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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 team of real estate agents 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 team of real estate agents once you choose one so they 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 team of real estate agent is the best way to determine the right selling price for your home. A team of real estate 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

We 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. Our 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. We 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 we deem the offer is acceptable, we 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 team of real estate agents.

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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. We 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. We 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 team of real estate agents 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 OUR CLIENTS SAY

Kelly was wonderful to work with. She was very personable, always returned calls, and found answers to our questions quickly. She seemed to really care about our family and wanted us to be happy and comfortable with the buying and selling process.

— Jennifer S.

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

I highly recommend Kelly! 5 stars all the way! She had a contract on my townhouse within 48 hours! Any questions that we had along the way, she was there to answer them! She answered the phone every time I needed her, and if she couldn’t, she sent me a text and returned my phone call when she could! Her personality rocks! Very professional and personable! Would definitely use her again!

— Ashleigh M.

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

Kelly was great to work with, not only through the building and purchasing of our new home, but also made a quick sale on our prior home. Highly recommend her for your home-buying or selling needs. We recommended it to our prior neighbors, and they had a great experience as well.

— Buyer & Seller

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

23 years and counting! Kelly rocks! We have used Kelly and the Home Team to sell or purchase all of our homes since 2001. I'm not exaggerating when I say that Kelly is transparent, upfront, and efficient. She quickly discovered our likes and dislikes when house hunting and only showed us houses she would buy herself. She investigated enough to tell us if a house was a dump or a jewel! We think she is qui...

— Gretchen R.

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

They made my first home-buying experience a breeze! They answered all of my many questions and were patient with me. Their customer service is unmatched, and I recommend them to everyone I meet. Can’t go wrong with this team!

— Alivia M.

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

Kelly was so amazing during the buying and selling of our home! I am always recommending her to others and will for sure use her in the future. 🩷

— Mallory H.

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

Kelly and her team are awesome. They had my house under contract in less than 24 hours.

— Holly H.

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

I have worked with The Home Team twice now, purchasing homes, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. In 2020, I purchased my first home. These ladies walked me through each step as I was completely lost in the process. However, they took care of everything, and each step was seamless. When my husband and I decided it was time to move, they were just as amazing with helping us find the perfect house! I 100...

— Kole W.

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

Kelly, Mandy, and Wendy were efficient and thoughtful. When we had questions, they were responsive and thorough. We recommended them to our neighbors, and they had a similar experience. This team is professional and willing to go the extra step to see a property get to the closing table.

— Morgan G.

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

Kelly and Mandy helped us not only once but twice with selling and buying our homes. These ladies never quit searching to make sure they find you what you are looking for. I highly recommend that if you are looking to sell or buy, you use Kelly and her crew!

— Julie C.

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

Best realtor in town! Very knowledgeable and hardworking. Definitely recommend!

— Kimberly C.

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

Professional team with owner and buyer satisfaction!

— Leigh E.

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

Kelly is one of the hardest-working realtors I know. If you give her a chance, you won’t be sorry!

— Chris C.

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

Kelly was recommended by my cousin when I was looking to move to GA. She was attentive and responsive in helping me choose my new home. I'm not looking to move again in the foreseeable future, but when the time does come, I will call on Kelly and her team again.

— Linda H.

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

The Home Team is the only team I trust with my home-buying and selling needs. My family has used their services several times over the last 25 years, and we trust their experience and real estate knowledge to make the process a success.

— Mark & Wendy M.

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

The Home Team is great to work with. Would definitely recommend them to anyone looking to purchase a home in the West Georgia area.

— Kim D.

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

Kelly is consistently outstanding. She exhibits unmatched professionalism, thorough knowledge of the local market, and a dedication to client satisfaction that is truly impressive. Kelly's responsiveness and willingness to go above and beyond make the process seamless.

— Kim M.

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

Kelly Berry and her team are the best! They helped us find our dream home and sell our current home. They are very responsive, and their communication is the best! I would highly recommend Kelly and her team. Kelly truly cares about her clients!

— Laura M.

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

Kelly was wonderful. We started out the new year by finding my dream home. She helped me close on it in February. Then she helped me get ready to sell my old house by letting me know what I needed to do to get it ready to sell. She even got me in contact with the companies I needed to do some of the big jobs around the house. And she made sure everything was done right on time for my closing in September...

— Buyer & Seller

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

Kelly is not only an amazing human who is well respected in the real estate industry, but she is also a wealth of knowledge, helping her clients reach their real estate goals!

— Lauren L.

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Work With Us

Whether you're buying your first home, selling a property, or searching for more space to grow, The Home Team is committed to making the process simple, successful, and stress-free. With nearly three decades of experience serving West Georgia and a business built on repeat clients and referrals, Kelly Berry and her team provide trusted guidance, local expertise, and personalized service every step of the way.