For Sellers
This section includes information and real estate services for selling a home in White Plains New York Homes For Sale areas. Getting familiar with your homes value in relation to your local real estate market’s recent sales is essential. For a Comparative Market Analysis, which gives you a professional price range to price your home, a Realtor’s inspection of the seller’s home is necessary. An objective comparison of floor plan, renovations, condition and location relative to other homes makes for the best pricing. However, click here For your Homes Value and you will get a fast and easy online market estimate of how your home generally compares to others in the community.
The Process Itself
Selling a home requires much more than a For Sale sign and a Listing Price. You need to be familiar with the market and market conditions in order to know how to price and market a home, as well as be familiar with your competition and what similar homes have recently sold for. An objective opinion is your best source for providing this information and comparing it to your home. Your selection of your real estate agent is one of your most important decisions. Choose someone who is experienced, knowledgeable not only on market conditions but in how to market, someone who is a good negotiator and listener. Choose someone who will tell you what you need to hear and not what you want to hear and be certain you understand not only the services you will be provided but who will provide those services. The real estate agent should check the Assessors office for the property taxes, square footage, assessed value and any differences in the Assessors Records and the actual house. They will also check the building department for the Certificate of Occupancy and any permits or Letters of Compliance.
Once you have chosen your real estate agent, be certain that you prepare your home for showing. The more pristine the home looks and the less cluttered it looks the more equity you will realize. If need be use a Realtor who can provide you with "Staging" advice. Staging can include moving furniture around to make rooms look bigger, getting rid of some furniture, possibly painting, removing carpeting... all the way to redecorating. Clean out those closets, straighten out the basement and garage.
When your ready, your realtor will place your home on THE MULTIPLE LISTING SERVICE (A computerized listing of homes for sale which agents and buyers use to decide which homes meet their needs). Once you have received offers or an offer for your home, you will have the choice of turning it down, accepting it or "countering it". When you counter an offer you tell the buyer that you do not accept what they are offering but that you will present them with an opportunity to meet a new price (lower than your asking). A countering offer can be given by the seller and the buyer as well. Once presented with a counter offer by the seller a buyer can present their own counter offer (going up in price) trying to meet an acceptable price between both the buyer and seller. We call this a "Meeting of the Minds" in real estate terms.
Once the price and terms of an offer are agreed on, we have what we call "An Acceptable Offer". In Westchester County we do not take binders on offers and the agents do not write the contract themselves. An Acceptable Offer is not binding on either the buyer's or the seller's side until a contract produced by the attorney is signed by both parties. With an Acceptable Offer, the buyer will proceed with inspections before the contract is signed and the house will continue to get shown until the contract is signed. If the inspection turns up a major issue, the offer may be renegotiated. During this time period (prior to contracts getting signed) should an higher offer be presented or an offer with better terms and conditions be presented, the seller has the ability to stop the progess on the original accepted offer and take the second buyer's offer. When inspections are over, the real estate agent will produce a Memorandum of Sale which is an outline the Attorneys use to produce the contract. It states legal names and addresses of both sellers and buyers, the real estate agents involved, the attorneys for both parties with their address, phone numbers and fax numbers and most importantly the terms and conditions and price of the transaction. ONCE CONTRACTS ARE SIGNED BY BUYER AND SELLER the house no longer gets shown and the contract binds the seller and buyer to the deal. The buyer will have put a down payment down with the contract and the seller's attorney will keep this down payment in his escrow account until closing.
The buyer will give a copy of the signed contract to their bank who will start the mortgage process. This will include an appraiser coming to the house and giving an appraised value to the bank. The appraiser will be checking to see that any additions to the house have building permits, Letters of Compliance or Certificate of Occupancy issued by the municipality the home is in. This includes decks or rooms that have been added.
The buyer's attorney will start a Title Search to be certain the title is clean to pass the property to the new buyer.
It is important to note here that once the contract is signed both the buyer and seller should start to interview moving companies getting their names and move on the mover's calendar. It will be an estimated date at this point but movers get booked up in advance particularly in the summer months.
Once the bank has given the final Commitment to commit the funds for purchase and the title company has finished their search, you are ready to close. It should be noted that the closing date listed in the contract is an estimated closing date and can easily move 3-4 weeks on either side of the date with no penalty to the buyer or seller. Only if there is a Time of the Essence Clause in the contract will the closing have to be the date written in the contract. A Time of Essence Clause is very rare.
When the seller knows the closing date the following things must be done. A call to Con Edison or the provider of the oil, gas and electricity needs to be made. The seller will ask that the Company DOES NOT TURN OFF SERVICE BUT RATHER TRANSFERS BILLING TO THE NEW BUYERS NAME and to have the meters read for the last time before closing. The seller also needs to let the municipality know that they will need a final water meter reading just prior to closing (a special charge is usually associated with this). This bill must be paid prior to or at closing. An unpaid water bill is a lien on the property. In most Westchester Communities a recyclable container must be returned with the water reading or a fine will be placed on the owner. The seller should remember to cancel the phone service, all cable service etc. etc. If the home is on oil heat, the oil company needs to be called for a reading of the oil tank so the seller can be reimbursed by the buyer for what remains in the tank. At closing the seller may also be reimbursed by the buyer for any property taxes they have paid that extend beyond the sale date of the house.
This simplifies but gives you a basic outline of the Selling Process.
Additional Information related to the Process Above
FREE REPORTS are designed to assist you in your search for information on selling at the right price. The LOCAL RESOURCES section has important real estate related information from sites that we have researched for you. There are sections devoted to relocation needs, schools, real estate tax information, home and garden, maps and weather, whether you are staying in Westchester or relocating.
If you plan to sell your current home but plan to purchase in Westchester as well, please be sure to visit the section for Buyers and do a home search or click here HOME SEARCH. For some people moving locally, knowing what they will be able to purchase is a big part of when of if they will sell their current home.
Why a Realtor
Selling your home in the ideal world would be a stress free process but reality tells us this usuallly is not the case. Choosing your REALTOR® wisely will help to make this major sale less stress ridden and will ensure that the process gets handled correctly... after all your home is one of your biggest assets; let a professional help you realize the most equity in your investment.
I pride myself on the one on one service I provide to my customers and clients. My knowledge and experience will allow you to focus on your move while I manage your home sale from our initial consultation to the closing deal, and beyond. It is my hope when we have completed the transaction of selling your home or purchasing a new home, that you will come to depend on me as your family's Real Estate expert and will add me to the list of professionals you have come to rely on for your family's needs. My mission is to provide my clents with the expertise and negotiating skills essential to get the results they expect and just as importantly, the personal service that will accomplish their goals in as swift and painless a manner as possible.
As Your Agent, I Will:
- Complete a Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) that will compare your home's value to that of your neighbors.
- Customize a Marketing Plan which will be organized and designed to sell your house in the time frame that suites your needs. My explanation will give you a thorough understanding of the steps required to get you through the process with the least amount of discomfort. Included in the Customized Marketing Plan will be a program of Internet, print ad and other media advertising. I spend a great deal of time studying and researching the current market trends to assure I market properties, like yours, aggressively and successfully.
- Market your home to the over 7,500 real estate agents in Westchester County through the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) as well as to the substantial pool of qualified buyers I myself have and my Century 21 Wolff Colleagues have. With your approval, I will also present your home to new buyers through a Public Open House and various other advertising options.
- I will personally follow-up with all agents who have shown your home for feed back to assist us in targeting the right buyer at the right price.
- Give you ideas to help you stage your home, or provide you with my staging services to save you the time. I will also generate curb appeal to ensure you get the highest price.
- Negotiate all offers helping you obtain the best deal in as hassel- free an environment as possible.
- Assist in the purchase of your next home whether that be in the same community, near by, or require me to refer you to a colleague in another location. I can speed the process along by putting you in contact with a professional agent in your relocation community who will work well with you. She can provide you with valuable information regarding your new location to help you narrow down your search and get you settled more quickly. That new location could be across the country or across the globe; I have colleague I work with in various locations and if I don't have one in the area your are going to, I will seek a professional out for you.
Recent Home Sales
What are homes selling for on your street? I would be happy to provide you, no obligation, comparative sales of homes that have sold in your neighborhood. By providing me with some simple information, I can produce for you a price range showing what homes of similar character have sold for in your community. Just e-mail at Deb@HomesbyDeb.com the following information:
Location- Street Name, Number, Town, Estimated Square Footage of House: number of Bedrooms/Baths: Estimated Size of Property: Any Improvements You Have Made: Condition of Home: Comments-Anything else that makes your home special that I should be aware of.
Getting the Highest Price for Your Home
Curb appeal is a key ingredient in selling your home. It is the first impression a buyer has of your house and could make the difference between them stopping and looking at the interior or simply continuing to drive by. I can provide you with valuable brochures and videos that will speak directly to this subject so you can consider simple things that can make a substantial difference. Staging your home inside and out is important. Many buyers will stay in your home longer if it's staged appropriately. I offer staging services as well.
- Title insurance fees depend on the sales price of the home. In Westchester County the Title insurance fee is paid for by the buyer for the house they are purchasing.
- Broker's commission is a full-service fee and is negotiated between the seller and broker at the time the seller signs an Exclusive Right to Sell contract with the broker or representative.
- Local property transfer tax, country transfer tax, state transfer tax, and state capital gains tax are the charges that you'll pay for the privilege of selling your home. In Westchester County you pay a State Transfer Stamp Tax which is equal to $4.00 per $1,000 of the sale price of your home. Credit to the seller of paid real estate taxes for the prior or current year are variable and depend on when you close and when your taxes are due. Your lender will be able to provide you with a Fair Estimate of your Closing Fees.
- FHA fees and costs are all fees now negotiable between an FHA buyer and seller.
- Home inspections fees are rarely paid for in Westchester County by the seller but include pest, radon and other inspections.
- Miscellaneous fees can accrue from correcting problems noticed during the home inspection. I always remind agents however, that any negotiations due to the result of a home inspection are to be for major ticketed items that were not known or discovered during the initial viewing of the property.
This concludes the Selling Process Section of the web site. If you have questions or are not sure about something, please don't hesitate to call me or e-mail: 914-329-6787 or Deb@HomesByDeb.com. I'm happy to assist you. Before leaving the web site, please check out some of the other areas that have valuable information as well. Thanks for visiting.....
-Westchester County New York Homes For Sale
-White Plains New York Homes For Sale
-White Plains NY Homes For Sale
-Westchester County Real Estate
-White Plains New York Real Estate
