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.​​​​​​​

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

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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 terms, a final contract will be prepared by your agent.

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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 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.

The Pellegrinos

The Pellegrinos

Katie and Kelly were truly a joy to work with, they listed our home of 22 yrs. They were professional and so friendly, with an extraordinary attention to detail. They wanted to make everything just perfect, from the photos to t...
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JoLee V.

JoLee V.

The Katie and Kelly team was a great experience. I felt like they listened to everything we wanted from initial introductions all the way through inspection. The current slowdown in real estate is starting to show the sins of m...
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Chris W.

Chris W.

My wife and I recently worked with Katie on the purchase of a new home and sale of our old home. After sending an intro e-mail, we met for a showing within an hour. She was proactive in helping us search for, negotiate, and eve...
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Ronald N.

Ronald N.

We were introduced to Kelly through a mutual friend and our friend couldn't have given a better reference. Kelly first helped us find a rental house to get settled in Atlanta. Throughout our rental period she continue to check ...
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Karen D.

Karen D.

Thank you to Katie and Kelly for helping us through downsizing from the home we built 25 years ago into the perfect space for us. Katie and Kelly are like family! Young friends and lovely trusted experts! Their attention to det...
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Benjie S.

Benjie S.

Katie and her team sold our home for 5 years and exceeded our expectations. She’s the real deal Holyfield! Katie met with us, toured our home, saw the potential and the obstacles, and came back with a solid plan. Once we agreed...
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James W.

James W.

Katie and her team are consummate professionals dedicated to getting first-class transactions done in a first-class way. She acts as a trusted advisor; her level of market insight, her ability to listen to her client’s needs, a...
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Andrew W.

Andrew W.

Katie and Kelly were a pleasure to work with. Very honest, organized, and communicative, and really kept us on track throughout negotiations and beyond. It was clear that they had our best interest at heart and genuinely wanted...
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Nina N.

Nina N.

Kelly is an exceptional agent. Her knowledge of the market, attention to detail, and excellent communication made the selling process so smooth and easy. She helped us negotiate effectively, always prioritized our needs, and ha...
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The Wright Family

The Wright Family

In a dismal market period, the “K and K team” found the right fit for our family home sale. Their expertise and commitment from beginning to end is exemplary to the comprehensive process. We are grateful!
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The Shepherds

The Shepherds

Katie was an excellent and fun Realtor to work with on our first home purchase. She was very consultative and responsive and understood exactly what we were looking for. She offered great insight into different neighborhoods an...
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Sarah I.

Sarah I.

I am incredibly grateful for the outstanding service provided by Kelly Ruddell throughout the process of purchasing two investor homes. She patiently explained every step of the process, ensured I was well-informed and confiden...
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The Lawsons

The Lawsons

I am convinced that the reason we were able to sell our home and lock up our next house in a matter of days, is because of Katie’s expertise, her connections in the city of Atlanta, and her overall drive to make it work! We had...
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Caroline H.

Caroline H.

Katie is an absolute delight to work with in every possible way! She possesses all of the qualities one could hope for in an agent she is knowledgeable, dependable, communicative, understanding, thorough, friendly, and so much ...
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Greg B.

Greg B.

From the moment I met Katie, it was clear to me that she was the person I needed to sell my home. She was professional, service-oriented, knowledgeable, experienced, open, and honest throughout the selling (and buying) process....
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Jeff B.

Jeff B.

Katie is a phenomenal Realtor. Not only did Katie have a buyer on hand for our existing home, but also knew of our dream home that had not even hit the market yet. Katie’s knowledge, work ethic, and caring personality make her ...
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