Determine Your Goals

The first thing you should do is determine why and when you want to sell.

The following are some key points to consider in determining your needs:

• How much money do I need from the sale of my current home
• JCS Realty can provide the seller with a sellers net sheet calculating the costs involved in selling a home and give an estimate of how much the home is worth plus the average time the comparable houses take to sell.
  (Free CMA)

• Where do I want to move.
• JCS Realty can provide information about neighborhoods, communities, and homes for sale.

• Timing of when I want to move.

• The majority of homeowners like to sell their homes in the spring/summer time due to the nicer weather or the kids may be getting out of school or the house and yard looks better. Any time of the year is a good time to sell. When you sell in the winter, you are competing against fewer homes on the market or when you sell in the summer you compete against more sellers yet more buyers are searching for homes at this time so it is all relative.

• Consider the steps involved in buying your home (home buying process)

Preparing Your Home To Sell

When you put your home on the market to sell, you will be competing against similar homes so it is important to prepare your home to sell. To get the highest possible price for your home there are a few things that you can do to prepare and make your home more appealing to potential buyers.

Here are a few examples

• Get rid of clutter
• Keep everything extra clean
• Make sure lights work properly
• Keep lawn trimmed and garden areas neat
• Paint if needed
• Get rid of smells
• Finish any minor repairs needed
• Wash windows
• If vacant, try to keep some furniture and pictures in home

Seek Professional Assistance

Research has proven that you will net more money on your home when you use a Realtor’s services to sell.
Every homeowner is different and has different needs; this is why JCS Realty created three listing plans.

Whether you want a Realtor at JCS Realty to do all the work and handle all the details or whether you want to take a more active role in the sale of your home, these are a few things that  JCS Realty can do for you.

• Give insight about how much your home is worth (Free CMA)
• Search and find your next home (Preferred Buyers List)
• Negotiate contracts
• Help educate and provide expert guidance through the whole selling process
• Provide the right marketing plan for you to get your home sold

• See Flat Fee Plan, For Sale by Owner Plan, or Full Service Plan

Accept an Offer

Offers formalize the home buying process by committing in writing to purchase a property, subject to certain terms and conditions. Purchase Agreements come in many different forms and the verbiage differs greatly in each contract.

Some of the main items included in the purchase agreement are the following:

• Offer Price
• Deposit (the amount placed in an escrow account to secure the offer, this amount is negotiable and on average is about 3% of the offer price)
• Contingencies (mortgage approval, inspections, etc.)
• Most offers will have contingencies. A contingency means that the offer to purchase will consummate when certain other actions pertaining to the offer are fulfilled. For a seller, you have to pay very close attention and understand what contingencies the purchaser is asking for and the timing.
• Closing (when the buyer takes ownership and possession)

An offer to purchase made by a prospective buyer has no limits on what price or terms it may contain. The seller has the following options when considering offers:

• Accept the offer as proposed
• Counter the offer with a modified offer
• Reject the offer and return the deposit

Coordinate the move

After you agree upon the price and terms of the purchase agreement with your buyer, you will know when you have to turn over possession of your home to the new buyer.

The two choices are:

• Vacate the home at the time of closing
• Stay at the home after closing and pay the new owner’s rent for a period of time that you both agreed upon. (rent is usually the amount of the new owners mortgage)

Other issues to take into concern in coordinating your move are:

• Closing on your new home
• Hiring movers
• Switching utilities to your new residence
• Rent storage space if needed
• Notify post office of address change
• File homestead paperwork of your new residence with the city

Closing

The closing is an exciting time; all negotiations are resolved, and all contingencies have been met. Often, the days leading up to the closing date are active, as both parties work to put everything in place.

What to expect in the days before closing
Closings usually occur thirty to ninety days after a signed Purchase & Sale Agreement. In the period leading up to closing, the buyers and their homeownership service providers are normally focused on removing contingencies, which would include conducting inspections and processing the mortgage.

What to expect at closing
Closings are administered by a closing attorney or an agent from the title company. The buyer and seller will sign the legal documents transferring the title. If a mortgage is obtained then the buyers will be asked to sign the mortgage and any other papers that the lender may require.
At conclusion, the title company shall record the new deed and mortgage, and discharge all previous obligations of the seller. Once the closing papers have been executed and the deed recorded, the buyers take legal ownership of their new home.