First-Time Sellers: What You Need to Know Before Listing
You are ready to sell your house, but what does it take? How do you price it? Do you use an agent or sell by owner? Do you know what paperwork is required? It can be overwhelming to think about selling your first time, but the following list will make it much easier!
1. Review your inspection report and make a list of the age of mechanicals and repairs made
If you still have your inspection, review the items flagged and make sure they were repaired. Take the time to have the items taken care of so you will have less roadblocks during the sale. The Seller's Disclosure is a required document in Michigan. You'll want to make sure you have information about your appliances and mechanicals to help you fill out this form as best as possible. You will need to list the past issues with the home as well as any you have experienced (like water in the basement or a termite or rodent infestation).
2. Interview 3 or more agents
Do not just use a family member or friend because they are the only one you know, or take the lowest bidder. Take the time to ask what their fees are, how they market the home, what they provide with the sale, and read their Zillow and Google reviews and determine the cost/value ratio. Ask them if they ever had a home expire and what they feel went wrong. Ask them what makes a good working client/agent relationship. Review their previous sales to see how they describe homes and how their photos look. Most importantly, ask yourself, is this someone I can get along with for 3-4 months? Can I accept hard to hear news from this person? That will tell you who you need to use.
3. Listen to the advice of the agent you choose
Hopefully you picked someone that will help you stage your home by giving you a list of repairs, decluttering, and ways to arrange the home to show up best online. Follow their advice! They know what they are doing! Thin out your closets, pack up your extra stuff, organize your drawers, move the furniture they suggest moving and if needed, paint the bubble gum pink bedroom. Buyers pick their homes based on what they see online, so having great photos is so important.
4. Ask for Statistics
All sellers have a price in mind, but what you are comparing that to is the end sold number. Before you tell your agent what you want to list for, ask for a list of similar homes sold in the area in the last 6 months. Objectively, go through that list with your agent and see which homes are most similar in conditions and features. Once you have a range determined, ask the agent how long homes are taking to sell and if they are selling for above or below list price. That should help you and your agent find the sweet spot so you can list as the best house for the best price on the market
Conclusion
You are the boss, but they are the experts. Work with someone who's opinion you respect and trust them to do their job to the best of their ability. Keep in mind, some things are out of both of your control. Sometimes people will see a house that very obviously doesn't check their list and the feedback from the buying agent won't make sense. Let it roll of your back. But if you consistently hear that the floorplan is bad or the home is listed too high, this comes from other experts in the field and you need to adjust your expectations and price accordingly. 