SELLING YOUR HOME
Selling your home can be exciting, but also overwhelming and stressful. Not only are you saying goodbye to your home, but you want an effortless transaction and the best return on your investment.
As an experienced agent, I’m here to make the process smooth and seamless. Everything I do is focused on maximizing your return as quickly and efficiently as possible.
My 20 years of experience in real estate, property development, renovation, and the San Francisco market gives you an advantage when selling your home. I offer impeccable property preparation and stylish staging, strategic pricing analysis, savvy negotiating, and exhaustive market knowledge.
Most importantly, I am committed to providing a high level of personal service. I keep you informed throughout the entire process with direct, clear, and timely communication. And I’m available to you every step of the way.
To help you get started, I’ve outlined my approach to selling a home. While this is a general overview of what to expect, I’ll be your trusted guide and am always happy to answer any questions.
JUDSON'S GUIDE TO SELLING YOUR HOME
1
Preliminary Meeting and Home Assessment
Our first step is to meet to outline your goals for your home sale and assess the home’s condition. We’ll discuss your motivation for selling, whether it be for financial gain, due to life-changing circumstances, an estate, or other factors. In addition, I’ll walk through your home to evaluate its key features, amenities, location, and possible improvements to make before it’s ready to sell.
2
Comparative Market Analysis (CMA)
After our meeting, I’ll provide you with a CMA that includes active, pending, and sold properties of a similar size, location, and condition. The CMA will also include my analysis of current buyer demand and recent sales price trends in your neighborhood.Agent vs. Algorithm
There are a lot of online tools you can use to look at home sales in your area. However, an agent who evaluates the home in person and understands market trends can give you a more accurate picture of demand in your location as well as your home’s value.
3
Listing Agreement, Disclosures and Reports
Before we proceed, you’ll sign an exclusive listing agreement with me to represent you in the sale of your home. Next, we’ll start preparing your disclosures, and I will order any required reports and inspections to ensure the property is fully compliant to sell.Disclosures
As the home seller, you are required to disclose any information about the house that might impact its value. Disclosures can be everything from neighborhood nuisances, to repairs or work that you’ve done, to bigger concerns like pests or a leaky roof.
4
Timeline for Sale
We’ll discuss the optimal timing for putting your home on the market. Your motivation for selling the home will factor into this decision. You may be in a position where you need to sell your home right away. However, if timing is not critical, we can fully prepare your home and discuss optimal times to go on the market.Your Timing is Everything
The best time to sell a home is really the time that’s best for you. While spring and fall are typically the most active times for real estate, San Francisco is a high-demand market practically year round.
5
Preparing and Staging the Home
The first step is to clear the home of your belongings. Next, my stager/designer and I will walk through the home with you to identify necessary improvements or repairs.
I almost always recommend staging a home. Generally, a staged home sells faster and for a higher sales price. Well executed staging makes a home brighter, opens up the space, and creates an emotional response from buyers, allowing them to see themselves in the home. A well prepared home will typically generate strong interest and multiple offers.
In addition, with Compass Concierge, I can offer the benefit of a no-interest loan to finance home improvements or staging. And you won’t pay a penny until after the sale closes.
A 2017 National Association of Realtors survey found that over half of seller’s agents reported that staging increased the value of the home by up to 20%. Read more in my blog post about the value of home staging.
6
Strategic Pricing
After the property is prepared, we’ll review the latest comparables to determine the best price, and I’ll provide an update on recent buyer demand.
Determining the right price is a critical part of a successful home sale. Priced too high, a home may not generate enough interest. Priced too low, and you sacrifice return on your investment.
Ultimately, my expert advice and market knowledge will inform a realistic, strategic pricing strategy to yield the best possible results.
How do I determine the right price for a home? Read more about my approach to home pricing on my blog.
7
Photography and Marketing
Professional photography is an absolute must. I work with high-end photographers who specialize in real estate. Moreover, I personally oversee the photo shoot to ensure they capture the home’s best features.
Once photographs are completed, I’ll provide a complete marketing campaign for your home. The campaign includes a custom, mobile-optimized website, print and digital advertising, social media promotion, full-color postcard, flyer or brochure, posting on the Top Agent Network, targeted email outreach to agents and prospective buyers, and more.
Finally, when your home is on the market, the listing is syndicated to more than 800 Compass partner real estate and consumer websites for maximum exposure.
A Picture Says a Thousand Words
According to the 2017 National Association of Realtors survey, 40% of buyers are more willing to walk through a staged home they first saw online. The best possible visuals drive the most possible interest in your home.
8
Pre-MLS Outreach
Before your property is posted on the MLS I’ll also reach out to other agents and my real estate professional networks. As a member of the Top Agent Network, I can pitch your home to an exclusive list of top-performing agents in San Francisco.
Additionally, as a Compass agent, I can reach a large network of agents and potential buyers to pre-market your home. The “Coming Soon” feature gives access to exclusive listings on the Compass website, with 1.9 million average visitors each month.
Members of Top Agent Network are the most experienced, well-connected real estate agents in the Bay Area. All agents are verified and ranked in the top 10% for residential sales.
9
To Market, To Market!
I’ll officially list your home on the MLS, and the listing will appear on all major real estate search websites. Usually, I’ll list the home on Thursday in advance of my personally hosted open houses on Saturday and Sunday.
In addition, I’ll host a catered broker tour on Tuesday, and an evening showing on Wednesday. I also offer private showings by appointment only.
Depending on the level of buyer interest, I will recommend looking at offers or extending the marketing through another weekend of open houses.
Broker Tour
A Broker Tour is an opportunity for real estate brokers and agents to preview a home for their buyer clients. It’s a great way to generate interest in the home and to drive potential buyers to your open house.
10
Review, Negotiate, and Approve Offers
We will typically set an offer date and provide buyers and their agents with the disclosure packet on request. I’ll track who has requested packets and assess their level of seriousness in submitting a formal offer.
Once we’ve received all the offers, we’ll discuss the pros and cons of each. We may accept the top offer with no changes or conditions, or present a counter offer (or multiple counter offer) and negotiate. When both parties come to an agreement, you approve the offer.
Counter Offer
In most cases, a counter offer may include changes to the price, contributions towards closing costs, the timeline, or contingencies. These are all negotiable terms between the buyer and seller. In a multiple counter offer situation, you are negotiating with more than one buyer.
11
Escrow
Once you accept an offer, the buyer puts down a 3% deposit held by a title company in escrow. If the buyer has a loan, the bank orders an appraisal of the home. If there are contingencies, both parties work toward resolving them so that the property will be pending and ready to close escrow.
After all contingencies have been removed and the buyers are getting ready to close, we’ll remove staging and clean the home. Next, the buyer will conduct a final walk-through to ensure the home’s condition has not changed.
Finally, the buyers and bank wire their funds needed to close, escrow records the title, and ownership is transferred.
Escrow
Escrow is the time between your acceptance of an offer and when ownership of the home is transferred to the buyer. During this period (typically from ten to 30 days), no other funds or property changes hands until all of the terms of the purchase contract have been completed and the property is set to close.
12
Congratulations!
Relax, take a breath, and savor your successful home sale.
My clients’ success means everything to me. My business runs on referrals and I’m always happy to help your friends, colleagues, or family on their real estate journey! If you are happy with my work, please consider taking a moment to write a recommendation.
You did it!