Listing Your Home for Sale

Selling residential real estate in Allston and its surrounding area is all about two things: pricing your home accurately, and devising a perfect marketing campaign that combines traditional and creative strategies to get your property exposed to the ideal audience of potential buyers. The real estate experts at Allston Pads understand the importance of pricing and marketing your Allston property, and will use their years of knowledge and experience to guide you through the steps of selling your Allston residential property.

Step One: Deciding To Sell

There are many reasons that may make you consider selling your Allston home, ranging from a growing family to work relocation or a simple change of scenery. Regardless of the reason for selling, however, it is crucial that you examine the current Allston real estate market and see how your personal finances compare. The real estate professionals at Allston Pads will help you determine and outline the financial goals of selling your Allston home. With these goals established, they’ll begin crafting the perfect strategy to sell your home and meet those goals.

Step Two: Pricing Your Allston Home

Allston Pads connects you with experienced real estate experts to help determine the most realistic price to maximize the value of your Allston home. Our Allston agents analyze extensive Allston real estate information in order to compare your home with other, similar properties currently listed and recently sold in the Allston market. When pricing your home, it’s important to consider additional closing costs to create a complete picture of the price of your Allston property. Having a realistic idea of the best possible value available for your Allston home is essential in deciding your financial goals and determining a timeline for your sale.

Step Three: Preparing Your Property for Sale

Once you have determined the right price for your Allston property, you can begin readying your home for sale. The first step in this process is speaking with a licensed home inspector to review your property. Having your home inspected can cost a couple hundred dollars, but is essential in showing you what simple fixes can be made to boost the value of your Allston home. Your Allston Pads agent will work with you to plan the most beneficial upgrades and improvements to drive up value before your home hits the local market. Another important step in preparing your home for sale is hiring a professional cleaning company to tidy up your property. This makes your Allston property more visually attractive to potential buyers by eliminating dirt, grime and clutter. Making these simple home improvements are an easy, effective way to impress potential buyers and increase the value of your Allston home.

Step Four: Marketing Your Allston Property

When your Allston property has been priced, inspected and improved, it’s time to start marketing it publicly. Your Allston real estate agent has well established connections in the local Allston market with qualified buyers and property investors, as well as a vast network of technological avenues to ensure that your property receives maximum market exposure. Allston Pads has multiple online outlets to market your Allston home, including mobile applications, a network of over 80 proprietary websites, and an interactive national real estate website. Your Allston agent will take time to prescreen potential buyers to find the most qualified leads to get your property sold for the highest value. The marketing expertise at Allston Pads will expose your property to the widest possible audience and get it sold for the highest possible returns!

Step Five: Negotiating Purchase Offers

Once you have received offers from a few potential buyers on your %city home, you can begin evaluating the offers and beginning the negotiation process. The length of the negotiation process depends on the amount of traffic your property has received. If you have had a lot of traffic from possible buyers, it may be best to make the negotiation process longer in order to allow for new offers to be presented. If your Allston property has seen low traffic, speeding up the negotiation process to ensure the bidder continues with their purchase may be the best method.

Regardless of negotiation timelines, the overall goal is to get the best terms and value for your Allston property possible. Negotiating different terms can have different impacts on your financial returns, so it is important to keep these following contingencies that can affect the price of your property in mind:

  • Mortgage Contingency: What is the amount of the buyers down payment, and how long will it take them to get a commitment from a bank?
  • Home Inspection Contingency: Does the buyer require a professional home inspection, and how much of that cost are they willing to absorb?
  • Earnest Money Deposit Schedule: How much money will bind the offer, and what amount will be put down on the Purchase and Sale Agreement (P&S)?

There are many steps and factors that affect the overall timeline of the sale of your Allston property. But determining the right negotiation length and getting the best terms and price for your sale are the most important pieces of your entire sale, so it is important to make sure they are handled correctly. With an agent from Allston Pads, you’ll have help throughout the process to ensure that every aspect of the sale meets your goals.

Step Six: The Purchase and Sale Agreement

Once the initial offer is properly evaluated, the next step is outlining the details and terms of your Allston homes sale with a Purchase and Sale (P&S) agreement. A P&S is required in order to finalize the purchase of your property, and is typically compiled 1-2 weeks after both parties sign and approve the initial offer. Your Allston agent will put you in touch with local real estate attorney’s that will help you negotiate the agreement. While the P&S is being written, the buyer and seller should continue to fulfill any other contingencies that were agreed upon during the initial offer negotiations, such as a home inspection, reviewing condo documents, and exploring financial planning options. Fulfilling these contingencies during the P&S drafting process helps to move the sale of your Allston property along on your planned timeline.

Step Seven: Closing The Deal

Typically, final closing on the sale of your Allston property takes place 30-60 after the Purchase and Sale agreement is executed. During this time, the lender commits a loan to the buyer, and the buyer completes the title examination. In Massachusetts, there are some specific items that the state requires to be supplied by the seller or their real estate agent, including:

  • Smoke Detector Certificate – The fire department must certify that your Allston home has working fire and carbon monoxide detectors. The guidelines for this requirement are updated pretty frequently, so it is important to follow the current guidelines before setting up the inspection.
  • 6D Certificate (for condos) – The 6D certificate ensures that any and all common charges and dues are paid and current.
  • Title V Certificate (for septic systems) – The Title V certificate ensures that the septic system on the property is working properly.

Final documents in the closing of your Allston property also include a HUD document drafted by the closing attorney. This document will detail the entire financial transaction, and is legally the final closing document for the property. After all of these documents have been signed, the lender funds the buyer’s loan, and the seller receives their payment. The closing documents for your property will be recorded at the Registry of Deeds, and the sale of your Allston property will be complete.

If You Want to Get Started Selling Your Allston Residential Property, contact a sales professional today at (617) 208 2111 .