Seller's Guide

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 agent 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.​​​​​​​

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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 real estate agent once you choose one so he or she can adjust your selling price accordingly.

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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 real estate agent is the best way to determine the right selling price for your home. An agent with experience can determine what other comparable homes are selling for, evaluate the current market, and may even suggest a home appraisal.

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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.

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Step 4: Develop a Marketing Strategy

I 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. My 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.

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Step 5: Evaluate Offers

Receiving an offer is an exciting part of the process, but it doesn’t mean the journey is over. I 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.

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Step 6: Accept an Offer

Once I deem the offer is acceptable, I 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 agent.

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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. I 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, I 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.

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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. I 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 real estate agent 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.

Testimonials

Anna B.

Anna B.

My sister and I recently bought our first investment property in Austin. Tom was highly recommended by a friend so we decided to meet with him on a weekend I was out visiting her from LA. As this was our first time delving into...
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Sam B.

Sam B.

After recently deciding to relocate from LA to Austin, a friend recommended I meet with Tom to get to know the area. With just a few days to spend in town, Tom was respectful of my time constraints and extremely efficient when ...
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Di L.

Di L.

Tom is very professional and responsive. As an out of state investor, I was able to find my ideal house and close the transaction within one month with Tom's help. He works very hard to make the entire process smooth and easy f...
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Susan K.

Susan K.

I was lucky to have worked with Tom when looking for property in Austin. He made the whole process extremely streamlined. He was very forthright with any possible issues, which made me feel like I could trust his expertise. At ...
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Misho A.

Misho A.

As a first time buyer, I had the best experience with Tom. He definitely knows what he's doing and he gets things done. He will never try to sugar you up to buy something more expensive or something that doesn't meet your needs...
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Michael C.

Michael C.

Tom made our first home buying experience an absolute pleasure! He's fun to work with and very thorough and knowledgeable. This guy knows his stuff! And he's genuine and honest. We probably weren't the easiest of first-time buy...
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Jason Y.

Jason Y.

Tom was instrumental in helping my parents find their perfect home. He was very knowledgeable of the Austin area and very responsive to emails and phone calls. It was very helpful that he's bilingual (Korean) since my parents a...
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James Y.

James Y.

Tom has a wealth of knowledge in investing and development. He fully understands all aspects of real estate investing and how to create a winning situation for his clients. During my visit in Austin, he showed me several lots a...
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Erin N.

Erin N.

Tom is patient, kind and the perfect person to have by your side when looking for a home. He is on top of his game and listens to your needs. I had a really hard time looking for a place, but Tom was right there with me. He sp...
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Hilary F.

Hilary F.

Tom is super knowledgeable about the area we wanted to purchase in (south austin) and helped us narrow down our search area. My husband was adamant about having a large yard but we didn't think we could find it north of buda. T...
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Caitlin N.

Caitlin N.

We recently sold our home in Austin and had the best experience with Jenny. She made a very daunting and emotional process, simple, easy and less stressful. Her attention to detail, transparency into the process, and organizati...
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Sarah R.

Sarah R.

Tom Kim is the man! I wanted to work with a competent agent but I ended up making a friend. Tom is amazing, his staff is incredible, and I just can't say enough positive things about my home buying experience. Thank you Tom Kim!
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Dennis S.

Dennis S.

I've been looking for a few properties in the Austin area as I am looking to relocate there soon. Tom Kim has been an amazing realtor who has helped me understand that Austin area. He's honest and straight forward. I had a coup...
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Martin K.

Martin K.

Haven't purchased the home yet, but Tom has been showing me multiple listings for an investment in the Austin area. I've been searching with him for a good 3 months and quite honestly, he's been super patient and understanding ...
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Patrick C.

Patrick C.

It's rare that I take the time to write a review - when I do, it's because I wholeheartedly believe more people need to be working with them! I was fortunate to meet Jenny at an open house when I was just starting my house sea...
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Justine M.

Justine M.

Jenny Kim, aka Realtor of the Year in our books! Words cannot express the gratitude we have for Jenny. Being first time buyers, purchasing a home was intimidating and having Jenny in our corner took a huge load of stress off. S...
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Belhassen B.

Belhassen B.

Buying my first home was new territory and pretty stressful. I am so glad I worked with Tom, I had a smooth and great experience. I am very happy with my purchase and working with him was a pleasure! I rarely write reviews, h...
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Alex M.

Alex M.

Jenny was my real estate agent for my first home purchase here in Austin. I cannot recommend her enough. She was extremely knowledgable, professional, and hardworking. It was a huge benefit that she could tap into the builder-e...
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Bae Y.

Bae Y.

I'm not from the Austin area but was interested in making some investments out of state. Tom's diligence and honesty is what really set him apart from the crowd. He wasn't pushy or in it for himself--he was truly just passionat...
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Peyton P.

Peyton P.

Working with Jenny made my first home buying experience a breeze! She's super knowledgeable about the Austin market, so professional, easy to work with, and all around an amazing person. Throughout the process she was my best a...
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Work With Us

Jenny & Tom are passionate about working with Buyers & Sellers to achieve their real estate goals. Whether you are looking for a place to call home, or ready to sell and maximize profits, the June & Co Residential group is with you every step of the way. Contact us today to start your real estate journey!

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