The first thing that should be understood when you sell your home is that this is a very important financial decision. Next to buying your home, it is one of the most important financial and emotional decisions you will ever make. To ensure that you do not encounter any problems during the process, it is imperative that you plan ahead and understand all of the things that must occur.
When you work with Bloom / Van Omen, the official real estate partner of Scottsdale.com, you have a team of dedicated sales professionals working for you. Plus, we have dedicated a dedicated Listing Manager and Closing Coordinator to ensure no detail is overlooked.
Should you Use a REALTOR or For Sale by Owner?
When you decide to sell your home you can either handle it yourself as a FSBO or you can hire a real estate agent. There are certainly benefits and drawbacks to both options. In this timeline, we will assume that you have decided to hire a professional REALTOR. Remember that your REALTOR is the person who will handle the marketing as well as the negotiating for the sale of your home. In addition, he or she will have an important role in the escrow process of the sales transaction once an offer has been made and accepted. Therefore, it is critical that you choose someone you feel is competent and professional and who understands the market.
Tips for Preparing your Home for Sale
One of the keys to selling your home as quickly as possible and for as much money as possible is to ensure that it is desirable for your market. The first step of this process is to be certain that it is sparkling clean and appears as spacious as possible. In some cases this may require working with a staging professional. Keep in mind that homes, which have been professionally arranged so that they appear to be as spacious as possible, will typically sell faster than homes that have not been staged or properly prepared.
Guide to Marketing your Home for Sale
Your real estate agent should have a specific plan for marketing your home. When there is no solid plan for marketing a home, it will usually sit on the market for some time. There are many things that a professional real estate agent can do to market your home. At a minimum, your real estate agent should ensure that your home is placed on the Multiple Listing Service, several photos should be provided, a sign should be placed in front of the home and brochures should be printed. We provide each one of these services as well as many more as part of our multi-step marketing plan.
Guide to Receiving Offers for your Home
After your home is on the market, it is important to understand that the local market will usually determine how quickly offers will arrive. Of course, the listing price for the home will also play a role. Regardless, once you have received an offer on your home, you typically have three choices.
1. You may decline the offer. In this event, no action will occur and your home will remain on the market for sale.
2. You may counter the offer. In this event, you will negotiate with the prospective buyers.
3. You may accept the offer. At this point, your home will go under contract and the escrow process will begin based on the terms of the contract.
The process will become more involved at this point. The process must follow the terms of the contract after it has been accepted. This means that certain timelines and criteria will need to be agreed upon and met. These will vary somewhat in some cases; however, below we will review the normal timelines for this process.
First, you should know that generally the term "day" in the purchase contract refers to a full 24-hour day. Holidays and weekends are not skipped. In the event that a call for action is missed by either party then a cure period notice will be delivered. This notice provides three days for the party that has missed the call for action to correct the action and avoid breach of contract. If the action is not corrected within that timeframe then the violating party will be considered in breach of contract and the other party may choose to cancel the contract.
Part 1 of the Escrow Process: Contract Acceptance
Within the first five days of the escrow process, there are many steps that must be met by both the buyers and the sellers. The Buyer will be required to submit their loan package to the lender. You, as the Seller, will be required to submit a Seller Property Disclosure Statement, which discloses anything that is relevant or material regarding the home of which you are aware. This form is relatively simple to complete as it is in a question and answer form. The Buyer is required to review this form and then sign and return it within five days or by the end of the inspection period, whichever amount of time is greater.
In the event that your home was constructed prior to 1978, you will have five days from the time of contract acceptance to provide the Buyer with a lead based paint disclosure form. The Buyer will then have ten days in which they can inspect the home for the presence of lead. This time period is referred to as the assessment period. The Buyer will have the option to cancel the contract within five days of receiving the lead based paint disclosure or within five days following the end of the assessment period. Due to the fact that this form is federally required, original signatures are required. This form cannot be faxed.
Additionally, as the Seller you will have five days during which you must deliver the statement of property insurability or CLUE report. Once the Buyer receives this report, he or she will have until the end of the inspection period or five days, whichever time period is greater, to disapprove the report. If they disapprove the report, they can cancel the contract. If the Buyer accepts the report, they will have five days to obtain homeowner's insurance.
You must also provide information regarding whether the property is located in an unincorporated area within five days.
In most cases the inspection period consists of ten days. This time period is specified in the contract. When the end of the inspection period arrives, the Buyer's agent will provide you with a BINSR, or Buyer Inspection and Seller Response form. Three different outcomes can occur with the delivery of this form. This form will provide you with items that the buyer is requesting to have corrected. You will have five days to respond to these requests. If you agree that the items should be repaired then you will acknowledge them on the BINSR. In that case, you will have until three days prior to the close of escrow for those repairs to be completed. You must provide receipts for the repairs to the Buyer. The Buyer also has the option of accepting the home without requesting that any repairs be completed. If that is the case, all you will need to do is acknowledge that no repairs are being requested on the response section for the seller. In the third option, the Buyer may decide to cancel the contract.
Part 2 of the Escrow Process: Title Commitment
Once the Title Commitment and CC&Rs are delivered by the Title Company, both you and the Buyer will have the opportunity to review the Title Commitment. During this time period you can bring up anything that does not appear to be correct with the document. The Buyer also has the opportunity to cancel the contract within a five-day timeframe, beginning with the delivery of the Title Commitment. You must advise your agent of the date you received the Title Commitment in the event there are questions or problems.
Part 3 of the Escrow Process: The Appraisal
You should be aware that the Buyer will have five days after the appraisal has been delivered in order to re-negotiate the contract or cancel the contract in the event the property failed to appraise for the agreed upon purchase price.
Part 4 of the Escrow Process: Prior to Close of Escrow
You, as well as the Buyer, will receive what is known as the HUD Closing Statement. This form will be provided by either your agent or the Title Company. You should contact your real estate agent if you do not receive this form within five days of the scheduled close of escrow. The purpose of this form is to provide information regarding how the funds of the transaction will be used.
During the three days prior to the close of escrow, the Buyer should perform a final walk-through of the property and sign off on that. You as the seller must deliver all receipts related to repairs requested by the Buyer. Additionally, both you and the buyer must sign all documents that are required by the Title Company for the property to be transferred.
Close of Escrow
You should be prepared to bring your driver license with you to the title company for the closing to authenticate your identity. Before the closing, you should have made arrangements with your agent for the keys and remotes to be delivered to the Buyer's Agent. All information and documentation related to security systems and appliances that are remaining with the home should also be provided at this point. Remember that once the escrow has closed, the home is no longer yours, therefore, you should be prepared to move out of the home on the day before the scheduled closing.
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