How to Sell Your Home

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Considering selling?

Selling a CHT home takes a minimum of four months. Reach out early so we can work with you to determine the best schedule to work with your timeline.

Below are the steps that you will will need to complete:

1.) Sign and return a Letter of Intent form. You can download it here: Shared Equity Program Intent to Sell Intent

2.) Once we receive the Letter of Intent from you, CHT will order an appraisal on your home. The appraiser will contact you to set up an appointment to see your home. This is your chance to tell the appraiser what capital improvements, if any, you have done to your home.

3.) When the appraisal is returned to CHT, we will calculate the price that CHT will pay you for your home based on the legal documents you signed when you purchased.

4.) A CHT staff member will gather marketing information and coordinate having photographs taken and a virtual tour of your home completed.

5.) CHT will market and coordinate showings with buyers.

6.) Once a buyer has been selected and a purchase and sale contract has been signed, the buyer will schedule a home inspection. Click here for our Shared Equity Program Inspection Resolution Policy

If you would like to discuss the process of selling and make a plan for moving to your next home, please reach out to our team at [email protected]. We can work with you to create a plan and timeline that fits for you.

Want more information? Click here to download  our seller resource packet.


TIPS FOR SELLING YOUR HOME

The process of selling a Shared Equity home is a joint effort between the homeowner and CHT. CHT will take care of the marketing and getting people to your home, but we need your help to make sure the home is inviting. Please consider these steps to make your home more appealing to potential buyers.

Pack up those personal photographs and family heirlooms. Many buyers can’t see past personal artifacts, and you don’t want them to be distracted. You want buyers to imagine their own photos on the walls, and they can’t do that if yours are there! You don’t want to make any buyer ask, “I wonder what kind of people live in this home?” You want buyers to say, “I can see myself living here.”

The less clutter a home has, the bigger it appears.
• If you don’t need it, why not donate it or throw it away?
• Pack up those knickknacks.
• Clean off everything on kitchen counters.
• Put essential items used daily in a small box that can be stored in a closet when not in use.
• Think of this process as a head-start on the packing you will eventually need to do anyway.

Buyers love to snoop and will open closet and cabinet doors. Think of the message it sends if items fall out! Now imagine what a buyer believes about you if she sees everything organized. It says you probably take good care of the rest of the house as well. This means:
• Neatly stack dishes.
• Turn coffee cup handles facing the same way.
• Hang shirts together, buttoned and facing the same direction.
• Line up shoes.

Almost every home shows better with less furniture. Remove pieces of furniture that block or hamper paths and walkways and put them in storage. Remove extra leaves from your dining room table to make the room appear larger. Leave just enough furniture in each room to showcase the room’s purpose and plenty of room to move around. You don’t want buyers scratching their heads and saying, “What is this room used for?”

• Replace cracked floor or counter tiles.
• Patch holes in walls.
• Fix leaky faucets.
• Fix doors that don’t close properly and kitchen drawers that jam.
• Consider painting your walls neutral colors, especially if you have grown accustomed to purple or pink walls. (Don’t give buyers any reason to remember your home as “the house with the orange bathroom.”)
• Replace burned-out light bulbs.
• If you’ve considered replacing a worn bedspread, do so now!

• Wash windows inside and out.
• Rent a pressure washer and spray down sidewalks and exterior.
• Clean out cobwebs.
• Re-caulk tubs, showers and sinks.
• Polish chrome faucets and mirrors.
• Clean out the refrigerator.
• Vacuum daily.
• Wax floors.
• Dust furniture, ceiling fan blades and light fixtures.
• Bleach dingy grout.
• Replace worn rugs.
• Hang up fresh towels.
• Bathroom towels look great fastened with ribbon and bows.
• Clean and air out any musty smelling areas. Odors are a no-no.

When a buyer walks into a home, they don’t want to have a dog barking or a cat rubbing on their legs. This can affect their feeling of the home itself. Before a showing of your home, you should remove your pets if at all possible.

If the buyers won’t get out of their agent’s car because they don’t like the exterior of your home, you’ll never get them inside.
• Keep the sidewalks cleared.
• Mow the lawn.
• Paint faded window trim.
• Plant yellow flowers or group flower pots together. Yellow evokes a buying emotion. Marigolds are inexpensive.
• Trim your bushes.
• Make sure visitors can clearly read your house number.

Having a list of your average utility bills in the home when a potential buyer comes through can make a big difference. They can get a good feel for the efficiency and the cost of the home.

Most buyers will not relax and closely inspect a home if the owner is present, so try to arrange to turn the home over to the CHT representative. If you must remain at home, please refrain from talking unless questions are directed to you. Keep in mind that some of the most successful salespeople will say little or nothing during showings. This allows buyers to discover some things on their own in order to build excitement.

ONE FINAL NOTE:
The seller is required by law to disclose EVERYTHING. Please don’t try to mask or hide a problem in the home. Be candid about it. It should be listed on your Seller’s Property Information Report.

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