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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 agent 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 real estate agent once you choose one so he or she 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 real estate agent is the best way to determine the right selling price for your home. An agent 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

I 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. My 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. I 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 I deem the offer is acceptable, I 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 agent.

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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. I 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. I 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 real estate agent 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.

There is a difference in real estate brokers. Don’t ask me. Ask my clients.

Christal was great to work with. She was incredibly responsive to all of our questions and very accessible. She made even some of the bumps along the way smoother and easier to deal with. I highly recommend her skills and expertise as a real estate agent.

— Amie

There is a difference in real estate brokers. Don’t ask me. Ask my clients.

Christal guided us through out the process of selling our house. She was very knowledgeable, patient, caring, and prompt to respond to emails and texts. She followed up, went above and beyond her duties, and provided answers to all our concerns. She was always encouraging and never pushy and allowed us to decide what was beneficial to our means. We will definitely use Christal company and her service for...

— Buyer

There is a difference in real estate brokers. Don’t ask me. Ask my clients.

Christal is a fantastic listener and problem solver. Her enthusiasm for assisting with everything was outstanding. Have nothing but praise for this exceptional realtor. Highly recommend her to anyone who wants a real pro!

— Micheal M.

There is a difference in real estate brokers. Don’t ask me. Ask my clients.

Christal is a rock star realtor! She helped sell my home in record time during the holidays by going over and above, every step of the way. I highly recommend her advice and services.

— Seller

There is a difference in real estate brokers. Don’t ask me. Ask my clients.

Christal is an incredible realtor. As first-time home-buyers, we had a lot of questions and a lot of uncertainties. Christal was supportive, knowledgeable, kind, compassionate, and overall incredibly easy to work with. She's easy to communicate with, answers all of your questions, and has your best interest at heart. I recommend anyone work with Christal, she will find you your place!

— Ellie

There is a difference in real estate brokers. Don’t ask me. Ask my clients.

Christal is phenomenal. Such a pleasure to work with her. Always responsive, and available when needed. She was able to sell my house within a week and negotiated a price higher than my selling price. She also helped me to find my dream home. I will refer her services with my eyes close. Great experience from beginning to end.

— Mylene M.

There is a difference in real estate brokers. Don’t ask me. Ask my clients.

Christal is a great realtor. She was very knowledgeable on how to get our offer accepted. Christal developed a great rapport with all parties involved for a smooth closing. I would highly recommend her.

— Marcy C.

There is a difference in real estate brokers. Don’t ask me. Ask my clients.

The very best. She's intelligent, kind. Patient and on top of her game. Average response time 3 mins. Did not mind dealing with 25 challenges and issues that we faced remotely. We were moving from out of state. Christal is energetic and has a genuine desire to help her clients. Does not know or ise the word 'No'. In every aspect of a complex purchase process, he was always there for us. Reassuring, hones...

— Gentley D.

There is a difference in real estate brokers. Don’t ask me. Ask my clients.

It was a fantastic experience to work with Christal! We found Christal randomly through Zillow but quickly came to trust her and appreciate her professionalism. She is knowledgeable, honest, hardworking and very responsive. She helped us buy our dream home and she is helping us sell our old home. We couldn't recommend her highly enough!

— Tom

There is a difference in real estate brokers. Don’t ask me. Ask my clients.

Christal was fantastic to work with. I was new to the area and she was incredibly knowledgeable about real estate in Libertyville. I appreciated how responsive she was and she made a very stressful process much easier to navigate. I can't recommend her enough!

— Kate H.

Determined. Dynamic. Driven.

Seize the opportunity to elevate your real estate journey. Connect with Christal today, and together, you’ll navigate the path to exceed all of your real estate goals and aspirations.