Selling a house is no easy feat, especially if it’s your own house you are trying to sell. You need to exert time, effort, and money all at once. When selling a house, the seller and the buyer go through different stages, and you should go through each step and complete it to ensure that you miss out nothing.
The process of house sale comes in different stages, and it’s something that every seller should understand.
First Stage: Preparing Your House For Selling
One of the most important to be clear about when you’re selling a house is how much you think the property is worth. You could visit auctions of similar properties and see what the market is doing. You could also talk to local agents. They will keep their ear close to the ground and should be able to give you an idea of what they thought how much you could sell your property.
If you have an outstanding mortgage, make sure to check with your lender about it. Paying off your mortgage can help you increase your net proceeds. Take note, the due amount in your mortgage takes part in your net proceeds. If you want to have an estimated projection of your net proceeds, use a proceeds calculator and compute it in advance.
Second Stage: Hire an Agent
Sellers should consider hiring a real estate agent. Although you can do it yourself, you should be aware that it can be quite a lot of work, and may not even save you cash in the long run.
The primary advantage of using a real estate agent comes through their experience in the industry. Property has become an expanding and increasingly regulated industry, and before you can close a sale on your house or property, there are a lot of obstacles you need to get through.
Besides, you would probably miss a database of buyers compiled over the years of property transactions and business contacts.
Third Stage: Ready Your House for Inspection
The next task that needs to be done is the inspection. Technically, it’s a home inspection, and it’s a necessary process for all house sales. Before the review, you can ask your real estate agent for the inspection list so you’ll have an idea of what the inspector will want to see.
The contract requires many certifications, so make sure to hire a reliable company to conduct the inspection. Other buyers are meticulous in that they make sure that there’s no sewer issue, so take note of this request as well. Other inspections such as termite and pest inspections are available as a public record; you can directly ask for the report.
Third Stage: Negotiating a Prospective Buyer
Be prepared that some buyers will favorably negotiate their way in to purchase the house at a lesser price. Some buyers would likely take up fixing the issues yet arrange it through a closing cost credit such as a drainage diagram showing sewer lines, for example. This means the seller (you) will give the potential buyer cash offers to repair any problems found on the property. By this, the total sale of the property is lowered.
If both parties agreed to a closing cost credit, the seller and the buyer would discuss the amount based on the overall estimate of what is believed needs fixing and the repairs’ total cost.
Fourth Stage: Signing of Documents
The signing of documents is the final stage in a house sale process, and it’s when you need to sign a lot of records and documents. Most of these documents are very important such as the seller’s closing disclosure.
This disclosure consists of information on the sale price, the closing costs, the final mortgage amount, and the net proceeds- as others would like to call it, the seller take-home pay.
Other documents that need signing are the title search that proves you own the property, the Deeds of Sale, Statement of closing costs if available and any documents that consist of the right of way.
It would take a while to read and sign all these documents, which is why the seller, the buyer, and the agents sit around the table to get things done during the final stage.
Takeaway
Selling a house is quite a handful of things to mind; that’s why closing a deal is such a success. However, it doesn’t end there yet. There are still many things that need your attention. And the best way to understand and go through the house sale process is to learn its every stage. Each stage is vital to make sure that you’re closing a house deal in a right and legal way.
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