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.​​​​​​​
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 realtor once you choose one so he or she can adjust your selling price accordingly.
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.
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.
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.
Receiving an offer is an exciting part of the process, but it doesn’t mean the journey is over. We 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.
Once we deem the offer is acceptable, we 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.
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.
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. We 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 realtor 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.
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.
We can’t believe it’s been 2 years since we closed on our house! I just wanted to write to let you know how much we love it here and how grateful we are that you helped us buy our sweet Geneva Avenue house. We welcomed our son...
Gina is an experienced and consummate real estate professional. Most importantly for us, she is a lovely person and a great human being. We were referred to Gina by colleagues at work. As a new Bay Area family, we had many unsu...
Gina is the real estate agent that you want to help you buy and sell your home. We met her a few years ago at an open house, stating clearly that we weren't yet ready to buy. She respected that and told us to reach out when we ...
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We are one of the fortunate ones who can say that Gina Haggarty was our Realtor®. Our family doesn't go a week without saying, "There is no way that we would be in this beautiful home without Gina." Gina's expertise is second t...
When my husband and I started looking for a Realtor® with experience in the Peninsula, we actually turned away from one agent because our budget was "challenging". When a friend recommended Gina, we were nervous that she would ...
Grateful. That’s how we feel about our experience working with Gina Haggarty. She is tenacious, clever, wise, kind, cheerful, efficient, punctual, and fights for her clients. You can’t say fairer than that. Gina replied quickly...
We met and knew Gina through a mutual friend and when we initially started working on our list of potential Realtors® to help us with the sale of our home we thought she might be too "high end" for us. But we met with her and w...
We came to the Bay Area about 5 months ago and we knew nothing about the different areas in this part of California, but we were lucky enough to be introduced to Gina through my husband's company. We are not first-time buyers, ...
We started looking for houses about a year ago and ran into Gina at an open house. She was very warm and friendly, not fake or the kind of person that would tell you what you wanted to hear just to get your business. She doesn'...
After interviewing 3 different Real State agents, we decided to work with Gina to sell our home in Burlingame. She was very personable, easy to communicate with, and showed a deep understanding of the housing market in the area...
Gina is an extraordinary real estate professional and human being. We began our relationship by seeking her counsel on selling our family home. We asked Gina for an honest assessment of our home's value. Working together with h...
We couldn't have asked for a better partner than Gina. She is an absolute pleasure to work with and a very hard worker who has her clients' best interests at heart. Gina is not only knowledgeable about the local property market...
In only three months Gina helped us with our decision to sell our Hillsborough home for 39 years. She pulled together a team to get our house updated and on the market quickly. Not only did she recommend high-quality contractor...
Gina advised us on how to handle a rather beat-up family home we needed to sell that was party remodeled when we hired her. She could recommend contractors who actually called back when we dropped her name. When the remodel was...
Gina Sold our house in Hillsborough in a week. She really helped us set things up so the house showed well. The house looked amazing when she was done with it. It was almost a shame to move. Gina really helped with every aspect...
After interviewing several very capable agents, we chose Gina to help us in our search. She took us on a neighborhood tour, listened to our preferences, and recommended appropriate houses for us to view. When we found houses on...
When I decided to sell my home I knew selecting the right Realtor® would determine how successful I would be. Character, moral and ethical values were on the top of my list. In addition good communication and listening. As soon...
We would like to express our gratitude for everything you have done for us both on the sale of our home and for helping us move into our new home. We were particularly impressed with how you handled all the details to get our h...
Gina and Jenny were fantastic. Gina’s experience and knowledge of the market helped us to prepare the house for sale. Gina is also an excellent negotiator. She brought options and once we made a decision, Gina and her team made...
Get assistance in determining current property value, crafting a competitive offer, writing and negotiating a contract, and much more. Contact Gina + Jenny today.
