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Tips on Selling a Home

Seller's Guide

A Step-by-Step First Time 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 agent 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 real estate agent once you choose one so he or she can adjust your selling price 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 a real estate agent is the best way to determine the right selling price for your home. An agent with experience 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 getting rid of clutter, depersonalizing the space so that buyers can envision themselves in the space, making any small repairs, and doing a deep clean to make sure your home is in pristine condition.

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Step 4: Develop a Marketing Strategy

I 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. My team creates a marketing campaign that aims to get the most possible traffic to your listing in the first three weeks after becoming a client.

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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. I 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 I deem the offer is acceptable, I will review the proposed contract to make sure it’s all in order and includes the necessary components such as deposit amount, down payment, financing, inspection rights and repair allowances, contingencies, settlement date, and a list of fees and who will pay them. When both parties have agreed to the term, a final contract will be prepared by your 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. I will head up efforts to develop and execute this list, get each action item paid for by the correct party, and make sure everything is in order by the closing date. A few days before the closing date, I will call the company closing the transaction to make sure everything is ready to go. If you haven’t done so already, you also 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. I will meet with the company closing the transaction 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 with your real estate agent 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.

Expert Guidance, Seamless Process

Testimonials

"Michelle is a true expert and consummate professional. She is smart, thoughtful, and has a wealth of knowledge. Michelle knows the market inside and out and is a phenomenal communicator. From the initial search to closing the transaction, you'll always feel like you're in the most capable of hands. Best of the best!"
"Michelle is a true expert and consummate professional. She is smart, thoughtful, and has a wealth of knowledge. Michelle knows the market inside and out and is a phenomenal communicator. From the initial search to closing the transaction, you'll always feel like you're in the most capable of hands. Best of the best!"
Swancey D.
"Michelle has always found us the perfect home! We will never use another realtor! She is the best!"
"Michelle has always found us the perfect home! We will never use another realtor! She is the best!"
Craig D.
"Great experience with Michelle! She communicated often, was honest and genuine, and I felt she was always looking out for my best interests. I will definitely use Michelle again!"
"Great experience with Michelle! She communicated often, was honest and genuine, and I felt she was always looking out for my best interests. I will definitely use Michelle again!"
Erin M.
"Michelle has worked with multiple transactions for my construction company, as well as family and friends. She has always made both the purchase and sales process easy to understand, and assisted in executing them seamlessly! I would certainly use her again on my next project, and definitely recommend her service to anyone."
"Michelle has worked with multiple transactions for my construction company, as well as family and friends. She has always made both the purchase and sales process easy to understand, and assisted in executing them seamlessly! I would certainly use her again on my next project, and definitely recommend her service to anyone."
Michael M.
"Michelle found a wonderful home for us and was very responsive and helpful throughout the buying process. She is a very knowledgeable real estate agent. I highly recommend her."
"Michelle found a wonderful home for us and was very responsive and helpful throughout the buying process. She is a very knowledgeable real estate agent. I highly recommend her."
Lipp M.
"Michelle was a great asset to us both in finding our house as well as in handling all the details of the pre- and post-sale process. She was always available to us and made the process as easy on us as possible. Michelle's thorough knowledge of the details of the entire process (ie, sales, negotiation, inspection, etc.) when coupled with her diligence in assuring that all aspects of the process were handled properly would cause me to recommend her to anyone looking to buy or sell a house in Arizona."
"Michelle was a great asset to us both in finding our house as well as in handling all the details of the pre- and post-sale process. She was always available to us and made the process as easy on us as possible. Michelle's thorough knowledge of the details of the entire process (ie, sales, negotiation, inspection, etc.) when coupled with her diligence in assuring that all aspects of the process were handled properly would cause me to recommend her to anyone looking to buy or sell a house in Arizona."
Aaron E.
"We used Michelle Kort as our agent to purchase our home in Scottsdale. As a Phoenix native, she is very knowledgeable about the market and provides candid feedback about the desirability of the neighborhood for our family and future resale. As a former attorney, she demonstrated her propensity for detail and guided us comprehensively with the review of our contract. She was always prompt and responsive to our calls. We highly recommend Michelle Kort. She went the extra mile to ensure the process was as seamless as possible."
"We used Michelle Kort as our agent to purchase our home in Scottsdale. As a Phoenix native, she is very knowledgeable about the market and provides candid feedback about the desirability of the neighborhood for our family and future resale. As a former attorney, she demonstrated her propensity for detail and guided us comprehensively with the review of our contract. She was always prompt and responsive to our calls. We highly recommend Michelle Kort. She went the extra mile to ensure the process was as seamless as possible."
Buyer
"Michelle was instrumental in finding the perfect property for us in record time. She took her time up front to really understand our needs (purchase of a rental property). With that data, she quickly turned around a short potential list that hit our preferences exactly. She wasn't just a real estate agent; she acted like our business partner! We have worked with agents in the past who were simply looking for a quick commission. She worked hard to get us exactly what we were looking for."
"Michelle was instrumental in finding the perfect property for us in record time. She took her time up front to really understand our needs (purchase of a rental property). With that data, she quickly turned around a short potential list that hit our preferences exactly. She wasn't just a real estate agent; she acted like our business partner! We have worked with agents in the past who were simply looking for a quick commission. She worked hard to get us exactly what we were looking for."
Buyer & Seller
"Michelle has been my agent for several Real Estate transactions, and I would highly recommend her and will use her for any of my future Real Estate needs. Michelle's background in law and business is a perfect combination and makes her extremely knowledgeable about contracts and negotiations. Additionally, Michelle's market knowledge, follow through and professionalism make her a pleasure to work with."
"Michelle has been my agent for several Real Estate transactions, and I would highly recommend her and will use her for any of my future Real Estate needs. Michelle's background in law and business is a perfect combination and makes her extremely knowledgeable about contracts and negotiations. Additionally, Michelle's market knowledge, follow through and professionalism make her a pleasure to work with."
Lisa F.
"Michelle has helped me purchase 2 great homes and sell 2 homes quickly and profitably in the past 4 years. She is a great negotiator, understands the market, and always makes you feel that your transaction is her top priority. She responds immediately to inquiries and is a highly effective problem-solver. Most of all, she is honest and very hard-working. There is no one better who can sell your home or find you a home."
"Michelle has helped me purchase 2 great homes and sell 2 homes quickly and profitably in the past 4 years. She is a great negotiator, understands the market, and always makes you feel that your transaction is her top priority. She responds immediately to inquiries and is a highly effective problem-solver. Most of all, she is honest and very hard-working. There is no one better who can sell your home or find you a home."
Buyer & Seller

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