Selling a House-Overview Text Size:

If you own a home and you're going to sell it, you should know who the key players are and what the process is in the sale of a home. The key players are the sellers, the buyers, and the real estate brokers. The process starts with deciding whether or not to hire a real estate broker. It then proceeds to marketing your home, showing your home, negotiating with buyers, signing a purchase agreement, going through inspections, and closing the sale.

Key Players

The first key player is you, the seller.

The second key player is the buyer or purchaser.

Then there are the real estate brokers. Possible brokers for the seller include a listing broker and a selling broker, if another broker actually brings in the buyer. The buyer may hire a buyer's broker to find a home. Also, one broker may represent both the seller and the buyer, and that broker is known as a dual agent. These brokers have duties toward the people who hire them; these duties are set by state law.

Process

Once you've decided that you want to hire a real estate broker to sell your home, you've to choose the broker. You then employ the broker by signing a real estate brokerage contract or a listing agreement. The listing agreement should include information about the home to be sold as well as the obligations that the broker agrees to undertake. A broker's contractual duties include such things as marketing, showing the home, negotiating with buyers, and representing you, the seller, at closing. The agreement also should contain the amount of the commission which the listing broker will receive when the home is sold.

The next step is to market your home. If you've hired a broker, the broker will provide information from the listing agreement to his or her brokerage firm and, with your agreement, to a multiple listing service. By doing this, other real estate brokers will know that your home is for sale. A broker other than your listing broker may find prospective buyers. That broker is called a selling broker, and the listing broker usually offers to split the commission with the selling broker. The listing broker will probably place a sign in your yard indicating that your home is for sale and that interested parties can contact the broker. The broker may use other marketing techniques, such as open houses for other real estate brokers and agents, the familiar Sunday open houses for the public, or print and Internet advertising.

If you've not hired a broker, you will have to market your home yourself. That can include placing a "For Sale by Owner" sign in your yard, placing an advertisement in the local newspaper, and telling your friends and associates that you're selling your home.

Once prospective buyers are found, you or your broker will show the home to the buyers. This can take the form of an "open house" or individual showings. Buyers who are interested in buying your home will make an offer. If you do not like the terms of the offer, you or your broker can make a counter-offer.

The buyer's formal offer is in the form of a written purchase agreement, sales contract or contract of sale. The contract should contain all of the material terms of the agreement, such as price, and all terms and conditions, such as allowing the buyer out of the contract if he or she cannot get financing. The contract will also require a deposit, which is sometimes called "earnest money," which makes the contract binding.

After the contract is signed, the buyer will likely want have a professional inspector look through the house, and the contract may address inspection issues and the time allowed to conduct an inspection. The buyer will also likely need to get financing. After you and the buyer comply with the conditions of the contract, the buyer will do a final "walk through" of the premises to see that everything is as it should be. After that, you, the buyer, and the brokers can proceed to closing. At closing, you and the buyer sign the final legal documents, and you turn over the property to the buyer, and payment is made to you. Some of the proceeds from the sale may be paid directly to the real estate broker for his or her commission, your mortgage lender if you had a loan against your house, and possibly to your attorney for his or her fee, if that is to be paid from sales proceeds.

Seeking the assistance of a real estate attorney is often a good idea, as he or she will be ready to handle any problems that may arise during the course of the sale, and having professional assistance can make your sales process flow much more smoothly. Even if everything goes according to plans, selling your house can be a stressful experience.

Questions for Your Attorney

• The sales contract for my home allows the buyer to have a home inspection. To what extent am I required to make repairs or offer credits at closing if any problems turn up?
• Do you usually make many changes to the standard sales contract form used in our area? Does the standard sales contract favor sellers or buyers, or is it fairly well drafted to reflect customs in our local area?
• Can I put a condition in the purchase agreement that the buyer has 30 days to obtain financing or the deal is cancelled? How strictly are such time limits followed in our area? I don't want my home off the market for too long if the buyer isn't going to make it to closing.

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