Seller's Guide

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 team of real estate agents 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 team of real estate agents once you choose one so they 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 team of real estate agents is the best way to determine the right selling price for your home. A team of real estate agents 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

We 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. Our 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. We 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 we deem the offer is acceptable, we 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 team of real estate agents.

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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. We 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, we 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. We 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 team of real estate agents 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

Shawn B.

Shawn B.

We had the pleasure of working with Shahe in our recent search for a new home, and I must say that his expertise and connections within the real estate market were invaluable. Not only did he possess an intimate knowledge of th...
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Margarita K.

Margarita K.

I recently worked with Shahe on the purchase of my first home, and he was truly exceptional! Throughout the search that lasted several months (in this challenging, bare market), he was patient and tenacious in helping me find t...
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Laura Y.

Laura Y.

Shahe is wonderful, knowledgeable, and a pleasure to work with. He went above and beyond to help my husband and I, even though he was representing the seller. Our home-buying process had some challenges, but Shahe was always th...
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Sophie S.

Sophie S.

Shahe and his team are amazing at handling the client’s needs. Everything was seamless because he is a very competent broker who is deeply knowledgeable in his field of work. While he provided us with his professional opinion a...
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Daniel M.

Daniel M.

Shahe Seuylemezian is fantastic! Extremely knowledgeable, personable, and diligent with caring follow-through. Shahe takes the time to understand your unique circumstances and desires and then creates a tailored approach for yo...
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Lena G.

Lena G.

Shahe was extremely easy to work with. He was knowledgeable and professional. He was always willing to give us his honest opinion, which, as a first-time home-buyer, was truly appreciated. The entire process from searching for ...
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Talar K.

Talar K.

Shahe was thorough, professional, and great to work with. He was honest and forthright. He explained everything in a way that was easy to understand. We had the pleasure of working with Shahe when looking for our home. From day...
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Haley G.

Haley G.

Shahe is the best! He made my first home-buying experience easy and fun! He is clear, organized, and consistent! You can feel that he wants the best for his clients and is willing to go the extra mile. Looking forward to workin...
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Montgomery M.

Montgomery M.

Shahe and his team did a great job selling our home in Granada Hills, CA. They had an open house over the weekend, and the house sold the next week. We got a cash offer and a 5-day escrow. Shahe and his team helped us with any ...
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Carine I.

Carine I.

We couldn't be happier with our experience with Shahe. He helped us with our first home purchase. The entire process was seamless. He was extremely professional, trustworthy, and knowledgeable. I would definitely recommend Shah...
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Lauren A.

Lauren A.

Shahe made my first home-buying experience seamless, simple, and pleasant in a very competitive market. With his knowledge, experience, and reputation, he brings to the table, I felt confident throughout my 1 year search and ev...
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Casey R.

Casey R.

We would highly recommend working with Shahe and Becca. They were professional, responsive, and honest. We appreciated how their goal was to find a home we would be happy with in the long term, rather than pressuring us to buy ...
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Mirey M.

Mirey M.

If you are looking for a top-notch real estate agent, look no further! Shahe is the best in the business. He is committed and determined to help his clients through a seamless experience with purchasing a property. He will go a...
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Saro A.

Saro A.

Great agent. Very helpful and gives lots of advise.
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Ben P.

Ben P.

Shahe (and his team) was like a thread of fate coming into our lives. We couldn't have asked for a more supportive, kind, professional ally in the home-buying process. The LA market is tough; Shahe is tougher!
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Pam O.

Pam O.

Shahe and Becca were absolutely wonderful, helping us sell our townhouse. Shahe took care of the staging and professional photos. He even used a drone for impressive videos! He advertised on every platform and hosted an open ho...
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Buyer | Seller

Buyer | Seller

Shahe is a great communicator and has a very transparent process.
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Tro K.

Tro K.

Shahe and his team recently delivered exceptional service from beginning to end. Their attention to detail, professionalism, and consistent follow-through are exactly the qualities you want in a real estate agent. Shahe is high...
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Jonathan S.

Jonathan S.

Excellent recommendations and follow-through.
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Chelsea R.

Chelsea R.

Shahe is widely known in the Pasadena real estate community for outstanding professionalism, strong market knowledge, and exceptional integrity. His connections in Pasadena and deep understanding of the local real estate landsc...
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