If not done correctly, selling a house can be a long and exhausting job. You need to keep in mind the legalities and ensure you get the price that your house is worth. With many barriers to pass before closing the deal, selling a house is often dealt with by real estate agents.
Even with the help, you need to take care of a few things on your side to make sure no mishaps occur during the final minute. This article covers the 9 essential pointers you need to be aware of to sell your property in California.
Step-by-step guide on selling a house in California
Take a look at the tips stated below that covers all the 9 steps you need to follow when selling a house in California.
Look for a trustworthy real estate agent
The first thing you need to do is look for a broker who will guide you through the entire process of selling. Many companies and broker matching sites, such as Homes with Accent, where you can find the best real estate agents with the lowest commission rates.
Select at least 3 to 4 best options and compare by examining reviews, license status, expertise, and qualifications. Make sure your selected representative is skilled in marketing.
In addition, you can ask your friends or family members to recommend a local realtor and proceed with the best option.
Ratify the listing agreement
Once you have selected a skilled realtor, it is time to list your house in the estate market. You need to sign a listing agreement generally documented by the real estate firms to do this. Be aware of the type, terms of the agreement, and listing commission before signing the pact.
Ensure all the details in the agreement, such as listing date, the property included, initial price, tenure, etc., are mentioned clearly. Finally, you can take the help of a local real estate advocate in California who will guide you through the essentials of listing your house.
Decide on a price range
The next step you need to carry out is deciding on the price of your home based on its key features, square footage, upgrades, repairs, and damages, if any.
Your agent will typically provide a free-of-cost Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) report by initially examining the condition of your property.
Next, check the numbers indicated as the price of your home in the report and ask your realtor to recheck if any errors or low valuation are encountered.
Sometimes, brokers miss parts of the property and thus value it lower. Make sure you agree with your agent before finalizing the pricing range.
Schedule and market your house
Once you have decided on a satisfactory price for your home, you can proceed with listing your house on the market. If you are not satisfied with the price suggested by your agent, you can either change your realtor or ask them what you need to do to increase the pricing range.
Once everything is set, you can stage your home, list your house on online websites, and market your house with the help of your broker.
Typically, rerouted realtors in California take care of attracting buyers and all you have to do is make sure your house is ready for buyer showing and visitation.
Make the necessary preparations
While your agent is looking for potential buyers, you can make the necessary preparations to make your house more appealing to the prospects. First, look for neglected areas in your house, such as AC vents, roofs, exteriors, pipelines, etc.
Next, ensure that the property has proper insulation and plumbing facilities. Next, you can be your own contractor or take professional help to fix minor cracks, faded paints, window sidings, cracked floors, and more.
Once the imperfections are fixed, thoroughly clean the noticeable places like the kitchen, front yard, bathrooms, bedrooms, etc. Declutter and remove unnecessary items, furniture, and recyclables and reorganize your house.
Work out the negotiations
You might not get many buyers during the initial days of listing, and thus you might settle for a lower price to quickly sell your house. Avoid doing this and take suggestions from your realtors.
Do not hurry and carefully work out the negotiations with the prices put forth by your buyers. Typically, listings last 40 days in California upon going live, and you might receive multiple offers within this tenure.
A regular offer from the buyer contains the offer price, terms, and conditions for closing cost, financing type, and offer’s expiry date. You can either accept the offer or negotiate if it’s in your favor.
Arrange for the appraisal inspection
Generally, appraisals are performed by the buyer’s side to ensure the safety of their investment in buying your house.
Once a buyer signs the purchase agreement, he/she requests an appraisal of your property that evaluates whether your listing price matches the actual worth of your house or not.
Before the inspection, you can arrange for documents such as utility bills, mortgage statements, home insurance reports, tax documents, etc. Ensure your house is ready for assessment once the buyer has requested an appraisal.
Bear in mind that the appraisal costs in California and anywhere around the world are covered by the buyer’s side, and you need not pay as a seller unless you request a pre-listing appraisal to estimate the price of your house.
Carry out the legal paperwork
Once the terms and conditions are agreed upon, you can gather the necessary documents to proceed with selling. In California, it takes around 70 days to close the contract upon acceptance of the offer.
Next, you need to fill and sign out an ownership transfer disclosure statement that includes details such as the legal name of the buyer, property items transferred, initial deposits, remaining down payments, loan type for financing, if any, transfer date, purchase price, housing address and so on. While this may seem like a lot to deal with, you can always enlist the help of an online title company to make this process easier.
Again, take the help of your attorney and realtor before signing any documents. You also need to provide HOA statements, Natural Hazards statements, inspection reports, and other paperwork to comply with the law.
Proceed with closings
Once everything is finalized, you can proceed with the closing as mentioned in the purchase agreement. First, remove the items that belong to you as per the agreement terms and empty your house.
Make sure the furniture, appliances, etc., that you’ve listed under the buyer’s name are still there. Once the property is cleared out, proceed with cleaning for the last time if the buyer insists on a final walkthrough.
You will then need to sign the closing disclosure with your buyer in a county office in California. Your agent will let you know the place and time for this. Once done, your realtor will hand over the keys to your house as a final step.
Conclusion
Although it is recommended to take the help of a real estate agent, you can also put your property on sale on your own. For sale by the owner is a method to avoid paying a listing commission in California. However, as a downside, you’ll need to do all the above-stated tasks more by yourself while bearing in mind the legal structures and financial aspects.
