Sell

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 REALTOR 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. We 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 we deem the offer is acceptable, we 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, we 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. We 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 REALTOR 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.

My Testimonials

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Ella N.

Ella N.

I have worked with Julie on three other homes I have owned in Denver. Her knowledge, professionalism and expertise combined with a wonderful giving helpful personality makes her one of the most incredible people I have worked w...
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Bryan F.

Bryan F.

From initial consultation through the sale of my home, Julie was instrumental in the success of the sale, ending with a happy buyer & seller. Her long-established experience, in-depth knowledge and guidance proved to be pivotal...
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Marc S.

Marc S.

Julie helped me with purchasing as well as selling my first home. She was extremely knowledgeable and was just amazing to work with every step of the way. I can’t say enough good things about her and would recommend her to anyo...
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John

John

Julie Winger and the entire Kentwood team did a fantastic job from first contact, through the listing, sale and closing processes. Attention to detail was present through the entire process. We simply could not be more pleased....
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Shawn Hann

Shawn Hann

Julie Winger is the best of the best. Passionate about the work, compassionate to everyone looking/buying/selling, she truly goes the extra mile. Exceptionally knowledgeable about fair market price, all the different aspects of...
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Buyer

Buyer

Julie Winger is the best! Julie worked with us for over a year searching for our dream home and last month she helped us close on that house! Julie was an excellent communicator, always quick to respond to our endless questions...
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Paul H.

Paul H.

Julie sold my home for 23% more than the next highest broker valuation. In the summer of 2017, my childhood home in the Montclair section of East Denver needed to be let go. Was losing confidence that this was going to be easy ...
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Erin M.

Erin M.

Julie helped us with purchasing our home in Denver. We really enjoyed working with Julie. She was very professional, knowledgeable, proactive, and had great follow-ups. Everything you hope for in a Realtor®. We liked working wi...
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Jim D.

Jim D.

We enjoyed working with Julie. She is so thorough and detailed making sure that all our questions were answered as we started to look for a new house. She knows the Denver Metro home market and helped direct us as we looked for...
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Cathy & Ray V.

Cathy & Ray V.

Julie came highly recommended to us over fifteen years ago, rightfully so! She helped us sell and buy three homes during that period of time, getting top dollar for each home we sold. Julie is extremely diplomatic, smart, thoro...
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Emily S.

Emily S.

From start to finish, Julie did a terrific job with our house. She was thoughtful about pricing and marketing the house and always available for questions. During negotiations, Julie was a steady presence and a clear communicat...
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John M.

John M.

Julie combines Denver market expertise with friendly and engaging support from search through close. She's a tenacious problem solver and has the experience and trustworthiness to overcome surprises and challenges in the buying...
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Donna M.

Donna M.

We have had the pleasure of working with Julie Winger on several occasions. We cannot express enough how happy we have been with her service. She is thorough, helpful, and always ready to offer advice in a timely manner.
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Martha A.

Martha A.

I have worked with Julie on both the buy and sell sides for four transactions in the past five or six years. She is savvy about the Denver market and very professional, ethical, and kind!
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Robert K.

Robert K.

Julie represented the seller, not us, but she was nevertheless extremely forthright and helpful throughout the process.
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Julie is well known for her integrity, skill, and competence in guiding clients through transactions, both home sales and purchases, and especially her ability to make the process pleasant for her clients.

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