With news stories heralding the return of the “seller’s market,” more homeowners are considering listing their homes for sale. I thought this would be an opportune time to share answers to frequently asked questions about selling a home.
How do I decide what price to list my home?
Your realtor will conduct a comparable market analysis to determine an appropriate price. This should be based on recently sold homes that are of the similar style, age, condition, size, and location to yours. The realtor will also want to consider what homes will “compete” with yours and how swiftly homes are selling in your area.
You can also hire an appraiser to conduct an independent home appraisal that will include their opinion on the home’s value. This usually costs a few hundred dollars, depending on the size and complexity of the property.
Zillow shows my home as being worth less than I believe it is really worth. What should I do?
Sites like Zillow allow you to submit a form to alert them if there is information that they missed about your home. However, I do think most informed home buyers know that sites like this are not the most ideal source for determining the precise home value. Sites like this rely heavily on public records, which are often rife with errors, and they don’t always reflect recent home updates or the differences in home values from neighborhood to neighborhood. According to Zillow’s own site, they’re home valuation “is not an appraisal. It is a starting point to determine a home’s value”.
What is the best way to find a realtor?
I would solicit recommendations from friends, family, colleagues, or neighbors. You might also ask others such as a lender or real estate attorney for advice since they tend to work with a lot of different realtors.
What do you think are the most important questions to ask when interviewing a realtor?
I would want to know not just what types of marketing activities they are going to undertake to sell your home, but what their strategy is for selling your home. After all, selling a home involves more than simply listing it in the MLS (Multiple Listing Service) and putting up a yard sign. For example: What will the realtor do to help ensure that your home shows at its best? Do they have a home stager and a professional photographer to help showcase your home? Who do they think your home will appeal to the most? What marketing activities will they invest in to reach those buyers?
Do I need to choose an in-town realtor?
Not necessarily. It is important that the realtor knows your town well and is able to highlight what is special about it, but it’s also crucial that they are savvy about marketing your home to a worldwide audience as well. With so many newcomers moving to the Boston suburbs from outside the state and outside the country, it’s important to hire a realtor who is adept at reaching these potential buyers.
What are the costs of selling my home?
Typical home selling costs include the real estate commission (5-6 percent of the sale price), attorney fees (vary from around $500-800, depending on the complexity of the transaction), and real estate transfer taxes ($4.56 per thousand dollars in most Massachusetts counties).
If your home has a private septic system, you’ll also need to obtain a title V certificate validating that the septic system is in working order. This usually costs around $400-500, depending on the work involved to check the system. Additionally, you’ll need to obtain a certificate from the fire department verifying that you have the proper number of CO detectors installed and that your smoke detectors are in working order. Most fire departments only charge a nominal fee (about $20-30) for the certificate. However, many homes require the installation of new smoke detectors to comply with the latest fire codes, which were updated in 2010.
What are the steps involved in selling my home?
Once you receive an offer, your realtor will call you to review the offer terms. There may be some negotiating back and forth with the potential buyer. Once you agree on the price and other terms, you’ll sign the offer to purchase agreement. The home buyer will then conduct a home inspection, usually within 7-10 days. Often they will ask for some home repairs or a price credit if the inspection uncovers issues that they were not aware of. Typically the home inspection will also include a radon inspection to determine if the level of radon gas coming into the home is within safe levels, as determined by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection. If the radon levels are too high, the buyers will most likely ask that you cover the cost to install a radon remediation system (around $1,000-1,500). If you have a private well, they will usually conduct a water quality and quantity test as part of the home inspection.
Once you and the buyer have settled the inspection issues, your attorney will draft a purchase and sale agreement for the buyer’s attorney to review. It’s not uncommon for it to take a few days for the attorneys to agree upon the final language in the purchase and sale agreement. Once the purchase and sale agreement is finalized, the buyers will sign it. Usually at that point they will provide an additional deposit (typically 5 percent of the home purchase price), which is held in escrow by your realtor’s office or by one of the attorneys. You will then sign the purchase and sale agreement.
At that point, if the buyer is getting a loan on the home, their lender will send an appraiser to visit your home and conduct an appraisal to determine its value. This is one of the last steps before they issue a mortgage commitment letter verifying that they will approve the loan.
On the day of the closing, the buyers will do a walkthrough of the home to verify that there has been no damage and that all of your personal belongings have been removed. They will then go to the closing. You may attend the closing or you may choose to have your attorney handle this for you. Once you and the buyer sign all the necessary paperwork for the closing, the papers will be recorded at the local registry of deeds. Once the deed is recorded, the buyers will be given the keys to the home.
How long will it take to get my home on the market?
It depends on whether your home needs work (i.e., repairs, updates, home staging, etc.) to prepare it for sale. If the home is already in great condition and ready to show, it should only take your realtor a few days to get it ready to put on the market. This includes taking professional photography, preparing marketing materials, entering it into the MLS, promoting it to a wide range of websites, creating an individual property website, distributing open house invitations, and more.
Reprinted from my MetroWest Daily News column in Metrowest Homes, a real estate resource for residents of Dover, Holliston, Hopkinton, Sherborn, Southborough, Sudbury, Wayland, Westborough, Weston & beyond.
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