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Seller Guide
01 Let’s Strategize
Meet with The Davenport Group (TDG) to discuss your plans and goals and the current market. Once assessing your home’s characteristics and details, TDG will look at the past sales in your neighborhood to determine your home’s value. We will then provide recommendations on minor updates that you can do to your home to increase its value and make it more appealing to buyers. TDG will lay out a plan from now until closing so you know what to expect every step of the way. DOWNLOAD OUR SEllERS GUIDE HERE!
02 Preparing Your Home
TDG has a large network of vendors that can help get your in tip top selling shape. We can manage all of the communication between contractors and even front the cost of the renovations if you don’t have the money to do the repairs and enhancements. This aspect of the home selling process is often overlooked but this is where TDG thrives! By investing some money into the home, our clients often receive multiple offers, favorable terms, and significantly higher sales prices than expected. Click here to see some of the transformations that we’ve facilitated.
03 Capturing Your Home
TDG will hire a professional photographer/videographer to get spectacular photos/videos taken of the home. We will then use these to create all of our marketing materials and your home’s custom website.
04 Coming Soon/Going Live
Our home will be entered into the MLS a week prior to going live in Coming Soon status. This will give time for buyers to schedule a showing in the week to come and allows us to build anticipation of the launch of the property. Once live, your home will be broadcasted across every major Real Estate website and hundreds of local partner sites across the DMV.
05 Marketing Your Home
This is where TDG takes it to a whole another level. TDG will use the professional photography/videography and run targeted local ads on YouTube, Google, Instagram, and Facebook. We spend thousands of dollars to make sure your home is seen everywhere to ensure maximum exposure and maximum number of showings of your home. More exposure = higher sales price!!
06 Maintaining Showing Condition
It is very important to keep your house in great condition inside and out. Thus, TDG will put your family up in a hotel the first weekend that your home goes on the market to eliminate any and all stress. This way, we can accommodate potentials buyers who wish to see your house at all hours. Additionally, we will host an open house Saturday and Sunday opening weekend to drive all potential buyers to your home.
07 Handling Offers/Negotiations
After a handful of successful showings, we will receive an offer from a potential buyer. Besides the price of the offer, we have to consider the following:
- Are the buyers pre-approved for their mortgage / how is the buyer's financing?
- What are the buyer's terms/contingencies?
- Are there any other offers?
Once reviewing all offers, we can do the following: reject the offer outright, accept it as, or (more typically) respond to a buyer’s offer with a counteroffer. A counteroffer accepts some or most of the offer terms, but suggests changes to others, such as a higher price or a closing date that’s sooner than the buyer proposed.
08 Escrow Process
Once you’re under contract, this is where TDG will be coordinating with all of the parties(buyer’s agent, title, mortgage, inspectors, appraisers) to make sure all contingencies are removed and the transaction gets to closing. Some of the most common contingencies include home inspection, home appraisal, buyer financing, and HOA/Condo review period. The settlement/closing typically happens about 30 days after going under contract.
High level steps of that process include:
- Delivery of Buyer’s EMD (Earnest Money Deposit)
- Home inspection and negotiation of repairs
- Property’s Appraisal and negotiation of value
- Loan approval
- Ending utility services
- Moving out
- Buyer performs final walkthrough of the property
- Closing/settlement
09 Communication
TDG and you will establish the best method and frequency of communicating as the process unfolds. When preparing your home, TDG will approve all expenses with you and provide updates along the way. Once the property goes live, TDG will provide you with regular feedback and will keep you updated with continuous traffic metrics and information from the market. Finally, TDG will update you on the buyer’s status throughout the home inspection and loan process up to closing.
10 Home Inspection
The buyer will have a general inspection of the property done unless the contract waives the inspection which happens sometimes in the DMV area. TDG will help you negotiate repairs of issues found in the inspection report.
11 Moving to Your New Home
Before settlement, TDG will help you coordinate your move to your next home. We have a list of vendors that can help you discard, pack, store, and move your belongings to your new home to make this transition as smooth as possible. If you are buying a new home in the area, ask us about the discount we offer when you buy and sell your home with TDG.
12 Final Walkthrough
The buyer will perform a final walkthrough a day or two before closing to make sure the home is in the same condition as the home inspection and ensure that any repairs have been made. If issues arise, TDG will assist to ensure no delays of settlement happens.
13 Closing/Settlement
TDG will meet you at the title company to sign the documents necessary to sell your home. Sellers can sign the documents in advance and do not need to do this on the day of closing. Signing of the documents typically takes 15-30 minutes. Congrats! You’ve sold your home
14 Welcome to
The Davenport Group Family!
The fun doesn’t stop with selling your home as you are now a part of our growing community! TDG hosts several client events throughout the year that you will be invited to plus we do trip giveaways and so much more. Click here to learn more about how The Davenport Group creates an Unmatched Real Experience.
Work With Us
Discover an unmatched real estate experience. We are focused on building a community, exceeding expectations, providing competitive advantage, delivering beyond a 5 star experience, cutting edge marketing, and giving back. Our talented team of agents are redefining what it means to buy and sell in the DMV. Reach out to today to start the experience!
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Key Terms
- Appraisal - A 3rd party evaluation of the property’s value based on recent nearby comparable sales that is required by the lender to obtain a mortgage.
- Closing Costs - Expenses of selling a home. These typically consist of things like prorations (mortgage, tax, HOA), Realtor® commissions, Grantors’ tax, title fees and Plan for roughly 6-7% of the sales price.
- Closing/Settlement - The end of the real estate purchase. This is the day where the buyer and seller sign the paperwork to transfer the property. Settlement is typically performed at the title company and the buyer and seller usually sign at different times. All of the closing costs are prorated based on the day of settlement. The typical under contract to closing timeline is 30 days.
- Contingencies - An element of the sales agreement that makes a contract contingent upon something being fulfilled. Contingencies protect a buyer’s EMD and potentially allow the buyer to back out of the contract penalty free. Common contingencies are the home inspection, appraisal, and financing contingency. Each contingency has a time frame so the longer one is, the more protection it gives to a buyer which in turn makes an offer less appealing to a seller.
- Conventional Loan - A mortgage not guaranteed by the government. It is the most common type of loan and a buyer only needs 3% down up to a loan amount of $726,200. At 5% down, there are ways to avoid PMI when the loan is below $726,200.
- Discount Points - A borrower’s way to buy down the mortgage interest rate. Typically, one point costs 1% of the total mortgage to lower the interest rate by 0.25%.
- Down Payment - Portion of the purchase price that a buyer pays upfront when purchasing a home. The remaining % of the sales price is paid with a mortgage. The typical down payment size in the DC Metro area is 5-10% of the purchase price.
- Earnest Money Deposit (EMD) -
Good faith deposit that is typically held by the title company that shows the seller how serious a buyer is about purchasing the home. It is deposited shortly after the property goes under contract and is later applied to a buyer’s down payment and closing costs. The EMD is protected by the contingencies of the contract and could be forfeited by the buyer to the seller if they back out of the contract. There is no set amount required for an EMD but the typical EMD given is roughly 1-5% of the sales price.
- FHA Loan - A mortgage insured by the Federal Housing Administration that only requires 3.5% down. Usually FHA loans are best suited for borrowers that have lower credit scores (below 700). These typically have high PMI payments since it is a riskier loan product for the lender.
- Final Walkthrough - A walkthrough of the property a day or two before closing to ensure that the property is in the same condition as the date of the inspection/offer and that home inspection repairs were made if applicable. If issues arise, appropriate repairs will be made / closing credits will be given to the buyer.
- Home Inspection Contingency - A buyer’s right to inspect a property for a set number of days (Usually 1-7 days). Types of inspections that take place may include a general home inspection, radon test, termite/WDI inspection, sewer line inspection, chimney inspection, mold test, septic system inspection, and well inspection.
- Home Warranty - An extra insurance policy that covers repairs typically not covered by general home insurance like appliance and heating/cool repairs. Usually they are valid for one year periods and cost around $500-$600.
- Title Company - A third party that works with the lender and buyer/seller to ensure that there are no issues with the contract and title of the home. They typically hold the EMD and perform the settlement of the property. Some states use an attorney for this role but the DC Metro area uses title companies.
- VA Loan - A mortgage available for active-duty service members, veterans and eligible surviving spouses where the borrower can put 0%. No PMI is assessed and there are more generous credit requirements. There is a funding fee (Roughly 2.3-3.6%) assessed at closing that is rolled into the loan amount. This funding fee is waived however if the borrower qualifies for VA disability.