In this graphic we am assuming you will use a realtor of some sort to list your home. Read the section below of "Should I use a Realtor?" to look at the data and see if this is the route you want to take. If not- breeze through my "For Sale By Owner Basics".​

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6 MONTHS

6 months before you want your home sold you should meet with a realtor. Before you start the meeting, let the Realtor know if you want to just sell the home "as is" or if you are willing to do any updates and to what extent. When we meet with clients we can go through their home and tell them if they updated X room to a certain style it would costs them:

• X dollars with a contractor

•  X dollars DIY (for easy things such as painting)

•  A what they could expect for a % ROI (essentially saying I can list your home for X dollars more if you do this)

We tell our clients where they can get the most bang for their buck in updating their home. Then let them decide if (or what) they want to update. Read my section below" Should I update before selling?" to get an idea of what updates usually brings the largest ROI when selling a home.

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3 MONTHS

3 Months is when you want your Realtor to start timing the market for you and doing market evaluations. A real estate market is ever changing and a hot market during a year can be as unpredictable and fast as an incoming monsoon. They will weigh and measure your timeframe of when you want to sell along with the market and keep you updated and informed. If your home is priced well and does not have major issues in a healthy market it should not take longer than 3 months to sell.

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2 MONTHS

Since it takes a buyer 30-45 days typically to get a fully underwritten approved loan, the very latest you would want to list a home is 5 weeks before you want it to be SOLD. You need a few days for marketing and to get under contract at least. Your local realtor in your area will know what the current market turn times are. When we listed homes in 2018 we would list them anticipating a 2-3 week marketing period prior to going under contract for a recommendation of listing 6 weeks before my clients wanted it sold. Over the last 2 years I have recommended the shorter period of 5 weeks since every home was under contract within 48 hours of listing it during COVID. 

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30 DAYS

A buyer will come and offer on your property. There are many different elements that are included in a purchase contract that can increase or decrease your net. Some of those elements include:

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1. Seller paid loan closing costs for the buyer

2. Due diligence fees

3. Attorney Fees

4. HOA transfer fees

5. Home warranty fees

6. Title fees

7. Credit for improvements

8. Including or excluding home appliances and features.

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These things can equate to tens of thousands of dollars, so the highest purchase price does not always equal the highest net offer

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15 DAYS

Once under contract the buyer gets started on a loan and the bank will send out an appraiser within the first 2 weeks of the contract typically. In most state buyers have a chance to do a home inspection, and if they do not like what they see they can request you fix some items on your home. So you will need to be flexible in letting people come into your home while under contract.

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About 2-3 weeks into a contract the appraised value comes back you may need to renegotiate the price if the appraisal came back below what the offer value was. A bank will not give a loan for any more than what a home appraises for. Read more about this in the next section. If the home appraises for more, you will never know. The buyer is not obligated to share the appraised value with the seller since they are the ones paying for the appraisal. The only reason you will ever know the appraised value as the seller is if it is less than the contract value.

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CLOSING

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Once the buyer's loan is approved you schedule to close. Some state require an attorney, others a title company. The buyers usually come to the home one last time 48 hours before closing to double check the home is still in the same condition it was when they offered. The day of closing you sign documents, usually takes about 30 minutes. It takes a few hours up to 1 business day to get it "recorded" and sold. If you want to make sure a loan closes and you get your money the same day, sign paper in advanced of the buyers closing (if allowed) or take an early morning spot for closing. Bank wires stop sending the same day after 1 PM, so you want everything finalized before then.

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We recommend leaving the buyer a letter with things to know. Mailbox key, HOA rules, ect. as a courtesy.

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Money is wired to your bank account, then you get to decide what to do with it next.