Selling 101: A Step-by-Step Guide to Selling Your Home

So you’ve been thinking about selling your home, but you’re not quite sure to start. Look, I totally get it – thinking about selling a place that holds so many memories (and all of your stuff) can feel really daunting, both logistically and emotionally.

You might find yourself wondering, what can I do to plan and prepare for this process? How can I ensure I get enough from my home to take me into this next stage of life? What do I need to do to make my home sell for the most money? The good news is, these are super normal questions, and ones that I’m happy to help guide you through. If you are curious about selling, but finding yourself unsure, intimidated, or even just plain curious, I’m here to help put it all on paper.

This is Selling 101, where you’ll get a really good idea of how to prep, what a typical process looks like, and how to make this move as smooth as possible. Are you ready? Let’s dive in!

Step 1: Get Clear on Your Goals

I don’t need to tell you that selling your home is a major move! Believe it or not, there are so many different reasons my clients choose to sell – from growing their families, to changing jobs, to community access, to wanting their first fixer, and so much more.

The first big step to selling is simply to understand what drives you, and your unique situation. Showing up to the selling process with clarity around your goals will help everything run smoothly from the start.

Pro Tip: If you’re just getting curious about selling, consider spending some time writing in a journal, creating a mood board, or even just discussing over coffee with the people you care about. This will help you determine what matters most to you.

Step 2: Talk to an Agent

Whether you’re ready to sell tomorrow, or you’re thinking about selling next year, it’s never too soon to get connected with an agent (hi, that’s me!). Your agent will take your goals and dreams into something tangible to give you the full picture. They will have the best idea of the state of the market, your home’s value, how to prep your home to sell, if staging makes sense, and so much more. 

Pro Tip: A good agent will never ever rush you in your selling process, so if you ever feel any kind of pressure, definitely find an agent that respects your timeline and priorities. Trust me – we’re out there, and you deserve someone who will have your back on your timeline.

Step 3: Pricing & Prep

Your agent will take you into the next steps of preparing your home for sale. You’ll discuss logistics, like title review and paperwork, marketing, and pricing.

If you feel intimated by this prep step, that is super normal. Figuring out where to start can be the biggest lift of all! The good news is, your agent will be your guide throughout this process (which is why it’s important to choose someone you trust!). Not only will they map out these next steps, they will be able to tell you what’s happening, what they need from you, and make sure everything gets done as it should.

Title Review

A big step in preparing your home to go to market is a title review from a reputable company, which will share the entire ownership history of a home, any claims made, and anything that could prevent the sale. It gives both parties peace of mind that everything should move smoothly.

Marketing

When it comes to selling your home, it’s important to consider the best way to make it marketable, both to attract potential buyers to the home, and make them fall in love when they arrive. Your agent should walk through your home with you and discuss any staging needs or potential quick fixes that might make your home more attractive to potential buyers (i.e. replacing some squeaky hinges or a light bulb that’s out).

Once your home is ready to hit the market, a good agent will facilitate all the steps needed to properly market your home online and reach potential buyers, including a professional photo shoot to showcase your home in the best light.

Pricing

Pricing should always be a collaborative conversation between you and your agent. You will bring your pricing goals, and your agent will bring deep knowledge of the market and home values in your area. Together, you’ll come up with a price that meets your needs, and works for the market.

Step 4: Listing Launch

You’ve made it through pricing & prep, now it’s time for the listing launch – yay! This is where hard work pays off, and your home finally gets to hit the market. During this phase, your agent really gets to shine with their marketing skills. They will blast out those professional photos on social and over email, mail postcards, host open houses, place ads, and so much more. 

Pro Tip: This is where choosing an agent that is driven, creative, and well-connected is super important.

Step 5: Offers & Closing

Offers

As serious buyers start rolling in, their agent will be in close contact with your agent to ensure they are crafting the best possible offer. This is where those initial goals come in – your agent will be on your side advocating for you, setting boundaries, and making sure you get the best possible offer to kick off the next stage of your journey. You’ll have an open line of communication with your agent at all times, and they will share interest, feedback, and clarify any questions they might have from other agents or buyers.

Your agent will share any offers you receive, and discuss them with you at length. Because offers can be nuanced, your agent will help you understand the ins and outs, and pros and cons of each, until you land on the right one. If it makes sense, you will work with your agent to develop a counter offer that feels like a better fit than the original.

Closing

Once you have an accepted offer, you’ll move into closing – a process that may be familiar to you from when you originally purchased your home. You’ll go through inspections and appraisals so both parties are aware of the state and value of the home. There may be additional negotiations at this time, but your agent will drive those and continue to advocate for you.

From there, escrow will coordinate the signing of documents and transfer of everything to the buyer. Congratulations – you just sold you home!

Final Thoughts

Whether you’ve just started thinking about selling, or you’re ready to sell and wanted to better understand the process, my hope is that Selling 101 gave you some clarity and confidence to move towards the next step.

Selling a home is a big deal, but it’s not something you have to do alone. A good agent will be your ride-or-die guide through the process, help you reach your goals, market your home, and get the best offer you can get.

Ready to get started? Send me a message or schedule a complimentary consultation to get the ball rolling.