Top 10 Frequently Asked Questions when Selling a home

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Statistics show that Spring & Summer are the best times to sell your home, plus some parts of early Fall. The biggest slowdown will happen in late Fall & Winter ... as we get into (and through) the holiday season. Nonetheless, your home will sell at any time throughout the year so long that it is priced accurately.

This is a great question ... one that most sellers naturally tend to ask. On average the entire selling process will take about 60 - 75 days, of which 30 - 45 days is spent marketing your home and the remaining time is spent under contract during the closing process. Many factors can affect the length of this time. For example, the marketing of your home can be shorter or longer based on list price, condition of your home, or time of year. Additionally, the time spent during the closing process can be shorter or longer based on possible repairs, buyer financing vs cash purchase, or time of year.

Some homeowners might feel that getting a home ready to sell is a daunting task; however, the best recommendation is to make your home "presentable" to future buyers. This would include a thorough cleaning, decluttering and removing personal items/photos, making minor repairs (nail holes, wall patches, or changing burnt out light bulbs), landscape maintenance, interior painting (returning a custom wall color back to a neutral tone). Remember, a more presentable home equals a shorter length of time on the market and most likely a higher sales offer. 

The list price of your home should reflect an accurate depiction of the current market value, but your list price can further be influenced by supply & demand, time of year, home condition/upgrades, or your personal situation (for example, do you need to move quickly because of a job/life event). No homeowner ever wants to leave money on the table, so ensuring a proper list price is crucial when it comes to marketing your home based at the time you are ready to sell.

The assessed value is an assigned dollar value from the local county tax assessor's office for property taxation purposes. The market value is an agreed upon price between a buyer & seller ... basically what someone is willing to pay for a home. Assessed values do not consider home upgrades, where market value can be driven by home upgrades.

Typically when you sell your home, the buyer will pay for an independent inspection to be conducted in order to receive a professional assessment of the condition of the entire house. While you, as a seller, are not required to purchase a pre-sale home inspection, it is never a bad idea to do so to assist with better informing you for any potential issues that you may not be aware of.

One requirement for a real estate sales contract to be valid is that there is a form of "consideration" or something of value that the buyer is willing to offer the seller. Therefore, you should always disclose any material known facts that could affect the consideration being offered. A good rule of thumb is "when in doubt ... disclose".

Congratulations, you have agreed to an offer acceptable to you ... now what? At this point, the contract documents will be sent to a local escrow company to proceed with the official sales process using the following estimated timeline:

* Initial 10 days will be the buyers' investigative timeframe to conduct inspections and any other due diligence.

* Plan for 30 - 45 days for the buyers to finalize their financing ... this could be drastically reduced if a cash purchase. During this time, the title company will contact you to attain all the pertinent information required to close the transaction.

* Once financing is ready, or cash is available, then buyers will conduct a final walk-thru prior to signing their closing documents. You will sign your end of the closing documents as well.

* After all appropriate documents have been signed, notarized, funds exchanged, and proper county recordation, then the sales process will be complete.

Not all transactions have the same timing, and unexpected situations come up that may cause delay, so it is important to remain flexible throughout the process.

Real estate commissions, whether a percentage of the final sales price or a flat fee, are paid from the proceeds of the home sale upon closing. The distribution of these funds is handled by the escrow company to alleviate your responsibility of preparing several payments at the end of the sales process.

There are a number of factors that may affect the answer to this question. If conditions lean towards being a Buyers market, then it is typically not advisable to purchase another home before you sell your current one. In contrast, if conditions lean towards being a Sellers market, then it might be okay to begin looking for your new home before you sell your current one. Here are some Pros & Cons to assist with making your decision:

Buying a home before you sell your current one (PROS)

* Only having to move once

* Buying on your schedule allows you time to find the new home you really love

Buying a home before you sell your current one (CONS)

* Risk of having to fund a down payment and carry two mortgage payments/housing expenses

* Pressure to sell your current home faster and accepting a lower-than-market-value offer

Waiting to buy a home before you sell your current one (PROS)

* No concern about having to fund a down payment and carry two mortgage payments

* Comfort of selling your home on your timeline without the stress of "needing" to sell

Waiting to buy a home before you sell your current one (CONS)

* Having to move twice

* Living in temporary housing (rental house, hotel, other family) while you search for your new home