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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 agent 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 real estate agent once you choose one so he or she 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 real estate agent is the best way to determine the right selling price for your home. An agent 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

I 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. My 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. I 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 I deem the offer is acceptable, I 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 agent.

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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. I 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. I 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 real estate agent 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.

WHAT MY CLIENTS SAY

We had the privilege of working with Kristi Bajjali on the sale of our Sienna, Missouri City home of 15 years. Kristi was a knowledgeable and professional resource for us in all aspects of the transaction, from listing to sale. She and her team supported us with recommendations and virtual staging for our listing. In addition, she also brought some of her personal items to assist with the staging of our ...

— Rick & Jannine T.

WHAT MY CLIENTS SAY

Kristi came highly recommended as we started the process to sell our home. She is professional, knowledgeable, and guided us the entire way through the process. Exceptional customer service, great communication style, and even a great problem solver when things didn't go smoothly. Kristi cares about her clients, and this shines through from beginning to end. I have already recommended her to many friends...

— Dan & Jenny H.

WHAT MY CLIENTS SAY

I had the absolute pleasure of working with Kristi Bajjali of Coldwell Banker Realty during the sale of my property, and I cannot recommend her highly enough. From start to finish, Kristi was the epitome of professionalism, always organized, responsive, and deeply knowledgeable about the market. What truly stood out was her unwavering support throughout the entire process. Selling a home can be stressful...

— Jack C.

WHAT MY CLIENTS SAY

Kristi Bajjali impressed both my husband and me on our initial consultation with her. She is extremely knowledgeable in her field and listens to her clients. She pulled out all stops to market our home in what is a buyer's market. She left no stone unturned, and our home was under contract in less than 60 days thanks to her and her amazing team. Although she had many clients and was a busy realtor, she w...

— Kelly & Mark P.

WHAT MY CLIENTS SAY

Working with Kristi was an absolute blessing. Selling a property is rarely simple, but doing so under the difficult circumstances of a dependent probate added layers of complexity and stress. From start to finish, Kristi navigated the process with professionalism, knowledge, and grace. She was incredibly effective in anticipating hurdles, communicating clearly, and staying on top of every moving part. Sh...

— Kevin C.

WHAT MY CLIENTS SAY

We would give Kristi 10 stars if available. During marketing this house, we dealt with 2 other realtors from other companies before Kristi, and the experience was night and day. Kristi's performance was so far above the others that it's hard to even compare. We would unconditionally recommend her for anyone looking to sell a house. She will work extremely hard to get it done.

— Hamid & Lorie M.

WHAT MY CLIENTS SAY

Kristi was incredibly knowledgeable about the market, and communication and advice were great. Excellent experience.

— John & Sarah M.

WHAT MY CLIENTS SAY

We described this experience as serendipitous. Everything fell into place, and the stars aligned to bring the perfect buyers to the house they were meant to have. Kristi was phenomenal every step of the way.

— Chris & Deanna C.

WHAT MY CLIENTS SAY

Kristi is very experienced and insightful. Her expertise serves her clients well.

— Sean F.

WHAT MY CLIENTS SAY

Kristi Bajjali was nothing short of amazing. She really has a talent to read the market, listen to where we wanted to go, and come up with a plan to get there. Also, her direction on how to show the house was fantastic. We followed her guidelines and got an offer on our house after the first showing. Finally, she is very transparent and provides great advice when in the negotiating process. Great to have...

— Ron & Diana I.

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