We’ve finally turned the corner on Winter, which means longer and warms days are ahead. It also means it’s the busiest season of the year for buying and selling homes. Are you thinking about putting your home on the market? When it comes to selling your home, it can be overwhelming just thinking about where to start. But there’s no need to panic. We’ve put together a Home Seller’s guide to help you get your home into home selling shape.

Start by having a conversation with a local lender of your choice. If you are going to finance your next home purchase, work with your lender to get pre-qualified.

Getting pre-qualified will:

• Give you an understanding of how much you can afford for your new purchase
• Let sellers know you are serious and are qualified to purchase their home
• Allow you to meet with an experienced professional and weed out issues early on
• Give you peace of mind and is a simple, no obligation process

Your mortgage lender will help you review loan options and get you organized and prepared to purchase your next home.

Then, select a real estate professional.
Take your time and find a real estate professional who knows and understands your local market. Your real estate agent will meet with you and compile a plan to get your home into selling shape. They will help you price your home to sell quickly and for the most money possible, and they will let you know how they plan to market your home so that it garners attention for the most amount of buyers possible.

Together, your professionals should be available to help you with:
Pricing- Price your home so you’re competitive with current market and price trends
Marketing– Market your property via email, direct mail, flyers, social media and viewing to find prospective buyers
Availability -Always available to help walk you through each step of the process, from listing to the closing table.
Updates-Provide you with weekly updates detailing marketing efforts and progress
Staging-Recommend staging strategies that are proven to cast your home in the most positive light, and highlight the features that are most important to buyers
Negotiating -Negotiate the best possible sales price and terms

Before you put your home on the market, it can be helpful to understand what factors will influence the sale of your home:

• Price
• Industry trends and local market conditions
• Reason for selling and timeline
• Your motivation level
• Location
• Condition of property
• Size
• Design style
• Accessibility

You will also want to understand the cost of selling.
Before you start the selling process, you should review your finances, figure out how much equity you have in your current home, and work with your real estate and mortgage professionals to prepare for sale-related expenses. These costs include:

• Agent commission
• Repairs to property
• Taxes and capital gain taxes
• Advertising Costs
• Home reports (such as property inspection)
• Closing costs
• Moving and storage expenses

Of course, you’ll need to get your home into showing shape:

Work with your real estate agent to develop a plan to resolve any known problems in your home. Address any flaws that might lower the value of your home and take away from its appeal. Consider hiring an inspector to determine the state of these areas:

• Floors
• Interior/exterior paint
• Plumbing
• Lighting
• HVAC
• Water heater
• Doors/windows
• Driveways/walkways
• Outdoor drainage system and roof

Clean and stage your interior:

• De-clutter and de-personalize. You want potential buyers to be able to picture themselves living in your house. Take family photos, memorabilia collections, and personal keepsakes and place them in storage.
• Repaint the walls. Give your walls a fresh coat of paint in a neutral color, such as white, beige, or gray.
• Make repairs. Make quick fixes and replacements, and take care of any issues that may discourage buyers—such as leaky faucets, squeaky doors, broken cabinets, or cracked windows.
• Clean until it sparkles. Clean or replace carpets, bleach grout, wax floors, wash windows, replace fixtures, and clean every possible surface until it sparkles.
• Stage the interior. Rearrange your furniture to maximize space and showcase your home’s layout. Your furniture should fit the scale of the room, using just enough furniture in each room to showcase the room’s purpose.
• Hide away pet areas. Pets should never be present during a showing, and pet areas should be stowed away, clean and odor free.
• Create good lighting. A little bit of lighting can go a long way in making a room appear bigger and brighter. Open blinds and curtains to bring in the natural light and add floor or table lamps to brighten dim areas.

Maximize your curb appeal:

• Repaint your front door
• Purchasing a new welcome mat
• Consider adding some potted plants near the door
• Keep the lawn mowed
• Trim bushes
• Clear sidewalks
• Clean the patio
• Stage outdoor furniture
• Clear toys
• Add perennials for a touch of color

Price your home: Pricing your home is an important step. Your real estate agent will conduct a market analysis and strategically price your home. If you price your home too high, it might sit on the market for an extended period of time with little interest. Price your home too low, and you might leave money on the table. A well-priced home will:

• Allow for higher net sales
• Attract better offers
• Get better response from advertising
• Allow for faster sales
• Increase agent response
• Avoid having your home sit on the market too long and become “shopworn”

Once your home is priced and ready to sell, you’ll work with a Coldwell Banker Seaside Realty real estate professional to market and show your home to potential borrowers. With the professionals by your side, your house will be sure to sell in no time!

The information contained herein (including but not limited to any description of TowneBank Mortgage, its affiliates and its lending programs and products, eligibility criteria, interest rates, fees and all other loan terms) is subject to change without notice. This is not a commitment to lend.