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Selling Guidance

Selling Guidance

Listing

  1. Point of Sale Inspection
    1. There are several cities within the Metro area, like Minneapolis, St. Paul, Bloomington, Richfield, St. Louis Park and Crystal, that require an inspection by the city before you may place your home for sale on the real estate market. Please call and schedule your home inspection as soon as possible if you live in one of these cities. See attachment for appropriate contact information.
  2. Association Documents
    1. If your home is part of an association, you are required to provide the association documents to the buyer. Obtaining these documents will cost you several hundred dollars, depending on your association. To avoid an additional expedite charge of $50-$100, please contact your association and order an electronic copy now. An additional incentive is that by Minnesota law, buyers have 10 days from receipt of the documents to cancel the purchase agreement if they find anything they don’t like in them. It’s best to get this review period out of the way at the beginning of the sale process vs. post-inspection, etc. Most associations will request you to order them online and it will ask for the buyer’s information. Put TBD here.
  3. Sign Post
    1. For single-family homes and townhomes that allow posts, I place an order to install your sign post. They will order Gopher One to mark your lawn for underground utilities (power, gas, water) before they dig. Please don’t be alarmed if you see their flags and paint markings on your lawn. The post will be installed within a couple days of the markings. For townhomes that don’t allow posts, I use professionally-designed steel push-in yard signs.
  4. Pictures
    1. If you plan to keep any fixed structure items like light fixtures, curtains, blinds, extra appliances, built-in surround sound speakers, gun safe, garage shelving, etc., you MUST remove them before the photo shoot. If they are in the photos, the buyer will expect they are included in the home sale or they will try to negotiate for them.
    2. I schedule your home’s photo shoot with Spacecrafting. They provide a 2-hr time frame for the shoot. Thirty minutes prior to arriving they call me after which I will call you to relay their arrival time, so please don’t be alarmed if they are not at your home right at the start of the 2-hr window. The photo shoot generally takes just under an hour. Attached is a document with pointers for preparing your home for the pictures. Pictures will be available in approximately 24 hours.
    3. Also at the photo shoot, I like to accomplish the following:
      1. Hang the lock box with a house key inside. Please make sure this is not your only house key as you will not be able to access the electronic lock box. This electronic lock box can be opened only by personnel with the appropriate electronic key (realtors, inspectors, appraisers) during the hours of 8am to 9pm. All access is recorded with agent name, date and time then retained for history.
      2. I will provide you the seller’s disclosure statement form that you need to fill out before the listing date. It’s a document where you provide the home’s history, like updates you’ve made or any damage the home has experienced during your ownership.
      3. I will provide you a ‘Please remove shoes’ sign to keep in your entryway.
      4. I will provide you a ‘SOLD’ sign to hang when your home sells and is past inspection phase.
    4. Listing Timeline – generally a one week duration.
      • Monday or Tuesday - Photo shoot.
      • Wednesday – Final paperwork due: Seller’s disclosure statement and Top 10 list. The “Top 10 Things We Love About Our Home” document is a marketing document where you highlight the best features of your home and neighborhood. Email me your Top 10 items in email or Word doc form and I polish it into a document that potential buyers can take home with them during showings.
      • Thursday - Home is placed on MLS (Multiple Listings Service) system by 2pm. MLS powers all major real estate websites (Coldwell Banker Burnet, Edina Realty, Keller Williams, Re/Max, Zillow, Trulia, etc.) so your home will appear on these sites. No showings are allowed until Friday. Also note that your open house schedule is posted to MLS and propagated to these websites too.
      • Thursday or Friday – Post placement.
      • Friday – Home is open to scheduled showings. Reverse prospecting letter is sent to all agents with current home searches that match your home.

How to approve showing requests

  1. There are numerous reasons your home will receive showing requests, like potential buyer viewings, inspection, appraisal, final walk-through, etc. I use an online service called ShowingTime. Once I register you and your home in the system, you will receive an email with instructions for downloading their mobile app. This allows you to manage all your showing activity and view any feedback received. Generally, there’s about 15-20% feedback response rate so you won’t receive feedback on every showing. If your home is vacant, we set it up so that you do not need to approve each showing request. If you are still occupying your home, you will receive a text to which you will respond Y/N to approve or deny the request.

Showings

  1. Before leaving your home for a scheduled showing, please turn on all lights and open all curtains/blinds to let in as much natural light as possible.
  2. Buyers can be very sensitive to smells. Please be cautious about cooking any fragrant foods unless it’s chocolate chip cookies 😊
  3. If there are multiple showings scheduled, please leave a note on the counter stating there are multiple showings and to leave the lights on when leaving.
  4. Realtors will typically leave a business card before they leave. Please remove these cards from your countertop. We don’t want an abundance or lack of cards to make an impression for us. We want to keep potential buyers guessing at how much activity there’s been.
  5. After showings, it’s a good idea to sweep through the house and make sure all lights are off, doors are locked, and everything is as you expect. Realtors can get distracted and things can get missed. Using a security system during this phase is highly discouraged. It’s almost guaranteed to trigger false alarms.

OPEN HOUSES

  1. The open house schedule for your home is posted on MLS and will appear on all major real estate websites.
  2. Each open house will be staffed by myself or one of my professional colleagues.
  3. Similar to showings, prepare your home by turning on all lights and opening all curtains/blinds. Baking a fresh batch of cookies is welcome. If you have a home entertainment theater or big screen TV, please have a Disney movie playing. Getting kids excited about a home can encourage parents to buy. Soft music at a low volume is welcome too. Fresh flowers are a nice touch.
  4. Please note that I place only one Open House sign in front of your home during your time slot. The reason is because we want to attract serious buyers who have already viewed your home online and made a conscious decision to come view your home. Filling your home with random people detracts attention from the buyers with serious interest and it poses a security risk.

OFFER

  1. This can be an exciting but stressful time. As I like to say, “Know your numbers”. At a minimum, know what you owe and what you need to net on this sale. I want to avoid accepting an offer only to find out later it’s not enough to cover your future outlays. Discuss with your partner ahead of time your bottom line and your desired closing date (ie: end of month, beginning of month, etc.)
  2. My goal is always multiple offers and I will do my best to get you more than one offer. Each offer is unique and I will review each with you line by line and provide guidance and expertise throughout the negotiating phase.

INSPECTION

  1. No need to panic during inspection phase. All homes have normal wear and tear. A typical inspection lasts 3-4 hours. Treat it like a showing because the buyer is often there for the inspection and they often like to bring other family members to show off their new purchase. You should leave your home during the inspection, just as you would for a showing.
  2. If you’re aware that something is broken, it’s a good idea to repair it prior to inspection. For example, if you know a GFI outlet is broken, you can repair it yourself fairly cheaply prior to inspection. If it gets flagged on the inspection report, they may require it be repaired by a licensed electrician which is significantly more costly.
  3. You will receive a showing request text through ShowingTime for the inspector’s time slot. The inspector has an electronic key to gain entry to your home. The showing request will have one of 3 descriptions:
  4. Radon drop-off
  5. Inspection
  6. Radon pick-up
  7. If your buyer is requesting a radon test, the inspector will either place the radon detector in your home 48 hours prior to inspection then pick it up at inspection. Or he will set it up during the inspection and come back 48 hours later to pick it up. If the inspector sets up only one showing, he/she is not performing a radon test. The radon detector is placed in your lowest level, approximately 2 feet off the ground. Keep all windows closed during this test and forget the machine is there. The machine can detect any tampering, like fans or movement, so please do not touch the machine. The radon grading is as follows:
  8. < 2.0 Ideal - Green
  9. 2.0 – 4.0 Caution – Yellow
  10. > 4.0 Dangerous – Red
  11. If your reading is in the Red range, expect the buyer to request a radon mitigation system installed before closing at the seller’s expense. Typical cost is $1,200 - $1,400. If the deal gets cancelled, you are now obligated to disclose these results in your seller’s disclosure statement for future buyers so it’s wise to fix it now to pass future inspections.
  12. I usually do not receive the inspection report until the following day. Upon receipt, I will call you to discuss any items that have been flagged for repair.
  13. Once we come to agreement with the buyer on any pending inspection items, it’s time to hang the SOLD sign on your sign post.
  14. We’ve been communicating lots up to this point but now it will lessen for the next couple weeks. The title company will be busy preparing for closing. Please don’t hesitate to call me with any questions or concerns that come up during this quieter period.

NTERFACING WITH TITLE COMPANY

  1. After the inspection, I send the purchase agreement to Title and they create a file for you. Our closer will email you a questionnaire asking for things like your social security number, current mortgage company, account numbers, etc. They use this info to order payoffs for your outstanding loan(s). Please complete it and send it back as soon as possible to ensure closing does not get delayed.
  2. As long as you are receiving net proceeds from the sale that exceed your costs, you do not need to bring any money to closing. Any of your costs, like closing costs (your closing costs or negotiated seller-paid buyer’s closing costs), property taxes and real estate commissions, will be deducted from your proceeds.
  3.  Approximately 1-2 weeks prior to closing, the closing company will email us a notice of the closing time and location. The buyer chooses the office location for the closing. They will generally clear the time with us before sending the notice. 

APPRAISAL

  1. You will receive a showing request text through ShowingTime for the appraisal. Please do your best to accommodate the appraiser’s schedule. This person has a lot of influence on your sale and it’s wise to treat him/her with reverence. The appraiser has an electronic key to gain access to your home.
  2. You should leave your home during the appraisal, just as you would for a showing.
  3. I advise preparing your home as if you’re having a fine dinner party. Appraisers should be objective but my experience has been that homes that show better, appraise better.
  4. If the buyer is using an FHA or VA loan, the appraiser will also perform an inspection looking for safety items, like flaking paint, smoke detectors, carbon monoxide detectors, etc. See attached document for list of inspection items.
  5. It takes 5-7 days for the appraiser to report the value of your home to the bank providing the loan. Unless the appraised value did not meet/exceed the sale price or there are FHA/VA work orders, the bank will typically not contact the agents with the results. In this case, no news is good news. I will not be able to provide you with a copy of the appraisal because it belongs to the buyer.

FIVE DAYS PRIOR TO CLOSING

  1. Contact all Utilities to make arrangements for final billing.
  2. Unless you can show you’ve ordered and paid your final water bill, the title company will collect an estimated amount for the bill and will pay it on your behalf after closing. Any excess funds will be sent back to you. Order the water bill now if you wish to pay it yourself ahead of closing.
  3. File your forwarding address with the U.S. Postal Service.
  4. Change your delivery address for any of your delivery services, like Amazon, Blue Apron, Best Buy, Barnes and Noble, etc. These packages will not get forwarded because they do not flow through USPS.
  5. Contact your current mortgage company and provide them your forwarding address. They need to send you the remaining escrow money within 30 business days of the closing. You don’t want to miss receiving this check.

BUYER’S FINAL WALK-THROUGH

  1. Expect the buyer and buyer’s agent to perform a final walk-through of your home either the night before closing or morning of closing. The purpose is to confirm all items expected in the home remain and there is no hidden or new damage to the home.
  2. You will receive a showing request text through ShowingTime for the final walk-through.
  3. The final walk-through sets the tone for the closing. The buyer may refuse to close if conditions are not satisfactory. To avoid an unhappy buyer, I suggest doing the following:
    1. Mow the lawn a day or two before closing.
    2. If it’s winter, make sure the driveway and sidewalk are shoveled.
    3. Make sure stove, oven, refrigerator, microwave and bathrooms are thoroughly cleaned. I’ve experienced delayed closings due to dirty ovens.
    4. Vacuum the carpet. Vacuum lines in the carpet convey that you care.
    5. Fill any nail holes in the walls.
    6. Remove all garbage and debris from the premises. The excuse that the previous owner left it for you doesn’t work. If you plan to leave a large amount of garbage at the end of the driveway to be picked up by your garbage service, please let me know so I can forewarn the buyer.
    7. Leave only paint cans of paint colors currently in the home.
    8. Unless you’ve excluded it in the purchase agreement, leave all curtains, blinds, valences, curtain rods, ie: anything surrounding a window. No exceptions.
    9. TV mounts must remain in home unless excluded in purchase agreement.
    10. Leaving a cheap bottle of champagne on the counter with a congratulations card goes a long way to ensure a happy closing.

CLOSING

  1. If one of the sellers cannot be at closing, it is possible to have that person pre-sign paperwork. If both sellers cannot be at closing, power of attorney needs to be granted to somebody to represent you. Please let me know if this is the case.
  2. You will be given the choice to receive your proceeds as a paper check or as a wire. The paper check is free but understand that once it’s deposited, it can take 7-10 days before the funds are available to you. A wire is generally deposited same-day (or next business day if your closing is at the end of the business day) but typically costs $25-$35. Please let the closer know 48 hours ahead of closing if you want a wire then bring to closing a voided check of the account where the money will be deposited.
  3. Bring all house keys and garage door openers to transfer to the buyer once funds are received. See above note about not needing to bring money as long as you have net proceeds from the sale. Your costs will be deducted from your proceeds.