Selling a home in San Diego involves a complex series of events. Accurately estimating how long the process will take is difficult. Below you will find a brief description of what to expect when I put your home on the market, and the length of time everything should take. Under normal circumstances, the process can take eight to fourteen weeks from the start to finish. Mortgages take 2 to 4 weeks for buyers to obtain. Therefore, selling to a buyer who doesn't require a mortgage can save a lot of time.
Activity
Estimated Time
Average Time
Pre-marketing
3 - 7 days
5 days
Marketing
Duration of showing your home
same
Showing your home to buyers
7 - 56 days
35 days
Negotiating with the buyer(s) and mutual acceptance
1 - 5 days
2 days
Beginning escrow
1 - 5 days
3 days
Application/mortgage
28 - 42 days
25 days
Closing date
5 - 14 days
7 days
Total:
45 - 129 days
87 days
Please note: If there is not mortgage involved, the process will be shortened by 2-4 weeks.
Most real estate agents in San Diego are not Realtors!
A Realtor® is an agent or agent who is a member of the National Association of Realtors®, the largest professional association in the country. As a member of this association, I must abide by a strict code of ethics, rules and regulations providing clients with the highest degree of professionalism and expertise in the industry. Most real estate agents and agents in San Diego are not Realtors®! If you already have an agent or agent in mind, find out if they're a Realtor®
By the way, many people confuse brokers with agents and they are not the same. An agent requires supervision from a broker, whereas a broker is licensed to work independently. Agents should be members of the National Association of Realtors. I am a licensed agent with McMillin Realty, a top agency in San Diego. And, I am a member of the association.
The first step in selling property in San Diego is to locate an experienced, hard-working agent who will make the selling process as painless as possible and sell your property for the most money in the shortest time period. You can count on me to do just that!
Step 3: Setting the Optimum Price for Your Home
Representing just you...
My loyalty will not be divided. I'm not one bit interested in the buyer getting a deal. My fiduciary responsibility is to you. I will make sure that you get the most money in the shortest period of time possible. In order to do this, we need to price your home correctly.
First, I'll present a Comparative Market Analysis and share current market conditions with you. Depending on variables such as the market, the condition of the home, the view, the neighborhood and interest rates, you are usually best off pricing your home slightly higher than previous sales in your community and slightly under homes currently available in your community.
Do not make the mistake of going with an agent who gives you the highest perceived market value. A home will sell for what the market is willing to pay. Therefore, first pick the real estate agent that you believe will do the job to your satisfaction. Then, together, we'll decide on the pricing strategy.
Dual Agency...
My loyalty will be divided if I am representing by you and the buyer, but I will not enter into this type of arrangement without your written permission.
In the case of dual representation, I have a fiduciary responsibility to both parties ? you and the buyer. So while I am there to ensure you get the most money in the shortest period of time possible, my job is also to guarantee the buyer is getting a fair deal. In order to balance both sides we need to price your home correctly.
First, I'll present a Comparative Market Analysis and share current market conditions with you and the buyer. Depending on variables such as the market, the condition of the home, the view, the neighborhood and interest rates, you are usually best off pricing your home slightly higher than previous sales in your community and slightly under homes currently available in your community.
Do not make the mistake of going with an agent who gives you the highest perceived market value. A home will sell for what the market is willing to pay. Therefore, first pick the real estate agent that you believe will do the job to your satisfaction. Then, together, we'll decide on the pricing strategy.
It's best to price your home higher than you expect to sell it for because the buyer is only going to negotiate your price down, and you can't negotiate up.
If a home is worth, hypothetically, $8 and it is priced a bit higher at $10, the people who see it will be comparing it to $10 homes, and if it's not worth it, that's exactly what educated buyers will say. Meanwhile, people shopping for an $8 home won't see it because it's advertised as a $10 home. In this example the only people who will see the home are the wrong buyers.
One winning strategy is to price the home slightly under its market value in order to bring many buyers into the fold. This will provide you with a choice of buyers. And in a challenging market you will want to pick the best buyer, not the only buyer.
This strategy is also likely to create a bidding war. When this happens, it's common to get more than your original asking price.
Whatever price we pick, if a buyer doesn't come through within the first few weeks, more often than not it's because it's priced incorrectly. The word insanity is defined as doing the same thing over and over again, and expecting different results. Chances are, if 50 -100 people view the home and don't make an offer, another 50-100 people won't make an offer, either. Instead, the home that was worth $8, but was on the market for two months at $10 without any takers, will need a serious price reduction, perhaps as low as $7.
Step 5: Pre-marketing
Click on the links below for more information on any of the following items:
Broker participation: Within 72 hours of authorizing me to sell your home, I will make all real estate agencies in San Diego aware of your property, and invite them to participate in the sale of your home through the Multiple Listing Service (MLS).
Send postcards to your neighbors notifying them that your home is for sale.
Prepare ads for The San Diego Union Tribune, Rancho Bernardo News Journal, Corridor News, Poway News Chieftain, North County Times, and their websites.
Host open houses (for agents and buyers) at your discretion.
Dedicate as much time as needed to show your home.
Step 7: Receiving an offer
I will present all offers to you, along with basic information about the buyer. I will also provide financial information about the buyer (Pre-qualifying letters, etc.).
Upon receiving an offer, you can do any of the following:
Accept the offer
Counter the offer
Decline the offer
What ever you choose to do, it is customary to respond quickly (typically within the timeframe the buyer sets in the offer).
Step 8: Five Components of the Offers You Will Receive
All offers will include the following:
The price
A proposed closing date
Inclusions or exclusions of property in the home, such as fixtures or air conditioners
Loan and appraisal and other contingencies
The percentage of the contract price needed to be financed
Important:A variety of loan packages (up to 100% financing) are available to a prospective buyer, depending on his credit scores, assets and income.
Mortgage Contingencies
"Loan contingency" simply means that the purchase of a home is contingent upon getting a loan. In a seller's market, buyers are often required to waive their loan contingency, meaning that that the seller would be entitled to keep the buyer's deposit if the buyer was unable to obtain necessary financing. Had the buyer been turned down from even a single lender and not removed his/her loan contingency, he/she would have been able to be released from the contract without losing the deposit or suffering any further penalties. The seller would then have to start the process all over again.
Unfortunately, loan approval can take a few weeks to get a commitment letter or notification from a lender. It also takes time negotiating with buyers. And from the time the contract was signed, to the day you learned your buyer was unable to obtain a loan, the home was off the market.
While there clearly is an advantage for the buyer to not remove their loan contingency (thereby not putting their deposit at risk), by doing so, the buyer's offer will be more compelling to the seller and give this buyer an advantage over any buyer not willing to remove their loan contingency.
If the buyer is absolutely confident that either a satisfactory mortgage can be obtained or funds for the home will be available, the buyer may choose to submit the offer non-contingent on obtaining the loan. This makes the offer much stronger, and now this buyer will have an advantage over buyers that require a loan contingency. Sometimes this is the difference between getting the home and not getting the home.
In other words, by removing the loan contingency, the buyer bets the earnest money deposit that a satisfactory loan can be obtained. For you, as the seller, removal of the loan contingency reduces the risk associated with the buyer applying for a mortgage. If you receive two offers at approximately the same price, and one of the offers has a mortgage contingency, you may choose to go the loan that has had the contingency offer removed.
Step 9: The Surprising New About Accepted Offers
Verbal acceptance means that both parties, at the time of the acceptance, "intend" to enter into a transaction with one another. However, the buyer is likely to continue shopping for other homes and, as a result, I need to continue showing your home until the contract is signed because the verbal agreement is not enforceable. Once both parties sign the contract, the deal is final and considered fully executable.
Important: The contract is not enforceable when you have a verbal agreement. Once both parties sign the contract, the deal is final and considered fully executable.
Once you have signed and accepted an offer, the buyer´s agent will have his/her clients sign their acceptance, and either the seller´s or buyer´s agent, (whoever made the last counter-offer) will confirm mutual acceptance. Escrow will begin within three business days from this point.
Step 11: The Deposit
The buyer must provide a check for the agreed-upon earnest money to escrow within three days of mutual acceptance of the contract.
Step 12: The Closing
Close of escrow is determined between buyer and seller within the body of the contract and subsequent counter-offers. Once the loan is approved and closing documents are sent to escrow, buyer(s) must make an appointment with the escrow officer/notary to sign. When all documents are signed and notarized, they are packaged by escrow and sent back to the lender for funding. When escrow receives confirmation of funding, recording at the county is scheduled. Upon recording, escrow officially closes, and buyer´s agent will receive the keys to the new home. Congratulations! ? you have completed the process and sold your property.
