For you, the sellers -
1. Clean like crazy. Wipe baseboards, wash glass shades, nooks, crannies, corners. You lived there over a decade - you do not see the dirt. Do this before the realtor sees the house.
2. Box up 1/3 to 1/2 of your stuff, and put in the basement or garage. No pictures, calendars, clothes, stuff on the refrigerator...Organize the rest so it looks like fake people live there. :) Buyers are busy, they do not want to have to imagine how your house would look without the clutter. They have their own 🙈
3. Home condition
a. Do not get a home inspection- all inspectors find different things, so “yours” won’t necessarily be the be-all-end-all. You are on the hook to declare Everything they find, or declare and fix. Not good. Ignorance is bliss, assuming your home is in decent repair (nobody gets 100% on inspections, and there is no “pass” or “fail”). I realize some people want the confidence of having the inspection ahead of time. We prefer not. Inspectors can really suck - and now I have to explain why I disagree with a comment on the report. No thanks.
b. Do not do any updates or major changes. Now is not the time to put major money into your property, unless there is a really strong reason for it. The only exception is paint, if an area really is dingy (painting is cleaning).
c. Do complete pending maintenance and small repairs so that your house is in good, working order (clear the slow bathroom drain, soap the sticky window or door, clean the gutters...). It will show that the home is well cared for.
4. Get a routine for showings such as: toilets clean, seats down, shower toiletries hidden, kids toys in bins, pets out, pet stuff hidden (dog beds, litter box), clear off bathroom & kitchen counters - only pump soap/hand sanitizer allowed, used towels put up. Lights on. No strong smells - good or bad.
For finding a realtor -
1. Know your own numbers first. Look up the listings in your close area to see Sold prices, list prices and days on the market (DOM). Get a feel for how fast are things selling and list vs sold price (you won’t be able to see seller concessions). Your goal is two-fold. First, to know enough to decide if your agent is blowing smoke or not. Second, to decide what amount you want from your house (see below, closing costs).
2. Your realtor is not your friend. His/her objective is to sell the house, at which point payment of commission occurs. Expect that, even with the very best of intentions, your objectives and your agent’s WILL diverge. You have 1 chicken to watch that you care immensely about. They have many.
3. Expect professionalism, an office team to divide the workload, and prompt responses (within minutes if not hours-same day unless really late in p.m.). A good agent is ALWAYS responsive. Any failure in this realm **before** getting the listing is an instant disqualification.
4. Ask questions specific to your area, neighborhood, market. Your goal is to decide how knowledgeable they are, how they communicate, how much “in the loop” locally, do you like the answers, and do they match your own gut feelings/research...
Ultimately, did they come prepared? (Already looked up your property records, neighborhood inform and know the market? Or are they walking around with a tape measure to get room sizes for house square footage and asking you how many bedrooms- I.e. not good).
General Questions: what is the average DOM? List vs sell price? Buyers expectations? How many listings do they have right now? (You should already have looked) Ask why one (of their own, preferably) listing isn’t selling. What is an unusual situation you had lately, and how did you fix it?
Specific to Us questions: Who do you see buying this house? (define the buyer - once you list the house, this is who you target; you will ignore the other naysayers...they’re not your buyer, so it does not matter what they think)
What list price range do you suggest?
How do you decide on price drops?
What do you think it should sell for, and how much do we clear in the end? ( expect to see a form listing your closing costs for “X” sale price - the ONLY #s we care about are A) how much you clear in the end, and B) how long it takes to get there.
Ask how they market your home and how differs from other realtors.
Ask if they use a pro photographer, look for see through windows and a house that looks stellar in their current listings - especially with covid - most people shop online.
5. Commission is 5 (FIVE) %. If their standard is 6, they will do 5. They will. 5 is more than 0, which is what they get if they do not have the listing.
6. DO NOT tell your agent anything that you do not want them to share with the buyers’ agent. Be honest, but please, keep your cards close.
7. Aim for an agent at an active brokerage. They should have lots of listings, selling several a month(I usually look for about 10, with rare exception). You are hiring the agent AND the brokerage plus the office team.
8. Do not sign a 1 year contract. Ignore what they say is standard. Yes, you can fire them, but it is disruptive and not a slam dunk always. Do 3 months. 6 at most. A good realtor will be confident they can find you a buyer.
9. READ everything before you sign. You sign it, it’s on you. Make sure you know your outs and the buyers’, when you receive an offer. Also, aim to find the buyer who “wants in” and can get to the closing table. No wish-washy, no nitpicking, no questionable finances. It’s Ok to pushback on your agent at any time...you and they agent both want to get to the closing table.
10. Plan your move out so your options are kept open. (Whatever that means for your situation) You’ll be able to negotiate better, and hopefully be less stressed.
The real value of a good agent is in being a 3rd party go-between who insulates you from the buyer and buyers agent - AND - in being able to get through sticky situations that occur after an offer is accepted.
Also, expect to “spend” 7-10% getting out of your house, depending on how much diy you do etc etc. Maybe 1% of home price spent on clean up/maintenance/staging and/or storage ( we stage with our own stuff, just rearranged and no clutter). 5% commission. The rest is closing costs, seller’s concessions to buyer or fixing minor inspection items*.
(*do not fix if at all possible- leave it for the buyer)
Disclaimer: we have not and will not ever live in California. CA rules differ. 😇