Seller's Guide

Everything you need to know about putting your home on the market, accepting an offer, and closing on your home.

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 agent 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 REALTOR® once you choose one so he or she 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 real estate agent is the best way to determine the right selling price for your home. An 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

I 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. My 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. I 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 I deem the offer is acceptable, I 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 agent.

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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. I 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, I 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. I 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 REALTOR® 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.

Our Testimonials

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Richard & Lisa B.

Richard & Lisa B.

The choice of a realtor typically is fraught with uncertainty and the feeling of doubt as to whether the professional chosen understands what truly is motivating you to buy or sell something you view as more than merely a piece...
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Mary & John S.

Mary & John S.

Caroline Wagner and her team definitely qualify for the highest echelon of realtors. She is very personable, warm, and knowledgeable but firm when the occasion requires it. She quickly brought us an acceptable offer when she li...
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Tommy P.

Tommy P.

I was a home builder for over 30 years and have seen a lot of realtors come and go. Several realtors have promised me many things but were unable to deliver. I have never known a person with as much tenacity and drive as Ms. Wa...
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Mark & Jill G.

Mark & Jill G.

After having unsuccessfully listed our home with another broker and agency, we listed our home with Caroline. With her knowledge of the market and through her marketing efforts, we successfully sold our home in 90 days at a hig...
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Gary G.

Gary G.

I needed to sell my home in an eclectic mountain neighborhood in which my home was no exception. Caroline understands mountain sales exceptionally well and this paid off. She used very good support staff to get the staging, pic...
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Philip & Katherine W

Philip & Katherine W

We bought a home from Caroline after looking at about 40 different properties. Being from California we didn't really know what we wanted. Caroline showed us homes all over the region and finally found our dream home. Her patie...
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Lynn W.

Lynn W.

Caroline was a wonderful choice! She was very strategic about selling our home and had a terrific stager amp up the house for great photographs which led to multiple showings and offer in one weekend. Her negotiation skills are...
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Rose B.

Rose B.

We recently sold a house in Colorado with the assistance of our realtor Caroline Wagner. Caroline was a delight to work with. We found her honest, hardworking, and very knowledgeable of our area. We had a quick sale that went s...
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Bill N.

Bill N.

Caroline is the only realtor that was willing to go the extra mile to help us find a house that would work with our current needs. She was and is very proactive and determined to help in any way possible. Caroline is always kee...
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Brett H.

Brett H.

We had a great experience with Caroline. She listed our home and worked very hard to get it sold, which was not an easy task as it was not completely finished but with her creative ideas and fabulous marketing tools she got the...
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Gunter & Kaylene R.

Gunter & Kaylene R.

Caroline successfully found a property for us in Golden. In this market, speed and preparation are everything and she coached us to be ready when an opportunity presented itself. We ended up pursuing several properties and Caro...
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Kimberly S.

Kimberly S.

Caroline is the consummate professional. She is honest, knowledgable, very fun to work with, and sensitive to her clients' needs and wishes. Whether you need to buy or sell a townhome or a million-dollar estate, she will provid...
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Damon F. & Katie M.

Damon F. & Katie M.

Caroline helped me buy and sell various properties over the years and always has done a fantastic job in advising me about the different steps in the process, she is right on when it comes to pricing, excellent in negotiating, ...
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David J.

David J.

Caroline was able to put my buyer in contact with a banker who approved a loan in 2 days. This was critical to the sale of my property as the buyer was having difficulty securing a loan, even though my buyer was highly qualifie...
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Susan H.

Susan H.

Caroline Wagner knows the Vail Valley so very well. She is a consummate professional and very pleasant. She helped us comb the area that eventually lead us to purchase our dream home. She is outstanding in business dealing and ...
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Jill D.

Jill D.

Caroline recently sold our 10-acre lot in Conifer Ridge. We called upon her because she sold our home in 2015 also in Conifer. Caroline is professional, a great communicator, and handles all the details, making it so easy for t...
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Kathleen F.

Kathleen F.

Start to finish, Caroline was the perfect professional to help us with the purchase of our new home. Her expertise and knowledge were invaluable. The added bonus is that she is a kind and generous person of integrity to guide a...
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Scott D.

Scott D.

Caroline was a complete professional, and a joy to work with. She got our land sold very fast and got us an excellent price, considering the market. I would definitely use her again and recommend her to anyone to take advantage...
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Pat B.

Pat B.

Caroline was great! She acted as both the buyer's agent and seller's agent. Without her, the sale would have never gone through. I would highly recommend Caroline!
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Katy M

Katy M

Caroline is amazing to work with and so client-focused. My husband and I have worked with her on 2 house sales and a house purchase and have been delighted every time. Caroline has integrity and knows her stuff, helps to presen...
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Though they continually study to be extremely knowledgeable professionals, their creativity and passion for finding and marketing homes is what sets them apart. Helping people to find their place in the world is incredibly rewarding to them.

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