Seller's Guide

Everything you need to know about putting your home on the market, accepting an offer, and closing on your home.

A Step-by-Step First Time Seller's Guide

Putting your home on the market can be a stressful process, especially when you don’t know what to expect. Fortunately, with the help of an experienced agent and this easy to follow guide, you can smoothly complete the process. Following these steps will help you prepare so you can get organized and sell your home for the best price possible.​​​​​​​

Bright living room with a tiled fireplace, white seating, and large windows.

Step 1: Understand Why You're Selling

What do you want to accomplish with the sale of your home? Do you want to make a certain amount of money that you can put toward a larger or nicer home? Do you need to sell it as soon as possible to facilitate a move to a new city or area? Once you understand your needs, you can better craft your offer. For example, if you need to sell quickly, you might want to price your home lower than if your goal is to make a certain profit margin. Make sure you convey these needs to your real estate agent once you choose one so he or she can adjust your selling price accordingly.

Bright white kitchen with a marble island, undermount sink, tall chrome faucet, and yellow blossoms.

Step 2: Determine Selling Price

Knowing how to price your home is one of the most important parts of the selling process. When you set a fair price in the beginning, you’ll get the most interest from other real estate agents and prospective buyers. Overpricing your home could lead to reduced interest, and underpricing leads to receiving less than what your home is worth. Working with a real estate agent is the best way to determine the right selling price for your home. An agent with experience can determine what other comparable homes are selling for, evaluate the current market, and may even suggest a home appraisal.

Open-plan kitchen, dining, and living area with exposed beams, hardwood floors, and large windows overlooking the backyard.

Step 3: Start Preparations

If you’ve kept your home in showroom condition since you’ve lived in it, you’re in the minority of homeowners. Once you price your home, it’s time to start getting it ready to be shown to potential buyers. This includes getting rid of clutter, depersonalizing the space so that buyers can envision themselves in the space, making any small repairs, and doing a deep clean to make sure your home is in pristine condition.

Living room with a gray sectional, fireplace, and expansive windows overlooking a wooded lawn.

Step 4: Develop a Marketing Strategy

I'll suggest a marketing strategy that is perfect for advertising your home given the current market, the particulars of your property and what I know buyers are are looking for. This involves listing the home and then driving the right people to that listing through social media campaigns, agent-to-agent referrals, traditional media, or SEO advertising. My team creates a marketing campaign that aims to get the most possible traffic to your listing in the first three weeks after becoming a client.

Contemporary kitchen with dark cabinetry, marble surfaces, a wide range, and brass fixtures.

Step 5: Evaluate Offers

Receiving an offer is an exciting part of the process, but it doesn’t mean the journey is over. I will help you evaluate each offer and make sure the party making the offer is prequalified or pre-approved by a mortgage lender and that each facet of their offer is acceptable to you. If the offer isn't just right, you can make a counter-offer or offer other ways to bridge gaps, such as covering some or all of the closing costs, making repairs, adjusting the move-in date, or leaving some appliances or fixtures for the new buyer.

White two-story house framed by mature trees, with a covered entry and broad green lawn.

Step 6: Accept an Offer

Once you deem an offer acceptable, we'll prepare the offer document for your ratification, or make agreed changes to the price, deposit amount, down payment, financing, inspection rights and repair allowances, contingencies, settlement date, and a list of fees and who will pay them. When both parties have agreed to the terms in writing, you're under contract!

Modern kitchen with a marble island, wood cabinetry, and large windows overlooking a pool and greenery.

Step 7: Get Ready to Close

You have accepted an offer and are now very close to the end of your selling journey. But first, you and the buyer must make a list of what needs to be done before closing. In most cases, your your buyer will have the home inspected, surveyed, and appraised. Those inspections may reveal major or minor repairs that will need to be made before the house can close, though that entire process is subject to step-by-step negotiation. I will head up efforts to develop, negotiate, and execute this list, get each action item paid for by the correct party, and make sure everything is in order by the closing date. A few days before the closing date, my team will call the company closing the transaction to make sure everything is ready to go. If you haven’t done so already, you also need to make arrangements to move out of the home so the new buyer can take possession.

Home entrance with a dark paneled wood door, brass hardware, and matching potted shrubs.

Step 8: Close

You’ve reached the last step in the seller’s process! When you close on a home you are selling, you are legally transferring ownership of the property to the new buyer. A few days before the contract closing date, your settlement agent, whether a title agency or an attorney, will invite you their office to sign the final paperwork in preparation for sending it to the buyer's closer for their signing on closing day. During this time, we'll also assist with final details such as canceling utilities, cable, and lawn or trash services, changing the name on accounts that the new owner is retaining and ensuring the new owner has instructions for all appliances that will remain in the home.

Congratulations!

Once you have sold your home, you’re free to take the next step on your journey. Whether this is relocating to a new city, moving into a larger home, or downsizing and enjoying your life as empty-nesters, knowing all your selling responsibilities have been taken care of will help you achieve peace of mind for your new path.

Our Testimonials

See why our clients love working with us
Amy C.

Amy C.

I knew of Shannon through my son's process of buying and selling a home. When I decided to make a move after 37 years, I knew he would be the one to guide me through this undertaking since a lot had changed over that time. From...
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John K.

John K.

Shannon is an excellent agent and advocate, without whom we would not have been able to navigate Richmond's difficult real-estate market. He is incredibly knowledgeable of the area and the buying process, exceedingly profession...
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Seller

Seller

My experience with Shannon was excellent. He is very experienced in his field and has lots of resources that can assist in preparing the property for marketing. Shannon is very personable and always available for questions or a...
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Jeff B.

Jeff B.

We met Shannon through a referral, and from day one, he was all in guiding us through the buying process. We told him it was going to be a long haul, as we were relocating out of the area and had to get to know the area first. ...
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Meghan G.

Meghan G.

The Harton Team impressed us from the start. They are highly competent, professional, incredibly present, and all-around great people. Shannon is a people-person and genuinely listens to (and cares about) his clients’ needs, an...
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Ray & Gayle

Ray & Gayle

Shannon demonstrated the kind of professional ability that we needed to move our house at a time when the market was very soft. Because we were moving to a retirement community and had made a commitment to a new residence there...
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Nate & Haila

Nate & Haila

The Harton Team is full of professional, knowledgeable professionals. Not only do they not push you into the purchase of a home, but they also point out things to watch out for well before you even notice them. Shannon and his ...
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Tyler E.

Tyler E.

The Harton Team was incredibly helpful and attentive to my husband and me when we made the decision to sell our house in the Fall. They always made us feel like we were their first priority with every concern or question we had...
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Cory

Cory

Shannon is one of the best agents in Richmond and an all-around great person. He is very responsive, smart, helpful, and truly cares about what is in your best interest. I was a first timer, and Shannon was there to tell me how...
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Joshua G.

Joshua G.

Shannon has earned our family’s highest respect. He listened to our goals and delivered. Above all, he is responsive and gets personally involved when needed. He and his team made the nerve-racking process of selling and buying...
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Natalie D.

Natalie D.

Shannon Harton was absolutely amazing to work with. He treated the whole situation like he was buying the house himself. Besides having an amazing personality, he is very easy to work with, especially with all the questions I h...
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Ryan H.

Ryan H.

Shannon is simply fantastic to work with and is truly an expert on the Richmond market. With my wife and me being new to the area, he took the time to educate us on the area and provided a local's perspective on Richmond's chan...
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Michell G.

Michell G.

Shannon was a delight to work with. We initially reached out to obtain recommendations on how to improve our home in preparation for its sale. He was very knowledgeable about the needs in the area to help improve the sale value...
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Victoria P.

Victoria P.

Shannon worked with us to find our first home, and we couldn’t be more grateful for his services. He is knowledgeable and honest, very generous with his time, and responsive via email and text for all of our questions. Shannon ...
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Carmen W.

Carmen W.

Shannon Harton was recommended to us by a close friend to help us get into our first home. As a queer married couple, we are always wondering, going into these kinds of situations, what kind of interactions to expect, and unfor...
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Ashley K.

Ashley K.

I could not have asked for a better experience! Shannon was absolutely amazing to work with. I spoke with him on a Friday afternoon, and by the next Thursday, my condo was on the market! Within the first 7 days, we had an offer...
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Gregory S.

Gregory S.

I served in the military for 28 years and moved many times with numerous purchases and sales of houses. Amongst numerous sales of houses, working with Shannon was the very best experience that my wife and I have ever experience...
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Buyer

Buyer

Shannon is amazing and exceptionally patient. He is extremely accommodating and allowed us to come to our own decisions with no pressure. His knowledge of the industry and ability to answer any question are absolutely impressiv...
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Amy C.

Amy C.

I knew of Shannon through my son's process of buying and selling a home. When I decided to make a move after 37 years, I knew he would be the one to guide me through this undertaking since a lot had changed over that time. From...
Read More
Brian C.

Brian C.

Buying a home in Chesterfield County while selling a house in Richmond in this crazy real estate market is a whirlwind. Shannon was the calm before, during, and after the storm. We were so fortunate to have his help. We ended u...
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