Seller's Guide - Real Estate : simplebooklet.com

aboutMy desire and love for learning is what has driven metowards the real estate industry. As an educator in theGeorgia public school system, I am constantly lookingfor new learning opportunities. Since I held a greatinterest in real estate, in 2006 I obtained my real estatelicense. I am originally from Brooklyn, New York.However, I fell in love with Atlanta, Georgia when Icame for college back in the 90's. I have lived in theMetro Atlanta area since then. I love the variety itoffers---from big city life to the down-home countryfeel. Each part of town offers its own special uniqueness.As a public school educator for nearly 30 years, it is onlynatural for my mission to be educating the consumer inthe process of purchasing and selling real estate andthe lease purchase process. I joined the real estateindustry with a mission to provide award-winningcustomer service---to be the REALTOR of choice. Sowhether you desire to sell your current home, are insearch of your dream home, an investment or rent toown property, it would be my pleasure to help satisfyyour real estate needs.meetDAVENADAHUNSIYOUR LOCAL REAL ESTATE PROFESSIONALREALTOR®contactREAL ESTATE IS NOT ONLY MY PROFESSION,it's also my passion. 678-634-0868 ddahunsi@fathomrealty.com Visit my website

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01After our initial meeting, I will prepare aComparative Market Analysis (CMA) that includessold prices of comparable properties in your area.Once I am finished all my research and datacollection, we will meet again. Based on all thedata I collect and your needs, we will establish acompetitive listing price for your home. We willalso discuss the home selling process, timelines,and expectations from the sale to be on the samepage and head towards one same goal as a team.Additionally, we will discuss my uniqueapproaches to marketing your property so that youcan rest assured that I will do everything possibleto get your home sold for top dollar and fast.prepareSTEP 1:HOME TOUR & RESEARCHBefore we discuss the home selling process andyour expectations, I will tour your property andoffer you my insights on what can help you sellyour home. Afterward, we will sit down and discussthe approximate value of your property based oncurrent market trends and recent sales in yourneighborhood.LISTING APPOINTMENTHIRE A REAL ESTATEAGENTSometime around our home tour and listingappointment, you will have to decide who youwant to represent you during the home sellingprocess. If you choose to hire me, I will walk youthrough all the listing paperwork, and we will getall the necessary documents signed to moveahead with putting your home on the market!To help you decide, here are some unique keyservices I offer all my seller clients:top priority and attention to your propertyregular and timely communication with youactive follow-up of every buyer prospectwork with you and for you to obtain top dollarfully customized marketing materialssuggestions to increase your home's value

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02pre-listingSTEP 2:ESTABLISH A PRICEPricing your home at the right price the first time is crucial to obtaining maximum exposure and selling yourhome quickly for top dollar. Doing so will also help you save money and time. Pricing a house correctly ismostly based on five factors: the property's location, its condition, its improvements (or upgrades), its age,and the market conditions experienced at the time of listing. Therefore, our experience and access to exclusive information from various sources will help us determine acompetitive listing price to ensure optimal results.STAGE YOUR PROPERTYStaging a house is the process of strategically arranging furniture and decor to make a home look its bestwhile selling. This may involve refreshing your belongings, or moving all of your stuff out and rentingfurniture and decor to better suit the room's staging arrangements. Our goal is to create a clean, neutral, andcoherent look to help buyers imagine what moving into your home could look like.To help, we will give you personalized tips during our initial home tour, and we will provide you with a homestaging checklist for reference on the following page.MARKETING MATERIALS ARE DESIGNED AND PREPAREDWhile we go further into detail about our marketing strategy in the following pages, we will have professionalphotographers take high-quality photos of your home after staging your property. At the same time, we willhave all our marketing materials professionally designed and customized to match and include the stunningpictures of your home. Once all our marketing materials are designed, we will download and prepare them for print. Before listingday, we will personally deliver some printed marketing materials to you (such as property brochures,"Welcome to our listing" signs, and business cards). That way, you may set-up for showings and helpincrease buyer turnout rates on offer day.Aside from printed marketing materials, we will also tackle the digital world by having professional "ComingSoon" and "Just Listed" property social media posts posted on all our social media pages and sponsoringthem to reach more prospective buyers.

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HOME STAGINGchecklistTo stage your home and get it ready for launch day, consider doing the following: Remove personal items. A few personal things on display is acceptable, but we want to make sure weleave enough room for a prospective buyer to picture themselves living in the home (not you). These itemsinclude pictures, awards, personal collections, personal paintings, etc.Deep clean the entire house. Don't forget to clean all flooring and pet areas as well!Decorate your home with neutral colors. If you plan to paint or replace/rent décor items, considerchoosing neutral colors to brighten up the living spaces. Great color schemes to choose from are lightgrays and whites for main areas and soft blues and greens for bathrooms.Clear all items from countertops (except for décor items). Remember to remove all toiletries in thewashrooms and all items on kitchen countertops. However, consider leaving a vase of flowers in thebathroom and a luscious bowl with fruit in the kitchen to add touches of color.Declutter, declutter, declutter. Unless you have a minimalist lifestyle, you have likely accumulated manyitems during your stay in the house. As we aim to create an open and clean space inside your home, it iscrucial to remove as many unnecessary items as possible. Furthermore, a decluttered home maximizes yourhome's space, which can give the impression to the buyer that your home has more square footage than ithas in reality. If you have no space for storage, consider renting a short-term storage bin or locker.Keep the lawn manicured and watered regularly. Don't forget to trim hedges, weed flower beds, andprune trees regularly as well. Also, keep the lawn free of clutter and add fresh mulch to garden beds.Make all beds and style them. Tip: add multiple coherent décor pillows to make a bed look morecomfortable and sumptuous.Organize closets. If you have regular closets, try to make it look as organized as possible. If you have awalk-in closet, remove as many items as possible to make it look very spacious.Remove or hide any trash, recycling, or compost bins in all rooms.Add a new or clean welcome mat on your front porch and hang a beautiful wreath on your door.Depending on your front porch's size, consider adding outdoor pots with plants as well to finish off a warmlook. To freshen up your front door, add a fresh coat of paint.Hide ALL cords from electronics. Also, consider hiding or removing any unnecessary devices (such asvideo game consoles).Add clean towels in the bathroom and place them neatly. You can also add rolled-up towels to create amore "spa" look.When you pair an item, do so in 1s, 3s, or 5s. The eye appreciates these pairings!Wash or paint the home's exterior. A fresh coat of paint on the exterior of your home will make yourproperty's curb appeal stand out. This is not really a low-budget job, if you can, we recommend doing it!Try giving a fresh coat of paint to your home's interior. If this is not possible, paint the trim to provide apop of color throughout the house.

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kitchen.bathrooms.REAL ESTATEphotography pre-shootchecklistexterior.Clean up the landscaping: trimbushes and mow/edge lawnClose garage doorsPressure wash driveway/walkupRemove children's toys and patiofurnitureRemove yard clutterRemove cars from drivewaygeneral.Leave all lights on and turn off anyceiling fansTurn off any devices (including TVs)Open all blinds and curtainsDeclutter the entire home: remove anyexcess furniture and any other itemsTouch up paintDeep-clean the entire homebedrooms.Make beds and tidy up the roomsRemove any personal photos and itemsStore away toys, clothes, devices, andvaluablesClear countertops completelyKeep toilet seats and lids downRemove plungers and cleaning itemsClean all glass surfaces and mirrorsHang clean towels neatly and remove rugsRemove all personal items (i.e., soap, shampoo,etc.) from tubs and showersClear countertops completelyEmpty sinks and store dishes awayEmpty and hide garbage binsRemove all magnets from refrigeratorRemove or hide any pet food, accessories orkennels

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Realtor.comZillowYouTubeTruliaFacebookInstagramTwitterPinterestLinkedIn& more!OUR MARKETINGstrategyP R O F E S S I O N A L P H O T O G R A P H YSince the internet's growth, more buyers have been using various real estate home search engines to find theirnext home. Therefore, real estate photography is an essential marketing strategy for sellers, so we invest inprofessional photographers to take stunning pictures of your home. Properties that look visually professional and aesthetic will entice buyers (especially millennials) scrollingthrough the web to click on those homes rather than poorly presented homes.Additionally, listings that have professional photography tend to: sell faster on the market, sell at a higher pricepoint, attracts more international buyers, and attracts more buyer leads to visit the homes in person.N E T W O R K M A R K E T I N GInvesting time to create relationships with other real estate agents and industry professionals pays off when itcomes to listing your home! I will personally reach out to all my wonderful colleagues and tell them about yourhome to spread the word. This will make your listing known around their networking circles, boosting yourproperty's visibility.A D V E R T I S I N G & M A R K E T I N GOther than the marketing strategies listed above, we will: place signage on your lawn and around yourneighborhood, host open houses, create a personalized email campaign, distribute stunning customizedproperty flyers, and promote your home all over our social media networks.Where do we promoteyour property online?NetworkingSignage (including a lawn sign)Email marketingCustom-designed property flyersOpen Houses (weekends & weekdays)Social Media marketing& more!What other techniques do weuse to promote your property?WHY MLS?When your home is listed on Multiple Listing Service (MLS), all the property information, photos, and otherdetails are published nationally. This means that your property is exposed to prospective buyers from all overthe country and international buyers. Additionally, licensed real estate professionals in your area will benotified whenever your property gets listed. Therefore, they will have the chance to immediately book aviewing appointment for their qualified and interested buyer clients.

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03listing timeSTEP 3:YOUR PROPERTY IS OFFICIALLY LAUNCHED ON THE MARKETThe day you have been preparing for is finally here! On launch day, your property will be officially postedonline and appear as an active and new listing on MLS. From this day until an offer has been accepted,many real estate agents will be making showing requests. So get ready to leave your home on shortnotice and for a few hours at a time.Now, a common question we get from sellers is: "When is the best day of the week to launch our listing?"One thing to remember is that whenever we list a property, we strive to obtain multiple offers on yourhome to ensure you get the best price for your home. To do this, it is vital to get as many showingscompacted in the shortest amount of time as possible. Weekends are the peak days of the week, where people are often most available to view homes.Therefore, if we list early on in the week and receive an offer immediately from few buyers who went toview your home, you will not be giving a chance to those who are mostly available on weekends to viewthe property. This is because you will have to decide on the offer you have already received. Therefore,we recommend launching your property closer to the weekend—more specifically, on a Wednesday orThursday—to ensure maximum buyer exposure and get as many viewings as possible within a few peakdays.BUYER PROSPECTING TIMEStarting on launch day, we will go full-out on exposing your property to prospective buyers. Consistentexposure of your home will be spread across all our social media platforms. We will place targetedFacebook and Instagram ads and customize the audience according to the types of buyers we aim toattract. We will also personally reach out to our real estate professionals' networks and share your listingwith them so they know of your property for any interested buyer clients they may know.Additionally, all scheduled events (including open houses) will be completed until a sales agreement isnegotiated and accepted.BE PREPARED FOR SHOWINGS AND OPEN HOUSESBe flexible to prospective buyers' schedules to avoid missing out on a strong offer.Get everyone in your household on the same page to be all informed when showings are happeningto help them maintain their spaces clean and tidy.Get your entire household to vacate your property to avoid making buyers feel uncomfortable andleaving them an empty space to visualize themselves living in your home without added pressure.Create a mood by setting a tone that accentuates your property's features. Examples include: light afire if you have a fireplace (even if it's summer), create a romantic atmosphere by placing two cleanchampagne glasses on a table with a bottle of champagne, turn on some soft music at a low volumelike in stores, turn on any decorative water features (such as fountains), drape sensuous materialssuch as chunky knit blankets over your chairs and sofas.Once we launch your property, real estate agents will start contacting us to make showing appointments.Depending on your property and market trends, you may experience many showings in a short span oroccasional ones. In any case, it is crucial to be prepared for showings and open houses. Here are sometips to help you during this time:

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SHOW YOUR HOME READY INone hourMake the bedsThrow all your clutter in a laundry basket and take it to your carPut up your "show" towelsCreate light in the house by opening curtains and blinds and turning on ALL lightsEmpty all garbages into a garbage bag and put it in an appropriate room or take itwith youVacuum all carpetsClean all glass and mirrored surfacesSweep the front porch and shake out the door mat to remove debrisClear kitchen and bathroom countertops (except for decorative items)Close all the toilet seatsWipe down all countertopsSecure your pets or take them with youSweep and mop all hard-surfaced floorsPut laundry away (or take it with you)

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UNDER CONTRACT04Once a buyer tours your property and decides they would like to purchase it, the buyer's representativewill prepare an offer and send it to us.After an offer is submitted, we will sit down and go through the offer together. Although it may betempting to go with an offer that has offered the highest sale price, we will also have to consider othersales agreement factors: contingencies, financing condition, closing timeline, buyer letter, and repairrequests.Once we have discussed an offer, you will decide how you want to move forward. You can: accept theoffer, decline the offer, or counter-offer (which occurs when you want to negotiate on the salesagreement terms). If you choose to counter-offer, the buyer would have to decide whether they wish toaccept, decline, or counter the counter-offer. After negotiations, if one party agrees with the offer, wewill finalize all signatures. The buyer will have to bring the deposit to secure the contract. Now, anyinspections, appraisals, financing approvals, or anything else will take place.Contingencies (or conditions) are found in most sales agreement contracts. The most common onesincluded in a contract include home inspections and appraisals.A buyer can hire a professional home inspector to review your property's condition closely. It typicallytakes 1-4 hours. Suppose the inspector finds anything significant that needs to be repaired. In that case,they may counter-bid on the sale contract, which you may accept, decline, or counter-offer.An appraisal is often requested by the buyer's mortgage lender to ensure that the buyers are not over-paying too much for your property. No matter the result, I will assist you in making the right moves ifrequired to make any moves.All conditions have deadlines by which the buyer will have to waive the contingencies to make thesales agreement firm and proceed with the transaction. offer processSTEP 4:SALES AGREEMENTCONTINGENCIESThe "under contract" period begins after the buyerand seller finalize and sign the sales agreement.During this period, a binding agreement existsbetween a seller and a buyer involving a property.When a property is "under contract," the seller maynot enter into another contract with a different buyer,as the buyer is now obligated to purchase yourhome. A property is still considered "under contract"with contingencies, and the contract firms up onceall conditions are waived.

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BasementFoundationCrawlspaceRoof + ComponentsDoors (including garage doors) ElectricalAttic + InsulationAppliances (select)Windows + LightingStairsGrading + DrainageStructureExterior + SidingPlumbingAttached GaragesHeating + CoolingWHAT IS INCLUDEDin an inspectionhome inspections.Q. When does a home inspection usually take place?A. Although home inspections can take place later, usually the appointment takesplace within a week after signing the contract.Q. How much does the service cost for us sellers?A. Good news! Buyers choose and purchase a home inspector'sservices, so they incur the whole cost. Therefore, there is NO COST toyou, the seller. Q. What happens after an inspectionin terms of negotiations?A. Negotiations usually happen within a few daysof the home inspection appointment. If there areany issues with the property that the homeinspector finds, the buyer can:Accept the house as-isBack out of the transactionNegotiate. They can offer you alower sale price or ask you to fixthe issues before closing day.more about

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05moving outSTEP 5:CLOSING PREPARATIONSSecure your seller documentsDeep-clean your houseTurn off all valves & switches after moving outCancel your insurance policiesChange your address on subscriptions, bills,banks, etc.Transfer your utilities to your new homeCollect all house keys, remotes, gate keys, poolkeys, and mailbox keys for the buyerAt this point, the buyer's lending approvals havebeen met, and closing documents have beenordered. The closing appointment has beenscheduled, and now it is just a matter of preparingfor the big day. As you prepare for closing day, make sure you havecompleted the following duties:CLOSING DAY REFERS TO THE DAYTHAT FINALIZES YOUR PURCHASE.AT CLOSING, FUNDS ANDDOCUMENTS ARE EXCHANGED TOTRANSFER OWNERSHIP TO THEBUYER. AFTER CLOSING, YOU WILLRECEIVE ANY REMAINING FUNDSFROM THE SALE OF YOUR PROPERTY.CLOSING DAYValid government-issued IDAll house keys, garage door openers, mailboxkeys, pool keys, etc.Cashier's cheque to pay for closing costsAny outstanding documents requested fromyour lawyer or lenderLawyer's feesReal Estate CommissionsTitle Insurance Home WarrantyAny unpaid survey or assessment feesAny outstanding taxes, fines, or claims againstyour propertyAny mortgage discharge feesClosing day is here! The buyer will have a finalwalk-through of your property 24-48 hours beforeclosing. This is to ensure that you have left yourhome in the same condition as they purchased it(except for minor wear and tear).Closing typically takes place at your lawyer'soffice. You will need to bring some documentswith you, including:Both the buyer and the seller will incur closingfees. For the seller, these fees typically include:MOVING & PACKINGWhile you wait for closing day to arrive, don'tforget to plan and prepare for your move intoyour next home!FINALLY...congrats!YOUR HOME IS NOWOFFICIALLY SOLD AND YOUARE READY TO BEGIN ANEW CHAPTER!

Seller's Guide - Real Estate

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