WHAT ARE THE CHRONOLOGICAL STEPS TO A DC HOME SALE?
Even if you've done it before, the process of getting your home ready to go to market, selling and closing can seem daunting! We created a 4 Step Plan to guide DC home sellers through the process of listing a Washington DC home for sale. Or simplify to one step: Call me!
STEP ONE | RESEARCH THE LOCAL MARKET AND NATIONAL FORECASTS
Real estate is local--but it is influenced by national and international factors. So get to know your hyper-local DC market, DC market trends, and expand that research outside influences.
- Check data particular to your micro-neighborhood and its competing neighborhoods. Look at listings, see what’s selling and what’s sitting. We can create a Collection of listings for each that update in real time. It’s important to expand beyond your immediate location because most buyers will shop multiple neighborhoods instead of confining their search to one. Consider the competition’s home type, price point, amenities, transportation and presentation. Examine days on market, price reductions, incentives and sold prices. These will help determine your property value and potential target buyer.
STEP TWO | PARTNER WITH AN EXPERT
Well, us, obviously! Working with The Isaacs Team means you're collaborating with Realtors who understand your product, location, buyer trends, property packaging and pricing. Your home is in one neighborhood, your buyers will come from many. You need an expert with knowledge of neighborhoods throughout the District, not just your own, to market your home.
STEP THREE | ASSESS YOUR HOME'S POTENTIAL
Your home is probably a great place to live as it is. But how does it stack up as a product against top-selling homes on the market? You'll want the highest return on your investment and the greatest profit to take with you to the next stage of your life, right?
The way to achieve that is to partner with an expert in home presentation and scaled pricing. We’ll discuss potential repairs, updates and redesign, and talk about staging to appeal to your target buyer. We can offer resources for estimates for any work you decide to perform.
STEP FOUR | WE CREATE A GAME PLAN
It's a process! We'll work out a plan to prepare your home for sale that fits your needs.
Bonus: Our off-market, Private Exclusive listing network allows us to start marketing your home before it’s ready to show! As us how!
PUTTING THE PLAN INTO ACTION
Let's get started!
IMPLEMENT STEP ONE OF THE PLAN
Invite us over to provide you with a home evaluation. We'll walk and talk it through, then decide together what will be done to to prepare your home for market. We'll generate a checklist including referrals for any vendors or contractors you may need.
UPDATING YOUR HOME
If you're doing some updating or a renovation as part of our plan, that will be first on the checklist. We'll be there to guide you through each step!
Important: Be sure to research each vendor and contractor’s credentials, licensing, bonding, insurance, references and online reviews prior to approving any bids, signing agreements or scheduling work.
PRESENTATION AND STAGING
Once your home has been updated and cleaned, we're going to walk through it again and discuss the next steps on our checklist. Updating can shed a new light on your home and we want to update our plan accordingly. Having done that, we'll proceed with the next steps, pausing after each to evaluate.
PRICING
Now that your home is ready for market, we run through the market research again, solely to determine price.
You may have come in over or under budget on your home's makeover, which can affect margin, and while it was being readied for market, it's likely the market has shifted a little--or a lot. We'll agree on a list price and test it with a Private Exclusive listing to make sure we're on the right track.
PHOTOGRAPHY
Time for pretty pictures! Photographs are a key part of great presentation. Poor photos contribute to higher Days On Market and a lower net profit for you because they generate less traffic. We'll suggest top-notch, professional photographers for your listing. We pay for it, too!
MARKETING
We create beautiful marketing that deploys where your buyers are looking: online! Print collateral goes into a landfill, while effective online marketing shows up for buyers again and again.
OFFERS, NEGOTIATION & CONTRACT
Each transaction is different. We'll guide you through the offer, contract and closing phases particular to your home, communicate well and often, provide answers and explain situations in an easy to understand way and timely manner.
AFTER CLOSING | THE LONG GOODBYE
It's not over until we've checked to make sure you received your net proceeds and a copy of all your closing documents. We'll want to check in to see how you're doing and help with anything else you need!
