The Ultimate Guide on How to Sell a House

If you are planning to move to another home in the same state, you may consider a contingency purchase. If you are buying an RV and traveling around the country, then selling on contingency is not relevant to you. It’s important to have some kind of plan on your next move before you decide to sell your home. Real estate markets are on fire across the entire country right now, so you can’t always count on “time to think” while your home is on the market. Make sure you know what your plan is and communicate it clearly to your selling agent.

There are some improvements or fixes that you don’t always need to make before selling your home including finishing touches because your buyer might replace them anyway. However, there are some basic items that should be inspected and fixed before you list your home. These items include repairing HVAC systems, replacing broken glass, filling cracks or holes in walls and ceilings and fixing any broken appliances. It’s also worth fixing any leaking faucets that you might have. The chances of your potential buyers requesting an inspection are high and repairing these items ahead of time will help the buyer feel more comfortable with the condition of your home.

Spring is often considered the best time to sell a home because of historical days-on-market, but this question really depends on your needs and timeline! If you are not in a rush to sell your home, selling in Fall or Winter might be a better option for you. Due to the nature of Spring and Summer, a lot of people and families try to move before the next school year starts. If you do not have kids or are not in a rush to sell your home, you can potentially wait for a slower time in the market. However, if you are eager to sell your home and move onto your next adventure, you will want to list your home generally speaking in the warmer months. Your agent will be able to give you additional insight on this as they have the best sense of your current and potential market.

Deciding what to list your home for can often be one of the hardest things to decide on. You obviously want to make as much as you can during the sale but it’s also important to list your home for a reasonable cost – buyers know when a home is overpriced and they are less likely to make an offer. Work with your real estate agent to get a comparative market analysis so you can understand the price range in your neighborhood. There are also plenty of home valuation tools you can use online to get an estimate. The most accurate estimate you get will be from a home appraisal which often happens during the closing process.

There are some costs that go into selling your home that you might not think about like the cost of repairs or potential contingencies from your prospective buyers. Generally speaking, a large portion of closing costs are covered by the buyers, but the sellers are responsible for paying the agent’s commission which tends to be between 4-6% of the sale price. If you are selling in a buyers’ market (i.e., there are a lot of homes for sale) you should be prepared to cover a few more costs. If you intend to stage your home or do a pre-sale inspection, these items will also add to the overall cost of selling your home, although they might also ensure that your home sells at or above the list price.

While laws and requirements vary state-to-state, there are some important documents that are worth locating prior to listing your home for sale. These documents include the original purchase contract, the appraisal of your home from when you bought it, home repair and maintenance records, a mortgage statement showing the amount of loan remaining, HOA documents, home insurance records, utility bills and manuals or warranty information on things like HVAC systems. These items will help your real estate agent keep the home selling process smooth and efficient. It’s possible you will need to provide other documents so be sure to consult your real estate agent and/or local government.

Hopefully this gives you a better idea of things you need to consider before selling your home. Once you are ready to list your home, there are things that you need to think about during the selling process.

Yes! Selling a home is a very complicated and nuanced process, and it’s more time-consuming than you might think. There are reasons people do it as a full-time profession! Less than 15% of homes are sold by the owner and that is because there is a lot of back and forth involved in the home selling process. Unless you are able to commit a huge portion of your time and energy to learn how to sell your own home, we recommend hiring a realtor. We might be biased, but we think we are some of the best in the game so if you are looking for a realtor in Denver we would love to get to know you.

There is no right or wrong answer here. Depending on your timeline and your realtor’s schedule, an open house might make sense. However, there are a lot of homes that sell without hosting an open house. Having a refined listing with high-quality pictures combined with a skilled agent will get your home sold most of the time. If you are trying to sell your home quickly, open houses are a great way to attract a lot of buyers in a short amount of time. Keep in mind that open houses do not always result in a sale and there may be upfront costs to hosting one. Either way, consult with your agent about their preference and the current market before you make your decision.

If your home is not selling, there are a few things you can do. First, look at some of the permanent fixtures or furnishings. If they are outdated or have visible wear and tear on them consider updating them. This can include light fixtures, vent covers, faucets, etc. The more updated your home and furnishings, the more likely it is to sell. If you make updates and it’s still not selling, you may need to reduce the listing price. Often times this can expedite the sale of the listing either by making it a fair price or making it a competitive price that will potentially receive multiple offers and drive up the sale price. Consult with your realtor before making changes to your listing, but if your home is not selling at the speed that you’d like, it might be worth considering.

Yes, absolutely! Plenty of sellers live in their homes while they are on the market and buyers tend to be very understanding of that. It is important to remember that potential buyers do want to envision themselves living in the home, so have a lot of personal “clutter” can impact the showing experience. If you are living in your home while it is on the market, you will want to be very diligent about keeping your home clean, tidy and appealing to buyers. If you are moving to a new home and considering buying new furniture when you move because your current furniture is visibly worn, it might be worth replacing before you sell – you can always move it afterwards.

Again, there is no right answer to this question. If you have eclectic and unique taste, then it might be worth staging your home for sale. If your furnishings are clean and modern, then you might not need to stage your home. Staging homes is an investment that is often partially if not entirely covered by the seller, so you will need to factor it into your overall closing costs if you plan to stage. There are plenty of sellers who do not stage their home for sale, so do not feel like you need to! However, if your home truly isn’t selling and is sitting on the market it could be a good investment.

Generally speaking, your home should remain in the condition it hit the market in. There are, of course, some exceptions to this including updating outdated furnishings. However, it is not recommended to change anything like paint, flooring or wall layout. These things all take time and if a potential buyer sees pictures on a listing that do not match the home they are showing, they may get confused. Run any changes you intend to make by your real estate agent to ensure that you are not negatively impacting your ability to sell your home.

There are a few things that are highly recommended you disclose during the closing process. These include a death in the home, major repairs both interior and exterior, water damage, Homeowner’s Association rules, neighborhood nuisances and hazards. Outside of that, you are free to disclose however much or little you like. It’s worth noting that most buyers will request an inspection as a contingency of the sale, so you won’t be able to hide many issues with your home. Talk with your agent about anything you believe might require disclosure and they will advise you accordingly.

Appraisals and inspections happen after an offer is accepted but before the closing process is complete. Generally, buyers and their agents will want to schedule inspections fairly quickly to make sure that the home does not have significant issues. Sometimes the appraisal and inspection lead to additional negotiations and contingencies so it’s best to get this done as quickly as possible. If you did a pre-sale inspection, you can provide this to the buyers and they may find it sufficient, or they may want to have an inspector of their choosing come to the property.

If there are structural, mechanical, safety or health issues that would make the home essentially unlivable for a potential seller, you will want to get those fixed during negotiations or you can expect them to back out of the deal. Things like a deck that needs to be re-stained or some non-foundational cracks are contingencies that you can consider refusing unless the buyer marks them as high priority. Generally, the buyer’s agent will prioritize their contingencies and bring them to your agent. You can then review the requests with your agent and determine what you are and are not willing to fix. If you are desperate to sell your home, a sure-fire way to do that is agree to the contingencies set forth by the buyers.

Obviously if you are getting offers significantly over asking price, that is a sure-fire sign to accept an offer. Other appealing aspects of an offer are accepting the home as is and not buying on contingency. If you are in a sellers’ market, chances are you will get offers at or above your listing price and unless you are in a huge rush, it can be worth waiting for one of those offers to come in. If you are in a buyers’ market, offers may be coming in below your list price. If that’s the case, look for offers with less contingencies. This is where having a trusted agent can really help – they will be able to advise whether the offer is fair and a good deal to you or if you can get a better one. Make sure you are communicating with them to understand the offers that you are receiving.

While selling your current home and buying your next home at the same exact time seems ideal, it often does not happen that way. A few common solutions to selling your current home before getting your new home are asking friends and family to stay with them temporarily or getting a short-term rental. Some singles or couples without kids will also take up house-sitting gigs. There is an option that allows you to stay in your home temporarily after closing, but it requires a flexible buyer and a leaseback agreement. A leaseback agreement is an agreement between you and the buyer that allows you to stay in your home following the sale as long as you cover the new buyers monthly mortgage payments. This is more common practice than some might think so if you find yourself in this situation, it’s worth having your agent discuss this option with the buyer’s agent.

This is usually advised against and in some cases is a flat-out no. If it can be considered permanent like an appliance or something that has been drilled into a stud, it’s best to leave it there or take it down and repair the space before you list your home for sale. You are obviously allowed to take all furniture and belongings but it’s best to leave things like shelves, light fixtures and appliances behind.

Technically yes. Buyers can back out of buying your home up until the close, but it gets more complicated if both parties have already signed a purchase agreement. However, if a purchase agreement is not signed, a buyer can back out of an offer without repercussion and can often get their earnest money back. If they choose to back out after the purchase agreement has been signed by both parties it can get more complex and they might risk losing their earnest money (generally 1-2% of the total sale price). If you really want to keep your buyer, consider conceding to their contingencies and try to make the closing process as easy as possible on them.

Once your home is off the market, it’s officially time to figure out your next move (pun intended). If you are ready to buy another home, take a peek at our guide on how to buy a home to learn more about the process and how you can get started. We hope this guide was helpful in teaching you how to sell a house.

If you are looking for a trusted realtor to handle your home selling or buying needs, reach out to us today!