What is the first step to selling my house?
First off, we need to find out how much your home is worth! Typically, the amount of equity a homeowner has in their property will be the deciding factor as to whether it is a good time to sell.
What determines the value of my home?
We will look at homes similar to yours based on size, age, and style that have recently sold (we call these comparables or “comps”). In most cases, these are homes that have sold in the last 3-6 months only and located no more than 1 mile from your home. The homes that are the closest and sold most recently will hold the most weight.
Is it a good idea to price the home high to see what offers I can get?
The first two weeks your property goes on the market are the most critical so we want to put our best foot forward from the starting gate. It’s best to price your home for what we think it will appraise for. We don’t have to be overly conservative but if we price it on the highest end, we need to keep an open mind that even if we get an offer for that amount, it could appraiser lower which will cause us to go back and renegotiate.
What happens if my property doesn’t appraise for what the buyer agreed to pay?
This is not uncommon. Either, we reduce the purchase price to the appraised value or the buyer comes in with the difference between the appraised value and the purchase price. We can also try to have both parties meet somewhere in the middle. This is where good negotiating skills come into play! As your agents, we understand what to ask for and how to ask for it.
Do I have to do anything to my home before I sell it?
Maybe! This depends on the price you are asking and what your home currently looks like. We will be able to recommend the basic things you need to do to get an offer and also some optional items you can do to make your home as appealing as possible.
At minimum, it should be clean without any major red flags that could scare a buyer away such as stains on the ceiling indicating a roof leak or prior roof leak or visible insects or termites, or anything that is obviously broken or in disrepair. Many times we can get away with not doing a lot of repairs upfront and then wait to see what the buyer requests. Whatever your homes needs, we can provide pricing and coordinate all of the work whether it is before or during escrow. We can also finance any work that needs to be done and bill out of escrow so you have no out of pocket costs!
How will you market my home?
Your property will be listed on the MLS which is visible to every agent and broker in Southern California. The listing will also be aggregated to popular consumer websites such as Zillow, Trulia, Hotpads, and Realtor.com. In addition, we have investors we work with who are always looking for great properties and of course, we have thousands of renters in our portfolio who may be looking to become homeowners.
The best way to market your home is to price it competitively from the start!
Will you ask my renter if they are interested in buying?
Yes! Once we know you are interested in selling what better way to get started than to ask our existing customer who is already living in the home. We will approach the renter and go over all the details and help them get pre-qualified for a loan if they are interested in moving forward. Selling to the renter is often the fastest way to get your home sold.
Why can’t I just ask the renter myself?
Well, you can but that doesn’t mean they won’t want a professional representing them. Most people are not familiar with the home buying process and do not want to work directly with a seller, even if it means saving some money on the overall purchase price. There is a lot involved when purchasing a home and they want someone who they can continually call to ask questions without feeling the pressure of having to bother the owner or having to ask the owner directly for things such as repairs, closing costs, price reductions, etc. Many people find this awkward and unpleasant J
My renters still have a lot of time left on their lease. Can I still sell?
You can always sell your home regardless of who is living in it or what type of lease there is, the issue is who you will be selling it to. If your renters are in a lease term than the lease will run with the property, which means whoever buys it cannot move in until the lease term is complete or the renters voluntarily move out early. You can never cancel a lease for the purpose of selling a home.
Does my home have to be vacant to place on the market?
No. It definitely helps but it’s not critical. If your renters are on a month to month or their lease will expire in 30 or 60 days, we can still put it on the market and we will work with the renters to coordinate showings and inspections, etc. This is where working with us really comes into play and helps out! We already have a working relationship with the renters and are the best suited to get the renters cooperation. Often times, we will offer to place them in another property and will work with them on initial deposits, etc. in order to make the transition as smooth as possible. Typically, an outside agent will have immediate resistance in a situation like this.
This sounds good, what is the next step?
Once we do the market analysis and agree on a listing price, we will send you out a listing contract to sign giving us authority to start marketing the home and accepting offers. Because we typically already have pictures of your home and all the information, we can get it on-line very quickly.
How is Modern different than going to Century 21 or Re/Max?
TEAMWORK:
When you work with Modern, you get a whole team of people working for you…not just one single agent trying to juggle the whole transaction along with whatever else they may be dealing with.
We have a whole office who is there for you every day and it’s our goal to make sure the deal gets closed quickly and as smoothly as possible.
Believe it or not, the hardest thing for a buyer’s agent to do is get a listing agent to answer their phone or email! We don’t have that issue.
REPAIRS:
One of the biggest issues we come across when trying to close an escrow is a buyer who asks for repairs. Often times, we handle repairs internally without even having to bother the seller because we have the resources and the knowledge to get things done quickly to close the deal.
When we do have to approach the seller with repair requests, even large ones such as a new roof we are able to finance it for the seller interest free and wait to get paid out of escrow.
You will not find this type of service at a generic agent mill…trust us! An individual agent isn’t going to come out of pocket to fix your house….but we will J And this happens ALL THE TIME!
We also have the ability to get repairs done at a discount because we are the general contractors and have the sales commission to offset pricing.
EXPERIENCE + KNOWLEDGE:
Our brokers, Damien and Mia Melle have been in the Real Estate Industry for over 20 years and have completed literally thousands of transactions and are familiar with all facets of real estate and construction. This is in addition to having a whole team of people behind them coordinating all the details to provide the best service possible. We can handle any issue or problem that comes our way to get the deal closed.
CHECK OUT YOUR AWESOME TEAM HERE: http://www.modernreshop.com/meet-your-team/
IF YOU’D LIKE TO SELL, CONTACT US TODAY
OFFICE: 909.947.9931
EMAIL: hello@modernreshop.com
You can also email or call Damien or Mia directly at:
Mia@modernreshop.com | 909.851.2462
Damien@modernreshop.com | 909.214.7710