Steps to Selling a Home

Step 1: Find an Experienced Oakland County Agent

Choosing an experienced real estate agent early in the process can help you make informed decisions about preparation, pricing, marketing, offers and timing. Look for an agent who understands the Oakland and Macomb County markets, communicates clearly and can help you evaluate the options that make sense for your property and your goals.

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Step 2: Consider Repairs and Improvements

Your real estate agent can walk through your home with you and recommend repairs or improvements worth considering before listing. You should also address known maintenance issues, especially those that could become concerns during a buyer's inspection.

Potential improvements may include painting inside or outside, refinishing hardwood floors, repairing a roof or siding, updating a garage or front door, improving landscaping, servicing the HVAC system, or making smaller kitchen and bathroom updates such as flooring, cabinet hardware, fixtures or countertops. Not every improvement will provide the same return, so consider your home's condition, likely buyers and expected sale price before taking on a major project.

Step 3: Set the Price Right

Setting an appropriate listing price is an important part of positioning your home for the market. Consider nearby homes that have recently sold, competing properties currently for sale, buyer demand, and the condition and location of your home. Learn more about why pricing your home is a strategy, request a neighborhood sold report, and work with your agent to determine an appropriate listing price.

Step 4: Prep Your Home

Start by decluttering unused furniture, stored belongings and personal items throughout your home. Continue working through closets, basements, attics and living spaces, then deep clean areas that may be easy to overlook.

Next, work with your agent to prepare and stage your home for sale so it feels clean, welcoming and easy for buyers to imagine as their own.

Professional photography can also help highlight your home's strongest features and provide buyers with a clear first impression when they view the property online.

Step 5: Market Your Home

Effective marketing helps put your property in front of prospective buyers. Depending on the home and current market conditions, a listing strategy may include professional photography, online listing services, digital and social media marketing, print materials, open houses and outreach through local real estate networks. Review our home marketing guide to learn more about how The Integrity Team approaches property marketing.

Step 6: Show Your Home

In addition to scheduled open houses, buyers may request private showings. Keeping your home neat, clean, organized and ready to show can make these appointments easier to accommodate. Stay ahead of dishes, laundry and clutter, and plan to leave during showings so prospective buyers can comfortably explore the property.

Step 7: Negotiate and Accept an Offer

If a buyer makes an offer on your home, the written offer will generally include more than the proposed purchase price. Financing, closing and occupancy dates, inspection terms and other contingencies may also be included. You can accept the offer, reject it or negotiate different terms.

Your agent can help you compare the complete terms of an offer and consider factors such as financing, inspections, possession dates, the buyer's need to sell another property and other contract conditions.

Step 8: Sign a Purchase and Sale Agreement

Once you and the buyer agree on the terms of an offer, those terms will be documented in a purchase agreement. The contract outlines the purchase price, dates, conditions, contingencies and other details of the home sale.

Step 9: Cooperate with Inspections

If the purchase agreement includes an inspection contingency, the buyer may hire an inspector to evaluate the property. The inspection may include the roof, basement, heating and cooling systems, structure, plumbing, electrical systems and other components of the home. Depending on the inspection results and terms of the contract, additional negotiations or repair requests may follow.

Step 10: Enter Escrow

As the transaction moves toward closing, the parties involved complete the paperwork and requirements outlined in the purchase agreement. This may include financing, appraisal, title work, inspections and other conditions that must be satisfied before the transaction can close. For a broader look at what happens before and after an offer is accepted, review our home selling timeline.