Leave a Message

Thank you for your message. We will be in touch with you shortly.

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 team of real estate agents 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.

main

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 team of real estate agents once you choose one so they can adjust your selling price accordingly.

main

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

main

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.

main

Step 4: Develop a Marketing Strategy

We 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. Our 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.

main

Step 5: Evaluate Offers

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

main

Step 6: Accept an Offer

Once we deem the offer is acceptable, we 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 team of real estate agents.

main

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. We 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, we 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.

main

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. We 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 team of real estate agents 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.

Corrine A.
Theresa C.
Douglas B.
Elwood Henry L.
Uschi E.
Harold Dean M.
John P. A.
Ezra J. and Morgan K.
Carol A. B.
Chris K.
Theresa C.
Robert A. R.
Noreen L. R.
Barbara H.
Barbara H.
Andrew R. G.
Allison Christina H. L.
Michael J. F.
Irina S.
Elizabeth Kay R.
WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

We had a lot of challenges and James kept his cool and took care of them immediately. We appreciate all of it! Happy with the price and the process. Thanks!

— Corrine A.

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

We have been extraordinarily pleased with the respect understanding attention to details and enthusiasm of our agents James Congdon and John Congdon. They kept us informed and assisted us directly in preparing the property to meet requirements. Excellent communications. We look forward to doing more business with them.

— Theresa C.

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

John and James Congdon are the best! They go the extra yard and it really shows!

— Douglas B.

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

James and John Congdon are wonderful, hard-working, and knowledgeable. They were great to work with and walked me through everything step by step. Highly recommended! Thank you gentlemen!

— Elwood Henry L.

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

It took a few years to find the right buyers. But James, you did it! Thank you!

— Uschi E.

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

James and John were very helpful and professional in assisting me with the sale of my house. I am very grateful.

— Harold Dean M.

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

Through COVID through forest fires family loss and other delays we finally sold and closed on the land after two years with the valiente efforts of the Congdon team finding solutions to hurdles here and there. Very persistent with a winner's attitude. Thank you!

— John P. A.

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

James and John Cogdon are some of the best realtors I've ever worked with. They made the transaction smooth and went above and beyond the expectation of tasks in order to get our cabin sold. Worth their weight in gold.

— Ezra J. and Morgan K.

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

Both James and John worked hard to accomplish the sale of my house. They were knowledgeable and gave good advice. They communicated with me frequently and kept me up to date on the process. They made a difficult transition fairly easily.

— Carol A. B.

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

Friendly and professional experience. I highly recommend their services!

— Chris K.

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

The Congdons are an exceptional real estate team. They are always responsive to concerns excellent negotiators in difficult situations helpful in suggesting resolutions and timely with documenation. Very knowledgeable of marketplace. Highly recommended.

— Theresa C.

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

Never done this before experienced a pretty smooth sale I would just suggest more attention to detail some matters caused a little anxiety. But satisfied enough to give a high rating.

— Robert A. R.

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

We would highly recommend John Congdon to sellers and buyers. This was our first experience with selling property and if we had to do it again we would contact John.

— Noreen L. R.

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

John and James Congdon were the best choice I could have made for guiding me through the process of selling my house. They were personable attentive and efficient throughout and I'm grateful to have had the chance to work with them.

— Barbara H.

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

I was very happy to have worked with James and John Congdon who couldn't have been more efficient friendly and accommodating in a process that could have been very stressful and was not thanks to their skill and expertise.

— Barbara H.

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

John helped us find our dream home in record time. When our timeline was expedited John seamlessly coordinated with the sellers and their agent to ensure all inspections and necessary tasks happened. He kept us informed and went above and beyond to make the transition smooth for all parties. John is incredibly hardworking friendly and dedicated to giving his clients the best experience possible. He made ...

— Andrew R. G.

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

John and James Congdon did an outstanding job for us selling our family home and then helping me find a new spot. Personal attention to detail good reminders and always willing to lend a hand to get it done.Especially crucial when you are out of state. They were very knowledgeable courteous to our time and always on top of everything with much gratitude.

— Allison Christina H. L.

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

John was prompt and through selling my property. Very good experience!

— Michael J. F.

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

I'd recommend John to every prospective home buyer. He has always been very professional, attentive to his clients' needs, and went above and beyond his duties. John helped us to buy two properties, and if we need any realtor services in the future, we will only choose him! We were very lucky to have John as our broker.

— Irina S.

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

James and John Congdon are thoroughly knowledgeable and helpful with the real estate process. They listened carefully to my interests and concerns. I certainly felt like I was in the best of hands for this adventure.

— Elizabeth Kay R.

How Much is Your Home Worth?

  • INSTANT PROPERTY VALUATION
  • EXPERT ADVICE
  • SELL FOR MORE

Let’s Make Your Next Move a Success

Whether you're buying your dream home, selling a cherished property, or exploring investment opportunities, Congdon Real Estate is here to guide you every step of the way. Reach out today and discover what personalized representation looks like.