Home Selling Process
Knowing what to expect during the Home Selling Process begins with knowledge. Once your home or property is up for sale and being considered by potential buyers, the time comes quickly when serious offers begin to roll in and the closing of the deal approaches. Your real estate broker will be out there showing your property to various people, many who are not very serious buyers but a few key potentials that are. When these offers begin to come in, it is important to avoid haste and consider everything with a cool mind. It is a process that is often rushed out of fear that the possible buyer will back out. But each offer must be considered in detail and in writing. One of the fastest ways a seller is offended is when a lowball offer lands on the desk. It is easy to huff and puff and say, “How dare they?” But many times, if the potential buyer is truly serious, they will raise their offer with your counter offer.
Not every offer is an ideal offer. For example, if an offer is high but the individual has a questionable ability to gain financing, you will do good to accept a slightly lower offer with one that has solid financing. This will save you large quantities of time and energy. Now you have an offer from a buyer that has met all the requirements and that you and your Realtor are comfortable with. Now you and the buyer will sign a Purchase Agreement (or Purchase and Sale Agreement) in which all legal and conditional terms are settled on. But this is only still the beginning in closing the sale. The whole thing can still go south depending on the outcome of the home inspection and how this aspect is handled.
A professional house inspector will do his job and will likely recommend to the buyer that they ask the seller to fix or repair this or that. Most often, this kind of request is small and easy to accommodate, but there are times when an issue surfaces that gives the buyer a reason to head for the nearest exit. This is the only time a buyer can legally back out of the sale after the Purchase Agreement has been signed, so it is crucial to the sale that this inspection be handled with much care. Once the home inspection is done and buyer and seller have agreed on the likely adjusted terms, the next step is for the buyer to acquire the loan. At this point, you as a seller have nearly made it through the obstacle course.
The closing process is a detailed and lengthy stretch of legality. It is best for you to have an experienced lawyer who is specialized in real estate law. They will go through the process of making sure every party, especially you, is getting a fair deal. As the seller, this is one point where you will actually have very little to do except wait until the process is over and receive the check. All hurdles have been leaped, all obstacles overcome. Selling a piece of real estate is a long and detailed process, but it is made up of a series of simple steps that make it look more ominous than it really is.
