By Kat Gilpatrick, December 28, 2024
Demystifying The Process
Select a team, and partner on the steps to achieving the goal!
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Select someone, or a team who best fits for you and understand what services they offer
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Sign a listing contract with the team, in which you will talk through and:
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Decide on a list price, using current comparable analysis & agent experience
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Understanding that, although incredibly important, your list price is a neutral factor that needs to considered independent of:
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How much you need to recoup
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How much you might need for that next home purchase
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How much your neighbor may have gotten a while back
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Decide on Buyers Agent Commission. Your listing agent(s) will discuss with you what the rate is for their services, and what you can expect for that, now you get to understand the pros and cons of offering a Buyers Agent Commission, or “Seller Contribution” and how that can affect your sale
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Agree on some of the standard and recommended services to engage in preparation for listing; according to what your home needs, of course, and how you will sell your home:
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As is/do no repairs, reflective in price
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Full price offer, vacant/staged
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Full price offer, occupied with counsel on self staging and expectations
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Some of the usual cosmetic things folks do pre-list, are:
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Paint touch ups or freshening of paint throughout house
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Landscape/yard clean up
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Windows washed
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New toilet seats
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Carpets deep cleaned or replaced in some instances
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Fixes throughout (squeaky door, cabinet that doesn’t close, door hardware – whatever it might be. Handyman items
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New lightbulbs or updated light fixtures
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Make Your Plan
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Put together a listing prep timeline and list
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List out necessary or desired fixes
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Discuss refreshes and ROI
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Discuss and calendar out listing timeline ‘events’
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Fixes/refreshes
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Housecleaning
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Staging
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Photos & video
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Review listing and showing parameters, discuss best way to communicate during live period
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Prepare the Home
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Fill out your Seller Property Disclosures
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If occupying: Clean up/organize, de-clutter or pack up extras; put away personal items or anything you don’t want out
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If moving/vacant: do your thing! Let your agent know how they can support you and updates on important timing
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Engage vendors/contractors for fixes & refreshes
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Refresh by painting, flooring, landscape clean-up
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Improve space appeal by de-cluttering or staging
Prepare Yourself
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Understand timeline
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Understand what you can expect of your agent
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Understand your role and responsibility during this period
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Be ready to review and sign electronic docs galore
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Know that it’s a team effort, we’re all in this together with a shared goal!
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Give yourself a lot of credit for getting this far, and
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Depersonalize. Despite it being your home, think of it more now as your product for market than an extension of yourself. This makes it much easier!
Listing, Showing and Opens
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Have additional house key for agents to put into lockbox
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Create a ‘What We Love about Our Home/Neighborhood, etc.’ sheet we can leave in the home
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Agree on available hours for agent showings
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Agree on communication around showing requests – plan of communication & action if occupied
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Agree on open house frequency and cadence
Time on Market
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Understand the hyperlocal market, and how long similar listings are taking to sell
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Create a strategy of action and timeline of activities after 14 days, 30 days, etc. with your agent
Offers
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Decide on how your team will accept offers. Review as received? Receive and then set a deadline? Set a deadline right out of the gate?
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If multiple offers, understand that we will present to you these offers neutrally and you may decide based upon price and terms
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We have rationales and best practices on all of these tactics, so be ready to discuss the why, the what if’s and the what nexts of the potential scenarios
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Be available during this time, to review, react and discuss
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Acceptance of Offer
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Congrats! An accepted offer! You’ll have a timeline showing milestones like earnest money to escrow, inspection period, etc.
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Prepare anything not yet ready for appraisal, if appropriate, or inspection
Transaction Coordination & Escrow
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Up until now, your team has been your agent(s) and vendors, now that you’re in contract, you’ll meet a whole bunch of other players.
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Your agents will usually leave all of the paperwork and transaction timeline management to their TCs, or Transaction Coordinators. They’ll reach out with congratulations and aforementioned timeline, which acts as a dashboard, or your one very important info document to keep on hand.
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You’ll be introduced to the escrow team, your manager who will communicate with you directly regarding all things title, financial etc.
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Everyone works together toward our common goal, to get through any inspection period hurdles or financial considerations as we proceed toward closing.
Inspection
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Depending on how the offer was written, there are typically inspections for: general home, sewer and radon. Usually inspections happen quickly after offer is accepted. Inspections are paid for and attended by buyer/agent only.
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Sometimes your agent will get word early of any items flagged during inspection, that may give you a little heads up.
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If there’s a repair addendum, or response to any items discovered in inspection that the buyer wants to address, you can discuss this with your agent and decide how you’d like to respond – agree; counter/ask for more documentation/estimate, possibly get your own estimate, or reject.
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Throughout this high anxiety period, lean on your agent, who’s been here many times, and can be super helpful. And, as always, try to depersonalize. Just as you’d do when buying a home, they are doing their diligence, and looking to protect a very meaningful investment they are about to make. After all, they’ve chosen your lovely home, they want to make sure it’s going to be just right.
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Once through the inspection contingency period, having responded to any repair addendum requests agreed to, either through work done or credit, we breathe a collective sigh of relief and carry on toward close.
Closing
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At close, not only will you be signing lots of documents, but
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We ask you to gather up all of the house items: keys, garage door openers, warranties, if applicable, and make them ready to pass over to the buyers agent at time of possession.
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We celebrate our success and make sure that you have what you need to feel complete in the process and satisfied.
Kat Gilpatrick
Broker | OR
She/Her
Kat Gilpatrick is a Portland-based real estate agent with a global perspective. Leveraging her industry knowledge, Kat works alongside colleague Jennifer O'Brien to guide clients through every step of the real estate journey, from buying a dream home to securing an investment property. Kat prioritizes building long-term partnerships to maximize client opportunities in the Portland market.
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- kat@livingroomre.com
