Seller’s Quick Guide

The Hines Groupprincipal agent Stephen C. Hines

associate agent Gui Moreirawww.HinesGroupRE.com

[email protected] | 978.394.9030

Boston | Winthrop | Salem

Seller’s Quick Guide

A G E N T I N T E R V I E W S & L I S T I N G C O N T R A C T

The first step is perhaps the most important of them all. You’ve got to hire an agent. Study after study shows that hiring a licensed professional real estate salesperson leads to a higher sale price in a shorter amount of time and with less headache, even after the commission is paid. But where do you start? It is always good practice to interview at least three agents before finally choosing one. Start by asking friends, neighbors and family members if they’ve had good experiences with someone. Check online to see who is doing a sizable business in the area, and make sure that the firm under which the agent affiliates is reputable. It is crucially important not to take anyone’s word as gospel, and always interview the agent yourself. Many agents bring different skillsets, life experiences, marketing budgets, and personalities to the table. You will be working extremely closely with this person for the entirety of the sale, and your trust in them is paramount to job’s the overall success.

Once you’ve selected the agent you think will be best suited for the job, the agent will present you with the listing contract. This is a mandatory contract and must signed by both the agent and you before the property can be listed in the Multiple Listing Service. This contract will outline commission structure, length of the listing agreement, and any additional terms that either party deem necessary.

R O B E R T PA U L P R O P E R T I E S | W W W. H I N E S G R O U P R E .C O M

B A C K B AY | W I N T H R O P C E N T E R | D O W N TO W N S A L E M

S E L E C T I N G A N AT T O R N E Y

Now that you’ve selected your real estate agent and signed the listing contract, it is important to hire an attorney that will represent you throughout the sale of the property. Both Seller and Buyer should have an attorney, and each is designated different tasks. The Seller’s attorney is responsible drafting the purchase & sale agreement, and the Buyer’s attorney is responsible for reviewing it on behalf of their client. Your real estate agent is going to have to work very closely with the attorney throughout the process, so it is best practice to ask your agent for a recommendation. It is crucially important that real estate law is the primary focus of the attorney’s law practice. Many attorneys that work in different disciplines will dabble in real estate transactions from time to time, but often lack the appropriate temperament and knowledge base to successfully navigate an emotionally fueled process. Your agent will have spent lots of time vetting their attorney recommendations and will only recommend those they know will get you to the closing table.



H O M E P R E P & P H O T O G R A P H Y

Preparing your property for sale is super important, and your agent should be able to walk you through what needs to be done. Our general rule: don’t try and hide anything, but repair, replace, and restore what you can prior to listing. This includes painting old, inactive water stains, shampooing carpets, tightening loose handrails, replace broken or missing outlet / switch covers, et cetera. No home is perfect, and most Buyers understand that, but any little thing you can do to keep our prospects focused on the overall home is recommended. Additionally, clearing all surfaces (counters, dressers, end tables, et cetera) of all clutter. One nice statement piece is OK, but prospects should never see family photos, sentimental pieces, or valuables. On the exterior, it is always best to have some light, seasonably appropriate landscaping done. Consumers will make a judgement on your home within the first 20 seconds of arriving outside.

Once the house is fully prepared for listing, our photography / floorplan team will come in to capture everything that makes your home special. Typically, we shoot properties on a Monday, and launch the listing live on a Wednesday. We try and shoot between 12pm and 3pm to optimize light conditions, and the shoot can take 2 to 3 hours. Once the photos are returned from our editing team, they will be presented to you for review.



O P E N H O U S E S

Once the property is listed, we often schedule an aggressive launch weekend. This could include a Thursday evening Broker-Only open house, and Saturday/Sunday midday open houses. This schedule can be molded to fit your needs, but we see the best results when we give consumers a weekday / weekend option to see the property with their agents, friends, and family. It is never a good idea for the Sellers to be home during the Open Houses, but please keep all valuables in a safe location. While agents do their absolute best to keep an eye on everything while folks are visiting, it is often too busy to watch everyone closely. If requested, your listing agent should be able to provide one or two additional agents to help keep an eye on everyone.



O F F E R S

After the first weekend of open houses, we will make an important judgement call: set an offer deadline for early in the week, or accept offers as they come in. If we know we are receiving multiple offers, it is best practice to set a deadline for all offer to be presented. Each offer contains the proposed transaction timeline, various contingencies, and of course, the offer price. Once we have all offers in hand, we will meet in person or over the phone to discuss each of them. We may want to accept one now, or we may want to go back to all the offers and request a “best and final”. This is a last opportunity for each interested party to clean up their offer terms, increase their offer price, or craft a personalized letter to the Seller if they have not done so. Your listing agent will help guide each of the prospects to alter their terms in a way that suits your needs. Alongside the offer, a strong Buyer will submit: a deposit check for $1,000, a preapproval from a reputable lender, a lead paint disclosure, an agency disclosure, and a personalized letter drafted to the Sellers to introduce themselves.



H O M E I N S P E C T I O N S

Most, if not all, of the offers you will receive will include a home inspection contingency. This gives the potential Buyer a certain period to hire and conduct a professional home inspection before they sign the next contract, the purchase & sale. The purpose of the inspection is to give the Buyer a comprehensive understanding of the condition of the property to ensure that they are making a smart investment. Each Buyer will have a different threshold of what they are willing to take on themselves or negotiate for repairs / financial concessions. The contingency also allows for the Buyer to retract their offer based on any findings. A good listing agent will always be present for the inspection, ensuring that you, the Seller, have proper context when negotiating inspection findings. The typical period requested by a Buyer for the inspection is 7 days from the day the offer is accepted.



P U R C H A S E & S A L E

Real estate transactions utilize “executory contracts”. This means that the sale of a property is broken down into two separate contracts: the offer and the purchase and sale. We already have a signed offer, the inspection has been completed, and now it is time to move towards everyone signing the purchase and sale. This is a large contract, and in the State of Massachusetts it is drafted by the Seller’s attorney instead of the real estate agent. From the moment you accept the offer, the Seller’s attorney will be hard at work drafting and negotiating the terms of the purchase and sale with the Buyer’s attorney. Any terms in the offer, as well as any others negotiated during the inspection period, will be memorialized in this contract. Once it has been agreed upon by both sides, it will be signed (typically 14 days from offer acceptance) and solidified with an additional deposit check from the Buyer, traditionally equal to 5% of the final sale price.



S M O K E I N S P E C T I O N & WAT E R B I L L

Now that we have a purchase and sale signed on the offer, it is Seller’s responsibility to provide both the smoke detector compliance certificate and the final water bill for the property. Your real estate agent will be instrumental in completing both tasks as they order the final water bill and schedule the smoke detector inspection with your local fire prevention department. The requirements for smoke detectors vary from community to community and are often based on the year in which your home was built or significantly renovated. Always work with your agent to connect with the fire prevention department to gather the necessary requirements. The certificates are good for 60 days, so it is best to order the inspection right after purchase and sale to ensure a timely inspection appointment and to give you enough time to rectify any deficiencies in your detector system.

The final water bill will be ordered by your agent as close to the closing as possible. Once the bill is circulated to both attorneys, the amount due will be prorated according to the closing date and reflected in the overall breakdown of the transaction.



A P P R A I S A L

Some time between the purchase and sale being signed, and the mortgage commitment deadline set forth by the Buyer in the offer, the mortgage company will order an appraisal of the home. The appraiser will call your listing agent to schedule, and this typically only takes 15 to 20 minutes. Essentially, the appraiser is hired by the bank to make sure they are not lending more money to the Buyer than the property is worth. There are two potential outcomes here: the appraisal can come in at the offer price or above or the appraisal can come in under the offer price. If the appraisal comes in lower than the offer price we call this an “appraisal shortfall”. In most circumstances the offer price will have to be renegotiated down to the appraisal price, or the Buyer will be required to fill in the gap between appraisal price and offer price. The Seller is often encouraged to meet the Buyer in the middle but is under no obligation to do so. If no agreement can be made, the bank will not approve the mortgage. Always consult with your real estate agent to weigh your options and chart the best course of action.



U T I L I T Y A C C O U N T T R A N S F E R S

When it begins to become apparent that the sale of your home is inevitable, it is time to start contacting utility companies to alert them to the move. Simply call each and let them know what the last day of service will be, typically the closing date. Most cable TV companies only require you to move the equipment to your new location, without any service interruptions. Gas and electricity companies typically need a heads up. Once you’ve made the calls, the Buyer will then call and start service in their own name on the same day.



F I N A L WA L K T H R O U G H & C L O S I N G

Just before the closing, usually the morning of or the night before, the Buyer and his team will come to the property to ensure that it is being transferred in the way that was agreed upon. This usually means that all the Seller’s personal belongings should be removed, the property should be clean, and any agreed upon repairs should be completed. If anything is out of place, the Buyer will request one of two things: a holdback or a credit. A holdback is an amount of money that is held in escrow until the agreed upon terms are met. A credit is a permanent holdback of certain funds to remedy the issue post-closing.

The Buyer’s attorney is responsible for scheduling the time and place of the closing. Often, the Seller does not have to attend. The Sellers attorney can have the Seller sign all the necessary paperwork in advance and will have it shipped to the Buyer’s attorney for recording.



BOSTON140 NEWBURY STREET | BACK BAY617.262.1414

MID CAPE867 MAIN STREET | OSTERVILLE 508.420.1414 UPPER CAPE 279 MAIN STREET | FALMOUTH 508.540.9800 BAYSIDE 3256 MAIN STREET | BARNSTABLE 508.362.1414 LOWER CAPE 499 MAIN STREET | CHATHAM 508.945.5553

WINTHROP - METRO NORTH7 SOMERSET AVENUE | WINTHROP CENTER 617.864.1414

OUTER CAPE 192 COMMERCIAL STREET | PROVINCETOWN 508.487.3020

SALEM - NORTH SHORE88B LAFAYETTE STREET | DOWNTOWN SALEM978.394.9030

SOUTH COAST155 FRONT STREET | MARION 508.748.2400

VACATION RENTALS867 MAIN STREET | OSTERVILLE508.420.1422

Seller’s Quick Guide

Documents

Transcript of Seller’s Quick Guide