Selling a Home: A Guide for First-Time Home Sellers

Just like buying a home has a lot of steps, selling a home does as well. Homeowners who want to sell their current home may be unsure where to start. When is the right time to hire an agent? What should the homeowner do before creating their listing? Homeowners find themselves asking these questions, and more, and all of them are extremely important. To guide you, follow these basic steps for selling a home.

For informational purposes only. Always consult with a licensed real estate professional before proceeding with any real estate transaction.

Finish Any Renovations

Many homeowners like to do renovations or small home improvement projects before they sell their homes to make them more appealing to buyers or boost their value. Finish the projects before listing their home, and especially before taking photos for the listings. While home improvement projects can boost a home’s value, seeing those projects unfinished can turn off buyers. If you can’t finish the renovations, you may need to lower your asking price to reflect the work the new buyers will need to do to complete the home.

Hire a Real Estate Agent

A real estate agent may not seem essential initially, but an agent is a seller’s biggest advantage when selling their home. Not only do agents help market a home and find buyers, but they also help negotiate a better price for the home so the seller can make more money than they would without an agent. Their marketing expertise is invaluable for positioning the home to appeal to as many buyers as possible.

Homeowners should try to find an agent they mesh well with, not just the first one they meet. The agent should work in the area and with the same property type the homeowner is trying to sell. The seller should also feel comfortable working with the agent because they’ll work closely together from preparing the listing to closing.

Appraise the Home

Before the home can be listed, the seller must decide the price they want to sell it for. The easiest way is to appraise the home by a professional home appraiser. The appraiser inspects the home and compares it to other homes in the area to determine a fair market value. From there, the homeowner and their agent can adjust based on what they feel they can get or the current state of the market. It’s important to avoid overpricing or underpricing a home, though, so the homeowner should be careful when choosing the final price.

Wait For an Offer

Once the home is listed, buyers will start setting appointments to see it in person.  After that, it’s only a matter of time until offers start coming in. A home may only receive one offer, or it may get several. The homeowner can accept, reject, or negotiate on an offer. Negotiation can be a good tactic to get a higher price out of the home, get fewer contingencies, or make extra agreements.

Once the homeowner has gotten an offer they are happy with, they can accept it. From here, the buyer and seller work through final preparations before closing. That includes packing up to move, working with the buyer’s appraiser and home inspector, and making any negotiated repairs.

Selling a home involves many steps, but it can feel a lot easier to break those steps into more manageable chunks. Above all, having a skilled real estate agent is the best thing a seller can do to help themselves. With an agent, the seller always has someone guiding them forward and someone to consult when they aren’t sure what they should do.

For informational purposes only. Always consult with a licensed real estate professional before proceeding with any real estate transaction.

Updated January 2024