Steps To Selling A House: A How-To Guide For Homeowners

If you’ve reached a point when your current home isn’t meeting your needs, you may be ready to sell and buy a new house. Selling a home is an exciting experience, regardless of the reasons behind the move.

However, there are many steps that go into selling a home, and it isn’t always as easy as you might imagine. Understanding how the process works will help you have a smoother sale and get the best price for your house. It will also help you set realistic expectations and deal with any problems as they arise.

How To Sell A House In 14 Steps

Selling a house can be stressful, especially if you’re trying to buy a new home at the same time. However, you can reduce the overwhelm by breaking the process down into smaller, more manageable steps. Let’s look at 14 steps to selling a house.

1. Determine Your Goals For Selling A Home

Start by determining your goals for the home sale. For example, are you hoping to get the highest offer, or do you want to sell as quickly as possible? Understanding what you want to get out of the sale will guide your decisions and make the process easier.

For example, if your priority is to sell the home as quickly as possible, you’ll probably accept the first offer that meets your criteria. But if you’re not in a rush to move and want to make as much as possible on the sale, you might wait to see if better offers come in. If you’re in a competitive seller’s market, you may even get a bidding war started.

2. Get A Real Estate Agent

Some homeowners are tempted to list their property as For Sale By Owner (FSBO) to avoid paying commission fees to a real estate agent. But if you want to sell your home quickly and for top dollar, it’s highly recommended that you find the right listing agent.

The right agent will recommend home improvements that will improve the resale value. They’ll also help you stage the home and set up open houses for potential buyers. Look for a listing agent who is knowledgeable about your local market and has years of experience selling houses.

3. Consider Getting A Pre-Listing Home Inspection

It’s common knowledge that you need to make upgrades before putting your home on the market, but it’s hard to know where to start. A pre-listing home inspection can help you determine which projects to invest in before selling your house.

Getting your home inspected can help you identify and address underlying issues with the property. This can also help speed up the closing process since you won’t have to deal with these repairs after you receive an offer on the home.

4. Make Necessary Upgrades

If you’re working with a limited budget, you need to invest in the improvements that add value. For example, most prospective home buyers will focus on the kitchen, so it’s a good idea to start there. You can upgrade old appliances with energy-efficient ones or paint the cabinets to make them look more modern.

Upgrading any major components in your home, like the HVAC system, plumbing or roof, are also well worth the money spent. You can also improve your home value by making minor improvements, like replacing worn drapes or making sure all the lightbulbs work.

5. Declutter And Stage The Interior

It’s important to clean up and stage your house for private showings, open houses and MLS listing photos. Clutter makes rooms and cabinets look smaller, and dirty countertops and bathrooms will turn off potential buyers.

It’s also a good idea to remove excess or oversized furniture to make the rooms appear larger. Renting a temporary storage space will keep these items out of the way until the sale is finalized and you’re ready to move.

6. Enhance Curb Appeal

Curb appeal describes the overall attractiveness of your home when seen from the street. It’s the first impression a potential buyer has of your home. If your house looks great on the inside but has low curb appeal, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out on the sale.

Fortunately, it doesn’t take much to improve your home’s curb appeal. Painting your front door, planting flowers and investing in a little bit of landscaping can go a long way toward making the property more appealing.

7. Determine An Accurate Listing Price

One of the biggest mistakes you can make as a seller is overpricing your home. Nobody wants to pay more for something than it’s worth, and if the price is too high, it will take longer to sell. Eventually, you may be forced to drop the price anyway, which can cause potential buyers to wonder if there’s something wrong with the home.

To avoid making this mistake, work with your listing agent to determine how much your home is worth. Seeing what houses similar to yours recently sold for will help you come up with a realistic asking price. This ensures you aren’t overpricing the house, but you also aren’t leaving money on the table by underpricing yourself.

8. Photograph The Property

Most people search for houses online, so you want to invest in high-quality photographs. Using your smartphone to take pictures is a cheaper strategy, but if you can afford it, it’s better to pay a professional to take photos for you. A professional photographer will know how to take pictures that put your home in the best light possible.

9. List The Property

Once the inside and outside of your home are ready, you’re going to list it on the multiple listing service (MLS). The MLS is where real estate agents share property listings, and it will expose your home to as many potential buyers as possible.

If you’re doing a FSBO listing, you likely can list property on the MLS, but it won’t be displayed with other agent listings and will be harder for buyers to find. It may be worth it to pay a small fee to have a real estate agent list the house for you. 

10. Accept An Offer Or Counter

One of the best parts of selling your home is after you’ve listed it on the market and offers start pouring in. However, this presents its own challenges because you have to choose the right offer. The offer you choose will largely depend on your goal for the sale.

If you want to get out of the house as quickly as possible, you may be tempted to accept the first offer that comes in. You can also look for offers with no contingencies or buyers who are willing to close in 30 days. You’ll also have to consider the market you’re operating in and decide whether you’re willing to compromise to make the sale happen.

11. Pay Seller Closing Costs

Buyers have to pay the bulk of the closing costs, but there are some fees sellers have to plan for as well:

• Real estate commissions: Standard practice is that the seller pays the real estate commissions for their real estate agent and the buyer’s agent. Agent commissions usually add up to 6% of the total purchase price, and you’ll pay half to each agent.
• Title insurance: Depending on where you live, the seller may also be responsible for covering the title insurance. The average cost of title insurance is $500 or more.
• Property taxes: If you haven’t paid the property taxes for the home, you’ll pay the remaining amount that’s due up until closing.
• HOA fees: If the HOA dues haven’t been paid, you’ll also pay for these costs up until closing.
• Seller concessions: Finally, if you agreed to any seller concessions, you’ll also pay for these during closing. For example, you could agree to cover the buyer’s inspection or appraisal fees.

12. Pay Any Additional Costs Of Selling A Home

Here are some additional costs you may have to pay for after closing:

• Moving costs: You’ll have to cover the cost of moving out of your old house and into your new one. The exact costs will vary depending on whether you move yourself or hire full-service movers.
• Capital gains tax: Anytime you sell an asset for a profit, you’re responsible for paying capital gains taxes. However, you’re exempt from paying capital gains on the sale of your primary residence up to $250,000 if you’re filing as a single individual and up to $500,000 if you’re married and filing jointly.
• Required repairs: If the buyer requested any repairs after the inspection, you’ll have to cover these as well. The cost of the repairs will depend on how extensive they are.

13. Close On The Sale

On closing day, you’ll sign the final paperwork and hand over the keys to your old home. Before closing, you should take one last walk-through of the house to ensure you haven’t left anything behind. This is also a good opportunity to say goodbye to your former residence.

During closing, you want to make sure you have the correct documentation on hand and that you’re able to pay closing costs. The closing will likely take place at an escrow office, and you’ll review and sign a lot of final paperwork.

Once the buyer has also signed the paperwork, the house will no longer be yours. You should receive the proceeds from the sale within a day of closing. Make sure you keep copies of all the paperwork for your records.

14. Calculate Your Home Sale Proceeds

You’ll calculate the home sale proceeds by subtracting the closing costs and mortgage balance from the final sale of the home. For example, let’s say the home sale price was $500,000, you owe $200,000 on the mortgage and closing costs were $10,000. That means your home sale proceeds are $290,000.

FAQs About How To Sell Your House

Let’s look at some additional information about selling your home.

Who can answer questions I have about how to sell my house?

Your real estate agent and lender are the best people to answer any questions you have about the home sale. You can also consult with an attorney or accountant for legal or financial questions.

How much should you spend on a house to sell it?

You can expect to spend 10% – 15% of the home sale price before selling it (to get the highest value for your home). These costs can include things like painting, landscaping, replacing appliances and deep cleaning the home.

What’s the best strategy for selling a house?

The best strategy for selling a house is to work with a qualified listing agent who can guide you through this process. Working with a qualified agent ensures you have a plan and that when you do spend money, it’s for a purpose.

How long do most houses take to sell?

Most houses take 30 – 90 days to sell, though the process can be longer or shorter depending on the type of market you’re in. For example, it could take less time if you’re operating in a seller’s market while a buyer’s market could take much longer.

Can I sell my house without a REALTOR®?

Yes, you can forgo working with a real estate agent and choose a FSBO listing. However, this isn’t a good idea since FSBO houses tend to take longer to sell and sell for less money.

The Bottom Line

Selling a house can be a challenging process, and hurdles may come up along the way. It’s hard to know whether you’re pricing your home correctly and you may get hit with unexpected repair costs.

However, being well-prepared and working with a qualified real estate agent will make this entire process easier. If you’re trying to estimate the potential costs of selling a house or buying a new home and how that fits into your budget, be sure to sign up for Rocket Money^SM today.