Before the Sign Goes Up

The list price is not what you paid, and it is not a county median. It is the last few closed sales of the same property type, in the same named area, with sale-to-list and days on market attached.

If you price above those sales and the house is not clearly better, it will sit. Days on market go up, and the next offer usually comes in lower than the one you would have had in the first two weeks.

Decide these three before the sign goes in the yard.

The price, from those comps. Same property type only. A ranch is not a two-story. A condo is not a house. If you mix them, you will list at the wrong number.
The prep that moves the price or the days, and the prep that does not. Paint, a deep clean, and the repair a buyer’s inspector will find anyway are usually worth it. A remodel to chase a higher bracket is not, unless the comps in that bracket are real.
The dates you can actually close, including where you are going next. A fast offer with a date you cannot make is not a better offer.

The rest of the guide

One email opens this, and the whole library.

The seller guide, the buyer guide, and a new guide each month. Same email. You can unsubscribe any time.

The library is open.

The rest of this guide is below. The same email covers every guide, including the next one.

The walk-through comes first

We walk the house together first. I will tell you what I would do before photos, based on what buyers in this price range have been writing offers on. Then you decide. You should have time to do the work, or to skip it, before the listing is live.

Disclosures before launch

Disclosures are easier before the house is on the market. I will collect what we need and sit with you while you complete them. A surprise in the documents during inspection costs more than the same fact on day one.

Photos, then the MLS

Photos, the floor plan, and the listing itself are finished before launch. The house goes in the MLS when it is ready to be seen, not while boxes are still in the rooms. Showings start when the listing is live. We may hold a broker open, a neighbor open, or a public open house. We decide that from the house, not from a checklist.

How to read an offer

Read price, seller credits, dates, and contingencies together. A higher price with a large credit and a long inspection can net less, and take longer, than a lower price that closes. I will put the net and the dates next to each other before you sign.

Takeaway: Compare the net and the closing date. Do not pick the offer with the biggest number on the first line.

Inspection requests

If the buyer asks for repairs or a credit, we answer from the contract deadlines and from what the comps already assumed. Some items are worth a credit. Some are the condition the price already reflected. Do not agree to a list of repairs just to keep the deal calm.

Appraisal

The appraisal is the lender’s check on the price. If you priced from recent closed sales, you are in better shape than if you priced from an online estimate. If it comes in low, the contract deadline is the tool. Have that conversation before you accept the offer, not after the report.

Closing, and the next house

Closing is papers, keys, and funds. Review the numbers before that day. Cancel or transfer utilities and insurance on the date you hand over the house, not the date you hoped to.

If you are buying the next house at the same time, the two contracts have to share dates you can survive. We write that before either one is signed. The buyer guide is the other half.

Disclaimer

This guide is educational. It is not legal, tax, or lending advice. Your signed contract controls the sale. Price, credits, and dates have to be checked against the specific house and the current comps, not against this page.