Leave a Message

Thank you for your message. We will be in touch with you shortly.

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.

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 team of real estate agents once you choose one so they 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 team of real estate agent is the best way to determine the right selling price for your home. A team of real estate 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

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.

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 team of real estate agents.

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. 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.

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 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.

Vitya B
Nick C.
Moshe L
Staton M.
Caroline M
Christian B.
Emily D.
Rhett O.
Shannon T.
Suchi K.
Amanda K.
Chuckie O.
WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

I recently had the pleasure of working with Kelsey Easton as my realtor in the competitive Austin housing market, and I couldn't be more impressed with the outstanding service she provided throughout the entire process. From our initial meeting to the closing of my first home purchase, Kelsey demonstrated a remarkable ability to strike the perfect balance between professionalism and personalized attentio...

— Vitya B

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

Kelsey Easton is an incredibly talented realtor who, as a native Austinite, not only knows every nook and cranny of the city, but can educate clients on lifestyle neighborhoods, school districts, traffic spots, etc. - invaluable knowledge for the many people moving into Austin. Kelsey also has an amazing eye for detail and truly cares about her clients. While showing me a home I loved, she went over ever...

— Nick C.

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

Relocating from the East Coast to Austin could have been an overwhelming experience, but working with Kelsey Easton as my realtor made it incredibly easy! As a newcomer to Austin, I was initially at a loss about where to even begin my home search. Kelsey, who was born and raised in Austin, was incredibly patient and informative. She knows the city and the market inside out! Kelsey took the time to educa...

— Moshe L

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

I recently used Kelsey Easton to sell my current home in Austin and buy another home in Austin. First off, The listing that Kelsey put together was phenomenal. The way the home was staged was grade "A" work. Definitely one of the best-staged homes I have ever seen. I was in a bit of a time crunch after selling, but Kelsey managed to get me under contract the first weekend we went looking at homes. The ne...

— Staton M.

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

Kelsey gave my husband and I an amazing experience from start to finish! Being a first time home buyer can be daunting, but Kelsey was professional, responsive, and extremely knowledgeable about the process and the Austin area. We are grateful for the smooth experience and will absolutely be using Kelsey for our real estate needs in the future!

— Caroline M

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

Kelsey was awesome in helping me find the perfect home in Austin! I flew down to Austin from Seattle over Memorial Day weekend and only had 1 day to view properties. Kelsey lined up 10 properties for me to see and drove me all around Austin to check out the neighborhoods and get a feel for the city. She was incredibly knowledgeable about the different areas of the city. When we got to each property, Kels...

— Christian B.

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

We couldn’t have asked for a better realtor, especially in such a crazy market! Kelsey was always on top of it, quick to respond, answered my million questions, and eased my nerves throughout our home search. She always had our best interest in mind and was always transparent with us about what to expect. She’s professional, sweet, timely, and really gets to know you on a personal level. Could not recomm...

— Emily D.

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

As a first time homebuyer who was very nervous about the buying process, I could not be happier with working with Kelsey. She was super communicative and on top of things throughout the entire process. At one point I stopped by the house before officially closing and had a concern, texted her about it, and she had already brought it up to the builder days before. Kelsey made me feel really confident in m...

— Rhett O.

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

Kelsey made our first home buying process go super smoothly! She helped us secure our dream home in a super competitive market. As a first time home buyer, my partner and I had many questions! She was always responsive and very reliable. I highly recommend using Kelsey as your realtor.

— Shannon T.

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

Kelsey is amazing! She met up with me in person twice a week for almost three months to look at houses. She offered really good advice on location and protected me when the offer price was above the appraisal value. I will use her again in the future and I highly recommend her as a realtor.

— Suchi K.

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

If you are looking for a knowledgeable, personable realtor who cares about your wants and needs, call Kelsey! Kelsey helped us find our dream home and gave us insight and knowledge on how the whole housing market works here in Austin, Texas. We will forever be grateful for the knowledge she gave us+ we have a great new friend! Go Kelsey!

— Amanda K.

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

Kelsey is such a fantastic realtor and such a pleasure to work with. Working with her was stress-free. She is extremely responsive. She also did a wonderful job and provided good advice. In addition, she was a huge help in assisting me to close on my place, which I love.

— Chuckie O.

How Much is Your Home Worth?

  • Instant property valuation
  • Expert advice
  • Sell for more

Work With Us

Etiam non quam lacus suspendisse faucibus interdum. Orci ac auctor augue mauris augue neque. Bibendum at varius vel pharetra. Viverra orci sagittis eu volutpat.