Selling your home & understanding what's involved.
Start here to get answers about the process of selling your home.

From setting a price to attracting buyers to negotiating an agreement, it's much more involved than merely planting a For Sale sign on your lawn. There are a series of choices, each of which can make a distinct difference in the final outcome.

Whether you're a first-time seller or you have plenty of experience, you're bound to have questions. Here, we've put together some of the most important answers and advice for selling a home. Of course, you can always turn to a knowledgeable and helpful Weichert Sales Associate who specializes in selling homes in your local area.

What comes first?
While the answer to this basic question is as individual as you are, here are some things to consider:

Generally speaking, under most market conditions, real estate professionals advise listing your present home and shopping for your new home simultaneously.
Nonetheless, you should talk to your Sales Associate about your personal situation, so you can consider how fast you need to sell and how long you should expect it to take in current market conditions.

If you have very specific criteria – like location, size, views, age, etc. which could lead to a time-consuming home search – you should consider finding and buying a home first before you sell your existing home. If necessary, your offer to buy a home can be contingent on selling yours. On the other hand, if you sell first, you can make your sale dependent on finding a home to buy.

Seasonality can play a role in deciding when to sell – with spring and fall the most popular seasons to put a home on the market. Your Weichert Sales Associate can help you consider the effect of other factors like interest rates and consumer confidence in the economy.

Preparing to Sell Your Home
Here's how to be certain your home will be its most appealing to a potential buyer.
It's important to have someone take an unbiased look at your home's appeal. A knowledgeable Weichert Sales Associate will offer specific suggestions that let you add to its value without spending a lot of money. Here are some everyone should consider.

Make a great first impression:
• Well-cared-for lawn and landscaping
• Seasonal door decoration
• Make all necessary repairs.
• Remove clutter to make your home more spacious.
• Neat closets
• Organized basement
• Keep things light and bright.
• Sunny, well-lit rooms look larger
• Fresh paint makes them seem new
• Highlight your home's best features.
• Arrange your furnishings to spotlight a beautiful view
• Use colors to draw attention to a charming fireplace
• Add special touches to create an inviting atmosphere
• Fresh flowers
• Scented candles

Offer a Weichert Home Protection Plan – Beyond the cosmetic, this warranty adds appeal by assuring potential buyers that essential utilities and appliances won't present unexpected expenses. To learn more of the details, you can ask your Weichert Sales Associate.

Setting the Right Price
Here's a pricing strategy that, because it's sensitive to market trends, is more likely to result in the best selling price. 

Naturally, the location, property size/features, style, age, physical condition, special features, and recent enhancements must all be considered in assessing your home's value. As a starting point, though, your Weichert Sales Associate will thoroughly research comparable homes in your neighborhood and town. Recent sale prices, the current prices of similar homes, and even homes that didn't sell and were taken off the market will all be reviewed for you. 

To analyze the data, Weichert has developed a unique tool called a Price Trend Analysis*. It goes beyond the capabilities of a typical Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) by projecting local price trends. With our method, your Sales Associate can factor in the many market influences that impact price – including supply of homes versus demand, how the local economy is fairing, and home appreciation rates – to determine your home's Fair Market Value. 

An attractive initial listing price, based on Fair Market Value, is especially important. As you can see from the chart below, pricing greatly affects the number of buyers your home will attract. And homes almost always gain the most attention when their listings are new to the market.

* This document is not an appraisal and should not be considered to be the equivalent of an appraisal.