Seller's

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.​​​​​​​

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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.

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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 agents is the best way to determine the right selling price for your home. A team of real estate agents 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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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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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

Our Testimonials

See why our clients love working with us.
Liz G.

Liz G.

Joining The Edrington Team has truly catapulted my real estate career to new heights. The support, training, and culture of collaboration have given me the tools and confidence to thrive in this industry. From leadership to fel...
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Brandy L.

Brandy L.

Working with the Edrington Team has been an incredible experience. The support, collaboration, and resources available make it the perfect place to grow as an agent. I love being part of a team that values professionalism, inte...
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Chelsea C.

Chelsea C.

I am so grateful to be a part of this wonderful team. It’s not every day that you find 30+ people who all value accountability, growth, and excellence. Having leaders in your life who push you to be your best and provide the be...
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Dennis T.

Dennis T.

Becoming a realtor can be rewarding and challenging, yet having the tools and the foundation to gain those due rewards and successfully face challenges is key! With a great team environment and a drive to succeed, I was able to...
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Jarrod T.

Jarrod T.

After 23 years in the restaurant industry—17 of those as an Executive Chef—I learned the value of hard work, discipline, and delivering exceptional service. Transitioning into real estate was a big leap, but I quickly realized ...
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Kelsie H.

Kelsie H.

Malinda Cardel has been amazing with answering questions regarding residential real estate!! My family and I moved to Hamilton County in April 2023, and although we haven’t bought a home yet, Malinda has been an amazing resourc...
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Matt G.

Matt G.

Liz is incredibly patient and thorough when helping us choose a house and get our house ready to sell. She listened to each of the people in our family to make sure she understood what each of us wanted, and made time to show u...
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Tod V.

Tod V.

Malinda was great to work with. Always available even when out of town for training she responded to my text quickly. She was able to get a team member to meet my urgent need while she was away. Will definitely get her help wit...
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Rose T.

Rose T.

Courtney is amazing! She helped me research some property which helped me with my decision. She is professional, conscience, and timely (and she seems very caring). Highly recommend her.
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Thanh L.

Thanh L.

Malinda is a really nice and friendly person.
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Toni B.

Toni B.

Liz went above and beyond helping us find our forever home!
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Alan H.

Alan H.

Tony is a tremendous communicator and very trustworthy. I highly recommend him for your next real estate transaction. This is our 2nd transaction with Tony, and we are very pleased.
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Graham S.

Graham S.

Dennis was great!
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Roshan G.

Roshan G.

Tony Britton was absolutely amazing in helping us find our first home! As first-time buyers, the whole process felt overwhelming at times, but Tony was incredibly patient with us from the very beginning. He took the time to ans...
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Kylee M.

Kylee M.

We can't thank Tony enough for putting up with us! We came into town last minute on a mission to find a house, and he graciously let us drag him all over the county. Tony's knowledge of the area, schools, and neighborhoods was ...
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Kelsey K.

Kelsey K.

My husband and I purchased a home from out of state and our agent, Paris Davis, was 10/10 outstanding! We’re so grateful to have found an agent who went above and beyond in every way, which made the process not only seamless bu...
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Kellie L.

Kellie L.

Dennis Tate is extremely knowledgeable of the city. He and the Edrington team are instrumental in getting me to my goals of purchasing property. I appreciate his forward thinking, extensive research, and flexibility. He is a jo...
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Stephanie T.

Stephanie T.

Dennis Tate and the Edrington Team were extremely helpful in helping a valued referral find a home. The referral spoke highly of Dennis's patience, knowledge, and ability to answer her questions. She advised he was easy to talk...
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Shay S.

Shay S.

Chelsea at the Edrington team is one of the most devoted and hardworking people I know! As well as just a great person all around.
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Megan G.

Megan G.

Chelsea Cagle with The Edrington Team is hands down the best Real Estate agent I have ever worked with, and I can't say enough good things about her. She's incredibly hardworking, always polite, and goes above and beyond to mak...
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