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Sellers

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 team of real estate agents 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.​​​​​​​

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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 team of real estate agents once you choose one so they can adjust your selling price accordingly.

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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 team of real estate agents is the best way to determine the right selling price for your home. A team of real estate agents with experience can determine what other comparable homes are selling for, evaluate the current market, and may even suggest a home appraisal.

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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.

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Step 4: Develop a Marketing Strategy

We 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. Our 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.

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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.

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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 team of real estate agents.

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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. We 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.

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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 team of real estate agents 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.

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Testimonials

Read what our clients have to say about working with us.

"Chris Cabo and the Better Homes team were a pleasure to work with! Chris is a dependable and passionate individual with an abundance of experience, knowledge, and desire to help his clients. As a first-time home buyer in this already difficult-to-follow market, Chris guided me through every step of the process in order to find me the perfect home. With his expertise, vast knowledge of the market, and connections, Chris was able to take care of every step of the process for me. In the future, I look forward to working with him in any of my future investments in real estate. If you're looking for any type of assistance in the real estate market, Chris is the man to go to!"
"Chris Cabo and the Better Homes team were a pleasure to work with! Chris is a dependable and passionate individual with an abundance of experience, knowledge, and desire to help his clients. As a first-time home buyer in this already difficult-to-follow market, Chris guided me through every step of the process in order to find me the perfect home. With his expertise, vast knowledge of the market, and connections, Chris was able to take care of every step of the process for me. In the future, I look forward to working with him in any of my future investments in real estate. If you're looking for any type of assistance in the real estate market, Chris is the man to go to!"
Sorianer
"Very good, no surprises, and he tells you everything you need to know, I will definitely recommend him to anyone who wants to buy a house. He answers all your questions."
"Very good, no surprises, and he tells you everything you need to know, I will definitely recommend him to anyone who wants to buy a house. He answers all your questions."
Sergot E.
"Chris was an awesome agent from start to end! He walked me through the entire process of buying the house and helped me through all the negotiations. He even helped me get an offer accepted under the asking price, in this crazy market! I will definitely be recommending him to my friends and family to buy property. Very pleased with his service!"
"Chris was an awesome agent from start to end! He walked me through the entire process of buying the house and helped me through all the negotiations. He even helped me get an offer accepted under the asking price, in this crazy market! I will definitely be recommending him to my friends and family to buy property. Very pleased with his service!"
Nicholas G.
"Christian and his team did a great job assisting me with the purchase of my home. Chris has a lot of experience and knowledge and made things go smoothly."
"Christian and his team did a great job assisting me with the purchase of my home. Chris has a lot of experience and knowledge and made things go smoothly."
Buyer
"Christian has made this process of purchasing a home very easy and smooth, was always available to answer any questions, and moved fast when we decided on a property. This is not the first time we have worked with Christian not only was he highly recommended by friends and family members who worked with him in the past but this is also our second time working together on a purchase. All around a great realtor with a really highly skilled team on his side, would highly recommend him 100%."
"Christian has made this process of purchasing a home very easy and smooth, was always available to answer any questions, and moved fast when we decided on a property. This is not the first time we have worked with Christian not only was he highly recommended by friends and family members who worked with him in the past but this is also our second time working together on a purchase. All around a great realtor with a really highly skilled team on his side, would highly recommend him 100%."
Buyer
"Christian is amazing. He worked with me through the whole process. From A to Z he carefully explained everything and worked a lot with me. I’n finding my new home I’m very pleased and I will definitely use them again to purchase another home. And I recommend him 110 percent by the way this is my second home I’ve purchased with him and his firm."
"Christian is amazing. He worked with me through the whole process. From A to Z he carefully explained everything and worked a lot with me. I’n finding my new home I’m very pleased and I will definitely use them again to purchase another home. And I recommend him 110 percent by the way this is my second home I’ve purchased with him and his firm."
Henry V.
"If you are looking to buy or sell your home look no further. I recommend you contact Christian Cobo at BHG Elite in Cranford New Jersey. I’m incredibly pleased with their service they go above and beyond. I experienced both ends of the process one for my home sale and also for our new home purchase. The home-buying or selling process can be daunting, but their entire team was fantastic every step of the way including his assistant Fatima Cunha. From finding potential properties or potential buyers to helping me negotiate an ideal contract, they were always available and communicated how each part of the whole process would move forward. They also profoundly understood the housing market in our area, which allowed us to get an incredible deal that exceeded our expectations for selling and buying. Beyond their expertise and professionalism, the team was amicable and kind throughout my home selling and buying process. They answered all my questions with in-depth explanations, ensuring I fully understood what I was doing and why it was necessary. I can’t imagine doing this without them. I’m so glad I chose BHG Realty for my real estate process transactions. Their knowledge and experience, combined with their patient approach, made this otherwise stressful event a smooth and successful process. I highly recommend them to anyone looking for top-notch real estate services! Thank you Christian and Fatima I can’t thank you enough for everything you’ve done for us."
"If you are looking to buy or sell your home look no further. I recommend you contact Christian Cobo at BHG Elite in Cranford New Jersey. I’m incredibly pleased with their service they go above and beyond. I experienced both ends of the process one for my home sale and also for our new home purchase. The home-buying or selling process can be daunting, but their entire team was fantastic every step of the way including his assistant Fatima Cunha. From finding potential properties or potential buyers to helping me negotiate an ideal contract, they were always available and communicated how each part of the whole process would move forward. They also profoundly understood the housing market in our area, which allowed us to get an incredible deal that exceeded our expectations for selling and buying. Beyond their expertise and professionalism, the team was amicable and kind throughout my home selling and buying process. They answered all my questions with in-depth explanations, ensuring I fully understood what I was doing and why it was necessary. I can’t imagine doing this without them. I’m so glad I chose BHG Realty for my real estate process transactions. Their knowledge and experience, combined with their patient approach, made this otherwise stressful event a smooth and successful process. I highly recommend them to anyone looking for top-notch real estate services! Thank you Christian and Fatima I can’t thank you enough for everything you’ve done for us."
Elaine R.
"Our first Real Estate investment purchase was a great learning experience with Christian Cobo and his team at Better Homes and Gardens. His experience in the industry is like no other, and that is why my family and our company have purchased 5 properties with the guidance of his professional expertise. We thank you for everything you have helped us with."
"Our first Real Estate investment purchase was a great learning experience with Christian Cobo and his team at Better Homes and Gardens. His experience in the industry is like no other, and that is why my family and our company have purchased 5 properties with the guidance of his professional expertise. We thank you for everything you have helped us with."
Espejo Family
"Excelente! están preparados para cualquier eventualidad. Nos llevaron de la mano todo nuestro proceso de primera compra, ayudándonos a solucionar todas nuestras dudas. Chistian Cobo y Fatima Cunha gracias por toda su dedicación y paciencia a la hora de explicarnos cada paso hasta entregarnos nuestra llave."
"Excelente! están preparados para cualquier eventualidad. Nos llevaron de la mano todo nuestro proceso de primera compra, ayudándonos a solucionar todas nuestras dudas. Chistian Cobo y Fatima Cunha gracias por toda su dedicación y paciencia a la hora de explicarnos cada paso hasta entregarnos nuestra llave."
Herminia B.
"Christian, his team, and Fatima are amazing people not only as professionals but they really get the job done and make it free of hassle. If you need a great realtor I highly recommend and encourage you to pick them. It was a pleasure all the way. BTW this is the 2nd home with them and will stay with them in the future."
"Christian, his team, and Fatima are amazing people not only as professionals but they really get the job done and make it free of hassle. If you need a great realtor I highly recommend and encourage you to pick them. It was a pleasure all the way. BTW this is the 2nd home with them and will stay with them in the future."
Rodolfo F.

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