Once you decide it’s the right time to sell your home, find a real estate agent to represent your needs such as The Sherri Patterson Team. Arrange to meet with your Realtor to discuss preparing your home for sale. Discuss your expectations, price, how your home will me marketed and the timeline to list your home for sale.

Once your home is on the market and an offer is made, you can accept the offer, counter it or reject it. Here’s what to expect when you sell your home.

1. You May Need to Make Repairs

If your buyer has contingencies or if you promised to make any repairs on the home, you are expected to hire professionals to handle these jobs before closing your home. Use our Preferred Vendor Directory to find licensed plumbers, painters, and even home inspectors to make this portion of the sell easier for you.

2. A Quick Sell

In many markets, homes are being sold within the first week. However, it is very important to review your home evaluation with your Realtor prior to listing to make sure your home is priced correctly for the current market. Check out our Pricing Your Home to Sell resource for tips on setting a reasonable price for your home. If your home sells quickly, you must be ready to move. Have your boxes packed and contact companies such as UNITS in Sacramento for all of your labor and moving needs.

3. Low Offers

Even in competitive markets, there will be some buyers who simply want an unbelievably good deal—at your expense. Just because you get a few low offers, doesn’t mean you have to accept them. Don’t get discouraged if an offer comes in low; you may need to adjust the price, which is fine if you determined a price range that you’re comfortable with in the beginning.

4. Final Closing Costs

Though the buyer typically takes on most of this load, the seller is still expected to pay a portion of the closing costs. Closing costs can be negotiated but usually the seller pays for title, escrow, transfer tax on the sale of the home, private tax (if applicable), HOA doc prep and transfer fee (if any) and home warranty.

5. Last Minute Drama

Don’t overlook the last-minute hiccups that can go wrong or slow down your process. Make sure your Realtor is experienced and has a proven-track record of helping homeowners sell their homes with little or no problems. Drama can come in the form of an over-demanding buyer, a loan not going through or things on your part—such as repairs that have taken longer than anticipated. Do your best to foresee issues before they become too big to bear.