Leave a Message

Thank you for your message. We will be in touch with you shortly.

Seller's Guide

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 team of real estate agents 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.​​​​​​​

main

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 team of real estate agents once you choose one so they can adjust your selling price accordingly.

main

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 team of real estate agents is the best way to determine the right selling price for your home. A team of real estate agents with experience can determine what other comparable homes are selling for, evaluate the current market, and may even suggest a home appraisal.

main

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.

main

Step 4: Develop a Marketing Strategy

We 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. Our 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.

main

Step 5: Evaluate Offers

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.

main

Step 6: Accept an Offer

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 team of real estate agents.

main

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. We 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.

main

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. 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 team of real estate agents 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.

Testimonials

Robert

Robert

Michael was amazing. He made everything easy for me. Took his time and showed me as many properties as I wanted. He got me everything on my wish list at the price I wanted. I could not have asked for anything more.
Read More
Michael L.

Michael L.

Absolutely blown away by Mike and Jen. Incredible service. They went above and beyond to set us up in a new construction home at The Place at Corkscrew. We built the home from outside of Florida, and they were very helpful in a...
Read More
Gary K.

Gary K.

Very friendly and helpful from the beginning until the sale was final. After the sales, Michael and his staff helped with a few extra items. Like phone numbers for utility companies and Association paperwork. Thanks, Great Job.
Read More
Ryan Q.

Ryan Q.

We had a local realtor for the first 6 months make zero leeway on our home in Bella Terra. He said new construction in the area, our location in the neighborhood, and our price were why the house was not selling. We made the sw...
Read More
Fran H.

Fran H.

We were looking for a second home in Florida and had gone to many open houses in the Estero, Bonita Springs, and Ft. Myers areas. I have my real estate license in Massachusetts but do not know the Florida market, so when we met...
Read More
Lindy

Lindy

We meet Mike through buying a second home in FL. He was always there to answer any questions. We had a very fast closing, I believe it was three weeks. Mike made sure he directed us to whoever we had to speak to or who to submi...
Read More
Ronald K.

Ronald K.

Michael and his team were awesome from beginning to end on our home-buying experience. They were there to answer all our questions and to look out for us in picking the right house. I would highly recommend them for all your ho...
Read More
Jarrett S.

Jarrett S.

Mike was a pleasure to work with. He had the perfect demeanor and made my wife and I feel comfortable with him instantly. His knowledge of the area, his professionalism, and most importantly his listening skills are what really...
Read More
Chris G.

Chris G.

If I could give this 10 stars, I would. Our move from NY to SWFL happened quickly, less than 3 months. I joined a Facebook group in the area where we were moving and Michael’s wife, Jenipher, gave me tons of useful information ...
Read More
Jose R.

Jose R.

My wife and I recently purchased a condo in Estero. Mike and Jen provided us with quality properties. The whole experience navigated through remote showings demonstrated an extensive knowledge of the properties and affiliated c...
Read More
Kim P.

Kim P.

In a nutshell, when you sign papers with a realtor and he is able to sell your house and find you the one that is just what you've been looking for all in a 12 hour time span, you picked yourself a fabulous realtor. that my fri...
Read More
Ben B.

Ben B.

Sometimes in life you get Lucky and meet a sales person that exceeds all you hoped they would be. While Mike and his group fall into this category. I was trying to buy a home in Florida with Hawaii as my current home. Mike guid...
Read More
Scott R.

Scott R.

Michael Knoerlein and Thersa Ferguson were great. They provided us with the information and advice we needed, answered our questions in a timely manner, worked well with the others involved in selling our home, and followed thr...
Read More
Chuck H.

Chuck H.

I had Mike representing me recently, on a purchase transaction. Mike was great to work with, he treated as if he was the buyer. Mike is very knowledgeable of the market, honest, always available to answer all my questions and a...
Read More
Clifton E.

Clifton E.

Mike did a phenomenal job from my family always there when we had questions through the very end
Read More
Sarah M.

Sarah M.

Michael and Jenipher are absolutely amazing realtors to work with. They found us the perfect home. Extremely knowledgeable, responsive and trustworthy. MJ Team took the time we needed to find the perfect spot. I highly recommen...
Read More
Jared S.

Jared S.

Jen (and Mike) couldn't have been easier to work with. We weren't easy clients as we are unabashedly picky. They were as patient as you can imagine. The patience paid off for both parties as they put us in the right home at the...
Read More
Max A.

Max A.

Excellent results and service. Couldn't ask for more.
Read More
Kiki K.

Kiki K.

Mike and his team were amazing!! The process was smooth and they were helpful at every step. I was also very happy with my mortgage broker Jeff Sosnicki at Northpointe! Great experience all around!! 😊
Read More
Kathy S.

Kathy S.

Mike was very helpful and patient with our needs.
Read More

How Much Is Your Property Worth?

  • Instant property valuation
  • Expert advice
  • Sell for more

Work With Us

Our experience in advertising sales and lead generation for various industries has provided a solid foundation for achieving goals and exceeding client expectations in real estate.

Follow Me on Instagram