The Ultimate Home Seller's Guide

HE HA

GIA FELDER

L IMA E HOME ELLER' G IDE O

CAN E

PEC

FROM

AR

GEORGIA REAL ESTATE AGENT

O FINI H

LOCAL EXPERT

Table Of Contents Fi Thing Fi Mi ion POSSIBLE The CMA The Mo Im o an Le e MLS M Ma ke ing Plan Le Shake On I O Ag eemen P e a ing Fo Pho og a h Hi ing he Ma ke When Yo Will Hea F om Me Handling Sho ing Re e P e a ing Fo Sho ing Lea e Fo Sho ing Kee Yo Li Sealed S a Calm Ho Long Will I Take o Sell Ho To Handle Lo Offe Wha If We Ha e M l i le Offe Nego ia ing Kee ing he Deal Toge he Don Fo ge o Do The e Thing The Walk h o gh Clo ing Da

C

O

F rst

h ngs F rst

F rst and fore

ost, I’

really look ng forward to help ng you sell your ho

I’ sure you’re even ore exc ted than I a to get t on the co ng through, and of course, get an offer!

e!

arket, see buyers

Sell ng a house s a fun and exc t ng process, but t can also be stressful and aggravat ng at t es.

Wh ch s why I’ g v ng you th s…I do everyth ng poss ble to everyth ng goes as s oothly as poss ble.

ake sure

Many of the th ngs that are stressful or aggravat ng can be avo ded or handled better as long as you know what to expect and do ahead of t e.

So please, g ve th s a qu ck read, and refer back to t throughout the process of sell ng your ho e.

Wh le th s gu de won’t get nto every l ttle deta l about the process I’ll be tak ng care of a lot of th ngs beh nd the scenes wh ch you’ll never need to worry about ...... t does get nto so e th ngs you should know about, wh ch w ll save you t e, effort, oney, and heartache.

Aga n, I’ look ng forward to work ng w th you, and thanks for choos ng to work w th e!

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C M ss on O As a real estate agent, so seller.

Obv ously,

y“

But, s nce I’

et

IBLE es I’

represent ng a buyer, and at other t

es a

ss on” s d fferent for both of those types of cl ents.

represent ng you as a seller,

y

To help you sell your house for the h ghest a short a t e as poss ble!

ss on s pretty s ount the

ple:

arket w ll bear n as

I can’t and won’t pro se “qu ck.” How long your ho e takes to sell depends on a lot of factors any of wh ch we’ll address n th s gu de . However, I can assure you that I w ll help you sell t as qu ckly as poss ble.

And wh le I can’t pred ct exactly how you I w ll help you get as uch as the

uch the arket w ll bear, I can assure arket w ll bear.

But uch of th s depends upon you as well! Gett ng the best results only happens when cl ents ake the best cho ces and dec s ons along the way, wh ch th s gu de should help you do.

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Chapter Three he CMA Before we do anyth ng else, we need to deter ne an accurate arket value for your ho e.

I’ll do a thorough co parat ve arket analys s CMA wh ch w ll help us deter ne a l kely range that your ho e should sell for.

In the analys s, we w ll look at s ho es to yours wh ch have:

lar

Recently sold Are currently under contract Are currently act ve on the arket Th s w ll also help us deter ne an appropr ate pr ce to l st your house for aga nst the current co pet t on and cons der ng the current arket act v ty.

I’ll g ve you y object ve perspect ve and adv ce as to how uch you should l st your house for. Wh le I hope you take y adv ce, ult ately you dec de on the l st pr ce for your house.

However, the buyers n the arket ult ately deter ne the arket value of your ho e.

It s only worth what a w ll ng, ready, and able buyer s w ll ng to pay. That should be n l ne w th the value we see n the CMA,

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as long as there are no ajor changes w th n the arket and you ake the r ght dec s ons on pr c ng r ght fro the start.

Many ho eowners tend to overpr ce the r house when they f rst h t the arket because: They bel eve they should have “w ggle roo ” to be able to negot ate to the pr ce they want to get.

They s ply hope that so eone w ll pay ore than the arket data nd cates.

They pr ce t based upon what they “need to get” n order to sell the r house.

They add every dollar of prove ents they have ade to the house over the years onto the data-dr ven value.

When an owner over-pr ces, for any of these reasons, they usually lose the arket’s nterest by be ng out of l ne w th the arket. Th s causes the r ho e to s t there, accrue days on arket, and cause buyer to wonder, “What’s wrong w th the house?”

So, before we even go over the arket analys s, y best adv ce s to l sten to the data and pr ce your ho e accord ngly. That’ll end up sav ng you a lot of t e, oney, and aggravat on.

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Chapter Four he Most I port nt Letters

ML

One of the ost bas c, but also ost portant, arket ng tools we’ll use to expose your ho e to the ent re arket s the Mult ple L st ng Syste MLS .

Th s s also what we use to help deter ne your arket value.

Th s MLS s a database of al ost every ho e on the arket, and t’s what other agents use to f nd the appropr ate ho es to show the r buyers.

Years ago, the MLS was only able to be seen by real estate agents, but nowadays, even buyers have access to see the houses l sted for sale on t. No atter where else they ay be look ng, every ser ous buyer s def n tely watch ng the MLS to see what co es on the arket.

So, I’ll certa nly ake sure that your ho e s on the MLS and presented n the best poss ble l ght...fro photography, to a co pell ng descr pt on of your ho e, all the way down to ak ng sure that every p ece of nfor at on on t s accurate.

Th s s so portant, s nce your MLS l st ng s what w ll “feed” your l st ng to any other webs tes through what s called an IDX syste . That way, your ho w ll show up on al ost any webs te a buyer ay be look ng at.

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Chapter F ve My M rket ng l n I’ sure one of your b ggest quest ons s “What are you go ng to do to arket y house?”

Wh le the MLS w ll do uch of the heavy l ft ng to expose your ho e to the arket, t ay not be enough to reach the ent re arket.

What f there’s so eone out there who sn’t exactly n the arket but would love your ho e?

What f so eone s just casually wa t ng to see the r ght place co e on the arket?

What f so eone has no ntent on of ov ng at all, but then they see yours s on the arket, and the next th ng you know they’re cho p ng at the b t to buy your house?

What f so eone who dr ves by and ad res your house every day sees that t’s on the arket?

Those are just a few of the “what fs..."

The MLS s certa nly portant, but so s all of the add t onal arket ng I w ll do to ake sure anyone who ay be nterested n your house also sees t. I have a few packages of y serv ces that w ll nclude all the arket ng that I w ll do to sell your ho e, based on the package you choose.

Wh le that should cover al ost every arket ng angle poss ble, f you have any spec f c requests, just let e know and we can certa nly d scuss work ng t nto the arket ng x!

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Chapter S x Let s h ke on It Wanna hear so news?

e good news

bad

The good news s you don’t have to pay e unt l and unless your house sells.

The bad news…

You don’t have to pay e unt l and unless your house sells.

H , sounds ore l ke good news good news...for you! Not so uch for e!

Pretty lops ded, huh? But that’s how t works n th s bus ness. You get y t e, thoughts, adv ce, sk lls, and arket ng w th no r sk to you, but all r sk s on e.

That probably doesn’t sound so bad to you, r ght?

But here’s the deal…It does hurt any real estate sellers because they end up not trust ng the adv ce and ot ves of the agent they’ve h red to protect the r nterests!

Th nk about t...would you trust an agent putt ng n so uch t e, effort, thought and sk lls for you for free?

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Of course they want and need to get pa d. Otherw se, a cl ent always wonders whether the adv ce the r agent s g v ng the s good, r ght, and true...or just an atte pt to get pa d, pa d ore, or pa d ore qu ckly.

I t ke lot of pr de nd oney n the t e thought rket ng nd dv ce I g ve to y cl ents nd the l st th ng I w nt you to do s quest on y ot ves Wh ch s why I l ke to look at the relat onsh p w th y cl ents as, we are “partners” n th s together.

I’ll take on the burden of not gett ng pa d unt l your house s sold...

All you have to do s be ser ous and co tted to sell ng your house and co tted and loyal to e as your agent.

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Chapter Seven Our Agree ent If only bus ness were st ll done on a handshake! LOL Before I can beg n prepar ng the arket ng for your ho arket, you’ll need to s gn a “l st ng agree ent.”

e, or put t on the

We’ll schedule a t e to s t down and do the paperwork. When we do, I’ll sure to rev ew t w th you before you s gn.

If you have any quest ons or concerns at all, just ask anyth ng you want.

As I ent oned n the prev ous sect on, a lot of t spent on sell ng your house...

e. I’

glad to clar fy

e, expert se, and

So, please, before you s gn th s, ake sure you’re ready to co and our relat onsh p for the long-haul.

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ake

oney w ll be

t to the process

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Chapter E ght rep r ng for hotogr phs Nowadays, buyers have pretty nto your house!

uch seen your ho

e before they even step foot

Years ago, buyers l terally needed to phys cally co e to your house n order to see what was ns de. They were lucky f there was a black and wh te photo of the exter or to v ew on a paper flyer.

But now, w th the Internet, buyers w ll see al ho e fro the r phone or co puter...

ost every nook and cranny of your

...wh ch s why t’s so portant to have the best photographs poss ble! They’ll l terally dec de whether or not they w llstep foot n your house based upon the photos.

I take cons derable care when t co es to the photography.But n order for get the best p ctures taken, you should do a few th ngs ahead of t e:

e to

Declutter every roo .

Make sure the house s clean.

Make sure all beds are ade and there s no laundry on the floor.

H de uns ghtly th ngs l ke laundry baskets, garbage cans, vacuu s, etc.

Take down as any “personal effects” as poss ble p ctures, th ngs hang ng on the fr dge, etc. .

Make sure all l ght bulbs are work ng for br ghtness .

**Pro Tip: If there s a particularly good time of day at your house to capture the best light, and you know when that is, let me know so I can schedule accordingly

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Chapter N ne H tt ng the M rket The b g day s here! T “l ve” on the MLS. I’

e to “h t the

sure you’re as anx ous as I a

arket.” Th s s the day your ho

to start see ng buyers co

e goes

e through the house.

Hopefully we’ll see good act v ty r ght away! Typ cally, we’ll see the ost act v ty w th n the f rst two weeks of h tt ng the arket. The ost ser ous buyers n your pr ce range w ll ost l kely show up w th n the f rst few hours or days of your house h tt ng the arket. Hopefully we’ll get an offer w th n the f rst few weeks.

However, f we don’t get an offer or see uch act v ty n the f rst few days or weeks, don’t worry. Let’s g ve t a couple of weeks, and then we’ll assess.

The th ngs I look for dur ng th s per od are: How any show ngs were there?

D d any of the buyers ake offers? If not, why? What was the feedback fro the buyers?

Were there few show ngs or no show ngs at all? Is t that the arket s slow, or s t so eth ng to do w th the house or pr ce?

For now, f ngers crossed! Let’s hope we see a good nu ber of show ngs and strong nterest. But f not, don’t get d scouraged...not every house sells w th n the f rst couple of weeks!

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Chapter Ten hen ou

ll He r Fro

Me

One of the b ggest co pla nts real estate consu ers have s that the r agent was never n touch w th the once the house was l sted. They “stuck a s gn n the yard and never heard fro the aga n…”

That s not how I do bus ness. I w ll

ake sure to keep you nfor

ed along the way.

You’re certa nly welco e to reach out to e whenever you have a quest on or concern. But I also l ke to st ck to a cons stent schedule w th y sellers. So, I w ll be reach ng out to you weekly on Mondays by phone, text, and or e a l just to g ve you a qu ck update.

I’ll also ake sure to reach out whenever so eone wants to schedule an appo nt ent to see the house, and when I have feedback on a show ng. And of course I w ll be connect ng when an offer co es n!

If you want to reach out to e between any of those o ents, please text or call y cell phone. I’ll always respond as qu ckly as poss ble, but please know that so et es I a w th cl ents, y fa ly, or attend ng a eet ng or tra n ng. Generally speak ng, I a ava lable Monday through Fr day between 9a and 6p . Anyt e before or after that, just leave e a essage f necessary, and I’ll ake sure to get back to you f rst th ng!

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Chapter Eleven H ndl ng how ng

equests

As anx ous as ost sellers are to have buyers co aggravat ng at t es.

e see the r ho

e, t can also get

So et es t’s because the house s such a “hot l st ng” that t feels l ke you have a revolv ng door the way buyers and agents are strea ng n and out.

Other t es t’s because t’s a steady strea of buyers co ng through for a lot of weeks stra ght, but no offers are co ng n, and t just gets ted ous.

And then there are t es when there’s not a lot of show ngs, and a seller gets lulled nto just l v ng l fe, and a buyer wants to co e see the house see ngly out of the blue.

No atter what the scenar o, show ngs can get t reso e because you typ cally have to: 1 Keep the house ready to be shown, 2 Get out of the house on short not ce, and 3 Stay out of the house for longer than you want to.

So, t sn’t unco on for so e sellers to get aggravated and be rude to agents and buyers who want to co e see the r house.

Here’s

y best adv ce…

Be s ple s nt nd cco od t ng s poss ble nce so ny other ho eowners get b t gru py nd rude when n gent or buyer co es cross seller who s s ply ple s nt to de l w th t c n ctu lly p ct how they feel bout your house over nother Beyond that, f they do ake an offer, your k ndness up front w ll l kely pact how they act dur ng negot at ons and throughout the deal.Don’t underest ate the power of s ply be ng n ce and acco odat ng.

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Chapter Twelve rep r ng for how ngs If you d d a good job of prepar ng your ho should be n pretty good shape!

e for the photography, then you

Of course, ake sure you g ve your house a good clean ng once a week. But on a da ly bas s, you should ake sure to t dy up and do so e th ngs that ay sl p through the cracks when your house sn’t for sale, such as: Make sure all beds are ade.

Make sure all d shes are e ther n the d shwasher or washed and put away.

Make sure there’s no food, cru bs, or sta ns left anywhere.

T dy up the bathroo van ty...don’t leave toothpaste and brushes etc. on the s nk.

G ve the floors a qu ck sweep ng and vacuu ng f they need t.

Put l ghts on so the buyers walk nto a br ght ho e.

If you have pets, ake sure they are out of the house or are secured f necessary.

Make sure there are no odors fro cook ng, pets, etc.

**Pro Tip: Don t leave valuables around They should be safe since agents accompany their buyers and are responsible but why take a chance Oh, and hide prescription drugs Sadly, some people do swipe these

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Chapter Th rteen Le ve for how ngs So e ho eowners feel t would be a good th ng for the to be around when agents and buyers co e through the house n order to po nt out all of the features.

Others s

ply just don’t want to have to leave.

But they should.

The b ggest reason s that buyers need so e “space” n order to ake your space the r own. Let the roa and chat w thout feel ng l ke you’re watch ng and l sten ng to the .

Also, the agents know the r buyers as well as what they should and shouldn’t say to the . Bel eve e, they w ll know what to po nt out about your house and, as portantly, what not to po nt out. Ho eowners often focus on th ngs that turn a buyer off. So, let the agents have space to the best job poss ble.

But another reason, wh ch s ore for your benef t, s that f you’re not around, you can’t say so eth ng that ay hurt you. An agent or buyer could get you nto conversat on that g ves the a gl pse nto your ot vat on, for nstance. Or you ght answer so eth ng ncorrectly that co es back to haunt you legally.

So, go run an errand. Take a walk. V s t a ne ghbor… Just get out of the house.

But f you absolutely can’t...at least step outs de, or be on the oppos te s de of the house fro the at all t es, and nteract as l ttle as poss ble w thout be ng rude .

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Chapter Fourteen Keep our L ps e led Th s

ght sound a b t over the top, but t sn’t.

Don’t chat w th anyone about the sale of your ho

e.

Don’t co pla n about the arket.

Don’t chat about what you’re w ll ng to accept for a pr ce.

Don’t let too any people know why you’re sell ng.

Don’t even get nto how any show ngs you’re hav ng.

Th s goes for pretty

uch everyone and anyone, except

e.

Unfortunately, word gets around…you know, the old “grapev ne.” And the less anyone knows, the better.

Most people nclud ng other agents don’t even th nk about how just a t ny b t of nfor at on can spread and how uch t can affect your eventual offers, sale pr ce, and ter s.

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Chapter F fteen t yC l As I ent oned earl er, sell ng a house can be a stressful and aggravat ng process at t es, for any reasons.

One of the b ggest reasons ho eowners lose oney when they sell the r ho because they get frustrated and ake rash dec s ons.

e s

Those bad dec s ons often happen because, when an owner gets frustrated, they often take the r frustrat ons out on the r agent. That n turn causes the r agent to get defens ve, or perhaps pushy. Th s can cause the trust ng relat onsh p the cl ent and agent should have to go out the w ndow.

I’ll totally understand f you get frustrated or aggravated at t es. And wh le I can say “stay cal ”, I know t ght be tough for you. It’s frustrat ng for e too at t es! However, s nce I do th s day n and day out, I’ve learned how to stay cal when th ngs get a l ttle tough.

You don’t do th s often, and th s s your ho e and oney we’re talk ng about. So “stay ng cal ” s eas er sa d than done at t es. So, f you feel the need to vent to e...that s totally f ne! I’ll be glad to help cal you back down. Just re e ber, I a not the ene y! I a here to support you and gu de you every step of the way.

Always re

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ber, we both want your house sold, and for as

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uch as poss ble.

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Chapter S xteen How Long

ll It

Earl er we talked about how you’ll probably see the ost act v ty n the f rst two weeks. Your house ay sell n the f rst two weeks...but t could as eas ly take longer than that.

One of the th ngs that any ho eowners get aggravated about s the length of t e t takes the r house to sell.

Th s s also one of the a n th ngs that causes those rash dec s ons we touched on earl er.

ke to ell A few onths ay not be long at all, depend ng on the current arket.

It’s al ost l ke the perfect a ount of t e owners expect a house to sell n s so ewhere around a onth to two onths.

The real ty s, there’s no way to truly pred ct how long t w ll take to sell your ho e...or any other ho e for that atter.

Interest ngly, when an owner’s house sells qu ckly l ke n the f rst two weeks they often get aggravated because they feel t happened too fast. They usually th nk that eans they asked too low of a pr ce or “gave the r house away.” That’s probably not the case at all. It’s al ost always just an nd cat on that the house was pr ced appropr ately.

But th s can lead sellers to do so e s lly th ngs, l ke refuse great offers and wa t for a better one, or even ncrease the r pr ce...only to f nd out weeks and onths later they ade a stake.

We can certa nly look at stat st cs to get a feel for how long houses n your area and pr ce range have been tak ng to sell recently, but that doesn’t ean t w ll play out that way on your house.

Markets change. The a ount of buyers n the arket goes up and down. The supply of houses for the to choose fro goes up and down.

On the other hand, other owners get frustrated when the r house has been on the arket for a few onths w th no offers at all.

My best adv ce s th s…

The ost honest answer to the quest on s... t depends upon the current arket cond t ons and how appropr ately you are pr ced.

If t happens qu ckly for you...rejo ce!

If t takes a wh le longer than you hope or expect...have fa th and pat ence!

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Chapter Seventeen How to H ndle Low B ll Offers Ahhh, “low-ball” offers… ...the b ggest fear and expectat on of al ost every ho eowner.

Not every ho eowner rece ves a “lowball” offer when they sell and hopefully you won’t e ther . Buyers don’t necessar ly co e n really low n order to negot ate and eventually “ eet n the ddle” on pr ce.

But sure, so

e buyers do.

And when that happens, a lot of sellers get angry and don’t respond well, f at all. They get so offended that they ay not even g ve the buyer a counter-offer.

It’s hu an nature to be offended espec ally f the buyer has no just f cat on for such a low offer and hasno des re or ntent on of ever co ng up to a real st c pr ce.

But here’s the th ng…

A buyer who ca e n w th a low-ball offer has to have so e nterest n the ho e. The r n t al offer ay very well be too low. However, you don’t know what they’ll eventually co e up to f you negot ate w sely w th the .

So, f you rece ve a “low-ball” offer, rather than respond n anger or frustrat on, be grateful that they even ade an offer and work w th t. Keep your e ot ons n check. Don’t take offense to t.

Re e ber, they want your house enough to have ade an offer. We can always tell the to take a h ke at so e po nt f they show they aren’t ser ous enough to be real st c…

But f t happens, let’s g ve t enough t e, and enough of a try, to see f we can get the up to a real st c nu ber before we k ck the to the curb.

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Chapter E ghteen h t If

e H ve Mult ple Offers

Mult ple offers every seller’s drea scenar o! And every re l est te gent s drea !

But t can also be a b t of a n ght

are...

If we do get ult ple offers, how we deal w th the w ll be portant.

It’s great to get ult ple offers, but gett ng all of the to the r h ghest and best offer, choos ng the r ght one to ove forward w th, and keep ng the deal together can be qu te a tr ck.

And t’s good for you to know th s ahead of t e: The “best” offer s not always the “h ghest” offer.

There are any d fferent ways to handle ult ple offers, and we’ll have to gauge and d scuss wh ch way s best, f and when we get ult ple offers.

There’s no way to pred ct, control, or guarantee that you w ll get ult ple offers. It depends ent rely upon the current arket and how well your ho s pr ced w th n the arket.

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Chapter N neteen egot t ng I’ sure you’ve heard that negot at ng s an art. And t’s true!

The approach we take to negot ate the best deal for your house w ll depend upon: The buyer we’re deal ng w th.

The agent we’re deal ng w th.

The overall s tuat on. (how any show ngs you’re gett ng, how any buyers have nterest, the current pace of sales, etc.)

Your personal s tuat on and des red approach.

There are certa nly other factors we’ll cons der as well.

Many sellers th nk that to get the best pr ce for the r house they need to play “hardball.” That ght be appropr ate...so et es. Aga n, t depends on a lot of factors.

However, that approach can backf re fast and hard. Sure, so et es t akes sense to play hardball (I play that ga e well when necessary). But n a res dent al ho e sale, play ng hardball can hurt you ore than t can help your cause.

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So et es t takes be ng a l ttle “softer” to get a buyer to where you really want the to be. However, that sn’t to say we’re go ng to actually be soft and not negot ate the best deal poss ble.

Gett ng the best deal poss ble just ght not look or sound l ke so e people ag ne fro what they see n ov es and on TV. In real l fe, you need to wr te the r ght scr pt, at the r ght t e, for the r ght aud ence.

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Chapter Twenty eep ng the

e l

ogether

You’d th nk that once you f nd a buyer and successfully put your house under contract, t should be a done deal...s ooth sa l ng all the way to clos ng.

Ideally, that w ll be the way t goes for you! But t doesn’t always happen l ke that.

It takes a lot to keep a deal together at t The two th ngs that

es, let alone go ng s

oothly.

ost often cause ssues are:

The ho e nspect on The appra sal

o e nspect on The buyers w ll ost l kely do a ho e nspect on. The r nspector w ll ost l kely wr te a report that akes t sound l ke there are lots of proble s and that the proble s are b gger than they really are.

The buyer cred ted.

ght then ask for a whole lot of th ngs to be f xed, replaced, or

Just take a deep breath when we get there. Don’t get too worr ed or angry. We’ll rev ew and respond to the r requests object vely. If there’s so eth ng n the report that truly needs to be addressed (structural or operat onal defects), you’ll probably have to address those. If they’re nor repa rs, you can probably say no to the request.

I say “probably” because t depends on a lot of factors. You ay be able to decl ne address ng so e ajor th ngs other owners would have to address… You ay have to address so e nor th ngs that other owners could eas ly decl ne… We’ll have to ake a judg ent call once we get to that po nt.

The portant th ng s to keep the b g p cture n perspect ve — s t worth decl n ng a request, or say ng yes to a request, n order to keep the overall deal you have...or not?

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More often than not, t’s better to negot ate a co pro se than d g your heels n and say an absolute no. And ore often than not, you don’t have to agree to every request e ther.

he Appr s l By def n t on, you and the buyer have deter ned the fa r arket value of your house, wh ch s: the a ount a ready, w ll ng, and able buyer s w ll ng to pay and that a seller s w ll ng to accept.

However, the buyer’s ortgage lender wants and needs to ake sure that the a they are lend ng s just f ed and protected by hav ng an appra sal done.

ount

Wh le appra sals aren’t always an ssue, they can be.So et es appra sers s ply can’t f nd su table “co parables” (ho es s lar to yours that have sold recently) to evaluate the property.

Other t

es, the appra ser just doesn’t do a very good job.

E ther way, f an appra sal co “Address ng t”

ay a

es back low, we’ll need to address t.

ount to:

The buyer agree ng to ake up the d fference between the appra sed a ount.

You agree ng to lower the sale pr ce to the appra sed a ount.

You lower ng the sales pr ce a b t, and the buyer co ng up w th ore downpay ent, to ake the d fference between the appra sed a ount and the sales pr ce.

Or, the appra sal ay be contested, and we supply add t onal co parables for the appra ser and lender to cons der.

And, n so e cases, an ent rely new appra sal ay be ordered.

The approach that works best ( f th s even occurs) w ll depend on have to rev ew and d scuss f and when th s happens.

any factors. We’ll

Do not stress yourself out or worry n advance about these th ngs! Can they happen? Yes. That’s why I’ even ent on ng the . W ll they happen? Maybe (and hopefully) not. ust know that these are th ngs I a fa appropr ately f they do co e up!

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l ar w th, and I w ll help you deal w th the

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Chapter Twenty-One on t orget to

o

hese

h ngs

Between the t e your house goes under contract and clos ng day, t have all the t e n the world to get th ngs done.

But t

ght see

l ke you

e fl es!

So, as soon as your house s under contract, you should do these th ngs: Start l n ng up a over. (They often book up far n advance. Plus, t takes t e to f nd one you trust and to get the best rates poss ble.)

If you’ll be ov ng yourself and are hop ng for fr ends and fa ly to help, ake sure to l ne the up! (Just a heads up... any a seller has found that the r fr ends and fa ly say they’ll help, only to be unava lable when the t e actually co es!)

Call all of your ut l ty co pan es and let the know you’re sell ng the house and want to d scont nue serv ce as of the clos ng date. (Let the know the buyers w ll be call ng to get the transferred nto the r na e so they don’t just shut off serv ce.)

Beg n pack ng as early on as poss ble. Wa t ng unt l the last days w ll add a lot of stress, and you ght not get done n t e.

Contact your lenders for a f nal pay-off state ent. Make sure to freeze any ho e equ ty l nes of cred t weeks before the clos ng. Th s can also be helpful to have when we dec de at what pr ce to l st the house.

Contact the town and arrange for the to do any requ red nspect ons and ssue any requ red cert f cates of approval ( .e. Cert f cate of Occupancy, s oke detector cert f cat on, etc.).

Do ng a l ttle b t of these every day over the course of t stressful!

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ake your

ove less

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Chapter Twenty-Two he

lkthrough

One of the last th ngs to worry about before clos ng s the “walk-through.”

Th s s when the buyer and the r agent co e to the house to ake sure everyth ng s n the cond t on t was when they agreed to purchase the house.

Th s s usually done the day of clos ng, but so before.

They w ll be look ng to

et

es t s the day or even ng

ake sure that:

No da age has occured s nce the date they agreed to purchase t.

All of the f xtures, appl ances, echan cal te s, and ut l t es are n work ng order.

Everyth ng you agreed to leave beh nd contractually s n fact be ng left beh nd.

The house s clean. (Make sure to leave t as clean as poss ble!!!)

You are ent rely oved out. (You’d be surpr sed at how any t es buyers show up and a seller sn’t even close to be ng oved out!)

**Pro Tip: When you start packing up and moving things out, you will notice some minor damage and dirtiness you probably never even noticed before, which is why it s good to be moved out a little ahead of time and budget some time and a few dollars or elbow grease toward patching small holes, cleaning, touching up paint, etc. Doing that will save you some grief and aggravation from a buyer who shows up and feels like the house is a mess due to some small issues you never thought existed...until you moved the furniture out.

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Chapter Twenty-Three los ng

y

Congratulat ons! You’re clos ng on the sale of your ho

e!

There w ll be lots of docu ents to rev ew and s gn, and th s sn’t eant to g ve you a play by play descr pt on of all of that. The clos ng agent w ll rev ew and d scuss all of these at length.

But here are a few th ngs you should do before you head to the clos ng table: Make sure to br ng all extra keys, garage door openers, alar codes, etc. w th you to the clos ng to g ve to the buyer.

Most l kely, all of your clos ng costs w ll be pa d out of the equ ty n your ho e. But f not, ake sure you have a cash ers check, a cert f ed check, or cash n the a ount the clos ng agent calculated to be due fro you at clos ng.

Br ng the proper dent f cat on. Usually a photo I.D. (l ke your l cense), soc al secur ty card, and/or b rth cert f cate.

A rested wr st! (You’ll be s gn ng a lot of docu ents!)

After the clos ng, there w ll st ll be a lot go ng on beh nd the scenes. Many docu ents w ll st ll need to be processed and recorded. Once t’s all co plete, the f nal docu ents w ll be a led to you at your new address.

Of course, I w ll always be ava lable f you have any quest ons or concerns, even after the clos ng. Never hes tate to reach out to e!

And I hope we stay n touch too! Thanks so uch for choos ng e as your agent, and I look forward to help ng you w th all of your real estate needs n the future...as well as any fr ends or fa ly you refer to e!

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Tha k Y I hope this guide has helped ou with our decision to sell our home It is a big endeavor and means one chapter is ending and a new one beginning I have over ears of experience helping emplo ees and clients both individual and corporate entities get exactl what the need I emplo m personal skills and m resources to get the job done Rest assured I will be there ever step of the wa to make sure our experience is a smooth and positive as possible to help ou achieve our financial goals

C I f

ac ai

Phone Email giafelderrealtorllc gmail com Website www GiaFelderRealtor com giafelderrealtor giafelder realtor

Please reach out to me if ou have additional questions or would like to move forward with me to sell our home If ou need assistance with another home purchase I can help too

Wa

Gia

NAME HERE GIA FELDER | GEORGIA RE A L OF E SBIT A TE AGENT | LOCAL EXPERT