A Guide for Listing and Selling Your Home
Parker-Holsman Co.    1461 E. 57th Street    Chicago, IL 60637    773-493-2525 Your Neighborhood Realtor since 1931

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Parker-Holsman Co. was a charter member of the Institute for Real Estate Management in the 1930's. We continue to believe that it's our responsibility to educate our clients. We hope that you will find this information useful.

If you are like most people, your home is special to you and represents a large investment. When it comes time to sell it, you are facing both a very emotional decision and a major financial transaction.

Hiring a real estate professional to help make things go smoothly is the beginning step in the decision process. Certainly, we hope you will decide to use our services, but the primary purpose of this guide is to give you tips and ideas to make selling your home a more enjoyable experience.

Index to articles:

• It's Spring! Time to move?
• Top ten ways to sell your home
• Planning to buy or sell? Here's how to choose a real estate agent.
• How to get the best possible price
• Preparing to market your home
• Reviewing an offer to purchase your home: your options
• It doesn't end with a signed contract

It's Spring! Time to move? (From The Primer, Spring 1999)
How would you like a quick sale with multiple offers? It's every seller's dream.

How would you like to buy a new home or apartment in gorgeous move-in condition at a fair market price? It's every buyer's dream.

If you're planning to sell, it's time to get busy fixing your home up. Many buyers find spring the ideal time to find that new place and you must be ready for them.

First, give us a call and let us suggest the value of your home and how you can fix it up for sale.

Most homes need decluttering. (Actually, it's not a bad idea even if you don't plan to move, but that's another story.) You want your buyers to imagine themselves in your space. If it's crammed with personal items or over-furnished, their imaginations may not take them that far. Also, too much furniture and too many objects make the space seem smaller. Now is the time to achieve that minimalist, sleek look you've always admired in the home magazines.

Many sellers rent storage space for possessions that need to be removed from the home for marketing purposes. Just remember: don't store important papers that you will need to complete the deal.

You may decide some items should find a new home. The Neighborhood Club, local churches, women's shelters, and/or the Resource Center can help put your unneeded items to good use or tell you who could.

Now, start a clean-up, paint-up spree. Everything should shine and work, including windows. If the floors creak, get a carpenter to do some simple repairs. Faults you've long since gotten used to may spook potential buyers.

Cooperate with your real estate agent regarding showing your home. The more it is shown, the faster it will sell. If at all possible, leave during showings. Buyers will feel more comfortable taking their time and asking questions of the agent.

As a buyer, you hope to find sellers who have put their homes in tip-top shape. BUT, you may get a better price if you come upon a cluttered gem that hasn't been updated for years.

Use your imagination and envision the property with a fresh coat of paint, your own terrific furniture, and some kitchen/bathroom remodeling. Easily remedied short-comings may translate into a more favorable price to you, the buyer.

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Top ten ways to sell your home (From The Primer, Summer 1996)

10. Send the kids, their toys, and the Doberman to Grandma.
9. make sure everything works - doorknobs, drawer pulls, keys, and locks - EVERYTHING! If it's loose, tighten it.
8. Check the exterior of the home - trim, rake, scrub, repair, or paint everything that doesn't move.
7. Do Spring cleaning, even though it isn't Spring. Clean homes sell faster. Make sure the kitchen and bathroom(s) sparkle. Put out fresh towels, clean tile grout and do the dishes.
6. Add a little magic - fresh flowers, a simmering pot of cinnamon on the stove, a fire in the fireplace on cool afternoons.
5. Let the light shine on all this cleanliness: turn all the lights on and invest in higher watt light bulbs. Your rooms will seem warmer and brighter.
4. If it's broken, fix it. Take a hard look at loose moulding, lifted wallpaper, leaky faucets, sticky doors or windows, then tack down, glue down, replace washers, or get out the oil can.
3. Check out the common elements. Entryways, basement areas, laundry rooms, hallways, and staircases - all should be clean and brightly lit.
2. Let your agent show your place when you're not home - and if you are home, leave if possible. Buyers will be much more at ease.
1. Choose Parker-Holsman Co. as your real estate firm. Your home is our business.

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Planning to buy or sell? Here's how to choose a real estate agent. (From The Primer, Winter 1996)
Come Spring, many people decide to buy or sell a home. Choosing a real estate agent to help you sell your home is an important decision. Here are some tips:

1. Consider the agent's references and the firm's reputation carefully.
2. Make sure the firm has a strong knowledge of the local residential real estate market.
3. Ask the prospective agent how he or she will market your home:
   • Will your home be listed with cooperating agents in the immediate area as well as with a multiple listing service?
   • Is the prospective agent knowledgeable about your local market, particularly the schools and businesses in your community?
   • Can the agent provide comparable sales data?
4. Ask whether the agent will:
   • Suggest a price that attracts buyers, yet leaves room for negotiation;
   • Target the market for your home and judge the best way to reach the market;
   • Screen casual "window shoppers" from serious prospective buyers;
   • Arrange all appointments to show your home to qualified buyers;
   • Provide financing information for buyers who don't know how the loan process works;
   • Negotiate with the buyers; and
   • Assist and guide you through the closing.
5. Learn how to make your home saleable. Does the agent suggest the small but important touches that attract buyers?

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How to get the best possible price
A reasonable price for your property is based on:
Fair Market Estimate (based on recent sales of comparable property)
Location
Market Season
Appraiser's Opinion

A home is also your home, filled with memories and emotional attachment; but to a buyer, it may seem like any house or apartment for sale. That is why the most important thing in selling a home is the right price ---- so, remember, set the price too high and you may never find a buyer. The higher you price your home, the fewer people will be interested in seeing it .... but, set the price too low and you'll be cheating yourself!

Keep in mind that the value of your home and the willingness of a buyer to pay that price isn't based on the amount you paid for it (plus appreciation/cost of improvements you've made) but, rather, the value is determined by market conditions in your neighborhood at the time you want to sell. As real estate professionals, we will help you arrive at a realistic asking price. We know the actual selling prices of comparable homes that have sold recently in your area and the current market conditions, neighborhood influences, and specific selling features of your home needed to determine a suggested fair market value. Again, be aware if an agent promises an inflated asking price only to obtain your listing ... the market season may pass you by!

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Preparing to market your home
Buyers today aren't simply going to tour your home and decide whether or not they like it. They want to know the details about owning your particular home and living in the neighborhood. Having all the answers to buyers' questions is a powerful sales tool. The data that you and your sales agent assemble at the time you list your property will be heavily relied upon in the marketing of your home.

You and your agent will need the following:

Legal description of the property.

Dimensions of the lot or correct unit number.

Number and sizes of rooms. A floor plan is very useful.

List exactly what is included in the sale; especially any items not clearly attached that are to be included in the sale (e.g. draperies, appliances, ceiling fans, air conditioners, storm doors/windows, particular lighting fixtures, security systems, TV antennas, washer/dryer, dishwasher, garbage disposal, etc.).

List any defects not apparent. Legally, and ethically, you must inform your agent so he or she can inform buyers about any hidden defects. Buyers have won lawsuits against sellers after finding defects the seller didn't tell them about.

If your home is a condominium
A copy of the Association's declaration, bylaws, the last 2 years of budgets and/or financial statements, all information about monthly and special assessments due or projected.

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Reviewing an offer to purchase your home: your options
Your agent will present to you any and all offers to purchase your property and will discuss the terms of each offer with you.

After all the terms are discussed and clearly understood, you have these options:

1. Accept the terms with NO changes and sign & date the contract.
2. Make a counteroffer to the buyer by changing one or more of the terms. You can make changes, additions, or deletions on the contract, initial them at each place where the change was made and then sign and date the contract.
3. Reject the offer entirely without signing it ... just right REJECT across the face of the contract, date, and initial it.

The Offer to Purchase becomes a valid Contract of Sale and is fully executed (signed by both the buyer and seller) only when both the purchaser and seller have signed it and both have initialed any changes written into or deleted from the document.

You may receive more than one offer at the same time, and you may only accept one of the offers.

Once a sales contract is executed, you may hold other offers (unsigned by seller) as "back-up" offers in the event the accepted offer should fail. You can not sign any other offer unless the original contract becomes null and void.

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It doesn't end with a signed contract
An important service our company offers is monitoring the progress of the executed contract through the final stages of loan approval and closing. This involves a "working aquaintanceship" with your buyer's bank and/or savings & loan association, and it can include:

1. Supplying certain documents that the lender will require.
2. Cooperating with the appraiser to evaluate the property and supplying information on similar properties that have sold within the last six months.
3. Assisting your lawyer, if necessary, in finalizing closing documents, such as paid assessment letters or certificates of insurance.

Don't take chance with one of the most important transactions you wil ever make. Use a Professional!

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