Find a realtor who listens to your specific needs and helps advocate on your behalf. ( I would be happy to be be that person! )

Unless you are selling a property as is, this tends to be the longest part of listing a home. In order to appeal to the widest number of buyers, you will want to give them a blank slate. Removing things that make it known who lives there when you walk in. You also may need to spruce your home a bit in order to appeal to buyers.

Horray! You are ready to hit the market!

Earnest money must be deposited to fully execute the contract. This secures your position as the buyer who is moving forward with the sale and goes toward your down payment at closing.  It is generally 1% of the purchase price and is submitted no later than 72 hours from final acceptance.

Within a day or so on an offer being accepted a professional inspector will schedule a time to go into the property and identify any potential red flags, maintenance items to address. Buyer and seller have an opportunity to negotiate repair items or ask for price adjustments. If buyer and seller do not come to agreed upon terms, buyer may cancel the purchase agreement and have earnest money refunded.

This is the period of time after the inspection period when we are waiting for the appraisal. You can begin packing the rest of your personal items up. Anything you will not need in the next 3 weeks can be packed and removed from the property. During this time the bank will verifying the buyer's loan approval. It is crucial that the documents requested are delivered promptly to stay on schedule with your closing date!

The lender should have all of the necessary forms to complete your approval for the loan. Having an acceptable appraisal is the last piece before a loan can go to underwriting. This is where the lender will send all the collected information off to a team of underwriters who will scrutinize the loans ability to close. Sometimes a loan will get sent back to the lender and they will ask for supplemental information. Once the underwriters approve your loan, you are officially clear to close!

A day or two before closing you will arrange with your realtor a showing to check out the house one final time to make sure everything is still what you expect. Be sure all of your utilities have been transferred over to your name, pick up your casheirs check and get ready for closing!

Discuss the best way to stage your home with your professional real estate agent and determine a realistic timeline. Perhaps you want to sell at top dollar, or perhaps you need to sell quickly. All of these determine the next piece to the puzzle, and a real estate professional will help you set realistic expectations for yourself and the upcoming steps.

Clean, clean clean! you want your home to sparkle in the photos. Be sure all lights are fixed, blinds are open and clutter is removed from sight to show your home in the best light possible!

Potential buyers will begin scheduling showings with their representing realtor. Discuss with your realtor if there are any limitations to allowing people to visit your home.

Earnest money must be deposited to fully execute the contract. This secures the buyers position as the party who is moving forward with the sale. Must be submitted no later than 72 hours from final acceptance.

If the property inspector discovers a serious underlying issue, the buyer reserves the right to back out of the deal, or negotiate repairs if they are not comfortable with the results. Buyer and seller have an opportunity to negotiate repair items or ask for price reductions. If buyer and seller do not come to agreed upon terms, buyer may cancel the purchase agreement and have earnest money refunded.

The bank will issue the appraisal immediately upon receipt of an executed purchase agreement. The appraisal takes about 2-3 weeks to schedule and perform. Appraisers who are quick may have an appraisal returned to your lender within 3 business days, however many take up to 10. Remember, an appraised value is an objective value of the property. The bank will not lend more than the appraised value, so if there is variance in the appraised value and purchase price, a few things can happen. Both buyer and seller will need to come to an agreement on price. Either the buyer agrees to make up all or some of the difference in additional down-payment funds at closing, or the seller agrees to drop the price to the appraised value. If buyer and seller do not come to an agreement, the purchase agreement may cancel however and earnest money will be delivered to either party depending on the previously agreed terms.

Once the underwriters approve your loan, you are officially clear to close! Make sure to sign your closing disclosure within 3 days of closing!

Bring your cashiers check and sign on the dotted line! The home is yours! Time to move in!