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A Step-by-Step First Time Seller's Guide

Putting your home on the market can be a stressful process, especially when you don’t know what to expect. Fortunately, with the help of an experienced agent and this easy to follow guide, you can smoothly complete the process. Following these steps will help you prepare so you can get organized and sell your home for the best price possible.​​​​​​​

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Step 1: Understand Why You're Selling

What do you want to accomplish with the sale of your home? Do you want to make a certain amount of money that you can put toward a larger or nicer home? Do you need to sell it as soon as possible to facilitate a move to a new city or area? Once you understand your needs, you can better craft your offer. For example, if you need to sell quickly, you might want to price your home lower than if your goal is to make a certain profit margin. Make sure you convey these needs to your real estate agent once you choose one so he or she can adjust your selling price accordingly.

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Step 2: Determine Selling Price

Knowing how to price your home is one of the most important parts of the selling process. When you set a fair price in the beginning, you’ll get the most interest from other real estate agents and prospective buyers. Overpricing your home could lead to reduced interest, and underpricing leads to receiving less than what your home is worth. Working with a real estate agent is the best way to determine the right selling price for your home. An agent with experience can determine what other comparable homes are selling for, evaluate the current market, and may even suggest a home appraisal.

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Step 3: Start Preparations

If you’ve kept your home in showroom condition since you’ve lived in it, you’re in the minority of homeowners. Once you price your home, it’s time to start getting it ready to be shown to potential buyers. This includes getting rid of clutter, depersonalizing the space so that buyers can envision themselves in the space, making any small repairs, and doing a deep clean to make sure your home is in pristine condition.

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Step 4: Develop a Marketing Strategy

I will develop a marketing strategy that is perfect for advertising your home. This involves listing the home and then driving the right people to that listing through social media campaigns, agent-to-agent referrals, traditional media, or SEO advertising. My team creates a marketing campaign that aims to get the most possible traffic to your listing in the first three weeks after becoming a client.

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Step 5: Evaluate Offers

Receiving an offer is an exciting part of the process, but it doesn’t mean the journey is over. I will evaluate each offer and make sure the party making the offer is prequalified or pre-approved by a mortgage lender and that their offer is acceptable to you. If the offer is too low, you can make a counter-offer or offer other ways to bridge the gap, such as covering some or all of the closing costs, making repairs, adjusting the move-in date, or leaving some appliances or fixtures for the new buyer.

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Step 6: Accept an Offer

Once I deem the offer is acceptable, I will review the proposed contract to make sure it’s all in order and includes the necessary components such as deposit amount, down payment, financing, inspection rights and repair allowances, contingencies, settlement date, and a list of fees and who will pay them. When both parties have agreed to the term, a final contract will be prepared by your agent.

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Step 7: Get Ready to Close

You have accepted an offer and are now very close to the end of your selling journey. But first, you and the buyer must make a list of what needs to be done before closing. In some cases, your home may need to be formally inspected, surveyed, and appraised. In other cases, major or minor repairs will need to be made before the house can close. I will head up efforts to develop and execute this list, get each action item paid for by the correct party, and make sure everything is in order by the closing date. A few days before the closing date, we will call the company closing the transaction to make sure everything is ready to go. If you haven’t done so already, you also need to make arrangements to move out of the home so the new buyer can take possession.

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Step 8: Close

You’ve reached the last step in the seller’s process. When you close on a home you are selling, you are legally transferring ownership of the property to the new buyer. I will meet with the company closing the transaction to sign the final paperwork and go over any issues that have not yet been taken care of. During this time, you can also make plans with your real estate agent to handle final details such as canceling utilities, cable, and lawn or trash services, changing the name on accounts that the new owner is retaining and ensuring the new owner has instructions for all appliances that will remain in the home.

Congratulations!

Once you have sold your home, you’re free to take the next step on your journey. Whether this is relocating to a new city, moving into a larger home, or downsizing and enjoying your life as empty-nesters, knowing all your selling responsibilities have been taken care of will help you achieve peace of mind for your new path.

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

We had an outstanding experience working with Pamela. She took the time to understand exactly what we were looking for and went above and beyond to make it happen. Throughout the entire process Pamela was incredibly attentive patient and knowledgeable. We wholeheartedly recommend Pamela to anyone looking for a trustworthy and committed realtor!

— Buyer

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

Priced right. Received asking price. Closed in a timely manner. Very professional. Knowledgeable. Sold it right out of the gate

— Steven C.

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

Pam Wheatley is the best! She knows the local market extremely well and has the inside scoop on all the latest action in the area. That makes all the difference in terms of knowing what realistic pricing is. I bought two homes with her now in S Sterling and Tobyhanna and both were great experiences. Nobody works harder than Pam!

— Ron L.

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

Pamela was the best experience I had with the purchase of my home.She was a very friendly an accessible an answered all of my questions She also incapacitated possible problems an handled that immediately so the problems were manageable an not out of handNot only do I feel this way my mortgage broker also expressed her satisfaction with Pamela's performance Even after my closing she continues to off her ...

— Michael G.

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

Pam was great through the entire process of buying our home. I would highly recommend working with her.

— Hunter N.

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

We contacted Pam because we had heard she was the best. She did not disappoint. Her knowledge of the market is spot on. She listed our house at a competitive price and we had our first showing the next day with offers on the table within two days sale pending in six days and a closing within 40 days start to finish. We are thrilled with the whole outcome. Thank you so much Pam for everything you did for us.

— Don & Laurie

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

Don't let Pam's little stature fool you she is an absolute beast in real estate and a pleasure to work with. She made everything so easy for us from start to finish. Would highly recommend her to anyone selling or buying a home. She's driven and hardworking and does not disappoint.

— Keith C.

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

Pam Wheatley did a fantastic job lining up a buyer for our home and pricing it very accurately to sell quickly. It sold one day after listing it for full asking price. And the buyer's mortgage company appraisal came in exactly on the asking price. Couldn't ask for better than that! Very satisfied customer and i highly recommend Pam!

— Ronald L.

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

Pam was very patient with us we bought this house 28 years ago and have never sold a house so we need a lot of help. Pam walked us through every step of the way and basically held our hand. She was on top of everything and keep us informed the whole time. I would highly recommend Pam for anyone selling or buying a home.

— John & Tracy G.

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

Pamela was absolutely wonderful! Selling a home from across the country can be incredibly stressful but Pam went above and beyond to make the process as easy as possible. She handled so many details that I didn't have to worry about and her guidance on what needed to be done and how to do it was spot on. Thanks to her expertise we were able to navigate several challenges smoothly and achieve a quick sale...

— Carolyn B.

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