If you want to sell your home this year, start the process as soon as possible. And this is the perfect place to start your journey. All this month I will be providing you with valuable tools and advice to help you get started with listing your home for sale this year.

Why start now?  Well, if you want to have your home in tip-top shape and ready to fetch top dollar by spring, you’re going to need 2-3 months to prepare. And it just so happens that I’m the gal in Westside Atlanta to help you get ‘er done! Below, I list step-by-step how we move through the process from the point you decide to list to getting the signed contract.

Set objectives

At our first meeting we will establish your objectives for the sale. Are you relocating out of the area or are you looking to upgrade and stay in Atlanta? Do you have a specific timeline and/or sales price that you are concerned about? We will go through all these issues and set our objectives for your home sale.

Walk-through

Next is the walk-through of your home. Before the walk-through, I will have done some research on your neighborhood and nearby comparable sales, and have a ball-park listing price in mind. But that’s just the beginning, there are many other factors and realities of your specific home that will affect the listing price. Also at the walk-through, we will discuss what repairs, updates, and improvements are recommended; as well as your feasible budget for getting those items done. At the end of this meeting we’ll have a plan and a basic idea of our timeline to having your home ready to list.

The plan

I take all information we discussed during the walk-through and create a written checklist and timeline that maps out our steps to listing your home. We’ll plan out the repairs and updates you have agreed to as well as who’s completing them and the timeline to get them done. I’m happy to research contractors to do the work, if needed. I’ve found that the more work we do to the home on the front end to update and make repairs, the more buyers will trust you and trust that you’re not hiding problems from them.

Let’s talk marketing

When showing your home and talking to prospective buyers and other Realtors® about it, I love to be able to tell the story of your home and how you have used it and enjoyed it. I’ll ask you to walk me through your favorite features of the home and how it lives. Armed with your home’s story we can plan for the photo/video shoot and begin working on marketing materials.

Time to schedule photo and video shoot

Once all the updates and maintenance items are done, it’s time to schedule the photography and videography be done for the home. I cannot understate how important high-quality photography and video is to selling a home, so good preparation is key. I have a great checklist that you can use when preparing for your home’s day in front of the camera. Once all the photography and videography is complete, it usually takes us about a week or two to get all the print and digital marketing materials ready.

Going live!

Once all the marketing materials are ready, we’re ready to go live with you listing! We’ll be doing showings and hosting open houses according to our agreed upon schedule until the offers begin coming in. Then the offer process begins.

Offer process

In preparation for negotiating an offer, call your mortgage bank to get an accurate payoff amount. Often sellers refer to their mortgage statement and assume the outstanding balance is the payoff amount; however, that statement fails to add in any additional interest that’s owed when you payoff the loan. Once we have an acceptable offer and a binding sales contract is signed, the buyer takes over to do their due diligence, appraisal, etc.

Well, there you have it! That’s our plan for listing your home. Are you ready to dive in? I have a passion for helping Westside Atlanta families sell and upgrade or buy their first home on the Westside. My husband and I settled down here on the Westside to raise our family and we love it! Please contact me and I’d love to help you with your next home sale or purchase here in Atlanta.

Cheers,

Michelle