The Home Selling Process

There is more to selling a home than just picking a price and putting an ad in the paper. At Copeland Realty, we know that each sale is different.

Below, we've listed five steps that we will take for you when selling your home. If you have any questions or would like further information about our real estate services please do not hesitate to contact any one of our real estate agents at anytime.

Step 1: Pricing Your Home
When you decide to sell your home, a Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) is necessary to identify an appropriate suggested asking price. This process entails a licensed broker from Copeland Realty visiting your home to tour your property, then comparing it to recent comparable sales and on-the-market properties in the area. We do extensive research to ensure that your home is correctly priced, to maximize the return on your investment in the shortest amount of time possible.

Step 2: Listing Process
When you feel you’ve reached a satisfactory asking price for your home based on a discussion of the information presented to you in the CMA, the next step involves signing a listing contract with Copeland Realty. The listing contract outlines all of the terms and conditions surrounding the listing of your home with CR, including the length of the listing period, the commission rate, the services to be provided by CR, and a marketing strategy. When all of the terms and conditions are agreed upon by you and CR, the listing contract is then signed by both parties and becomes a legally binding document until the date of expiration.

Step 3: Marketing Process
When you list your home with Copeland Realty we employ a number of different techniques to ensure that your home receives maximum exposure. Those techniques include:

• A customized web page on our new state-of-the-art web site
• Immediate listing on MLS (Multiple Listing Service)
• A customized informational brochure for your property
• Alerts to more than 600 home seekers in our client database
• Weekly advertising
• Private showings with clients and cooperating agents
• Open houses
• Open houses for cooperating agents
• For Sale signage on your property

Step 4: Sales Process

• Offer to Purchase
At Copeland Realty, we require that all formal offers be done in writing accompanied by a $1,000 deposit check, which is placed in an interest bearing escrow account. The offer is considered "under agreement" when the buyer and seller reach an agreed upon sale price, and both parties have signed the offer to purchase.

• Home Inspection
Most Offer-to-Purchase agreements are contingent upon the results of a home inspection, to be performed by a licensed North Carolina residential home inspector.

• Buyer Financing and Bank Appraisal
All prospective buyers must show written proof of "pre-approval" or "pre-qualification" from a certified home lending institution prior to arranging a home inspection. The allocation of funds must occur at least ten days prior to a closing date. All mortgage lenders and banks require that an appraisal of value be done on the subject property prior to the allocation of funds.

• Purchase and Sale Agreement (P&S)
The Purchase and Sale agreement is a binding legal document that spells out the exact conditions for the purchase and sale of a property. These conditions include a purchase price, a schedule of payments, the broker’s fee, exclusions, and a closing date, among other important details.

Step 5: Closing

• Transfer of Funds
The lending institution is represented at closing by a conveyance attorney, whose job it is to confirm a clear title and to convey funds to those persons and/or creditors who are owed money.

• Recording of Deed
The property transfer is complete when the signed property deed is recorded at the County Registry of Deeds. This usually occurs within 24 hours of the closing.