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 real estate agent 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 real estate agent 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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Seller

Seller

When it came time to sell our mother’s home, the one she and Dad bought brand new in 1955, we spoke with several realtors in the area. All were high calibre professionals but Kevin Fruh just clicked with us. He did his homework...
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Buyer

Buyer

Once in a blue moon, you may find a Realtor that completely exceeds all of your expectations. Kevin again and again has helped us over the moon by using his vast knowledge and experience to get us an excellent deal on two diffe...
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Seller

Seller

We used Kevin and his team as both selling and buying agents in 2022 and cannot recommend them enough! They helped us navigate an incredibly tricky market, providing expert guidance every step of the way but always making us fe...
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Suzann F.

Suzann F.

Kevin is a real treasure! His knowledge of the real estate market, his razor-sharp skill in negotiating, and his attention to detail make the buying and selling experiences exceptionally smooth. This is my third transaction wit...
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Seller

Seller

Kevin Fruh and his team at Fruh Realty went above and beyond! Very competent, kept me informed every step of the way, and was patient during my home sale as it was a difficult one. Kevin’s assistant, Rachel, was always availabl...
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Kristin F.

Kristin F.

Kevin Fruh Realty came with strong recommendations from others in town. When it came to selling our Condo the whole team was polite responsive and attentive. Questions and concerns were dealt with as quickly as possible. Kevin,...
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Buyer

Buyer

Kevin helped us buy our home, he was very professional from start to finish. His knowledge was valuable in helping with our purchase, with many years of experience in real estate and in the area, plus a history of working in co...
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Buyer

Buyer

Here's what you have to understand first. I have very little respect for the real estate profession as we've had ridiculously few positive experiences and witnessed such incompetence over the 35 years we've been buying/selling ...
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Buyer & Seller

Buyer & Seller

We've bought and sold 8 houses and Kevin was the best realtor we've used by far. He is honest and trustworthy. We never felt pressured and always felt that he was acting in our best interest. His staff is also excellent, especi...
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Buyer

Buyer

We hit the jackpot when we were referred to Kevin Fruh to help us find our dream home. Kevin Fruh is professional, extremely knowledgeable, and has years of experience. He was persistent and found just the right home for us. He...
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Seller

Seller

A little background of my situation. My mother passed away unexpectedly in May 2023 and her wishes were to sell her home. I was faced with the daunting task of selling it. I live in Maine, so not knowing the area I contracte...
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