Local Selling Tips

Sellers

• Dedicate ourselves to making the process of selling your home as easy
  and as successful as possible.
   
• Respect you, your needs and be honest and forthright.
   
• Hold your best interests in the highest regard throughout the process.
   
• Value and respect your time, being as efficient and effective as possible.
   
• Understand your needs and respond quickly.
   
• Use our base of experience, knowledge, tools and the most up-to-date training to best serve you.
   
• Provide regular progress reports throughout the process and discuss with you comments received about your property.
   
• Explain each step of the process and act as a guide to help you make the most informed decisions.
   
• Make recommendations to enhance the marketability of your property.
   
• Use a written Competitive Market Analysis and local market information to
  help you set the right listing price to sell your home and get the value you deserve.
   
• Review various financing alternatives and assist you in determining those which best enhance the sale-ability of your home.
   
• Develop, present and agree upon a Customized Marketing Plan that will detail specific promotional efforts to help best market your property.
   
• Place the internationally recognized CENTURY 21 yard sign on your property,
  with your permission and subject to local ordinances.
   
• Provide worldwide exposure for your property on the Internet, including posting your property on Century21.com, a site which receives millions of visitors each month.*
   
• Explain local real estate procedures and regulations.
   
• Show your property to pre-qualified buyers.
   
• Utilize the CENTURY 21 System of thousands of offices to expose your property to potential buyers referred to my office.
   
• Utilize the vast and powerful resources of the CENTURY 21 System to get you
  the results you deserve, including leveraging a Network of 6,500 offices and 104,000 agents worldwide.
   
• Submit to you all written offers, assist with negotiations, and provide an
  estimate of your net sales proceeds, so you understand all implications prior
  to any acceptance.
   
• Upon acceptance of an offer to you, pre-settlement (escrow) activities
  throughout the closing process will be monitored as permitted by law or local practice.
   
• Assist you in finding your next home, or offer to refer you to another office 
  in another location.

Selling Process

Step 1: Design a Marketing Plan

Create a marketing plan to create awareness of your home in the local marketplace. You may accomplish this by advertising in local print publications like newspapers and magazines, posting the home online on different relevant sites or directories and have open houses. Century 21 Real Estate Centre offers the CENTURY 21 Customized Marketing System to create a personalized selling program for customized for you. This proven marketing system was designed to maximize the sales price in the shortest closing time.

Step 2: Determine the Price

Obviously, one of the most important aspects in the selling process is setting the listing price. A seller wants to avoid under pricing the value of his home while still attracting a healthy volume of prospective buyers. One suggestion is to review the listing prices of recently sold homes in Maryland, and the D.C. area. Century 21 Real Estate Center professionals are local specialists and can assist you by providing a market analysis and invaluable assistance to clients determining the market value by providing the latest market trends.

Step 3: Showtime

Now it's time to get your home ready for the spotlight. Start with a good cleaning, then eliminate any clutter, add a fresh coat of paint and tidy up the yard. Talk to your Century 21 Real Estate Centre professional about other tips that can help boost a home's curb appeal and impress potential buyers once they're in the door. One way to make a home more attractive is to purchase a Home Protection Plan. This insurance protects you, the seller, from paying repair or replacement costs of major items during the listing period. It also protects the buyer during their first year of homeownership.

In addition, make sure you are aware of all the federal, state, and local disclosure laws. This information can be obtained by the specific local and federal government agencies or from The Century 21 Real Estate Centre.

Step 4: Protecting Yourself

In some cases, a home sale can also be an invitation for danger. Here are some things you can do to make the process safer.

Step 5: Making the Deal

A buyer has made an offer - now it is time to negotiate. Rely on your Century 21 Real Estate Centre professional to guide you through this process. He or she will help you arrive at an acceptable price, terms and conditions. Once you have accepted an offer, help keep the deal together by meeting deadlines and criteria, including home inspections, appropriate buyer visits, scheduled deposits and other steps. In fact, during this period there may be a renegotiation of the accepted offer price depending on the outcomes of these visits.

As the closing nears, you may also need to perform repairs or do additional work to the house as agreed upon in your contract. In addition, you will need to have the house "broom clean" prior to the closing so that the buyer can complete a final walk through. When you finally arrive at the closing table, come prepared with the appropriate certificates and approvals as required by your town, county and state. Ask the appropriate agency or get a list of what you need from the Century 21 Real Estate Centre. Once the money has exchanged hands and all the papers signed it's time to hand over the keys and concentrate on your next big project - getting YOUR new home in order.

What Is Your House Worth?

Whether you are thinking of selling your Maryland home now or in the future, knowing what your property is worth is an important first step. By filling out our Home Value Estimator you will be furnished with a FREE Comparative Market Analysis Report that will give you a good idea of your home's current value. After you supply the basic information, we will contact you via phone or email to ask follow-up and more specific questions that will give us all the detailed information we require to arrive at a value for your home. Put our knowledge of the local market to work for you and learn how we can help you increase the value of your home.