SellingAHome-JenniferChristenot

SELLING A HOME FAQ’S AND SAQ’S | JENNIFER CHRISTENOT

SELLING A HOME FAQ’S AND SAQ’S 

1.) When is the best time of year to sell my home? 

Homeowners and real estate agents alike concern themselves 

with the perfect time of year to sell a home because the time 

of year you list your home will greatly affect how fast your 

home sells, and how much you get for it. So what is the best 

time of year to sell your home? Most times, the best time to 

sell your home will coincide with the time of year when the 

weather is best; people are more interested in going out to 

view homes when the weather is nice. 

2.) What are the most important factors I should consider 

when selling my home? 

When selling a home, it can be overwhelming to think about 

all the many factors that need to be taken into consideration 

to sell your home quickly, and for the value you want. But 

when you break it down into the three most important 

considerations: price, condition, and exposure, it becomes 

much easier to focus on the factors that will make the biggest 

difference. 

Price is one of the most important factors to take into 

consideration because if you don’t price your property properly, 

it will automatically turn buyers off, even often before they’ve 

even seen the inside of your home. 

The condition of your home is also of utmost importance 

SELLING A HOME FAQ’S AND SAQ’S | JENNIFER CHRISTENOT 

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when selling, because most buyers won’t be interested in 

purchasing a home that still need a lot of work put into them. 

Even if your home doesn’t have holes in the wall, peeling paint, 

water stains, and even dirty carpets can turn buyers away so 

it’s extremely important to make sure your home is in the very 

best condition before showing it to potential buyers. 

The third most important factor to consider when selling your 

home is the exposure it receives while on the market. Even 

with the home priced at a great value for buyers and pristine 

condition inside and out, if buyers don’t know about your 

home they’re simply not going to buy it. It’s for this reason 

that you need to make sure your home is getting as much 

exposure as possible. A lot of that will fall on your real estate 

agent’s shoulders, through advertising and getting your home 

listed in the local multiple listings service. However, to increase 

your exposure even more you also need to get the word out to 

whoever you can and even more importantly, make sure you 

and your home are available for open houses. 

3.) How do I know what price to list my home at? 

You know that price is one of the most important factors to 

consider when listing your home. If you price your home too 

high, it will turn buyers away because they don’t see the value; 

and if you price it too low, you could lose out on thousands of 

dollars. But how do you know what a fair price is for both you 

and buyers? You can be prepared to just give your real estate 

agent a number based on what you paid for the home and 

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what you think the home is worth; but that’s not the smartest 

way to go about it. For better or worse, the market has most 

likely changed since you purchased your home, making a fair 

comparison very difficult. Also, sentimental value can come 

into play, placing a bias on any price you determine is fair for 

your home. A much better way to price your home is to get an 

appraisal, or have a comparative market analysis performed, 

which will tell you how much your home is worth based on 

location, condition, and market conditions. 

Appraisals can be costly, ranging from $450 for a single-family 

home and even more for multi-family dwellings. They are 

performed by a professional appraiser who knows to look at 

things such as location, square footage, water front possibilities, 

and amenities including garages, number of rooms, 

bathrooms, etc. Appraisals can give you a precise number to 

value your property at, and they’re even defendable in court. 

A comparative market analysis is similar to an appraisal, but 

it’s less formal and not admissible in court. Because they are 

not official, real estate agents will often provide clients with a 

free comparative market analysis in hopes to gain that client 

and eventually, earn them a commission. Even though these 

analyses are informal, agents still need to evaluate your home 

based on accepted appraisal practices, meaning that they too 

will take into consideration the size and style of the home, 

location, condition, and what other similar homes are being 

sold for on the market. While these analyses don’t provide 


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a precise number the way appraisals do, they can provide a 

broad price range from which a number can be agreed upon. 

Both appraisals and comparative market analyses should be 

submitted to the homeowner in writing. 

4.) Do I need to hire a real estate agent? 

The answer to this question depends largely on your situation. 

If you are looking to purchase a home, it is very possible you 

can do so without hiring a real estate agent. There are tons of 

resources available for people looking to purchase real estate. 

Often, for a buyer, the only job for a real estate agent is to 

unlock the doors to allow you to look inside. 

It is completely possible for you to perform research, negotiate 

prices and buy a house without an agent – but for most people 

this is not recommended. Real estate agents often help in 

the closing and escrow process. You can also use a property 

attorney for those procedures as well. The answer to whether 

or not you need to hire a real estate agent gets trickier if you 

are looking to sell your home. It is possible to sell your home 

by yourself using local marketing, the internet and advertising. 

But using a real estate agent all that work is done for you. 

In short, choosing whether or not to use a real estate agent is 

like anything else. You can choose to do it yourself but most of 

the time it just makes sense to use a professional. 

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5.) Should I make repairs that are necessary on the home? 

Truthfully, whether you decide to take on the task of making 

repairs on your home is up to you, but there are several things 

you should take into consideration before making the decision. 

The first is that if your home requires any major repairs, such 

as fixing a foundation problem, you probably are better off just 

making the repairs before selling the home. While these types 

of repairs might not get you a huge increase in price, because 

buyers simply won’t purchase a home that’s dangerous or 

inhabitable, you’ll ultimately sell the home much more quickly 

and won’t have to worry about the problem causing any 

problems later, such as lawsuits. 

If there are minor problems such as a leaky faucet, a laundry 

hook-up that doesn’t work, or a half-finished basement, you’ll 

have to carefully weigh your options before deciding whether 

or not you want to make the repairs yourself. If you do make 

the repairs, it can greatly add value to your home (depending 

on what the repair was), and you can usually also ask for 

more in the price than the project cost you to complete. Also 

consider that if you don’t make the repairs, buyers could try to 

use those small issues to try and negotiate a lower price for the 

home. 

6.) What do I have to disclose when selling my home? 

While you might not want to tell potential buyers everything 

there is to know about your home (including the fact that a 


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few shingles are loose on the roof or that a post in the fence 

continuously breaks), there are some things you legally must 

tell buyers, no matter how unpleasant they might be. These 

items that you must include in a written disclosure vary from 

state to state so it’s very important that you ask your real estate 

agent about any forms or guidelines that might be provided 

by the Association of Realtors in your state. Some of the most 

common things you’ll have to disclose are: 

Deaths in the home. Different states have very different laws 

about this with some making it illegal to not tell potential 

buyers about any death in the home, while in other states you 

don’t have to disclose any death in the home. In Texas, if the 

death didn’t have anything to do with the property itself, the 

information does not have to be disclosed. 

Nuisances. These are classified as annoying noises, smells, or 

sights around the property that irritate the property owners, 

but aren’t on the actual property itself. These nuisances 

could include things like train tracks, airports, industrial 

manufacturing plants, bad odors, smoke, landfills, and shooting 

ranges, to name just a few possibilities. While some states, like 

North Carolina and Michigan, do require that sellers disclose 

these nuisances, other states – such as Pennsylvania – leave 

the burden with the buyers to determine these nuisances for 

themselves. 

Environmental and natural hazards. Hawaii has a law that 

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sellers must disclose when homes are in a tsunami zone, 

while New York requires sellers to tell buyers if the home is in 

a flood plain or wetland. Again, different states have different 

requirements but if the home is at an increased risk of damage 

from a natural disaster, most states require that the seller 

disclose this information to any and all potential buyers. 

Any information pertaining to the Homeowners’ Association. 

If the home is a unit in a condo building or part of another 

multi-unit building, there’s a good chance that there’s a 

Homeowners’ Association. It’s imperative to tell all buyers 

any and all information regarding the association, including 

past meeting notes and information regarding membership 

dues. These can often be quite costly and add greatly to the 

purchase price. Even when this information is not required by 

law to be disclosed by the sellers, it should be. 

History of all repairs. While you’ll definitely want to tell 

potential buyers about recent repairs in order to increase the 

property price, you’ll also want to tell them about any repairs 

that have been done in the past, what exactly was done, and 

why. These repairs could become issues once again after the 

buyers have moved into the home and they need to know 

what to be watching out for. 

Water damage. Water damage can be one of the most 

disastrous, and most expensive, problems with a home so most 

states have a law in place that sellers must disclose all areas 


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of water damage, repairs that have been done to repair it, and 

anything that puts certain areas at risk (like heavily watering 

the grass along the foundation). 

Missing large items. While buyers do try to take a good look at 

the house and take note of everything that is or isn’t included, 

sometimes there are still some things that are missing and 

that buyers simply don’t notice during their many viewings. 

Things like missing water heaters, exhaust fans, and rain gutters 

can make it very difficult to live in a home but aren’t at the 

top of one’s list when they’re looking at homes. Only after they 

move in do they realize these essential items are missing and 

by then, they’re put in a very bad position. Some states, such as 

Michigan and Texas, have laws in place that requires sellers to 

provide a list of all the items that are included with the sale of 

the home so that buyers can read over it and determine what 

they will need to purchase before moving in. 

Specialty disclosures. Some states have very specific conditions 

due to their location and the special issues or problems 

pertaining to that geographical area. Because termites are 

extremely common in Texas, the state has a law that requires 

sellers disclose that information, while other areas have 

special historical districts that place restrictions on what 

homeowners can and cannot do to their home in the manner 

of improvements. Sellers are usually required by law to disclose 

that information so that buyers are aware of what will be 

required of them upon purchasing the home. 

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7.) Do I have to tell all buyers about other offers I’ve received 

on my home? 

States don’t usually place laws on whether you tell potential 

buyers about other offers you’ve received on your home, but 

it can often be advantageous for you to do so. Telling other 

buyers that you’ve received offers on your home can place a 

bit of pressure on them to make an offer or not, and it can also 

make your home seem more desirable when people know that 

it’s already garnered interest. 

However, never think that you have to disclose the terms of 

any other offers you’ve received, because you don’t. If you 

want to disclose the amount you’ve been offered in order to 

increase the bid you can, but in order to respect the privacy of 

all parties, never disclose anything like the name of the other 

buyer or any information pertaining to that person. You also 

don’t need to disclose other terms of the offer, including any 

clauses, inclusions, or exclusions that are included. 

8.) What are contingency clauses and what are the most 

common clauses included in offers? 

Contingency clauses are clauses that buyers will include in 

their offers to protect them from unforeseen circumstances 

that may crop up during the process of the sale. By including 

contingency clauses, the buyer can express their sincere 

interest in buying the home simply based on one or two quick 

viewings. From the time the offer is submitted to the closing 

date, a number of things can occur, problems can be found 


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with the home, and those problems can make it impossible for 

the buyer to purchase the home. For this reason, contingency 

clauses are put into place that provide the buyer with an “out” 

should they need it later on. 

The two contingency clauses that are more common than any 

others are the appraisal contingency (17 days), and the loan 

contingency (21 days). 

The appraisal and inspection contingency is included in the 

offer to purchase because the inspection will not yet have been 

performed upon time of submitting the offer. If it’s found after 

the inspection is completed that there are major issues with 

the home or a lot of repairs that are needed, the buyers can 

point to the inspection clause and retract their offer. 

Loan contingencies are written into offers to purchase with 

nearly every single contract that’s drawn for the purchase of 

any home. This is because once again, while buyers might 

have an idea of how much they can afford and may even have 

pre-approvals, they won’t actually have the financing firmed 

up and in place. There are also many things that can happen 

during the financing process that can cause the financing to 

fall through for the buyer and make purchasing the home 

impossible. The loan contingency keeps the buyer from being 

legally and contractually bound to buy the home when there’s 

simply no way they can do so. 

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9.) What should I do if my house has been on the market for 

a while and it’s simply not getting any interest? 

It can be extremely discouraging when you’ve had your home 

listed for sale for several weeks, or even months, and the buyers 

simply don’t seem interested. Fortunately, it’s not a hopeless 

situation and there are some things you can do to make 

your home more attractive. If buyers simply aren’t expressing 

interest in your home, it’s typically for two reasons: the home is 

simply not in good condition, or it’s priced too high. 

If you feel that your home should be getting more attention, 

and more offers, than it currently is, first take a walk around 

both the inside and outside of your home looking for cosmetic 

defects that might be turning buyers away. Maybe it’s 

something you missed the first time you made repairs to these 

small issues, or maybe it’s something you thought wouldn’t 

be a big deal. Either way, take care of all these issues and it 

could make the difference between not having any offers, and 

choosing the best one of a bunch. 

If your home is simply priced too high however, it won’t matter 

if you’ve taken care of all the repairs and cosmetic defects; 

buyers simply won’t find the price equivalent to the value of 

the home. Speak to your real estate agent about lowering the 

price. They’ll have the knowledge about how much you should 

reduce the price, as well as when you should. 

If you’ve taken care of all issues big and small around the 


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home, and you’re sure that the asking price is fair, and you’re 

still not getting any interest in the home, you might want to 

consider taking your home off the market for at least a few 

weeks. When you relist it, it will appear as a new listing and 

when that happens, it often garners new interest. 

10.) What if I want to sell my home but the value is less than 

the mortgage balance? 

Sometimes homeowners get into the unfortunate position 

of having a mortgage balance which is greater than the total 

value of their home. When this happens, and they want to sell 

their home, they can do a short sale. Short sales are usually 

very complicated because they include speaking to mortgage 

insurers if the home had mortgage insurance placed upon it 

during the time of purchase, and because it’s often dependent 

on the bank’s agreement to split the difference between the 

value of the home and the remaining mortgage payments that 

are due. Once all of these issues are resolved the sale of the 

home can be completed but short sales are often the benefit 

of the buyer and not the seller. 

The most common reasons sellers find themselves in the 

position of negotiating a short sale is because they can’t afford 

the home and need to downsize, or relocation has forced them 

to sell their home at a time when the market conditions may 

not be favorable for them to do so. 

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11.) How can I get my home ready to sell? 

It’s important for homeowners to remember that the way 

they live in their home and the way they sell their home are 

two different things. It’s well known that in order for buyers 

to be able to imagine their own belongings in the home, 

there needs to be fewer of your things around; this is why 

decluttering is so important, and why it should be the first 

thing you do. Organize your closets, take down excessive 

artwork or pictures from the walls, and clear counters and 

other surfaces of most items. This is the time to throw things 

out or donate them if you can, as it will be difficult to hide your 

excess “stuff” when potential buyers are going through cabinets 

and closets looking at the space. 

While going for this “clean” look, make sure that you actually 

clean every inch of your home. Dust everything, clean furniture, 

scrub the floors, and clean all other surfaces and appliances. 

When doing this cleaning you need to make sure that the 

kitchen and bathrooms especially are spotless. These are the 

two rooms that will really sell buyers or turn them off of the 

home so put in some extra time and effort when cleaning 

these two rooms. 

And when cleaning, don’t forget the outdoors! Curb appeal, or 

rather, how nice your home looks from the outside, is a huge 

factor as to when your home will sell and how many interested 

buyers will set up a viewing appointment. Make sure that 

sweep the sidewalk regularly, clean up any garbage, debris, or 


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clutter from your yard and driveway, keep lawns and gardens 

nicely maintained, and clean both the inside and outside of 

windows. 

It’s important to also remember that while you need to get rid 

of clutter, you also need to maintain a balance of still keeping 

a home that looks lived-in and comfortable. Otherwise, buyers 

will get the impression that the home is cold and stark. 

Once you do have potential buyers inside the home, there are a 

few more things you can do to make it more pleasant. Cooking 

and baking things like cookies, apple pies, or even spaghetti 

sauce can add an enticing aroma to the air, and flowers 

throughout the home can also bring a burst of freshness. 

Many homeowners like to have nice, soft music playing in the 

background to make buyers feel more comfortable and have 

them look and linger a little longer. 

12.) What is your strategy to get my house on the market? 

This answer will also let you know about how the agent intends 

to complete the job for you. Their answer should include their 

marketing strategy, how the agents handles multiple offers, 

how often they’re going to hold open houses, where they will 

be advertising, and the link to the home on the local multiple 

listings service. Even before going into too much detail on 

your specific property an agent should have some specific 

ideas about how they intend to sell the property because this 

is their profession and what they do every single day. They will 

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also have ideas about when the best time to list your home 

is, strategies specific to your neighborhood and location, and 

more. Above all what you want to hear is that your real estate 

agent has a clear-cut strategy that they’re going to follow and 

that has proven to be successful for them in the past. 

13.) Can the agent provide all documents to be reviewed by 

me before I am asked to sign them? 

This seems like a no brainer, but you have to be sure that you 

are given the opportunity to review any documents before you 

sign them. Professional real estate agents should be willing to 

give you all documents to look over before you sign and many 

will give them to you up front. Ideally, you want to be given the 

opportunity to take any and all documents home to look them 

over before signing, and not just have them tossed at you with 

five minutes left to sign. Any agent who is not willing to show 

you documents is not worth hiring. 

You can also ask, before any work has even begun, if the agent 

will show you a sample purchase agreement. Check if these 

agreements are exclusive or non-exclusive. Also ask to see any 

agency disclosures, including seller or buyer disclosures. If you 

are looking to sell your home, check the listing agreement to 

see if it has a part about your right to sell your home yourself 

if you choose. Also, have the agent go over all of the fees 

listed on the documents. If you find any fees that you do not 

understand, ask the agent to explain it to you. You don’t want 

to get stuck signing an agreement with odd or unnecessary 


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fees. 

14.) Will my real estate agent be able to help me locate other 

professionals I might need to use while selling my home? 

Real estate agents often work with lots of other professionals 

in the housing market and should be able to refer you to these 

people. Having this kind of access to the best professionals 

in the business and in your area is advice that can prove to 

be invaluable, so this is something you should always you’re 

your real estate agent about upfront. They will be able to refer 

you to mortgage brokers, title companies, home appraisers, 

inspectors, escrow agents and contractors that they may have 

worked with in the past. When selling your home you could 

need to make multiple repairs and so, require many different 

contractors in many different areas of expertise so making sure 

that your real estate agent also knows these professionals can 

save you a lot of time in the long run. 

In addition to getting the names of these professional, also 

ask about how the agent works with these other professionals. 

If they are ‘affiliated’ they will be receiving compensation for 

directing you to them, so be sure to ask. That compensation 

will be tacked onto your charge and that’s a fee you don’t want 

to have to pay. 

15.) How are an agent’s fees determined? What if I end up 

with less than the asking price? 

A real estate agent’s fees will be determined one of two ways: a 

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commission on the asking price, or a commission on the total 

price paid for the home. You want to work with a real estate 

agent that will only charge a commission based on the total 

price paid for the home. This way the commission remains 

completely fair and completely in line with the total price you 

receive, not the price you were hoping to receive. By choosing 

to work with a real estate agent that will charge commission 

only against the total price paid for the home, you won’t end 

up paying much more for the commission than you received in 

the sale. 

In addition to just their commission, make sure that you’re also 

aware of any fees attached to purchase agreements and listing 

the home. Some agents charge extra for these while others 

don’t. An agent asking for these fees isn’t necessarily a bad 

agent, but you do want to make sure you know about it so that 

you’re not surprised with more fees than you thought at the 

end of the selling process. 

16.) What is a current certificate of occupancy (CO), and why 

is it important? 

A CO is a certificate showing that any construction that’s 

been done on the property has been approved by the town 

or city and that it’s safe and habitable by the standards set 

out by that town or city. Mortgage lenders are extremely 

reluctant to lend to any property that has a history of any type 

of construction that didn’t also carry a CO. This is important 

for buyers to know because they might not be able to obtain 


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financing, but it’s also important for sellers to know before any 

construction or major projects are completed because after 

the fact there’s little that can be done about it, and it could 

greatly impact whether or not your home will sell. 

17.) If I decide at any point that I don’t want to sell my 

house after all, do I still need to pay my real estate agent 

commission? 

This depends on where you are in the selling process when you 

decide you don’t want to sell. If the real estate agent hasn’t 

properly advertised your property, hasn’t had any offers or even 

a lot of interest in the property, and hasn’t advised you on why 

this is happening or what can be done to change it, sometimes 

you can back out of the deal without too many repercussions. 

However, if the agent has done all of the work and has even 

found a ready, willing, and able buyer and then you decide 

you don’t want to sell, you will most likely still have to pay the 

agent their commission. 

If you get even further into the deal, such as the buyer has 

sold their previous home and has nowhere to go after a 

certain date, backing out of the deal at the last minute might 

make you responsible for expenses they incurred due to your 

decision such as hotel fees, storage fees, etc. When you decide 

you want to sell your home, you want to be very sure that you 

do in fact, want to sell your home. 

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18.) Is it okay to let a buyer move in before the closing date? 

The closing date is the date that all documents officially 

become binding, the deal is closed, and the house goes from 

being yours to being someone else’s. In many cases, the seller 

of the home also lives in the home and the closing date is 

also the date that they, as well as all of their belongings, need 

to be out of the home so that the new owner can move in. 

However, in some cases the seller of the home doesn’t live in 

the property and so, they don’t necessarily see a problem with 

allowing the buyer to move in a few days or even a week or two 

before the closing date. This can be a bad idea and can turn 

into a terrible situation for the seller. 

There are a number of things that can go wrong between the 

acceptance of the offer and the closing date, and these issues 

can make the deal fall through. Should that happen and there 

be someone living in the home, you will now be the landlord 

of a tenant that has certain rights. Instead of cashing in on the 

sale of your home and excitedly moving into the next phase 

of your life, you might instead be deep in an eviction process 

that’s not only lengthy, but can also be very expensive. 

I hope you found this information helpful and I would love to help you 

sell your house! 

Jennifer Christenot 

Realtor 

DRE#01974700 

760.272.0101 


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