Steps to Selling a Home

1. Research and hire your REALTOR.

Many homeowners initially determine the value of their home online using websites like Zillow or Trulia. They don’t know that the home assessments from these sites are often inaccurate. It’s best to pick a trustworthy and professional REALTOR^®.

• Ask for referrals. Your friends and family can be an excellent resource for finding a reliable, savvy REALTOR^®. Lean on your trusted advocates.
• Interview your REALTOR^®. Of the referrals you get, interview them and ensure you hire the right REALTOR^® so you will feel comfortable with them and what they offer as an agent.
• Meet in person. A good REALTOR^® will walk through your home in person before suggesting a competitive list price. A Jacobsen Group agent will request a personal tour of your home. You will review the marketing plan at this meeting and then schedule a second meeting. At the second meeting, your Jacobsen Group agent will share the results of their Comparable Market Analysis (CMA). Their visits, combined with the results of the CMA, will serve as the basis of their recommended list price.
• Social Networking Sites. Change your privacy settings on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn to the highest security settings possible, allowing people to “friend” you. Buyers are known to research you online for personal info that could give them an edge during negotiations.

We will determine when to sell your home upon choosing The Jacobsen Group.

2. Stage, declutter, and depersonalize.

Staging a home will help you sell your home quicker and for more money. We will schedule a complimentary one-hour consultation with home stagers who tour your home with you, discuss options, and then leave you with a list of staging suggestions.

You need to declutter! You aim to make all the rooms look and feel as open as possible. Pack up any unused items or knick-knacks throughout the home, and clean out and reorganize closets and cabinets to showcase space. Remove and store furniture that blocks walkways.

NOTE: Don’t throw everything in the garage; it must look as decluttered as possible.

Depersonalizing will help potential buyers visualize their personal belongings in your home. Remove and pack up family photos or heirlooms and remove most, if not all, wall art.

The home staging and decluttering process can be overwhelming, but how we present the home to a potential buyer is very important in selling the home.

3. Repair the small things.

If it’s broken, fix it! A list of common repairs to consider include:

• Patch holes or cracks in walls or ceilings.
• Fix leaky faucets.
• Fix doors that don’t close properly.
• Fix ripped window screens and replace cracked or broken window panes.
• Replace defective thermal window seals where windows “fog” between the panes of glass.
• Make sure all windows open and close.
• Replace all burned-out light bulbs.
• Replace any rotten boards on a deck or siding.
• Tighten all hand railings.
• Mud jacking the driveway or sidewalks where a trip hazard is larger than 1 inch.
• Replace cracked tile.
• Add backfill along the foundation of your home.
• Clean out gutters and add extensions to your downspouts.
• Repair damaged roof shingles.
• Touch up exterior/interior paint.
• Paint walls with neutral colors and remove wallpaper.
• Complete all work associated with past insurance claims.
• Service your furnace(s) or A/C unit(s) by a licensed HVAC contractor (if you haven’t done so in the last 12 months).

4. Deep clean.

Buyers like clean, maintained homes. In addition to thoroughly cleaning every corner of your home to give it a nice finish, consider doing the following:

• Store small kitchen appliances in the pantry or closet.
• Clear off the countertops.
• Replace worn or old shower curtains and hanging fresh towels.
• If you smoke, have drapes, carpets, and furniture professionally cleaned or replaced.

If you have pets:

• Have your carpets professionally cleaned.
• Scrub and sanitize pet bowls and pet areas.
• Wash all pet pillows and blankets.
• Remove any evidence of the pets, such as pet toys, pillows, cages, towers, etc.

Take it to the next level and make your home shine by completing the following:

• Clean all windows inside and out.
• Clean carpets and wax or polish the floors.
• Clean and polish any woodwork.
• Rent a pressure washer to spray down sidewalks, home exteriors, patios, and decks.
• Re-caulk tubs, showers, and sinks.
• Vacuum daily.
• Open all blinds or drapes, and turn on all the lights (for showings).
• Dust furniture, ceiling fan blades, and light fixtures destroy cobwebs.
• Replace worn rugs.
• Put out fresh flowers or plants.

5. Have your home professionally photographed.

The Jacobsen Group will hire a local production company to take professional photographs of your home as a complimentary service. Upon completion, pictures of your home will go on the market within 48 hours.

6. Go live.

When you work with The Jacobsen Group, your home will be marketed on multiple platforms, generating the most exposure possible. We will market your home on:

• Multiple Listing Service (MLS) is a city-wide database where all local real estate companies share information about their listings.
• Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate The Good Life Group and KWJacobsen.com
• Social Media, including Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
• 3rd Party Websites. Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate The Good Life Group is a syndicated website, so your home will also appear on Realtor.com, Trulia, Zillow, and many more.

Once everything is live, your agent will email you links to the web pages marketing your home. Please review everything very carefully and let your agent know of any errors.

7. Showings.

Your home will receive the most showings within the first three weeks on the market, so keep your house "show-ready." All the showing requests will come from the Centralized Showing Service (CSS), and they will give you at least a 2-hour notice that a buyer has requested to see your home. Showings typically take one hour; you must leave the house about 15 minutes before the appointment.

The Jacobsen Group monitors all client lockboxes electronically, so they will receive an email notification when a buyer's agent accesses your lockbox, indicating the showing has taken place.

As you're getting ready for the showings, please do a quick run-through of your home and check the following:

• Turn on all the lights and lamps.
• Make sure all the beds are made.
• Open all the blinds and drapes.
• Close all the toilet lids.
• Put away all toys and other personal items.
• Take out the trash.
• Fold and put away all the laundry.
• Clean and put away any dishes or pots and pans.
• Do a quick vacuum and dust the floors.
• Put out fresh towels in the bathrooms.
• Wipe down all countertops and sinks.
• Remove your pet(s) from the home.

8. Stay Informed.

Two-way communication is critical. Your Jacobsen Group agent will make sure you are informed on the activity for your home, providing you with a weekly report that includes:

• An updated CMA Summary report showing you market activity in your neighborhood.
• The number of online "hits" or "views" of your home.
• Statistics from your showing feedback.

9. Open House

The Jacobsen Group will always allow their sellers to host an open house. If desired, the first open houses will be scheduled on the second or third Sunday after your home hits the market. Prepare for open houses just as you would do for a showing.

10. Receive and evaluate an offer.

Upon receiving an offer, your Jacobsen Group agent will provide you with a copy, and you will review it together. Your agent will review all details, its terms, and what it means for you.

We recommend you pay close attention to the following:

• Offer price. Does the offer price work for your situation?
• Personal Property. Be aware of any personal property the buyer asks to be included in the sale (such as an appliance, piece of furniture, swing set, etc.) If the buyer asks for personal property that isn't marked available for sale in the MLS, you may be able to use it as a negotiation piece.
• Earnest Deposit. Typically, the earnest deposit will be 1% of the purchase price.
• Type of Financing and Down Payment. The buyer's down payment is typically a good indication of the buyer's financial strength. As a general rule, the more money down, the better.
• Seller Paid Closing Costs. Buyers will occasionally ask the buyer to pay for all or a portion of their closing costs. It is not uncommon for buyers to ask the seller to pay 3%-6% of the purchase price towards their closing costs.
• Closing date. In Omaha, closings typically happen 45-60 days after the purchase agreement is executed.
• Contingencies. There can be many contingencies, such as selling the buyers' home before they can purchase your home or requiring your home to meet specific inspection criteria, including repairs.
• Home Warranty. Buyers commonly ask the seller to pay for at least a one-year home warranty.

11. Reject or accept an offer.

Good deals either happen or they don't. They can't be forced. When you are not comfortable with the terms of an offer, it's best to move on quickly. Upon accepting an offer, all closing-related activities must be completed in compliance with the Purchase Agreement's terms and conditions.

The following is the sequence of events that will come after acceptance:

• Inspections. Whole home inspections occur promptly after an offer is accepted (within 48 hours). The inspector will coordinate his visit through your agent, requiring 3-4 hours to review your home and roughly one more hour to review the inspection results with the buyer and buyer's agent.
• Appraisals. The buyer's lender will order an appraisal early in the mortgage process. During the appraisal, the appraiser values the property to ensure it aligns with the agreed-upon purchase price.
• Written Mortgage Commitment. The buyer will receive a commitment letter from their lender with conditions that must be cleared before a closing date is scheduled.
• Meeting with the title company. The title company will request information from you to prepare your documents, also known as the seller's deed set, which is your closing portion. They will request loan information for your mortgage, social security numbers, and other sensitive information. PLEASE DO NOT SHARE sensitive information with anyone unless you can verify that person and company is legitimate and beware of fraudulent activity.

12. Obtain monies for closing.

Before closing, the title company will let you know how much you will receive from the sale of your home or how much you must pay for a net loss at closing. If you are in a negative equity situation, you must provide certified funds paid to the title company before closing.

13. Prepare for closing.

Roughly two weeks before closing, please look through the Moving Checklist on the next page for items you want to take care of before closing.

14. Mortgage approval and clear-to-close.

This is a crucial step for a successful closing; however, sellers do not need to do anything during this step. This step happens behind the scenes, where the buyer's lender puts the file through underwriting for final loan approval.

15. Your keys and garage door remotes.

As you leave the house for the last time, please put all the house keys, mailbox keys, and garage remotes on the kitchen counter, along with a written note containing the garage key code and mailbox number. It would be helpful to leave any instruction manuals you may have for the home or any information about its mechanicals.

16. Closing Day.

The Jacobsen Group agent will give you a call to confirm once closing is complete. After closing, the title company will provide you a "seller's packet" that contains copies of all the signed documents for your records and your proceeds check, if applicable.