Seller's Guide

There is a lot that goes into selling a house, from marketing, to dealing with potential buyers, the tedious paperwork and closing on the home.

The process can be daunting unless you decide to hire a professional real estate agent. They have the training, resources and pull to make the home selling process significantly smoother. They may even help you get a great return on investment.

If you have decided to hire an agent to take care of all this for you, it is important to hire one that you feel will represent your home best and get it sold quickly and for top dollar.

Finding the right listing price for your home can be a challenge, but it’s one of the most important factors in a successful home sale.

Homes that are accurately priced are more likely to sell in a timely manner. According to CREA research, 57 percent of homes nationwide sell at or above the listing price when they accept an offer in the first week. In the second week on the market, that drops to 50 percent and trends downward as the weeks go on.

Your agent will have all the tools available to know exactly where to price your home.

Staging your home to sell is an important part of the sales process. According to Forbes, for every $100 you put in to staging, you should see a return of $400. So if you are wanting to sell for top dollar, you might want to consider this important step.

Buyers expect to walk into a home and envision what it would be like for their family to live there. Therefore, you should do your best to make the home inviting and as neutral as possible. Highlight your home's strengths and downplay its weaknesses to appeal to the largest pool of prospective buyers.

Start with a few things that you can easily do yourself. Declutter, clean and depersonalize: Too much stuff in a room can make your home feel small, crowded and lacking in storage. And having too many personal items, like family photos, can make it hard for buyers to picture themselves living in the home.

But, home staging is more than just cleaning and getting rid of clutter. You may want to opt to hiring a professional stager if you are looking to sell your home for top dollar.

A professional home stager has the design latent, knowledge of local trends, and resources to ensure all areas of the home are presented in a manner that showcases the greatest value and appeal.

Staging your home is about creating an inviting space that attracts a majority of potential homebuyers, which provides you with an amazing opportunity to sell your house at the best price.

At this stage, your home is now on the market and potential buyers are making appointments for showings and they are ready to make an offer.

If you priced your house competitively, you should soon receive an offer, if not multiple offers. If offers are lower than your asking price, don’t hesitate to make a counteroffer or ask for full price. You can also change any of the terms in the offer that better suits you. Buyers like to “test the waters” to see how you might respond, while still making room for negotiation.

Once an offer is accepted, it is signed and legally binding. It is important that your offer contain all requirements as there will be no going back to make changes.