Selling Your Home

If you are considering selling your home this page will help show you how the home selling process works. Enlisting Hannon-Ryan to sell your home for you will give you the peace of mind knowing that your home will sell for the maximum price in the least amount of time(with as few headaches as we can prevent:). As your listing broker we work in your best interest, not ours. If we think an offer is too low, we will tell you not to take it and wait for a better one.

Listing Price
To determine how much your house should sell for we do what is called a comparative market analysis. We compare your home to what others have sold for in your town within the past 6 months. We take into consideration the square footage of your home, location, condition, updates, and style.

Preparing Your Home
When getting your home ready for buyers to see you should take the following recommendations into account...

• Tidy the entrance to your home. A first impression leaves a lasting impression. Trim the hedges, mow the lawn, paint the door, clean the windows, remove weeds, and paint the entrance if it needs it.
• Remove clutter. The more open space you have in your home the bigger it looks to prospective buyers. Clean out closets(some buyers may even look under the bed:), clean out the garage and basement, and remove furniture if rooms are to cramped.
• Depersonalize. When used car dealers sell a car they remove all remnants of the previous owner. This helps the buyer see the car as their own. The same applies to your home. Although you may love your jet black bathroom, some buyers might get turned off and run away. Try to paint walls with soft neutral colors. You should also consider removing pictures of family members, especially if you have a whole wall of pictures.
• Pets. Some people are terrified of pets. Try to put dogs outside on a lease or in their kennel if possible.
• Title V. Title V is a Massachusetts law passed a few years ago which says that your septic system needs to meet certain state requirements. If your system fails a Title V then you need to bring it up to code before you can sell your home. This can take several months, which is why we recommend you get the test done before you find a buyer for your home. If your home passes a Title V test then it is good for 2 years.

The Offer
Now that your home is on the market your first offer comes along. With the offer there are usually some standard stipulations. You have a limited time in which to either accept their offer, counter or reject it. The buyer will usually want to schedule a home inspection. And there typically will be a mortgage contingency. If you and the buyer come to an agreement on price and terms you both would sign a purchase and sale agreement.

To Do List
Most of the items 'to do' when selling a home fall on the shoulders of the buyer. However there are some things you will need to do prior to the closing.

• Deed Preparation. As the seller it is your responsibility to prepare a new deed prepared by an attorney.
• Fire Dept. Smoke Detector Inspection. You need to have your local fire department complete an inspection of your home for smoke detectors.
• Water Bill. The week before the closing you should call your local Water Dept. and schedule a final water meter reading. Make sure you get a copy of the invoice for the closing.
• Utilities. Remember to call your utility companies to shut off your service for each utility.

Sold
The day of the closing buyers will typically want to do a walk through to make sure everything is in order. You real estate broker will make sure everything has been taken care of and the closing should go through very smoothly. The closing itself usually only takes less than an hour. There now wasn't that easy!

If you would like a market analysis of your home located near Pembroke feel free to contact one of our brokers(Steven Murphy or James Hannon) or call our office at 781-293-5500.

• Properties for Sale
• Buying a Home
• Realtor.com