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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, we 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.

WHAT MY CLIENTS SAY

Local knowledge Process expertise Responsiveness Negotiation skills There are good real estate agents, there are some great ones and then there’s Sam. He is amazing because he was there for us every step of the way. Before the home buying process we had no clue how to go about it. He sat us down and explained every step in the process. We recently moved into our new home in Levittown and it would not hav...

— Rich Maddela

WHAT MY CLIENTS SAY

As first-time home buyers, my husband and I had no clue where to start and what to do when it came to buying a house. From the first time I spoke with Sam, he was extremely informative and upfront about the entire process from start to finish. After meeting him, sam was able to see exactly what we were looking for in a home. Within two weeks of working with Sam, we had an offer accepted on a home in the ...

— Stephanie G.

WHAT MY CLIENTS SAY

Sam is a phenomenal dedicated hard-working Real estate agent who goes above and beyond for his clients. He makes you feel welcomed the moment you meet him, he's kind, honest, and transparent. He is patient and listens to your needs. His work ethic goes beyond a five-star rating. He truly makes you feel as if he is helping a family member to purchase a home even though you have only just met him. He const...

— Elyse P.

WHAT MY CLIENTS SAY

The consummate professional!Independent and his own brand. Great staff and a wealth of knowledge and connections. After interviewing 21 real estate agents I hired Sam Islam on the spot, after speaking to him for only seven minutes. He came well-prepared with documents ready to sign and an explanation behind each one. Sam convinced me that he had great skills, experience, and excellent theories behind his...

— Seller

WHAT MY CLIENTS SAY

Working with Sam was a complete pleasure from the very first day until the very last. Sam is a great professional that is not only knowledgeable about the process of buying a house but he will go out of his way to make It a smooth and stress-free experience. As a first-time homebuyer, having Sam as my agent was a blessing; he helped me with the entire process and educated me about every detail that I nee...

— Buyer

WHAT MY CLIENTS SAY

Sam is a consummate professional who goes above and beyond to ensure that you are taken care of every step of the way. Sam provided my family with his undivided attention and was always available whenever I had a question or concern. He went above and beyond to provide us with a knowledge base in order for us to make informed decisions that worked for us and in the end, we ended up with our dream home! W...

— Johan M.

WHAT MY CLIENTS SAY

Sam is the greatest, he is extremely knowledgeable, caring, and really on top of everything. Sam is a one-stop-shop he will connect you with all the resources you need for your buying process. He then walks you through it and explains everything to you from A to Z. He constantly keeps you updated and you feel like you know exactly what’s going on, even if you don’t have a clue. I was a first-time home bu...

— Jessica J.

WHAT MY CLIENTS SAY

Sam is a great Realtor. He has the local knowledge of the market and keeps a good pulse on the trends of the market. I was able to sell my house in a planned and smooth transaction. He was able to price and show my house to many buyers on the same day which resulted in multiple offers. The method of his presentation on the house and pricing of the house was on point. I was able to sell the house fast and...

— Rony A.

WHAT MY CLIENTS SAY

Sam was amazing! We knew we wanted to purchase a home but then got set back. One year later he welcomed us back with open arms and was ready to work. He was aggressive with his searches and really listened to what we wanted. We found our home on our second day of open houses with Sam. In addition, his team was impressive and a pleasure to work with as well. All communication was smooth between all partie...

— Buyer

WHAT MY CLIENTS SAY

I recently bought a property with Sam’s help and my overall experience has been great. Sam takes the time to understand his client's requirements. He is knowledgeable about the areas and counties in Long Island and uses his skills and expertise when recommending properties to clients. I was impressed by his Professionalism, communication skills, and responsiveness, and moreover his commitment and dedicat...

— Buyer

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