Real Estate Seller’s Guide

No matter the reason for selling your home, you want top dollar for your property. With the right preparation, this is possible even in a buyer’s market. Use this real estate seller’s guide to get started. Just remember, a simple guide is no substitute for the expertise of a trusted real estate agent from Coakley Realty. When you decide it’s time to sell, seek consultation from an expert to succeed with each step of the home selling process.

Are you seeling your home in Washington, DC, Maryland, or Virginia? Contact us online or call 301-340-8700 to schedule a consultation with one of our professionals at Coakley Realty.

Prepare Your Home

Making a good first impression is critical. Since buyers begin judging the property the moment they drive up, make sure the interior and exterior are clean and clutter-free. Consider making upgrades, renovations, and repairs before listing your home. To ensure a bigger return on your investment, get expert tips about what discerning buyers want from your knowledgeable real estate agent.

Learn more about how to improve your property’s curb appeal»

Set a Strategic Asking Price

Set the price too high and you discourage buyers. Set the price too low and you could end up getting less for your home than it’s really worth. It takes a balancing act to determine the best asking price. With proper research and advice from an experienced Coakley real estate agent, you can determine what the market is willing to pay, enabling you to sell quickly at an advantageous price.

Market Your Home Effectively

Marketing encompasses every aspect of this guide, particularly preparation, pricing, and presentation. The ultimate goal is to maximize your market exposure, showings, and offers to help you sell your home at top value. To make sure qualified buyers know your home is for sale, list it in a variety of places, especially online, where 90% of buyers look before visiting a home in person. Other options include the newspaper, real estate magazines, television, open houses, and yard signs.

To ensure your listing is seen by all the right people—including real estate agents for buyers—make sure to list your home with a reliable real estate company like Coakley Realty. We can add your home to our MRIS listing database so more people will see your property.

Show Your Home at Its Best

Start by cleaning and organizing. Then refer to your real estate agent for staging tips to make your home look like it belongs on the cover of a magazine. Right before a potential buyer arrives, open all the drapes, turn on all the lights and showcase your home’s best features, such as turning on the fireplace or playing soft music through in-wall speakers. Vacate your home so buyers feel more comfortable during the showing.

Negotiate the Best Possible Deal

The buyer’s agent presents an offer. Closely review the offer with your real estate agent and decide to accept, reject, or counter the offer. Successive counter offers continue until you strike a deal or the negotiations collapse. To help ensure you get the price you want, don’t reveal your financial situation or urgency, be creative, remember to respect the buyer’s needs, and be willing to compromise when necessary.

Complete the Transaction

If you and the buyer both meet your end of contractual obligations, closing on the house should be a smooth, simple process. It involves a title search, professional appraisal, inspection, and final walk-through before the transaction is complete and you hand over the keys.

If you’re ready to sell your home in Washington, DC, Maryland, or Virginia, contact Coakley Realty today for assistance!