Selling your Ohio home is easier than you think. Just follow this step-by-step guide put together by the Clouse Eaglin Team and you’ll be on your way to accomplishing your home selling goals at the soonest time.
Prep your home for sale
When it comes to selling your home, presentation is everything. A clean and spacious home can attract more buyers and leave a lasting impression on them. It all starts with cleaning, decluttering, and improving your house from top to bottom. Here’s how you can do it:
- Store all personal items such as family photos, collections, toys, and knick-knacks
- Make necessary repairs such as fixing broken windows and loose doorknobs.
- Improve curb appeal by mowing the lawn, planting flowers, and cleaning the gutters.
- Get rid of bad smells and mysterious odors by cleaning your appliances, deodorizing your trash can, and opening all the windows in the room.
- Stage your home, especially in areas that can influence buyers’ decisions the most. These are the kitchen, the living room, and the master bedroom.
Determine the right selling price
Pricing is one of the trickiest aspects of the home selling process. Underpricing your home could give you less than what your home’s worth while overpricing could turn potential buyers off due to the high price tag.
The best way to determine the price of your home is to take a look at comparable sales. These comparable sales (or “comps”) involve looking at recently sold homes with similar:
- Location
- Neighborhood
- Home features
- Size
- Condition
Once you find homes that fit the criteria and how much they were sold for, you’ll have a better idea of determining the value of your home. Your local appraiser can also help you in coming up with an accurate amount.
Know the real estate disclosure rules
In Ohio, home sellers are obligated to give buyers a disclosure form that reports any issues on their property’s physical condition. Since sellers aren’t required to hire a home inspector to fill out the form, they must only list down the issues that they actually know about.
The following issues must be included on the state’s Residential Property Disclosure Form:
- Problems in the home’s water supply, electrical, plumbing, and drainage
- Appliances that are no longer functioning
- Presence of wood-destroying insects (termites), underground storage tanks or hazardous materials (radon and asbestos)
- Zoning and other code violations
- Boundary line disputes
- HOA rules or fees
Negotiate and accept an offer
After your listing goes live, multiple offers will start coming in. While it may be tempting to accept the offer with the highest amount, it’s best to review each buyer’s financial qualifications and their contract terms before making a decision. Aside from the price, other factors that you need to consider in an offer are the clauses, contingencies, and conditions.
Wait for closing
After accepting a buyer’s offer and signing the sales contract, the buyer will:
- Do a title search and obtain a title insurance
- Complete a home inspection
- Arrange for a professional appraisal
- Make a final walkthrough
Once these steps are completed, you can now hand over the keys to the home’s new owner!
Ready to list your property for sale in Columbus, Ohio? Dena Clouse and Courtney Eaglin of the Clouse Eaglin Team would be more than happy to guide you during your home selling journey.
Give them a call through these numbers: 614.325.1740 or 614.746.0304. You can also send them an email at dena(at)rcgrealtors(dotted)com or courtney(at)rcgrealtors(dotted)com..