The Traditional Home Selling Process: Is it Really Worth It?
When it comes to selling your home, the traditional process can seem like the only option. However, it's important to be aware of the potential pitfalls and annoyances that come with listing your home on the market. Here's a step-by-step breakdown of the traditional home selling process:
First, here is a simple list of steps:
- Prepare your home for sale
- List your home for sale on the market
- Potential buyers tour your home
- Buyer makes an offer and you negotiate
- You sign a contract
- Buyer performs a home inspection
- Appraisal is ordered and performed
- Buyer's loan underwriting and final approval
- Title work performed
- Moving day
- Closing day
Below, we will explain each step in detail and give you some potential tips to avoid pitfalls. If after reading this and you decide it is not worth the hassle of trying to sell the traditional way, please reach out to us for a free as-is cash offer on your home.
Here are a few potential pitfalls at each stage of the process
| Step | What could go wrong |
|---|---|
| Prepare your home for sale | Home repairs are more extensive or costly than anticipated |
| List your home for sale on the market | Difficulty pricing your home correctly |
| Potential buyers tour your home | Fewer showings than expected, strangers walking through your home |
| Buyer makes an offer and you negotiate | Difficulty reaching an agreement on price |
| You sign a contract | Contract falls through due to buyer's financing falling through or issues with title |
| Buyer performs a home inspection | Home inspection reveals issues that need to be addressed - these could be costly! |
| Appraisal is ordered and performed | Appraisal comes in lower than expected |
| Buyer's loan underwriting and final approval | Buyer's loan is denied |
| Title work performed | Title issues are discovered - mechanic's liens, lawsuits, etc |
| Moving day | Difficulty coordinating move-out and move-in dates. You move and then sale falls through! |
| Closing day | Closing is delayed due to unexpected issues |
It's important to note that these are just examples of potential problems that can occur during each step of the home selling process. Each situation is unique and some steps may not apply to every sale.
Step 1: Prepare Your Home For Sale
De-clutter your home, perform minor repairs, fix obvious issues, and make your home as show-ready as possible. This process can be tedious and difficult. Usually homes that show well get better offers. This means you might have to remove a lot of your personal effects from the home at this stage.
Step 2: List Your Home for Sale on the Market
The next step in the traditional home selling process is to list your home on the market. This typically involves hiring a real estate agent, who will help you set a price for your home and list it on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS). Speaking from years of experience selling 1,000s of homes on the MLS, we can confidently say that the listing agent's value comes from after the home is under contract, not while it is listed for sale. So it is important to pick an agent who is reliable. This is more important than brand name or experience.
Step 3: Potential Buyers Tour Your Home
Once your home is listed on the market, potential buyers will begin to schedule tours of your home. This can be disruptive, as you will need to keep your home in show-ready condition and vacate the premises during tours. Additionally, you may have to deal with nosy or rude visitors.
We do not recommend you allowing open houses. Open houses are usually just a tactic for agents to get new clients. Anyone who might actually be interested in your home will make an appointment to view it directly. Having hundreds of strangers in your home is invasive and not really helpful to you.
Step 4: A Potential Buyer Makes an Offer and You Negotiate
When a potential buyer is interested in purchasing your home, they will make an offer. You and your real estate agent will then negotiate with the buyer to come to an agreement on the price. This can be a long and tedious process, with multiple rounds of negotiations and counter-offers.
Step 5: You Sign a Contract
Once you and the buyer have agreed on a price, you will sign a contract that they will buy the home within a certain amount of time, usually 30 to 60 days. The contract will have several contingencies including inspection contingency, appraisal contingency, and financing contingency. This means that the buyer has the right to cancel the contract if they find problems with the house during the inspection, if the house does not appraise for the contract price, or if they can't get a loan for whatever reason.
Step 6: They Perform a Home Inspection - Repairs are Negotiated
The buyer will then perform a home inspection. This is intended to look for any issues with the home, and the inspector will provide a report with their findings. The buyer will then ask you to repair everything that is wrong with the house. However, this is usually a negotiating tactic and the home inspection is intended to look scary with a lot of red and bold text, etc.
Step 7: Aopraisal Ordered & Performed
After the inspection, the buyer will order an appraisal, the appraiser will inspect your home and provide an appraisal report. Along with the home inspection report, there may also be bank-required repairs that need to be done.
Step 8: Buyer's Loan Underwritten and Approved
While everything else is happening, the buyer is completing their loan process. A pre-approval letter that they provide with their contract is not a "real" pre-approval. This just means that if everything they said on their loan application is true, they will most likely be approved. The lender still performs their own due diligence on the buyer, on the home, and on the market and can change their mind up until the very last second.
Step 9: Title Work
During the time frame of 30 to 60 days, the title company will be doing a title inspection on the property. This is to ensure that there are no liens or other issues with the property's title that would prevent the sale from proceeding.
Step 10: Moving Day
Buyers usually want the home delivered vacant. This means that you have to move out before actually receiving your money. You pack, move to your new place, and then the buyer performs a final walkthrough. If all goes well, you move onto closing day. It is not beyond the realm of possibiliy that the buyer's loan falls through after you move out. Be mindful of this!
Step 11: Closing Day
Once the title company and bank are ready, there will be a closing day. On this day, you will sign a deed that transfers the property to the buyer. Their bank will wire the money to their closing attorney or title company and then the money is wired to your title company or attorney. If you have a mortgage, this will be paid off and then you will get any difference remaining.
As you can see, the traditional home selling process can be long, tedious, and stressful. It can take months for your home to sell, and there's a chance that the sale might fall through at any point along the way. Moreover, throughout the process, you'll have to deal with the uncertainty of whether the sale will close and you'll have to keep your home in show ready condition, which can be hard with a busy lifestyle.
The Alternative: Selling to a Direct Home Buyer
If you're looking for a faster, simpler, and less stressful way to sell your home, consider selling to a direct home buyer like ResiBuys.com. We offer fair cash prices for homes and can typically close on a sale in as little as 7 days.
One of the main benefits of selling to a direct home buyer like ResiBuys is that we don't require homeowners to make repairs or renovations before selling. We purchase homes in any condition, which means you don't have to worry about costly repairs or renovations. And, we don't ask for home appraisals, which saves you time and money.
Another benefit of selling to a direct home buyer like ResiBuys is that we can close quickly and pay cash. This eliminates the need for financing and the uncertainty that comes with waiting for a mortgage to be approved. Plus, you can avoid real estate agent fees by selling directly to us.
At ResiBuys.com, we understand that the traditional home selling process can be long and stressful. That's why we strive to make the process as simple and straightforward as possible for homeowners. If you're ready to sell your home quickly and easily, contact us today and request a cash offer.
