In the maze of forms, financing, inspections, marketing, pricing and negotiating, it makes sense to work with professionals who know the community and much more. Five College Realtors® (FCR) was founded by a group of local, knowledgeable and veteran Realtors® with decades of collective experience. We are consistently top-ranked in the area for home sales as shown in the 2022 Hampshire County Sales graph below.
Preparing To Sell Your Home
The home-selling process typically starts several months before a property is made available for sale. It's necessary to look at a home through the eyes of a prospective buyer and determine what needs to be cleaned, painted, repaired, and tossed out. Your FCR Realtor®'s informed advice will help you prepare your home so that it looks good, maximizes space and attracts as many buyers as possible.
Setting The Price
Several factors, including market conditions, improvements or updates, condition and location will determine the value of your home. In other words, home selling is part art, part science, part marketing and negotiation. Your FCR Realtor® will provide you with a Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) that is essential to determining the value of residential property. Once the value of your home has been determined, we can help you decide on an offering price that will achieve your goals. Another critical factor to keep in mind when pricing your home is timing and we can give you up-to-date information on what is happening in the marketplace and the price, financing, terms, and condition of competing properties.
Marketing
The day your home goes on the market it should be in prime condition and priced right to attract the most potential buyers. Your FCR Realtor® will share a marketing plan with you based on market conditions including our post card program as well as digital advertising. We can help you estimate who might want to buy your house and what else those buyers are looking at so you can measure your price against the competition. If you and your REALTOR® develop a team approach to selling, you'll benefit from a quicker and more pleasant real estate transaction.
Negotiating An Offer
Perhaps the most exciting and complex moment in the sales process comes when you get an offer for your home. Whether you have one offer or several to consider, your FCR Realtor® will help you navigate the negotiation. We will present all offers to you promptly and assist in evaluating each one factoring in financing, market data, repairs, closing costs and more.
The Art Of Settling
When you have a signed contract with the buyer for your home, you may feel as if you can breathe a sigh of relief. While it's certainly true that you can lighten up on the perfectionism required to show your home at any moment, as a seller you still need to cooperate with your buyer, the buyer's agent and the commitments made in the contract. In other words, before you can completely relax you need to get to the settlement table. Your FCR Realtor® will advise you during each step of the process, always with your best interests in mind.
Planning Your Move
The time to plan your move begins once you've decided to sell your home. Some of the activities required to sell your home can actually help with the moving process. For example, by cleaning out closets, the basement, and the attic you will have less to do once the home is under contract. We can provide you with valuable contacts, resources and expert tips to make your transition as smooth as possible.
Call, email or fill out our Home Value Calculator to get the process started today!
