How I sell a home

Selling a home doesn't start with putting a sign in the yard either. First, we need a strategy.

Step 1. The seller consultation. The first thing I want to understand is why you want to sell. We'll talk about why you're moving, when you need to sell, whether you still have a mortgage and roughly how much you owe, whether you'll need to buy another home afterward, whether you're leaving Texas, whether you'll be buying and selling at the same time, what condition the property is in, what improvements you've made, and what your financial goal is.

If you need to sell and buy at the same time, we build both strategies from the very beginning. I don't want to sell your house first and then ask where you're going to live. That has to be planned as a whole, and it's covered at the end of this page.

Step 2. We analyze value and competition. I put together a market analysis using sold, active, and pending properties. We look at price per square foot when it's relevant, condition, size, lot, location, amenities, upgrades, days on market, price reductions, and which homes you'll actually be competing against at that moment. That's how we decide how to position your home.

Step 3. The pricing strategy. The starting price matters a lot. The question isn't how much we'd like to get, it's how the market is going to read that price. We set it using data, competition, demand, condition, location, your goals, and how much time you have to sell.

Step 4. We go over the numbers. Before you decide anything, I want you to have financial clarity. We take the estimated sale price, subtract your mortgage balance, and subtract the costs that apply to the transaction. What's left is your net proceeds, meaning the money that's actually yours.

Step 7. We get the house ready. Before we advertise it, we figure out what it needs. We can look at what's worth decluttering, what needs a deep clean, whether paint makes sense, which minor repairs are worth doing, the yard, how the house looks from the street, the lighting, how the furniture is arranged, and which personal items are better packed away.

I won't necessarily recommend that you spend thousands of dollars. What I want is to find where spending money makes sense and where it doesn't. I have that conversation with you myself, with enough time for you to get things done without rushing.

The photo is the first thing a buyer sees, and often the only thing. That's why this part happens before the photographer arrives, not after.

Step 9. The property goes on the market. Once it's active, we start measuring how the market responds. I watch the showings, the feedback from people who came through, the online activity, the competition, the new homes coming on, price changes, offers, and buyer interest. That gives us real information instead of guesses.

Step 10. Showings. Buyers start visiting the house. During this time it helps to keep it clean, tidy, well lit, easy to show, light on personal items, and looking its best. Every showing is an opportunity, and what people said at each one comes to you in your weekly report.

Step 14. The buyer's inspection. The buyer usually does an inspection under the rights the contract gives them, and afterward may send a request about the condition of the property: repairs, credits, concessions, or some other change. Sending it doesn't mean we automatically have to accept all of it. We review it and decide how to respond.

Step 15. The second negotiation. This can be a full negotiation inside the same transaction. We look at what the buyer is asking for, what's reasonable, what it would cost, what risk there is, what condition the house is in, and where we stand in the negotiation. From there we decide on our answer.

Step 16. The buyer's appraisal. If the buyer is financing, their lender usually orders an appraisal. We keep watching the transaction while it's completed, and if a problem comes up, we review the contract and the options we have.

Step 17. The buyer's financing. Meanwhile, the buyer's lender keeps working on their loan approval. That part is handled mainly by the buyer and their lender. I stay in touch with the right people to keep an eye on how it's moving.

Step 18. The title company. The title company also works the file and coordinates everything related to the title, existing liens, your mortgage payoff, the survey, HOA documents when they apply, the closing figures, and the paperwork needed to transfer the property.

This is where having a plan from the start shows the most, and it's one of the things I help with most.

I don't want to treat it as two separate transactions. I want to see it as one move, and we put it together in this order: your current home, the equity you have available in it, the sale, your prequalification for the next home, the search, the offer, the closing dates for both, and the move itself.

The strategy is designed around your financial and personal situation, not the other way around. My goal is for you to sell your home, buy the next one, have both transactions coordinated, and understand every step clearly.

Buying or selling a home feels complicated when you don't know what comes next. When you have a plan, the whole process changes. If you're going to buy, start with how I help you buy.

This describes my general process as a REALTOR® in Texas and is not legal, tax, or loan advice. The details of each transaction vary with the contract, the property, and the county. For legal, tax, or financing questions, please talk with the right professional.