Patty Brown - REALTOR®, ABR®

Let's begin the home selling process so that you can understand how easy and hassle-free working with me will be. 

#1 Is It Time To Sell?

The first question you might want to ask yourself is, "Why do I want to sell my home?" Do you need more space? Are you an empty nester looking for a smaller space? Have you accepted a job in a different part of the country? All of these questions affect the potential sale of your home and the negotiating process of that sale.

You may also want to begin making a list of all of the interior and exterior projects that you want to complete before placing your home on the market.

Contact me for a personalized Home Enhancement Evaluation. Having successfully listed and sold over 150 properties, my knowledge and understanding of the industry and what buyers are looking for in a home will provide you with reliable, valuable information to get you moving in the right direction towards the sale of your home.

#2 Preparing The Property For Sale

Assessing your home is key in beginning the home selling process. You may want to ask yourself, "What would I like to see or not see if I were touring this home as a potential home buyer?"

Problems like chipped paint, dirty walls, windows and doors, unfinished remodeling projects and cluttered garages are all areas for home selling improvement. I will assist you with this process and create a personalize Home Enhancement Guide, taking into consideration your time, energy, and budget to prep the home for market.

#3 Determining Property Value

There are a number of factors that go into determining the value of a home.

• I will provide you with a free Comparative Market Analysis for your home.
• The law of supply and demand always comes into play. Do you live in an area with increasing job opportunities or an increasing/decreasing supply of homes?
• The selling price is not cut and dry. Nuances of whether we are in a Seller’s Market, a Buyer’s Market, or a Balanced Market are factored into my pricing guidance. I will do a thorough analysis of market conditions and evaluate comparable Active, Pending, and Sold properties to guide you in the best pricing strategy for your property.

#4 Marketing Your Property

My marketing plan includes the use of professional photography and often times staging. The power of staging, especially a vacant home, is a proven successful tool to increase the seller’s bottom line. We will discuss this in person as it is personalized to each property’s needs.

There are a number of different ways that an agent can drive traffic to view your home:

*Multiple Listing Service (MLS) – which automatically feed to many external websites including Zillow, Redfin, and REALTOR.com

*Open Houses 

*Websites/Internet/Social Media

*Print Advertising 

*Agent/broker tours

#5 Selling Your Property

The Offer

An acceptable offer depends on many different things. In our current strong Seller’s Market we often deal with multiple offers an a property. Price is often the #1 term sellers focus on, but there are other terms that can be appealing to a seller in additon to price…. Closing date? Ability to rent back for a bit? Buyer stating they will not ask for repairs….

Negotiating

This negotiating process can at times seem very complicated, especially if there are multiple offers to consider. However, my years of expericne will make this a hassle-free process for you. Spreadsheets are my friend. 

During the negotiating process of the sale of a home, the seller can react in one of three different ways: 

*Accept the buyer’s offer

*Declined the buyer’s offer

*Make a Seller’s counter offer to the buyer

#6 The Closing Process

The closing process is always changing. It is even referred to as "settlement" or "escrow" in different parts of the country. With increased technology, most closings are completely automated and both parties do not have to be present at the same time to sign.

Closings usually takes about 30 – 45 days to complete. This mainly depends on whether the buyer is a cash purchaser, or is utiilizing financing for the purchase. Other contributing factors that affect the ‘quickness’ of a closing are the successful home inspection completion, the property’s title report, and various lender conditions.

The closing process is the transfer of the title of the property from the seller to the buyer. We refer to the process as “CLOSING” but it really is a 2 part process… SIGNING & RECORDING:     

1. SIGNING – Both the Buyer and the Seller sign their closing documents at the title company, or if out of the area a Courtesy Signing or Mobile Notary can be arranged. (In Orgeon the Buyers and Sellera have 2 separate appointments. We do not sit across the table from each other.)  Signing documents for the Buyer using a mortagage usually occurs a day or two before recording so the paperwork can be sent back to the Lender for final review. If a cash purchase, we can often times SIGN & RECORD on the same day.  

2. RECORDING – Once all the appropriate documents are signed, reviewed and approved by all parties the escrow company will record them with the local county record office. Now the transaction is legally closed and recorded. The buyer will receive the keys to the home or the deed to the land, while the seller receives payment for the property from the title/escrow company.