Your Must-Have Checklist For Selling A House

When you’re ready to say goodbye to your home, you want the process to go as smoothly as possible. In a perfect world, you’d simply list it for sale and have a buyer happy to hand over the full asking price, no questions asked.

Of course, the process of selling a home is a bit more complicated than that. But if you’re prepared and have the right professionals by your side, it can still go quite smoothly.

If you’re preparing to sell a house, use our seller checklist to make the process as easy on yourself as possible.

Home Selling Checklist: Planning To List

The important work of selling your home begins long before the listing goes up. There are several steps you’ll need to complete before you can actually sell your home. Prioritizing these tasks will help the entire listing and sales process to go more smoothly.

Prepare Necessary Documents

First, make sure you’ve gathered all the necessary documents you’ll need to sell your home. Some of these are documents you’ll need to prepare anytime you sell a home, while others you’ll only need when selling a house without a REALTOR^® or real estate agent.

Here are some of the documents you’ll need:

• Residential property disclosure form
• Sales contract
• Title reports, usually prepared by a title company
• Deed
• Loan documents for your existing mortgage
• Recent utility and property tax bills
• HOA documents, including rules and fee information
• Plans and permits for any renovations you’ve had done on the home
• Receipts and warranties for home repairs, new appliances, etc.

Hire A Listing Agent

In most cases, you’ll want to hire a listing agent to help you sell your home. Yes, it’s possible to sell a home without a listing agent. But you may have the best chance of a smooth listing and closing process if you do hire one.

Listing agents do much of the work surrounding the sale of your home, which takes a lot of pressure off you.

First, the listing agent creates the listing and takes pictures to go along with it. They’ll often hire a professional photographer to take the photos. Your agent will also market your home by sharing it on their website, on social media and more.

Agents also have an invaluable asset: their network. A listing agent has connections with other professionals who may be able to help you sell your home more quickly. They can also draw up the sales contract, as well as help screen and communicate with buyers.

Finally, agents bring with them a knowledge of the local market, which will be critical when listing and pricing your home.

Consult A Real Estate Attorney

Depending on where you live and the nature of your listing, you may want to hire a real estate attorney to represent you throughout the sales process.

First, while it's often the real estate agent that prepares the sales contract, some states require that an attorney prepare it. Additionally, if there are extenuating circumstances, it can be helpful to have an attorney on hand.

Begin Searching For Your Next Home

In most cases, someone who is selling their home is also planning to buy a different one. If that’s the case for you, it's important to start the search for your next home before selling your existing one.

Selling your home before you’ve found your next home can come with a whole host of inconveniences, including not having anywhere to live while you’re between homes. And while it can also be complicated trying to buy and sell at the same time, it’s often better than the alternative.

Additionally, beginning your home search before listing yours for sale can help you identify any pitfalls you may run into. For example, you might find that with the current market, you stand little chance of finding your perfect next home. In that case, you might decide to postpone temporarily.

Budget For The Costs Of Selling

There are some unavoidable costs of selling a house regardless of whether you hire a real estate agent. Many people assume they can save money by not hiring an agent, but that’s often not the case. Here are some examples of costs you can expect to incur:

• Seller concessions: In some cases, you might agree to certain concessions when selling your home. A seller concession is when the seller agrees to pick up certain costs for the buyer, including closing costs, home repairs, inspection or appraisal fees, and more.
• Real estate agent commissions: You’ll generally have to pay real estate commissions of 3% for the listing agent and 3% for the buyer’s agent, for a total of 6% of the sale price.
• Closing costs: The all-encompassing category of closing costs can include any expense sellers are responsible for at the time of closing. Examples include real estate commissions, property transfer taxes, recording fees, escrow fees, attorney fees, title insurance, prorated property taxes and HOA fees, seller credits and any outstanding liens.
• Capital gains tax: If you sell your home for significantly more than you bought it, you may be on the hook for capital gains taxes on the sale. You can exclude $250,000 (or $500,000 for married couples) if you’ve owned and lived in the home for at least 2 of the previous 5 years. Any amounts subject to taxation will be taxed at 0%, 15% or 20%, depending on your income.

Make Essential Home Repairs

It may feel inconvenient to put more money into your home just as you’re trying to sell it. But there are a couple of reasons this is a good idea.

First, there may be repairs that are essential if your home is to pass an inspection. Buyers often don’t want to buy a home with major issues, meaning you’ll want to fix them upfront.

Additionally, making upgrades to your home can increase its value and, therefore, your listing price. Ultimately, you’ll hopefully get that money back in the form of a higher sale price.

Declutter And Clean

Work on cleaning and decluttering your home before you list it. First, you’ll want to make sure the home looks nice for listing photos. These photos are what will entice prospective buyers to come look at your house in the first place, so you want them to be appealing.

It’s also important to keep your home clean and decluttered during open houses. People want to imagine themselves living in the home, and that’s easiest to do if it’s clean and clear of your clutter. And don’t forget the closets – prospective buyers will likely want to look at the closets, meaning you can’t simply hide the clutter there.

Enhance Curb Appeal

The curb appeal of your home is the first thing people notice above it, both in pictures and when they pull up to view it in person. You don’t have to spend a lot of money on the outdoor space but spruce it up by adding some plants or flowers, cleaning up your landscaping and even adding some appealing lighting.

Stage Your Home

You may love your home exactly as it is, but that doesn’t mean other people will too. You want to stage your home to make it more appealing for buyers.

Staging your home will include cleaning and decluttering, as we’ve already discussed. Here are some other steps to consider:

• Replace bold and personalized artwork with neutral pieces that will have mass appeal.
• If you have old or stained furniture, consider renting different furniture to make the space look nicer.
• Rearrange the furniture to make your home seem more inviting.
• Make sure your home has good lighting for the pictures and open houses.
• Put away personal items, as well as your children’s and pets’ items.

Enlist A Professional Home Photographer

If possible, consider having a professional real estate photographer take your listing photos. This is often something a real estate agent will set up on your behalf. But even if you're selling the home without an agent, professional photos are still important.

Remember, these photos are what will help people decide whether they want to see the home in person. Even the most beautiful home with poorly taken photos may garner as much interest as it otherwise could have.

Home Selling Checklist: Listing Your Home

Once you’ve completed all the checklist items above, it’s time to move onto the next step: listing your home. Assuming you’ve done the necessary prep work, the actual listing process should go quite smoothly.

Determine How Much Your Home Is Worth

One of the more challenging parts of listing a home for sale is determining how much the home is worth. Home values fluctuate, and what your home was worth last year may not be what it’s worth this year.

To determine a listing price, most agents use a comparative market analysis (CMA). This method helps you find a fair asking price based on comparable properties that have recently been sold.

For example, if three other homes in your neighborhood recently sold and have the same number of rooms and square footage as your home, your agent may use those as a starting point. Then, they would adjust based on any extenuating factors, such as a recently renovated kitchen or a backyard pool.

Write the MLS Listing

The final step before officially listing your home is writing the listing description. If you’re working with a real estate agent who has access to the local MLS, the agent will likely do this on your behalf. But if you’re working without an agent, you’ll have to take care of this part.

Remember, the listing is what will introduce your home to prospective buyers and – hopefully – entice them to come see it.

In addition to making sure the listing is enticing, you must also make sure it’s accurate. Fact-check the listing your agent has written to ensure all the information is correct.

Home Selling Checklist: After Listing Your Home

Once you’ve listed your home, you’re much closer to the finish line. Now there are just a few steps left before you can officially sell your home.

Negotiate

Once prospective buyers have come to see your home, you’re likely to start getting offers. Of course, not every offer will be at your asking price. Many offers may be below asking price, and they may also ask for concessions that you weren’t prepared for.

That’s where the negotiation process comes in. When you get an offer you aren’t quite satisfied with, you can – or your agent can, on your behalf – submit counteroffers to get closer to where you want to be.

Accept An Offer

Once you’ve gotten what you think is a fair offer, you can officially accept. In many cases, the best offer may simply be the one for the highest dollar amount, but it’s also important to pay attention to what else the buyer is asking for.

For example, a buyer may offer the highest purchase price, but may also be asking for thousands of dollars in concessions or asking you to complete certain repairs before the sale is finalized.

If you aren’t sure which offer is truly best, your agent can help you weigh the pros and cons of each and help you determine which provides the best outcome for you.

Prepare For Closing

Because you’ve purchased a home before, you know there’s a lot that goes into preparing for the closing. And there’s prep work to be done on the seller’s part as well.

First, you’ll want to make sure you’re prepared to pay your closing costs. We discussed these above, so you have a good idea of what they are. The title company will let you know exactly how much you owe and what form of payment you can use.

You’ll also need to bring some items to the closing, including your government-issued ID, a copy of the sales contract, all copies of your house keys and remotes for the garage or anything else.

Move Out

The final step of selling your home is moving out. Depending on how many belongings you have and where you’re moving to, it may be worth hiring professional movers.

Make sure to check every nook and cranny for any forgotten items. However, there are a few things you should make sure to leave behind, including manuals and warranties for your appliances, as well as anything you agreed to leave behind in the sales contract.

Other Things To Consider Doing Before Selling Your House

The checklists above cover all the necessities to help you sell your home. But there are a few other things you may want to consider doing.

• Get a home inspection: Most buyers will want an inspection before buying a home. But it can also be helpful to get one as a seller. A seller’s inspection happens before the home goes on the market. It gives you an idea of what may come up during a buyer’s inspection and can help you proactively address some of those issues.
• Research the best times to sell: Certain times of year are better times to sell homes than others. Consider doing some research into the best times to sell a house. You’d be surprised just how big of a difference this timing can make in how quickly your house sells and how much money you can get.
• Rent out your home: If you aren’t set on selling your home, you may also consider renting out your home Depending on your local rental market, you may be able to charge significantly more than your monthly mortgage payment. You’ll have a long-term investment property, as well as the option to move back in the future.
• Use it as an opportunity to downsize: Selling a home – or moving for any reason – can be a great opportunity to downsize your belongings. As you pack up your home, be on the lookout for items you no longer use or love. You can sell or donate those items and save yourself the work of moving them to your new home.

The Bottom Line

Selling a home can be a long process. It’s important to start planning well in advance and complete the necessary tasks throughout the prelisting, listing and negotiation process.

Selling a home is also easier with the right professional by your side. You can match with a Rocket Homes℠ agent to start the selling process.