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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 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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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.

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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 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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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

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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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.

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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.

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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. 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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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.

See What Our Clients Say

Testimonials

"Jen went above and beyond trying to find us the right home! She drove more than an hour and a half every time for our viewings and was very helpful in answering all of our questions. Thank you Jen for finding us a home quickly and for helping us get out of hotel living. Highly recommended and she is super friendly and kind."
"Jen went above and beyond trying to find us the right home! She drove more than an hour and a half every time for our viewings and was very helpful in answering all of our questions. Thank you Jen for finding us a home quickly and for helping us get out of hotel living. Highly recommended and she is super friendly and kind."
Pierina M.
"If you’re looking for a “10” realtor, then look no further than Jordona Hertz! You will not be disappointed and will be glad you chose to have her represent you in your real estate transaction. Jordona not only found a perfect home for us when we decided to move to Temecula but later sold it when it was time to move again. She is efficient, and professional, and keeps current on both the market trends and real estate law. She promptly answered our questions kept us updated and informed us every step of the way. I would highly recommend her to anyone looking for a realtor, as she is not only a pleasure to work with, but an excellent negotiator who will represent you well. My husband and I couldn’t be more pleased with Jordona and her team. They always went the extra mile!"
"If you’re looking for a “10” realtor, then look no further than Jordona Hertz! You will not be disappointed and will be glad you chose to have her represent you in your real estate transaction. Jordona not only found a perfect home for us when we decided to move to Temecula but later sold it when it was time to move again. She is efficient, and professional, and keeps current on both the market trends and real estate law. She promptly answered our questions kept us updated and informed us every step of the way. I would highly recommend her to anyone looking for a realtor, as she is not only a pleasure to work with, but an excellent negotiator who will represent you well. My husband and I couldn’t be more pleased with Jordona and her team. They always went the extra mile!"
Burchell N.
"Jordana and her entire team made the process easy and worry-free. My questions were always answered promptly, my concerns were addressed professionally, and my expectations were exceeded! Jordana is knowledgeable, kind, generous, thoughtful, and a joy to work with. The other members of her team are the same. If you want the best realtor around, Jordana and the Hertz group are the ones to choose!"
"Jordana and her entire team made the process easy and worry-free. My questions were always answered promptly, my concerns were addressed professionally, and my expectations were exceeded! Jordana is knowledgeable, kind, generous, thoughtful, and a joy to work with. The other members of her team are the same. If you want the best realtor around, Jordana and the Hertz group are the ones to choose!"
Kera W.
"Jordona is an excellent realtor! Her entire team was dedicated to ensuring our escrow process went smoothly. We put Jordona up to nearly impossible tasks and she quickly delivered! We recently recommended friends and she delivered far above and beyond their expectations as well. Overall very satisfied with our experience."
"Jordona is an excellent realtor! Her entire team was dedicated to ensuring our escrow process went smoothly. We put Jordona up to nearly impossible tasks and she quickly delivered! We recently recommended friends and she delivered far above and beyond their expectations as well. Overall very satisfied with our experience."
Fernando D.
"Jordona is simply amazing. She was our buying agent 7 years ago. When the time came to sell our home we knew she would be the right choice again. Jordona was able to help us navigate the difficulties of a changing market with ease. We needed a quick sale on a house in the country. Once she found a buyer, she provided invaluable advice and analysis every step of the way. She has rock-solid intuition. Pairing that intuition with her knowledge and experience provided us with a seamless sale on the timeline we needed. Selling a house is never easy unless you're listing with Jordona."
"Jordona is simply amazing. She was our buying agent 7 years ago. When the time came to sell our home we knew she would be the right choice again. Jordona was able to help us navigate the difficulties of a changing market with ease. We needed a quick sale on a house in the country. Once she found a buyer, she provided invaluable advice and analysis every step of the way. She has rock-solid intuition. Pairing that intuition with her knowledge and experience provided us with a seamless sale on the timeline we needed. Selling a house is never easy unless you're listing with Jordona."
Chris L.
"My husband and I trusted Jordona with our house sale at a busy time in our lives and we could not be more grateful for her service. When we first reached out to her, we wanted to move quickly but we were also going on a 2 week vacation to Sicily in less than a week. Without skipping a beat, she assured us that she and her team could handle everything on their end and all we had to do was say yes when the right offer came in. Sure enough, we were halfway through our vacation when we got our dream offer and we were able to sign and finalize everything without missing a beat of our vacation. Her organized team was always available and helped make all the small decisions and questions easy to clear up. She works well with the other agents to ensure a smooth closing even when small surprises come up, as they always do. Do yourself a service and hire Jordona and her team for your next home sale and purchase."
"My husband and I trusted Jordona with our house sale at a busy time in our lives and we could not be more grateful for her service. When we first reached out to her, we wanted to move quickly but we were also going on a 2 week vacation to Sicily in less than a week. Without skipping a beat, she assured us that she and her team could handle everything on their end and all we had to do was say yes when the right offer came in. Sure enough, we were halfway through our vacation when we got our dream offer and we were able to sign and finalize everything without missing a beat of our vacation. Her organized team was always available and helped make all the small decisions and questions easy to clear up. She works well with the other agents to ensure a smooth closing even when small surprises come up, as they always do. Do yourself a service and hire Jordona and her team for your next home sale and purchase."
Miranda
"We would highly recommend Jordona and her team! From the beginning when we started interviewing realtors to assist with the sale of our home, she stood out immediately. She came prepared and blew the others out of the water with her professionalism and preparedness. Immediately after choosing her and The Hertz Group, she introduced her team which immediately set us up with a carpet cleaner and stager (highly recommend). Throughout the process, she was very attentive to our questions and was always available when needed. Our buyers were very difficult and had many issues arise and Jordona made sure we were taken care of and compensated for the time and trouble they put us through. We are so glad we chose her and The Hertz Group to represent us and we would highly recommend them to everyone!"
"We would highly recommend Jordona and her team! From the beginning when we started interviewing realtors to assist with the sale of our home, she stood out immediately. She came prepared and blew the others out of the water with her professionalism and preparedness. Immediately after choosing her and The Hertz Group, she introduced her team which immediately set us up with a carpet cleaner and stager (highly recommend). Throughout the process, she was very attentive to our questions and was always available when needed. Our buyers were very difficult and had many issues arise and Jordona made sure we were taken care of and compensated for the time and trouble they put us through. We are so glad we chose her and The Hertz Group to represent us and we would highly recommend them to everyone!"
Randy C.
"Let me start off by saying that this was my very first time selling a home and I was a bit nervous about where to start and who to go with. But then I came across Jordona and her team and they are phenomenal. Excellent service, very helpful throughout the process which put my mind at ease, and communication was great. Jordona gave me pointers beforehand, I listened and she delivered. Did I also mention that she has people who'll help from staging, painters, handymen, window cleaning, carpeting, and more? You can not go wrong with choosing her and her team. You can relax knowing that you're in good hands. I would 110% recommend her services as a realtor. Thanks again Jordona!"
"Let me start off by saying that this was my very first time selling a home and I was a bit nervous about where to start and who to go with. But then I came across Jordona and her team and they are phenomenal. Excellent service, very helpful throughout the process which put my mind at ease, and communication was great. Jordona gave me pointers beforehand, I listened and she delivered. Did I also mention that she has people who'll help from staging, painters, handymen, window cleaning, carpeting, and more? You can not go wrong with choosing her and her team. You can relax knowing that you're in good hands. I would 110% recommend her services as a realtor. Thanks again Jordona!"
Alexander T.
"Jordona is amazing! From start to finish she was on top of every little thing. From our first meeting, she was able to direct our steps and make us feel comfortable with the path ahead. Everything literally went as planned; on the market less than a week and went for $10k over asking. Do whatever she tells you to do because she knows what she’s doing! I would recommend to anyone looking to buy or sell. This is the team to have in your corner!"
"Jordona is amazing! From start to finish she was on top of every little thing. From our first meeting, she was able to direct our steps and make us feel comfortable with the path ahead. Everything literally went as planned; on the market less than a week and went for $10k over asking. Do whatever she tells you to do because she knows what she’s doing! I would recommend to anyone looking to buy or sell. This is the team to have in your corner!"
Joshnine G.
"I can say with confidence that working with Jordona and her team was one of the best decisions we’ve ever made. We were on a tight timeline to sell our house and move overseas and Jordona held our hands and confidently led us through the process. Not only did we go into escrow within days of being on the market we also sold for way over our asking price. Jordona is not only kind and professional but she is truly competitive and she takes every listing that comes her way as a unique challenge. If you want white-glove service this is where you can have it in spades. We truly felt like celebrities. Every single thing that we needed done before going on the market her team coordinated with other professionals, making appointments for us and having the work finished in a timely manner. It was like we had personal assistants! I should mention that everyone they work with from stagers to handymen to cleaners is all incredibly affordable. Some will even let you pay them at the end of escrow. Moving is so stressful and challenging but we really made it easy on ourselves by hiring Jordona. There is a reason that she is ranked number one. Customer service these days is lacking overall but the integrity and work ethic you will experience with her team is unmatched. There is no such thing as cutting corners, they go over and above time and time again."
"I can say with confidence that working with Jordona and her team was one of the best decisions we’ve ever made. We were on a tight timeline to sell our house and move overseas and Jordona held our hands and confidently led us through the process. Not only did we go into escrow within days of being on the market we also sold for way over our asking price. Jordona is not only kind and professional but she is truly competitive and she takes every listing that comes her way as a unique challenge. If you want white-glove service this is where you can have it in spades. We truly felt like celebrities. Every single thing that we needed done before going on the market her team coordinated with other professionals, making appointments for us and having the work finished in a timely manner. It was like we had personal assistants! I should mention that everyone they work with from stagers to handymen to cleaners is all incredibly affordable. Some will even let you pay them at the end of escrow. Moving is so stressful and challenging but we really made it easy on ourselves by hiring Jordona. There is a reason that she is ranked number one. Customer service these days is lacking overall but the integrity and work ethic you will experience with her team is unmatched. There is no such thing as cutting corners, they go over and above time and time again."
Lauren L.

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