Successful Real Estate Sales With EXCEL MANAGERS

HOME SELLERS GUIDE

San Diego can experience either what’s called a seller’s market or a buyer’s market. The definition of a seller’s market is a real estate market that has a low inventory of available homes and a high number of homebuyers who are wishing to make a purchase. Many sellers can receive multiple offers and overbids sometimes resulting in a bidding war. Homes may be on the market for a very short period of time before going into contract. Of course the opposite can occur too. A buyer’s market is when there is high inventory of available homes and a lower number of homebuyers, so instead of a bidding war or a fast sell, it’s possible for a home to be on the market for a longer stretch and receive a limited amount of offers. Both scenarios have their pros and cons and often times a seller does not have the luxury of waiting for the perfect moment to sell. We will support you in receiving the best outcome for your home regardless of the current market conditions.

DECIDING TO SELL

Before anything else, it is a good idea to sit down and clarify your motivations and draw up a basic time frame for the selling process.

• Why do you want to sell your property?
• Do you intend to find a larger property, or do you plan on moving to another neighborhood, school district, city or state?
• What is the current state of your property? Are you willing to make repairs if requested?
• Do you need to sell before you can purchase your next home?
• Is this an investment property? Do you have tenants?

Every scenario is unique, even if you’re familiar with the selling process. Finding clarity about your intentions for selling will help us determine the most appropriate option for your real estate goals!

WHEN IS THE BEST TIME TO SELL?

The time of year also has a significant impact on real estate in San Diego. Spring and early summer are typically the busiest time for home sales. The weather in San Diego in the spring and early summer is perfect for curb appeal – sunny days and flowers and plants are at their peak. If you sell your home in April to July, there is enough time to either finish the school year or be moved into a new home before the new school year begins.
With that said, we’re lucky in San Diego to have beautiful weather all year long! Plenty of home sales occur throughout the year so don’t hesitate to choose another timeframe if it works better for you. If you need to sell quickly, we can speed up the process by giving you a complete market analysis and action plan to obtain all of your goals. If there is no pressing need to sell immediately we can thoroughly review the current market conditions and find the most favorable time to sell. When you work with us, you can be sure that you will have our knowledge, expertise and negotiating skills at work for you to arrive at the best market prices and terms. We will keep you up-to-date on what is happening in the marketplace and the price, financing, terms and conditions of competing properties. With us, you will know exactly how to price and when to sell your property.

OPTIMIZE YOUR FINANCES

Deciding to sell your property demands a serious consideration of your current financial situation and future possibilities. With our help you will be able to effectively assess the cumulative impact of these changes, estimate potential proceeds of selling your property, and plan effective tax savings and estate planning strategies. We will ensure that you not only take control of your finances but use them to their fullest potential.

WHAT IS YOUR PROPERTY WORTH?

It is very common for independent property sellers to overestimate the value of their property. We can help you consider all the important factors when pricing your home! There’s a lot you can do to increase the curb appeal without breaking the bank:

• Curb Appeal - Keep your landscape pristine and add creative touches to your yard. This will create an immediate impact with potential buyers!
• Property Repairs - Simple upgrades such as window repairs, polishing the doorknobs, and a fresh coat of paint in the most frequently used rooms will instantly brighten up the property
• Cleanliness and Staging - Keep your property uncluttered, smelling nice and well-lit from top-to-bottom. Pay attention to details: put away the kitty litter, place a vase of fresh flowers near the entryway, have your carpets cleaned and light candles or use air diffusers. We can scan the property before it is listed for sale and offer tips on how you can improve the staging of your property.
• Disclosures and Inspections - We are very familiar with the legal procedures involved in disclosures and are ready to help you develop a thorough disclosure statement beneficial to both you and the buyer, as well as suggest home improvement measures before placing your property on the market (such as termite and pest inspections).
• Ready to List! We can come up with a game plan to hold open houses and/or schedule private showings.

ACCEPTING AN OFFER

Price is not always the determining factor when accepting an offer for several important reasons: the initial offer is usually not final, and there are a number of terms and conditions that may influence the final outcome of a price. We will thoroughly evaluate every proposal without compromising your marketing position. We take the ethical responsibility of fairly negotiating contractual terms very seriously. It is our job to find a win-win agreement that is beneficial to all parties involved. You may even want to receive multiple offers before deciding on the most suitable one for you. We will guarantee a thorough and objective assessment of each offer to help you make the right choice.

CONTRACT & DEPOSIT

An effective agreement is a legal arrangement between a potential purchaser and the property’s seller. Laws vary from state to state, but in order to be a legally, binding agreement, a deposit will likely be held in an escrow account pending the fulfillment of conditions or contingencies in the effective agreement.
Some important tips to keep in mind to streamline the process even further:

• Keep records of everything – Purchase agreement, counter offers and addendums signed by both parties should be kept for your protection and review. We will assist you in drafting all the paperwork for your sale and make sure you have copies of everything.
• Stay on schedule – You and the buyer will have a timeline to mark every stage of the process. Meeting the requirements on time ensures that each party is not in breach of their agreement and that the transaction flows smoothly. We will keep you updated so you’re always prepared for the next step.

ESCROW

Once an agreement is finalized, escrow will be opened to act as a neutral third party to support the process of the transaction. The agreed upon deposit will be held in an account through escrow.

LOAN APPROVAL & APPRAISAL

We suggest that you accept buyers who have a lender’s pre-approval, approval letter, or written loan commitment, which is a better guarantee of loan approval than a pre-qualification or no documentation from a lending institute. Expect an appraiser from the lender’s company to review your property and verify that the sales price is appropriate.

INSPECTIONS & CONTINGENCIES

Most buyers will choose to have the property inspected by a licensed property inspector within the timeframe that was agreed upon in the contract to purchase. Some buyers will have several different inspectors inspect the property, if they wish to obtain professional opinions from inspectors who specialize in a specific area (roof, HVAC, structure, pool, septic, termite/pest). If the agreement is conditional upon financing, then the property will be appraised by a licensed appraiser to determine the value for the lending institution via third party. This is done so that the lending institution can confirm their investment in your property is accurate.
A contingency is a condition that must be met before a contract becomes legally binding. For instance, a buyer will usually include a contingency stating that their contract is binding only when there is a satisfactory home inspection report from a qualified inspector.
Depending on the outcome of these inspections, one of two things may happen:

1. Either each milestone is successfully closed and the contingencies will be removed, bringing you one step closer to the closing; or
2. The buyer, after reviewing the property and the papers, requests a renegotiation of the terms of contract (usually the price).

How do you respond objectively and fairly to the buyer when a renegotiation is demanded, while acting in your best interests? This is when a professional listing agent can make a real difference in the outcome of the transaction. Having dealt with many unique property sales in the past, we guarantee our expertise and total commitment to helping you navigate any situation or request that arises.

CLOSING AGENT

Either a title company or an attorney will be selected as the closing agent, whose job is to examine and ensure clear title. After researching the complete recorded history of your property, they will certify that 1) your title is free and clear of encumbrances (mortgages, leases, or restrictions, liens) by the date of closing; and 2) all new encumbrances are duly included in the title.

FINAL WALK-THROUGH

More of a formality than anything else, the final inspection takes place the day before, or the day of the closing. The buyer visits the property to verify that all is in working order, everything is the same as when the buyer last viewed the property, and that there are no extra items left behind.

CANCEL UTILITIES

We will provide a list of useful numbers for the termination of home services and utilities after the closing occurs.

BE PREPARED

We are ready to assist you should an unplanned situation come up! If something at the property breaks down or the buyers’ loan does not pull through on time, there is no need to worry. We have experience with handling unforeseen glitches, so we are prepared to help you with any last-minute changes.

CLOSING

The closing agent will provide all parties involved with a settlement statement, which summarizes and details the financial transactions enacted in the process. The buyer(s) will sign this statement and then you will sign as well as the closing agent, certifying its accuracy. If you are receiving funds from the transaction, you can elect to either have the funds wired electronically to an account at your financial institution, or have a check issued to you at the closing. The seller should arrange to have all property keys and any other important information for the new owner at the closing. Once the deed is recorded with the county recorder you have officially sold your home!