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Seller's Guide

A Step-by-Step First Time Seller's Guide

Putting your home on the market can be a stressful process, especially when you don’t know what to expect. Fortunately, with the help of an experienced team of real estate agents and this easy to follow guide, you can smoothly complete the process. Following these steps will help you prepare so you can get organized and sell your home for the best price possible.​​​​​​​

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Step 1: Understand Why You're Selling

What do you want to accomplish with the sale of your home? Do you want to make a certain amount of money that you can put toward a larger or nicer home? Do you need to sell it as soon as possible to facilitate a move to a new city or area? Once you understand your needs, you can better craft your offer. For example, if you need to sell quickly, you might want to price your home lower than if your goal is to make a certain profit margin. Make sure you convey these needs to your team of real estate agents once you choose one so they can adjust your selling price accordingly.

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Step 2: Determine Selling Price

Knowing how to price your home is one of the most important parts of the selling process. When you set a fair price in the beginning, you’ll get the most interest from other real estate agents and prospective buyers. Overpricing your home could lead to reduced interest, and underpricing leads to receiving less than what your home is worth. Working with a team of real estate agents is the best way to determine the right selling price for your home. A team of real estate agents with experience can determine what other comparable homes are selling for, evaluate the current market, and may even suggest a home appraisal.

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Step 3: Start Preparations

If you’ve kept your home in showroom condition since you’ve lived in it, you’re in the minority of homeowners. Once you price your home, it’s time to start getting it ready to be shown to potential buyers. This includes getting rid of clutter, depersonalizing the space so that buyers can envision themselves in the space, making any small repairs, and doing a deep clean to make sure your home is in pristine condition.

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Step 4: Develop a Marketing Strategy

We will develop a marketing strategy that is perfect for advertising your home. This involves listing the home and then driving the right people to that listing through social media campaigns, agent-to-agent referrals, traditional media, or SEO advertising. Our team creates a marketing campaign that aims to get the most possible traffic to your listing in the first three weeks after becoming a client.

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Step 5: Evaluate Offers

Receiving an offer is an exciting part of the process, but it doesn’t mean the journey is over. We will evaluate each offer and make sure the party making the offer is prequalified or pre-approved by a mortgage lender and that their offer is acceptable to you. If the offer is too low, you can make a counter-offer or offer other ways to bridge the gap, such as covering some or all of the closing costs, making repairs, adjusting the move-in date, or leaving some appliances or fixtures for the new buyer.

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Step 6: Accept an Offer

Once we deem the offer is acceptable, we will review the proposed contract to make sure it’s all in order and includes the necessary components such as deposit amount, down payment, financing, inspection rights and repair allowances, contingencies, settlement date, and a list of fees and who will pay them. When both parties have agreed to the term, a final contract will be prepared by your team of real estate agents.

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Step 7: Get Ready to Close

You have accepted an offer and are now very close to the end of your selling journey. But first, you and the buyer must make a list of what needs to be done before closing. In some cases, your home may need to be formally inspected, surveyed, and appraised. In other cases, major or minor repairs will need to be made before the house can close. We will head up efforts to develop and execute this list, get each action item paid for by the correct party, and make sure everything is in order by the closing date. A few days before the closing date, we will call the company closing the transaction to make sure everything is ready to go. If you haven’t done so already, you also need to make arrangements to move out of the home so the new buyer can take possession.

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Step 8: Close

You’ve reached the last step in the seller’s process. When you close on a home you are selling, you are legally transferring ownership of the property to the new buyer. We will meet with the company closing the transaction to sign the final paperwork and go over any issues that have not yet been taken care of. During this time, you can also make plans with your team of real estate agents to handle final details such as canceling utilities, cable, and lawn or trash services, changing the name on accounts that the new owner is retaining and ensuring the new owner has instructions for all appliances that will remain in the home.

Congratulations!

Once you have sold your home, you’re free to take the next step on your journey. Whether this is relocating to a new city, moving into a larger home, or downsizing and enjoying your life as empty-nesters, knowing all your selling responsibilities have been taken care of will help you achieve peace of mind for your new path.

What Clients Say About Working with Us

Reviews

"Rob and his team are the most knowledgeable, professional, well prepared realtor team I have come across and dealt with not just in the area but anywhere. If you're looking to buy or sell choosing Rob would without a doubt be the only option to consider. He is educated and experienced in every aspect of property listing, buying, selling, renting, renovating, remodeling and investing. Beyond his professional side, I consider him a good person, a trustworthy man and a friend not much more you can ask for in a business dealing or in life."
"Rob and his team are the most knowledgeable, professional, well prepared realtor team I have come across and dealt with not just in the area but anywhere. If you're looking to buy or sell choosing Rob would without a doubt be the only option to consider. He is educated and experienced in every aspect of property listing, buying, selling, renting, renovating, remodeling and investing. Beyond his professional side, I consider him a good person, a trustworthy man and a friend not much more you can ask for in a business dealing or in life."
Buyer & Seller
"My husband and I worked with Jacki Taylor on Rob Morrison's team. We could not be more pleased with our experience working with Jacki to buy our first home. From our first meeting to negotiations to final closing, Jacki was the height of professionalism. And her incredible responsiveness always made us feel like a priority! Jacki's work ethic, customer service, and industry and market knowledge is unmatched! We have told all our friends and family about Jacki and look forward to working with her again for future home sales and purchases."
"My husband and I worked with Jacki Taylor on Rob Morrison's team. We could not be more pleased with our experience working with Jacki to buy our first home. From our first meeting to negotiations to final closing, Jacki was the height of professionalism. And her incredible responsiveness always made us feel like a priority! Jacki's work ethic, customer service, and industry and market knowledge is unmatched! We have told all our friends and family about Jacki and look forward to working with her again for future home sales and purchases."
Meredith
"Best realtor we've had. Practical advice, keen to help the process along and support the seller, very responsive to questions, reliable - all of the things you'd want in a realtor."
"Best realtor we've had. Practical advice, keen to help the process along and support the seller, very responsive to questions, reliable - all of the things you'd want in a realtor."
Carlyn Z.
"The Rob Morrison team is by for the most skilled real estate team i have come across in the area. I could not of asked for better service and results from start to finish in the buying and selling experience. They are educated and qualified to help one through every aspect of home buying and selling. If you're looking for top dollar for your sale or efficient negotiations for a purchase, this is the team to choose."
"The Rob Morrison team is by for the most skilled real estate team i have come across in the area. I could not of asked for better service and results from start to finish in the buying and selling experience. They are educated and qualified to help one through every aspect of home buying and selling. If you're looking for top dollar for your sale or efficient negotiations for a purchase, this is the team to choose."
Seller
"Rob does a wonderful job sharing his knowledge of the area, making a closing come together smoothly, and helping a buyer to feel comfortable. He is trustworthy, supportive, and willing to answer any questions you have (no matter how tough)! Our family highly recommends him to anyone looking for a home, a vacation property, or an investment opportunity."
"Rob does a wonderful job sharing his knowledge of the area, making a closing come together smoothly, and helping a buyer to feel comfortable. He is trustworthy, supportive, and willing to answer any questions you have (no matter how tough)! Our family highly recommends him to anyone looking for a home, a vacation property, or an investment opportunity."
Buyer
"Rob did an amazing job selling my home of 18 years. He was in constant communication with me, keeping me informed at every step, ensuring a smooth and stress-free process. Rob displayed a high degree of professionalism and a deep understanding of the market. I can't recommend him enough!"
"Rob did an amazing job selling my home of 18 years. He was in constant communication with me, keeping me informed at every step, ensuring a smooth and stress-free process. Rob displayed a high degree of professionalism and a deep understanding of the market. I can't recommend him enough!"
Stephanie
"I met with Nicole on Jan 18, 2024 and my house closed just 18 days later. I was a little skeptical of the higher listing price that she recommended, but it proved to be right in the ballpark for area buyers - my own selling price estimate was $50K below hers and way too low! She did an excellent job of handling questions between buyer and seller, and managing the quick closing. She proved to be a great advocate during the entire process."
"I met with Nicole on Jan 18, 2024 and my house closed just 18 days later. I was a little skeptical of the higher listing price that she recommended, but it proved to be right in the ballpark for area buyers - my own selling price estimate was $50K below hers and way too low! She did an excellent job of handling questions between buyer and seller, and managing the quick closing. She proved to be a great advocate during the entire process."
Stark L.
"Rob and his Team were great to work with. Very helpful and informative; patiently answered all my questions throughout the buying and selling process. Rob was able to get both transactions done in a timely manner at the prices I was hoping for. Highly recommend Rob and his Team for anyone looking to buy or sell property in the greater Chicagoland area."
"Rob and his Team were great to work with. Very helpful and informative; patiently answered all my questions throughout the buying and selling process. Rob was able to get both transactions done in a timely manner at the prices I was hoping for. Highly recommend Rob and his Team for anyone looking to buy or sell property in the greater Chicagoland area."
Joseph
"Rob was outstanding to work with, he was very efficient, professional, new the market and pricing. I always returned phone call on time; Did an outstanding job on marketing the property and was great at negotiation skills. I would highly recommend Rob to anyone."
"Rob was outstanding to work with, he was very efficient, professional, new the market and pricing. I always returned phone call on time; Did an outstanding job on marketing the property and was great at negotiation skills. I would highly recommend Rob to anyone."
Seller
"Rob was a pleasure to work with. I couldn’t appreciate his hard work, incredible knowledge, efficiency, attention to detail or the care he puts into all aspects of his job more. It is rare to find someone as on top of things and as efficient as he is. Rob took so much stress out of the buying and selling process and made it fun along the way. If your are serious about selling your home or finding a new home, Rob is the best choice you could make."
"Rob was a pleasure to work with. I couldn’t appreciate his hard work, incredible knowledge, efficiency, attention to detail or the care he puts into all aspects of his job more. It is rare to find someone as on top of things and as efficient as he is. Rob took so much stress out of the buying and selling process and made it fun along the way. If your are serious about selling your home or finding a new home, Rob is the best choice you could make."
Buyer & Seller

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