perc...

— Julie P.

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

Couldn't ask for better! Laura brings a lot to the table with experience and knowledge. Her team handled each part of the listing from the professional photographer to the closing with excellence and great communication. Laura met with us before listing and explained the agreement and answered our questions. She also got the listing up on the listing services very quickly. Each showing was clearly commun...

— Kent

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

Laura has been my realtor since 1998, purchased my 1st home. When I made the decision to sell and buy again there was no other person that I would have chosen besides Laura. She is detailed, ensuring I got the best neighborhood and, the best lot and it was because of her my 1st house was under contract in 3 days. Here again selling, deciding to relocate and Laura was the right choice for me. This time 3 ...

— Tari R.

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

I recently turned to Laura when I had the difficult task of selling my mother's home. She was with me every step of the way, from advising me of what updates could help raise the value of the home all the way to a successful closing (and provided caring support as I said a tearful goodbye to the house that brought my parents so much joy)! In addition to selling my mom's home, Laura has helped me find a b...

— Donna