The stress-free guide to
Selling Your Home in the Claremont, Upland, La Verne, and the Foothill Communities
So you’re thinking about selling your home? Selling a home is a major milestone, but it can also be a stressful time. There’s so much to prepare for and so many decisions to make. What should your asking price be? When’s the right time to list? Should you work with a Realtor? Which one?
The first step in a stress-free home-selling process is understanding exactly what that process involves. In this brief guide, we’ll take you step by step through the journey of selling your home.
Preparing to Sell Your Home
It’s just one house, but selling it takes a village. From the moment you decide to sell until the deal is done, you’ll be working with a number of professionals, including contractors, inspectors, realtors, and brokers. In other words, it can get a little complicated.
Luckily, knowing what the process looks like beforehand can be a huge help.
Laura Dandoy has been helping homeowners in the Claremont, Upland, La Verne, and the foothill communities sell their homes for more than 25 years.
schedule an appointment with our team2+ Months Out:
Find an experienced local agent.
Finding an experienced real estate agent who understands your needs will save you hours of labor and frustration (and, potentially, a lot of money).
A lot of people think that selling their home on their own, without consulting an agent, will net them more money in the long run—after all, you pocket the commission.
What they don’t realize is that without an understanding of the selling process, the whole thing can become a big mess very quickly. Usually, they realize the mistake they’ve made when they’re already on the hook for thousands of dollars in repairs and fees.
In addition, an experienced agent will have deep knowledge of local market conditions and buying trends. They’ll know how to prepare and stage your home for buyers, and will help lock in the price you want.
Find an Agent Learn the true value of your home.
Get a free Home Valuation6-8 Weeks Out:
Consider repairs and improvements.
Six to eight weeks before you put your home on the market, your real estate agent should do a thorough walkthrough of your home and suggest repairs and improvements.
Your agent is a valuable resource when it comes to putting your best foot forward. Without this insight, homeowners often end up spending money on repairs that aren’t necessary, or making renovations that aren’t in line with current trends.
Some popular improvements include repainting interior walls, refinishing hardwood floors, fixing or replacing siding or roofing, or doing some light gardening and landscaping.
A realtor might recommend replacing aging components, like garage doors or HVAC systems, and updating kitchen and bathroom fixtures that are no longer fashionable. In some cases, they’ll even recommend replacing cabinets or countertops.
If there are any known maintenance issues associated with your home—a leaky roof, electrical problems, a history with termites or carpenter ants, etc.—let your realtor know. Otherwise, these problems will turn up during inspection (and could potentially derail a sale).
An experienced realtor will know which kinds of improvements generate a net increase to your sale price (and which ones will lead to a loss).
Repair Get a full report on homes that have recently sold in your community.
Request a neighborhood sold report.4-1 Week(s) Out:
Prepare your home.
Hopefully, you’ve already started decluttering your home and getting rid of unused furniture and other items stored in your attic, basement, or closets. If not, now’s the time to work through your home, clearing out storage, removing junk, and deep cleaning nooks and crannies.
Once the house is clean, you’ll work with your agent to stage your home so that it’s neat, welcoming, and depersonalized. This last bit is important, as it allows your buyers to picture their own personal touches in their new home.
Lastly, take professional photographs that will highlight your home’s best features and give buyers a great impression of your home right from their computer, tablet, or phone.
Clean Marketing, Showing, & Selling Your Home
Your home is prepped and ready for sale. What do you do now?
marketing & advertising
Selling your home is all about finding where the right buyers are looking. That requires expertise in marketing and advertising.
A skilled agent will combine hard-earned knowledge with a wealth of resources, including online listing services, print advertising, social media, and local agent networks to get the word out about your home. The right asking price, plus effective marketing, equals a quick and effortless sale.
Market Open House
Open houses and private showings are where you make a statement. Your home should be neat, clean, and properly staged for buyers.
This can sometimes be a difficult time for sellers, with strangers entering their home multiple times per day. Sellers should be prepared to clear out of the house during showings, and the home should be kept ready-to-show at all times.
Experienced real estate agents know how to balance the selling experience with everyday life to make the selling process as painless as possible.
Stage Negotiate & Accept
Once an interested buyer is lined up, they’ll make a formal written offer. The offer letter will outline how much the buyer will pay, their mortgage amount, closing and occupancy dates, and any contingencies that may apply. You, as the seller, can either accept the offer or negotiate for better terms.
Negotiations can add or subtract contingencies from the original offer letter. Choosing which contingencies benefit you can be difficult — once again, it’s very important to have an experienced agent at your side during this process.
Negotiate Closing The Deal
It’s closing time! Once you’ve accepted an offer, you’re nearly done with the home selling process. There’s just a few more things to do:
Sign a purchase agreement.
Got an offer you like? It’s time to sign a legal contract and make it official. This outlines the specific terms, conditions, and contingencies of the home sale.Cooperate with inspections.
Next, the buyer will hire an inspector to ensure that no major repairs will be needed after they buy the house. If the inspector finds any needed repairs, the buyer can negotiate for the costs of the repairs.Enter escrow.
During this time, you and your agent will work with an escrow company to complete paperwork and ensure that all parts of the contract are complete.Sign, pay, and finalize!
On a predetermined closing date, you and your buyer will sit down with your agents to sign all the paperwork and pay all your fees. You’ll relinquish your keys and your property title, and you’ll receive a check for the remaining balance after the remainder of your mortgage is paid to your bank.
Congrats—you’ve sold your home!
Why choose Laura Dandoy for selling your home?
Laura Dandoy RE/MAX Resources will price your home right, get your house ready to show, and coach you through each essential step in the selling process. We have decades of experience connecting homebuyers with home sellers in the Claremont, Upland and Foothill communities.
Connect with the Laura Dandoy team today:
Foothill Real Estate Resources
Looking for more insight into the home selling process? Take a deep dive into our resources section for relevant content on your journey.