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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 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.​​​​​​​

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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 real estate agent once you choose one so he or she can adjust your selling price accordingly.

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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 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.

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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.

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Step 4: Develop a Marketing Strategy

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.

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Step 5: Evaluate Offers

Receiving an offer is an exciting part of the process, but it doesn’t mean the journey is over. I 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.

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Step 6: Accept an Offer

Once I deem the offer is acceptable, I 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.

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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. 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, I 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.

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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. I 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 real estate agent 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.

From Their Words

Client Experiences

I had a wonderful experience working with Alexis. She was incredibly knowledgeable about San Francisco properties and provided thoughtful insights during every showing. She was also funny, personable, and made what can be a stressful process feel much more enjoyable. Most importantly, she was attentive to my needs, preferences, and wishes, and always took the time to understand what I was looking for. She helped me imagine different paths forward as I explore buying a home, which gave me greater clarity and confidence. I truly appreciated her guidance and would highly recommend her to anyone looking for a knowledgeable, thoughtful, and supportive real estate agent.
I had a wonderful experience working with Alexis. She was incredibly knowledgeable about San Francisco properties and provided thoughtful insights during every showing. She was also funny, personable, and made what can be a stressful process feel much more enjoyable. Most importantly, she was attentive to my needs, preferences, and wishes, and always took the time to understand what I was looking for. She helped me imagine different paths forward as I explore buying a home, which gave me greater clarity and confidence. I truly appreciated her guidance and would highly recommend her to anyone looking for a knowledgeable, thoughtful, and supportive real estate agent.
Shannon D
I had the recent privilege of working with Alexis on a purchase transaction. She proved to be a terrific negotiator for her client and was so prompt with every response. she is a true professional and I would recommend her to everyone buying or selling a home. I had such a great experience! thank you!
I had the recent privilege of working with Alexis on a purchase transaction. She proved to be a terrific negotiator for her client and was so prompt with every response. she is a true professional and I would recommend her to everyone buying or selling a home. I had such a great experience! thank you!
Chris D.
She made it happen. Working with Alexis was a great experience. She helped make the dream of me purchasing my rental unit a reality. With an off market offer, we were able to close on my Cow Hollow condo. Now I can enjoy the sweeping views of the Golden Gate Bridge and the bay. She was a joy to work with and had tremendous follow through and integrity.
She made it happen. Working with Alexis was a great experience. She helped make the dream of me purchasing my rental unit a reality. With an off market offer, we were able to close on my Cow Hollow condo. Now I can enjoy the sweeping views of the Golden Gate Bridge and the bay. She was a joy to work with and had tremendous follow through and integrity.
Howard H.
My partner and I were planning a move to the Bay Area after twenty years in LA. We have three kids, two dogs, and a lot of moving parts involved in our relocation. The potential for stress was high. Thankfully, Alexis was our realtor and we are so grateful for the way she took care of us throughout our search and home purchase journey. From the beginning, she dove deep to understand our family's unique needs and then she kept our needs front-and-center at every step of the process. Her knowledge of San Francisco's geography and neighborhoods was essential given that we'd spent years away and weren't exactly sure where we wanted to land. Alexis was also ready and willing to flex when we began exploring homes outside the city proper (such as the East Bay and Marin). She connected with colleagues across the Bay to make certain she would be able to successfully represent us in every region we explored. When it came to considering particular properties, she quickly established relationships with sellers' agents, researched and resolved our questions, and raised additional questions we hadn't thought of. When we had an offer accepted (on the second try!), Alexis supported and advocated for us throughout our escrow period. I really appreciated her responsiveness as well as the warmth and positivity she brought to the process. Not only did we feel supported and cared for in our home-buying journey, we actually had fun. We are beyond thrilled to be moving into our Bay Area home in a couple of weeks. It's perfect! Thank you, Alexis!
My partner and I were planning a move to the Bay Area after twenty years in LA. We have three kids, two dogs, and a lot of moving parts involved in our relocation. The potential for stress was high. Thankfully, Alexis was our realtor and we are so grateful for the way she took care of us throughout our search and home purchase journey. From the beginning, she dove deep to understand our family's unique needs and then she kept our needs front-and-center at every step of the process. Her knowledge of San Francisco's geography and neighborhoods was essential given that we'd spent years away and weren't exactly sure where we wanted to land. Alexis was also ready and willing to flex when we began exploring homes outside the city proper (such as the East Bay and Marin). She connected with colleagues across the Bay to make certain she would be able to successfully represent us in every region we explored. When it came to considering particular properties, she quickly established relationships with sellers' agents, researched and resolved our questions, and raised additional questions we hadn't thought of. When we had an offer accepted (on the second try!), Alexis supported and advocated for us throughout our escrow period. I really appreciated her responsiveness as well as the warmth and positivity she brought to the process. Not only did we feel supported and cared for in our home-buying journey, we actually had fun. We are beyond thrilled to be moving into our Bay Area home in a couple of weeks. It's perfect! Thank you, Alexis!
Theresa T.

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