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.​​​​​​​

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 Real Estate Agent once you choose one so he or she 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 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.

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

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.

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 agent.

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. 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.

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 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.

What Our Clients Say

Christian B.

Christian B.

I am writing to you on behalf of Geoff Dunlevie who was not only instrumental but also an absolute pleasure to work with in finding our Lovely Laguna Home. My wife and I had been looking to purchase a home in Laguna and we had ...
Read More
Josh

Josh

Great Realtor to work with. A true legend in Laguna Beach!
Read More
Kaytee E.

Kaytee E.

My husband and I were lucky enough to stumble upon Geoff while we were out one day looking at homes in Laguna Beach on our own. He was the listing agent on the house we were looking at and we were not currently working with an ...
Read More
Buyer & Seller

Buyer & Seller

Jim has helped me time and time again throughout the years. Expert. Professional. Consistent. No doubt about it. He has helped my family move, sell and acquire property over the years on various occasions - from Laguna Beach to...
Read More
Kathy O.

Kathy O.

I had known Geoff as a wonderful neighbor and person before signing a person walk-through with him that was set to expire in about one month. Before doing so, he helped me look at comparison square footage pricing for 3 other h...
Read More
Mary Y.

Mary Y.

We are so pleased that we chose Geoff to market our home in Laguna Beach. At all times during our process, he demonstrated great professionalism and knowledge of the market. Even more importantly, his calm demeanor and approach...
Read More
Kellie

Kellie

From the moment I met Geoff, I have always felt like he was a close friend. I had been looking for a home for about 3.5 years and Geoff consistently and routinely reached out to me for updates and status on moving forward with ...
Read More
Fabienne

Fabienne

Geoff brings a lot of knowledge to the South County Coastal Real Estate market. He was very helpful, patient, and understanding of our needs and went out of his way to accommodate us during our process. He was always there to f...
Read More
Bob W.

Bob W.

We were just handed the keys to our dream home on Sunday. Geoff made this happen for us, and we're forever grateful. There are no perfect words for Geoff's professionalism, expertise, knowledge, passion, and calm demeanor that ...
Read More
Therese F.

Therese F.

If honesty, kindness, and knowledge of the area are what you are looking for, Geoff is the right agent for you. Geoff Dunlevie worked with us for almost a whole year while we were looking for our first own house. On June 21 we ...
Read More
John H.

John H.

Geoff was excellent to work with. I met him at an open house. That house wasn't a fit for me so I explained what I was looking for. A couple of days later he reached out to inform me of a property that had just fallen out of es...
Read More
David A.

David A.

First and foremost Geoff is a great guy. On top of that, he went above and beyond for us during our recent purchase in Laguna Beach. He is diligent, insightful, hard-working, he always returns calls, and he follows through on h...
Read More
Russ P.

Russ P.

Geoff was our agent when we purchased this home, and he recently listed and assisted us with renting our rental unit. Geoff is an extremely personable, knowledgeable, and hard-working Real Estate agent whom we would highly reco...
Read More
Ray C.

Ray C.

Geoff Dunlevie is without a doubt the poster child of 'impressive, masterful, and excellent. His responsiveness is commendable. He is possibly the most trustworthy agent we have ever dealt with which is why we sought him out. G...
Read More
Greg G.

Greg G.

Geoff was very professional during the sale of our home in Dana Point. We had several choices of Realtors® to choose from but Goeff was the easy choice for us because of his reputation. Any issues that cropped up were handled q...
Read More
Scott & Denice

Scott & Denice

We used Geoff to help us find a long-term rental. We ended up locking in the rental as Geoff visited sites and did a Facetime video with us when we could not travel to see properties. He was super at listening to what we wanted...
Read More
Andrew B.

Andrew B.

Geoff made the entire home buying process a breeze, particularly so in the difficult buyer’s market of today. He had answers to all of my questions, was not afraid to lay out hard truths for me, and was patient with me. Most im...
Read More
Nick W.

Nick W.

This was our second transaction with Geoff, this time as a seller, and his knowledge and expertise helped to sell our home quickly and efficiently. We would highly recommend Geoff for all of your home buying or selling needs.
Read More
Karen P.

Karen P.

We just purchased a condo in Laguna Niguel and Geoff was informative and professional and helped us through the process. This was our first experience with Geoff and I would highly recommend him. Thanks, Geoff.
Read More
Todd B.

Todd B.

Extremely professional and timely with the whole process. Knows Laguna Beach, Dana Point, and surrounding communities inside and out. Also quickly located and secured a tenant for new investment property.
Read More
  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3

What’s your property worth?

CONTACT INFORMATION

Almost There! You’re 1 Step Away

Thank You

I'm gathering your property information. Your home valuation report will arrive in your mailbox.

Work With Ardery Dunlevie Associates

Their professionalism, experience, combined with their hard work ethic, interpersonal skills, and professionalism make them valuable assets to buyers, sellers, and investors in the ever-changing real estate markets.

Follow Me on Instagram