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Seller's Guide

Everything you need to know about putting your home on the market, accepting an offer, and closing on your home.

A Step-by-Step First Time Seller's Guide

Putting your home on the market can be a stressful process, especially when you don’t know what to expect. Fortunately, with the help of an experienced agent and this easy to follow guide, you can smoothly complete the process. Following these steps will help you prepare so you can get organized and sell your home for the best price possible.​​​​​​​

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Step 1: Understand Why You're Selling

What do you want to accomplish with the sale of your home? Do you want to make a certain amount of money that you can put toward a larger or nicer home? Do you need to sell it as soon as possible to facilitate a move to a new city or area? Once you understand your needs, you can better craft your offer. For example, if you need to sell quickly, you might want to price your home lower than if your goal is to make a certain profit margin. Make sure you convey these needs to your real estate agent once you choose one so he or she can adjust your selling price accordingly.

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Step 2: Determine Selling Price

Knowing how to price your home is one of the most important parts of the selling process. When you set a fair price in the beginning, you’ll get the most interest from other real estate agents and prospective buyers. Overpricing your home could lead to reduced interest, and underpricing leads to receiving less than what your home is worth. Working with a real estate agent is the best way to determine the right selling price for your home. An agent with experience can determine what other comparable homes are selling for, evaluate the current market, and may even suggest a home appraisal.

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Step 3: Start Preparations

If you’ve kept your home in showroom condition since you’ve lived in it, you’re in the minority of homeowners. Once you price your home, it’s time to start getting it ready to be shown to potential buyers. This includes getting rid of clutter, depersonalizing the space so that buyers can envision themselves in the space, making any small repairs, and doing a deep clean to make sure your home is in pristine condition.

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Step 4: Develop a Marketing Strategy

I will develop a marketing strategy that is perfect for advertising your home. This involves listing the home and then driving the right people to that listing through social media campaigns, agent-to-agent referrals, traditional media, or SEO advertising. My team creates a marketing campaign that aims to get the most possible traffic to your listing in the first three weeks after becoming a client.

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Step 5: Evaluate Offers

Receiving an offer is an exciting part of the process, but it doesn’t mean the journey is over. I will evaluate each offer and make sure the party making the offer is prequalified or pre-approved by a mortgage lender and that their offer is acceptable to you. If the offer is too low, you can make a counter-offer or offer other ways to bridge the gap, such as covering some or all of the closing costs, making repairs, adjusting the move-in date, or leaving some appliances or fixtures for the new buyer.

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Step 6: Accept an Offer

Once I deem the offer is acceptable, I will review the proposed contract to make sure it’s all in order and includes the necessary components such as deposit amount, down payment, financing, inspection rights and repair allowances, contingencies, settlement date, and a list of fees and who will pay them. When both parties have agreed to the term, a final contract will be prepared by your agent.

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Step 7: Get Ready to Close

You have accepted an offer and are now very close to the end of your selling journey. But first, you and the buyer must make a list of what needs to be done before closing. In some cases, your home may need to be formally inspected, surveyed, and appraised. In other cases, major or minor repairs will need to be made before the house can close. I will head up efforts to develop and execute this list, get each action item paid for by the correct party, and make sure everything is in order by the closing date. A few days before the closing date, I will call the company closing the transaction to make sure everything is ready to go. If you haven’t done so already, you also need to make arrangements to move out of the home so the new buyer can take possession.

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Step 8: Close

You’ve reached the last step in the seller’s process. When you close on a home you are selling, you are legally transferring ownership of the property to the new buyer. I will meet with the company closing the transaction to sign the final paperwork and go over any issues that have not yet been taken care of. During this time, you can also make plans with your real estate agent to handle final details such as canceling utilities, cable, and lawn or trash services, changing the name on accounts that the new owner is retaining and ensuring the new owner has instructions for all appliances that will remain in the home.

Congratulations!

Once you have sold your home, you’re free to take the next step on your journey. Whether this is relocating to a new city, moving into a larger home, or downsizing and enjoying your life as empty-nesters, knowing all your selling responsibilities have been taken care of will help you achieve peace of mind for your new path.

Success Stories

Testimonials

Read what my clients have to say about working with me.

"Lisa and Joe are the best! Lisa worked hard to find the perfect home for us. She listened to what we wanted and was a great communicator. She really knows the area and has helpful recommendations and ideas. During the sale process, she was organized, smart and very helpful as we were not in person for most of the process. We felt like we were in good hands the whole time. I would recommend The Belmonte Group!"
"Lisa and Joe are the best! Lisa worked hard to find the perfect home for us. She listened to what we wanted and was a great communicator. She really knows the area and has helpful recommendations and ideas. During the sale process, she was organized, smart and very helpful as we were not in person for most of the process. We felt like we were in good hands the whole time. I would recommend The Belmonte Group!"
Susan Bohannon
"Joe and Lisa were a great help to us. We were relocating from the Bay Area and knew we wanted somewhere in the local area. Joe and Lisa really helped us understand the different areas and zero in on the best shot for us. As remote buyers, we relied on their expertise and professionalism to cover many of the onsite inspections. They kept the sales process moving with their organization and follow up on the many outstanding issues we dealt with. We had great trust in their ability and judgment. It was a great experience working with both Joe and Lisa and we'd highly recommend them to anyone interested in either buying or selling their home in this area."
"Joe and Lisa were a great help to us. We were relocating from the Bay Area and knew we wanted somewhere in the local area. Joe and Lisa really helped us understand the different areas and zero in on the best shot for us. As remote buyers, we relied on their expertise and professionalism to cover many of the onsite inspections. They kept the sales process moving with their organization and follow up on the many outstanding issues we dealt with. We had great trust in their ability and judgment. It was a great experience working with both Joe and Lisa and we'd highly recommend them to anyone interested in either buying or selling their home in this area."
Jane & Chris Galli
"My experience working with Joe involved both selling our home in Los Osos and buying a home in Atascadero. Joe was very responsive to my questions. Joe suggested a fair listing price for my home, and we were actually given two bids within days of listing that were about $20,000 over the listing. The quickness of the sale was a most pleasant surprise. Joe and Lisa Belmonte showed my wife and me around quite a few homes. Their suggestion to put in a backup bid, after we lost out to a higher bidder, eventually got us the house we wanted after the higher bidder backed and the seller accepted our offer, which was under the listing price. I had never heard of a backup bid, and without Joe and Lisa's help, we might still be looking for a home. I am very satisfied with Joe and give him my highest rating and will recommend him to anyone I know."
"My experience working with Joe involved both selling our home in Los Osos and buying a home in Atascadero. Joe was very responsive to my questions. Joe suggested a fair listing price for my home, and we were actually given two bids within days of listing that were about $20,000 over the listing. The quickness of the sale was a most pleasant surprise. Joe and Lisa Belmonte showed my wife and me around quite a few homes. Their suggestion to put in a backup bid, after we lost out to a higher bidder, eventually got us the house we wanted after the higher bidder backed and the seller accepted our offer, which was under the listing price. I had never heard of a backup bid, and without Joe and Lisa's help, we might still be looking for a home. I am very satisfied with Joe and give him my highest rating and will recommend him to anyone I know."
Moore Family
"Joe and Lisa are great agents! They are very familiar with the local market and have tons of contacts to help with prepping a home for sale. (We used them both for the purchase and sale of a home in Templeton). We recommend them without reservation!"
"Joe and Lisa are great agents! They are very familiar with the local market and have tons of contacts to help with prepping a home for sale. (We used them both for the purchase and sale of a home in Templeton). We recommend them without reservation!"
Allison Hayward
"Joe and Lisa are the absolute DREAM TEAM!! They are professionals at what they do. They are punctual, thorough, and most important to me honest. You can trust them through every step of the complicated process of buying a home. I recently lost my 8 year old daughter to brain cancer. Because of our treatment journey, buying a home took the back burner. I am forever grateful for Lisa and Joe for making Kyndal's and my dream come true of having our own home."
"Joe and Lisa are the absolute DREAM TEAM!! They are professionals at what they do. They are punctual, thorough, and most important to me honest. You can trust them through every step of the complicated process of buying a home. I recently lost my 8 year old daughter to brain cancer. Because of our treatment journey, buying a home took the back burner. I am forever grateful for Lisa and Joe for making Kyndal's and my dream come true of having our own home."
Raquel Gottfried
"I had tried to list my property with other agents in the past the last year, and they could not get the job done. My property Expired with the last agent and Joe Called me, he was very personable and hard-working and showed me how He and his team could get the job done. I ended up picking Joe and Lisa to List my Home and we put the house in Escrow in 4 hrs and then closed in 8 days. I highly recommend Joe and Lisa as Realtors® if you want a team that will get the job done and hold your hand through the whole selling or buying process. Thank you so much, Joe and Lisa!"
"I had tried to list my property with other agents in the past the last year, and they could not get the job done. My property Expired with the last agent and Joe Called me, he was very personable and hard-working and showed me how He and his team could get the job done. I ended up picking Joe and Lisa to List my Home and we put the house in Escrow in 4 hrs and then closed in 8 days. I highly recommend Joe and Lisa as Realtors® if you want a team that will get the job done and hold your hand through the whole selling or buying process. Thank you so much, Joe and Lisa!"
Sharon L.
"I’m writing this email to thank you for the wonderful job you and your team did with our Paso Robles transaction. You were always available when we needed you and provided excellent guidance throughout the entire process. Thanks again and we hope we get the chance to work with you again in the future! "
"I’m writing this email to thank you for the wonderful job you and your team did with our Paso Robles transaction. You were always available when we needed you and provided excellent guidance throughout the entire process. Thanks again and we hope we get the chance to work with you again in the future! "
Aaron Leritz
"Joe was an amazing agent to deal with. He had our best interests in mind at all times during the sale of our home. Joe's diligence and attention were obvious at all times. I would highly recommend Joe to anyone looking to sell or purchase any real estate."
"Joe was an amazing agent to deal with. He had our best interests in mind at all times during the sale of our home. Joe's diligence and attention were obvious at all times. I would highly recommend Joe to anyone looking to sell or purchase any real estate."
Scott Family
"Listing our land with Joe was the best decision we made. He got the deal done fast and helped us through the process. I highly recommend him and will definitely use him in the future for purchasing or selling. Thank you Joe!"
"Listing our land with Joe was the best decision we made. He got the deal done fast and helped us through the process. I highly recommend him and will definitely use him in the future for purchasing or selling. Thank you Joe!"
Ken Snyder
"Joe Belmonte with Kase Real Estate did an amazing job selling our park model in Heritage Ranch Paso Robles. It was a quick process and we were happy with the results."
"Joe Belmonte with Kase Real Estate did an amazing job selling our park model in Heritage Ranch Paso Robles. It was a quick process and we were happy with the results."
Kevin & Andrea Campion
"Joe and his team did an excellent job representing my family. He was easy to work with and made the process painless, we closed quickly and on time. I highly recommend Joe and his team!"
"Joe and his team did an excellent job representing my family. He was easy to work with and made the process painless, we closed quickly and on time. I highly recommend Joe and his team!"
Michael & Ashley Benson
"Joe Belmonte did an outstanding job assisting us with the purchase of our new home. Joe is friendly responsive and gave great advice!"
"Joe Belmonte did an outstanding job assisting us with the purchase of our new home. Joe is friendly responsive and gave great advice!"
Dominguez Family
"Joe Belmonte did an outstanding job assisting us with the purchase of our new home. Joe is friendly, responsive, and gives great advice. Highly recommend Joe Belmonte."
"Joe Belmonte did an outstanding job assisting us with the purchase of our new home. Joe is friendly, responsive, and gives great advice. Highly recommend Joe Belmonte."
Veronica D.
"Lisa was an amazing agent to deal with. She had our best interests in mind at all times during the sale of our home. Lisa's diligence and attention were obvious at all times. I would highly recommend Lisa to anyone looking to sell or purchase any real estate."
"Lisa was an amazing agent to deal with. She had our best interests in mind at all times during the sale of our home. Lisa's diligence and attention were obvious at all times. I would highly recommend Lisa to anyone looking to sell or purchase any real estate."
Seller
"Joe did an outstanding job helping us sell our home. He had buyers for it before it was listed and for more than the asking price! He assisted us every step of the way and helped us secure the home of our dreams. I'd recommend Joe to anyone buying or selling a home. Thanks, Joe!"
"Joe did an outstanding job helping us sell our home. He had buyers for it before it was listed and for more than the asking price! He assisted us every step of the way and helped us secure the home of our dreams. I'd recommend Joe to anyone buying or selling a home. Thanks, Joe!"
Seller
"Lisa showed expertise about SLO county which was very important as this was the first time we were buying a home here. She showed us homes throughout Paso Robles, Templeton, and Atascadero which is where we ended up finding the perfect home for our family. She not only had familiarity with the land here but her years of an experience as a Realtor® reflected as well as we were able to get our offer accepted in this competitive market with her guidance and knowledge. We are happy to refer Lisa to anyone we know looking to buy, sell or learn more about the real estate market."
"Lisa showed expertise about SLO county which was very important as this was the first time we were buying a home here. She showed us homes throughout Paso Robles, Templeton, and Atascadero which is where we ended up finding the perfect home for our family. She not only had familiarity with the land here but her years of an experience as a Realtor® reflected as well as we were able to get our offer accepted in this competitive market with her guidance and knowledge. We are happy to refer Lisa to anyone we know looking to buy, sell or learn more about the real estate market."
Buyer | Seller
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