WAXHAW, NC – There are nine steps to selling a house in the Carolinas. We discussed the first three steps last week. Hire a knowledgeable Realtor®, give your agent a tour of the home, and discuss the marketing plan for selling your home.  Here are the steps four, five and six.

4.  Determine your home’s list price and go for it!  Your Realtor® should be familiar with using comparable properties to determine a suitable market value price range for your house. Review properties that have sold in your neighborhood in the last six months as well as those currently for sale. Also, look out for the competition in similar nearby neighborhoods. Realtors® don’t determine your home’s value, only the market can do that, but your agent will offer guidance in determining a reasonable price range.

5.  Showing your property. You’ve signed the paperwork, your agent has put her sign in your hard, and she is actively marketing your property.  If you’ve priced your home smartly and have great pictures on MLS, the showing requests will start rolling in.  This may seem like common sense, but be sure to keep your home clean and presentable at all times and be flexible and accommodating to potential buyers who may want to tour your home when it’s not convenient to you. Keep the end in mind.

6. Receiving and negotiating the offer.  This is the day you’ve been waiting for! Someone wants to purchase your house and has made an offer. In addition to offering a purchase price, the offer will include proposed deposits (Earnest Money Deposit & Due Diligence Fee), important dates (Due Diligence and Settlement dates), and potential “extras” like a home owner’s warranty, personal property requess, and closing costs to be paid by the seller. When it comes to buying or selling a house, everything that can be written into the offer is negotiable.