Selling a Home

Selling a prized and very valuable asset is not something to be undertaken lightly.

Consider:

If taken seriously ill, would you treat yourself instead of consulting a doctor? Similarly, if involved in a complex legal dispute, would you choose self-representation before a judge or would you obtain expert, professional, skilled advice and representation to maximize the chances of a successful outcome?

Yes, it is possible to sell a home yourself, granted that one possesses the necessary patience, market knowledge, negotiating skills and marketing ability. However, if you do not possess these skills, wouldn’t you be better advised to select an experienced Realtor® to handle the sale?

So, what is involved? Moreover, what does the Realtor® do?

Market Analysis

This is the first task, to determine what the home is worth in current market conditions. A Realtor® will do this by preparing a Comparative Market Analysis (CMA). The CMA analyzes the subdivision or locality in which the home is located. It will consider current listings, homes presently under contract (not yet sold) and, most importantly, sales of similar properties during the previous 6 months. Should the home have special or unique features, these will be taken into account.

Florida Ideal Realty will be pleased, on request, to provide anyone with a free complimentary computer generated Market Analysis in PDF format with no commitment required.

Please bear in mind, Realtors® do not set market values. Rather, they use professional skills and resources to identify what the market determines the realistic selling price of a particular home to be.

There is no advantage in over-estimating the value of a home, particularly in a tight market. Bottom line; unless a home is realistically priced, it just will not sell.

A high quality Realtor® can also provide cost-effective ideas to prepare a home for sale and improve its chances of selling for top market value.

In selecting a Realtor® to handle a sale of a property, important criteria to consider would include the Realtor'sin depth market knowledge, proven track record in listing and selling similar homes in similar neighborhoods, and whether or not they have an effective marketing strategy.

Marketing a Home

In additional to the usual marketing approaches such as For Sale signs, full-color information brochures, and regular open houses, the two most effective tools employed are the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) and the Internet.

The primary mechanism for selling real estate in Central Florida is the Multiple Listing Service. A listing company will enter the home details into the MLS online computer system, which is referenced by nearly every Real Estate company when identifying homes fitting the requirements of their prospective buyers. Statistically, it is most likely that another Real Estate company will bring the buyer to the transaction, in which case the seller’s commission is split between the listing company and the selling company. This is how Florida Ideal Realty and the vast majority of Central Florida Real Estate companies operate.

A small minority of Real Estate companies are not members of the MLS and do not market homes For Sale throughout the real estate community. These companies ofter offer a slighlty lower rate of commission to the seller, and only do so because they will try to represent the buyer as well as the seller and there is no need for them to share the commission. While, on paper, this appears to save the seller a small amount of money, the seller must remember that the home is not being widely marketed, and prospects are limited. This often results in the property not being able to achieve the highest possible selling price. Moreover, the seller is entirely dependent upon the listing company bringing the buyer rather than one of the several thousand other real estate agents active in the local market.

The second most important marketing tool is online advertising accessed via web sites operated by the listing company and their individual agent web sites. 80% of today’s buyers utilize the Internet for initial home searches. The Florida Ideal Realty web site is being purpose-built to showcase our company listings to their best advantage. In addition, steps are being taken to ensure that the Florida Ideal Realty web site will turn up at the top of the result pages for the main search engines in the US and abroad.

Other services are also required to ensure a successful sale. The listing company will install a state of the art lock box at no charge; pre-qualify potential buyers; liaise with management companies to arrange convenient showing times for vacation homes; follow-up with sales associates who have shown the home; provide home warranty information and, as desired, provide the seller with regular progress reports and present and discuss all offers received.

Negotiation & Contractual Considerations

Once an offer by a buyer has been received, it must then be presented to the seller. Usually, the offer is in the form of a written contract although verbal offers are also made on occasion.

A seller’s Realtor® will negotiate the offer on the seller’s behalf, following close consultation with the seller every step of the way. Once the contract has been finalized and signed by all parties, the role of the Realtor® is to confirm that all contingencies contained in the sales contract are completed prior to closing. Typical tasks arising from these contingencies might include confirmation of receipt of buyer’s earnest deposit; timely completion by buyer of all home inspections, agreement of repairs to be made by the seller and monitoring the completion of those repairs; timely achievement by buyer of their mortgage loan approval (unless it is a cash purchase) and liaison with the title company handling the closing.

Finally, a Realtor® will accompany the seller to closing, or completion, unless the closing is being handled by mail/FedEx.

Closing Costs

It is important to be aware of the typical closing costs due when the sale is completed. These include title insurance; Florida state doc stamps on the deed; the sales commission; the cost of agreed repairs; title company closing fees; mortgage redemption and pro-rated property taxes.

Florida Ideal Realty will always include an estimate of anticipated closing costs when completing a CMA for a prospective seller.

If not a US citizen or “legally resident alien”, then the seller also needs to be aware of IRS withholding requirements. Unless the sales price is below $300,000 and the buyer intends to use the home as their primary residence, the IRS requires 10% of the selling price to be withheld temporarily, pending the completion of the seller’s income tax assessment for the year in which the sale occurs. However, it is not necessary to wait until the end of the tax year to address this. Usually, the seller’s US accountant will arrange for the title company-closing agent to put the 10% withholding into an escrow account and a submission is made to the IRS for the return of the funds. This can take up to several months.

Finally, it is recommended that sellers consult their US financial advisors to consider the possible impact of capital gains taxes on the proceeds of the sale.

Next Step

Thinking about placing your home on the market? Please, feel free to reach us anytime. Give us the opportunity to earn your business.

It will be the best decision you can make…