A Checklist for Selling a House
(A continuation of How
to Sell a House)
By Steve Gillman - 2005
The last four sections of our checklist for selling a house
are below. I hope you enjoyed the book and found enough useful
information in it.
Showing Your Home
____Let the agent do it if you have one.
____Introduce yourself, smile, welcome the buyer in.
____Ask her what she would like to see first.
____Ask her what she is looking for and what is important
to her.
____Bring up the best points about the home according to what
she values.
____Ask when she wants to move by.
____Show her every part of the home.
____Make a mental note every time she raises some concern.
____Don't argue anything, but try to find a way to give her
what she wants.
____Answer all her questions honestly and openly.
____Let her accidentally see your note to yourself about another
possible buyer.
____Ask her if she is interested in your home.
____Give her copies of any relevant information you have.
____Ask her when she will be making a decision.
____
The Offer (This becomes the purchase agreement when
both you and the buyer sign it.)
____Review your negotiating lessons.
____Review ways to get a higher price (see Chapter 7).
____Help the buyer write up the offer if necessary.
____Make your counter-offer, but keep thoughts of further
compromise to yourself.
____Talk through what you each need.
____Find win-win solutions.
____
The Purchase Agreement
____Include the complete legal description of the property
in the offer.
____Include the price, down payment and terms in the offer.
____Include the amount of earnest money in the offer.
____Get a check for the earnest money (paid to the agency
or escrow agent).
____If the buyer needs a financing contingency, specify the
interest rate and deadlines.
____List anything that is included with the home.
____If the buyer wants inspections, include a deadline for
these to be completed by.
____In counter-offer, include a time limit for the buyer to
accept (one or two days).
____Put the proposed closing date in the offer (usually an
"on or before" date).
____Specify who pays which closing costs.
____Specify where the closing will be, if you have a preference.
____Specify who pays for title searches and/or insurance.
____Specify who will pay transfer or stamp taxes, unless this
is specified in the law.
____Does the agreement specify when the buyer will take possession?
____Include other contingencies you need (wife's approval,
close by certain date, etc.).
____Have an attorney review the offer if you're not working
with a good real estate agent.
____
Closing
____Make sure the buyer has satisfied all contingencies in
the offer.
____Set a firm closing date.
____Get a closing time from the closing company.
____Ask the closing company for a list of what you'll need
to bring.
____Ask the closing company for a list of what the buyer will
need to bring.
____Get a closing statement at least two days before closing.
____Review the closing statement, note any errors.
____Have the closing company correct errors.
____Have the closing company explain the closing statement
until you understand.
____Prepare whatever you need to bring to closing.
____Put it on your calendar and set your alarm.
____ Look over this checklist for selling a house one last
time to be sure that you didn't miss anything important.
Note: This is part of the e-book How
to Sell a House, which is now hosted on this website
and is available for free. You can use that link to get to the
table of contents and the links to all pages.
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