Orlando Real Estate Home Selling Process

Confused on how to sell your Orlando home? This guide will give you the knowledge you need to know when selling your Orlando Real Estate.

Get an Orlando Realtor
Set a Price for your home
Listing Agreement
Have a home inspection done on your property
Get your home ready to show
Offer a home warranty
Receiving Offers
Home Inspection
Home Appraisal
Final Walk-Thru
Closing

Get a Real Estate Agent

Deciding to sell your house is a big decision. You want to make sure that the sale of your house is handled by a professional. For most of us, your home is most likely your largest asset.  Having a professional council you through the process of selling your home and making decisions is invaluable. As a professional Realtor, Jeffrey has access to a tremendous amount of information regarding current market trends, houses in Orlando area, and the people that are most likely going to buy your house. Having a Real Estate Agent on your side also helps in the screening of potential buyers.

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Set a price on your house

The first step in setting your price should be to have a Comparative Market Analysis done on your house.  Jeffrey can provide you with a complimentary comparative analysis on your house. This report will show you sales of comparable properties in your Orlando neighborhoods have sold for in recent months. You want to make sure that you set your home price at a point that will attract buyers. Placing a high price on your home will discourage real estate agents and buyers from viewing your property. Many sellers say they can always lower their price later, this is true but you are going to get the biggest “buzz” on your property when it is first listed.  Many buyers might also think that you are becoming desperate by continuing to lower your price. Price your home too low and you might not get the full value of your home.

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Listing Agreement

Once you have chosen your Orlando Real Estate agent and have decided on a price for your house you will have to sign a Listing Agreement.

Your listing agreement will include:

1. A beginning date and a termination date.

2. The list price at which the property will be offered for sale.

3.  What personal items if any convey with the sale of the house. Personal property is anything that is not fixed to the house like Washer/ Dryer refrigerator. You may also have real property that is connected to the house like your chandelier that has been in your family for generations. Make sure that all of these items are listed on your contract.  You don’t want your sale to fall through because you did not disclose that you were going to take these items with you.

4. The amount of compensation offered to the broker, whether it is in the form of a flat fee or percentage of the sales price.

5. Authoriztion for the broker to co-operate with other brokers as sub-agents or buyer's agents and details the compensation to be offered to those brokers in the event they procure a buyer.

6. Authorizatioin for the broker to reveal or not to reveal the existence of offers previously received.

7. Authorization to the broker to post a sign, to advertise the property, and to put a lockbox on the door, as well seller's obligations to advise the broker on the condition of the property, and broker's obligations to advise the seller about regulations and laws which may affect the sale.

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Have a home inspection done on your property

Although this is not required and the home buyer will most likely have their own inspection done, it is still a good idea to have a home inspection done yourself. Having a home inspection performed will let you know ahead of time what the buyer’s home inspector may find wrong in your house. This will give you adequate time to fix any problems before the buyer has his own inspection done on the house. You do not want your buyer to walk away from your house due to a bad home inspection. The money invested in a home inspection will give you the peace of mind knowing that all should be well when the buyer has his own inspection preformed.

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Get your Home ready to show

Having great curb appeal and being prepared for buyers to see your Orlando home is critical in the selling process.  See the “preparing your home to sell” section for detailed information on how to properly get your home ready for the best possible showings.

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Offer a home warranty 

Offering a home warranty will enhance the success of selling your house and reduce the chances the buyer will encounter problems after the sale. You do not have to offer a home warranty, though it is a prudent idea to invest in one. Home protection plans, are typically paid out of escrow at the closing of your real estate transaction. They cover the cost of many repairs or replacement systems to house. Most include: water heaters, septic systems, central air and heating.

Offering a home warranty “Increases the chances of a higher selling price Up to 3% more, on average, by making it a safer investment for the buyer.” (Business Week)

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Receiving offers

When receiving offers on your house you may: Accept the offer as is, reject the offer, or make changes to the offer and send it back to the buyers. The buyer then has the option to accept your counter offer, reject it, or come back with another counter offer. The process can continue until both parties reach an agreement, or either party decides to terminate. Each offer will come with an irrevocable date, by which the other party must accept the offer.

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Home Inspection

Here we are back to the home inspection, this time the buyer will most likely be ordering the inspection. Sales contracts are typically contingent on inspection. Hopefully you followed our advice and had your house inspected earlier and fixed any issues that may have come up. After the buyer’s home inspection is complete, the buyer will let you know if the home inspection was satisfactory or of any problems that they would like fixed. If there is a major problem with the house, he/she may want to renegotiate the sale price.

In Florida most buyers will also have a termite inspection done on the house. This will check for any wood rot and any wood destroying organisms that may be present.

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Home Appraisal

Approximately 90 – 95% of all home appraisals turn out fine. On the rare occasion that your house appraises below the contract price there are four options to consider.

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Final Walk-Thru

This is the time where the buyer walks-thru the property for a final inspection. The walk-thru is typically conducted the day before or the day of the closing. The buyer will typically be checking looking at:

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Closing of the house

This is the final step in the home selling process. All parties will typically meet at the Title Company or Attorneys office to sign all paperwork including the deed, closing papers, and loan papers. The closing representative will explain all documents and then have you sign each item. After all items are signed a check is given to the seller for the proceeds on the sale and the property is conveyed to the new home owner.

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