Home Seller Insight
Selling a home involves many critical steps, but with the right agent/team on your side, you can maximize profits with relative ease and in a reasonable amount of time. Our goal when working with seller clients is to take the stress out of the sale by handling every detail from start to finish. We provide cutting-edge marketing, skillful negotiating and a very high level of client care to ensure that the desired results are achieved. Listed below are some basic steps in the home selling process along with some commonly used Arizona real estate forms. We also have a free home seller’s guide that can be downloaded from our Resources page.
Key Home Sale Steps
- Determine your motivation for selling and your ideal sale deadline–these will factor in to the overall pricing strategy.
- Obtain a market valuation for your home. Some sellers opt to get a full-blown appraisal prior to marketing their property, but most folks ask an agent to provide an opinion of value. Don’t be fooled by figures you see on Trulia or Zillow–sales data on these sites can be off by as much as 30%. Your best option is to find an agent you trust to help determine value given current market conditions.
- Find an experienced agent to represent your best interests. The agent you hire should have excellent references, a marketing plan that includes online and off-line components and a proven track record of success.
- Sign listing documents–see below for examples of key listing documents.
- Complete seller property disclosures.
- Prepare your home for sale. An experienced agent will be able to offer recommendations about furniture staging, improvements and repairs that will increase the attractiveness of your home and its curb appeal.
- Once your property is ready to be marketed, your agent should have the home professionally photographed. The property will be placed in the multiple listing service and the marketing plan will be put in place.
- Review and respond to incoming offers. Your agent will present all offers and assist with the negotiation and preparation of counter offers, etc.
- Once an offer has been accepted and escrow has been opened by the buyer or buyer’s agent, the inspection period begins. Generally, the inspection period runs 10 days; however, the number of days can be negotiated.
- Within the inspection period, the buyer’s agent will deliver a Buyer Inspection Notice & Sellers Respons form–this form is used to indicate buyer requested repairs–all repairs are negotiable.
- Once the repairs have been negotiated, the seller will begin to complete requested repairs–All repairs must be completed prior to the close of escrow.
- If the buyer is obtaining financing, the seller will sign escrow documents after the buyer’s loan documents have been delivered to the escrow company. If the buyer is paying cash, the seller may sign closing documents as early in the escrow as desired.
- The title company will record key documents at the Maricopa County Recorders office and upon recordation, the sale is official.
- The title company will send closing proceeds to the seller.
Key Seller Documents
- Real Estate Disclosure & Election – Seller–this form establishes the relationship between seller and broker.
- Exclusive Right to Sell–this is the main listing agreement that outlines the commission, requirements of the agent and seller and other conditions.
- Seller Property Disclosure Statement–this is the disclosure statement used to highlight important facts about the property and its history during ownership of the seller.
- Buyer Inspection Notice & Seller’s Response–this is the form sent by the buyer’s agent which outlines requested repairs or provides notice to the seller of cancellation or acceptance of the property without repairs.
There are many other documents that might be needed when selling Arizona real estate, but the above covers the basics. As a seller, it is a good idea to review a blank purchase contract prior to listing your home–this way, you will feel more comfortable when reviewing offers for the first time. See our Home Buyer Insight page to view a blank purchase contract. If you have any questions about selling your Arizona home, please contact us. We are here to serve you!
