Seller's Guide

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.​​​​​​​

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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 realtor®  once you choose one so he or she can adjust your selling price accordingly.

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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.

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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.

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Step 4: Develop a Marketing Strategy

I will develop a marketing strategy that is perfect for advertising your home. 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.

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Step 5: Evaluate Offers

Receiving an offer is an exciting part of the process, but it doesn’t mean the journey is over. We will evaluate each offer and make sure the party making the offer is prequalified or pre-approved by a mortgage lender and that their offer is acceptable to you. If the offer is too low, you can make a counter-offer or offer other ways to bridge the gap, 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.

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Step 6: Accept an Offer

Once we deem the offer is acceptable, we will review the proposed contract to make sure it’s all in order and includes the necessary components such as 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 term, a final contract will be prepared by your agent.

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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 some cases, your home may need to be formally inspected, surveyed, and appraised. In other cases, major or minor repairs will need to be made before the house can close. I will head up efforts to develop 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, we 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.

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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. We will meet with the company closing the transaction to sign the final paperwork and go over any issues that have not yet been taken care of. During this time, you can also make plans with your realtor® to handle 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

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Victoria Q.

AMAZING!!! If you want a realtor that gets the job done right and as quickly as possible, look no further than Catrina. She has a wealth of experience and a vast network that she leveraged to guide us every step of the way thro...
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Susan D.

I hate to be one of 'those people' but 5 stars simply isn't a high enough rating for Catrina Russell! She helped us find our dream home after SEVERAL years and MANY houses, and she was patient and helpful throughout the entire ...
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Mary L.

We highly recommend Catrina Russell from Coldwell Banker. She was completely focused on every aspect of what was needed to quickly sell our home. Her attention to detail from what needs to be adjusted/fixed before marketing to ...
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Ashley T.

Catrina has done it again! This is my second time buying a home with Catrina in the San Diego area and she makes the process so enjoyable. I trust Catrina’s expertise and value her opinion. If you want the someone extremely kno...
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ROBBY C.

Catrina represented my parents and my sister in the competitive San Diego house buying process. After hearing all excellent feedback from family, my wife and I called Catrina to help us find a house. For context, we are in the ...
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MARK S.

Catrina Russell is a rock star realtor and project manager! In August 2022, Jay Kahn passed away leaving a sizeable estate including a well-worn, well-loved oceanfront property to create a permanent charitable fund at San Diego...
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REUBEN C.

Working with Catrina was a pleasure, and she made what could have been a difficult experience easy and pain free. We had rented our house in OB for two years before putting it up for sale. The renters had not been kind to it...
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WENDY M.

Catrina is an awesome Realtor®! This is our second real estate transaction with Catrina and would never use anyone else. Great listener, able to identify our needs quickly, well connected in her neighborhood, always available!
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LAURA H.

Ms. Russell saved the day at the last minute for me to rise to the occasion for close on time. She called in favors for movers and haulers who performed stellarly, allowing me to keep my contract in a timely manner.
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CRAIG V.

Catrina is a superb real estate agent. She handled everything from the moment we decided to start the selling process until the end. She made everything work in a timely professional manner and we closed 6 weeks after the house...
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JEFF K.

Simply the best agent in OB and Point Loma. Her local knowledge of the market can't be beaten. She sold our home quickly and very close to the initial list price. Her staff is great and she is very attentive and helpful through...
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DAVE

Having bought two houses through Catrina, it is easy to recommend her. Catrina has an amazing knowledge of houses on the market (even ones that have not yet been listed). She is great at knowing what particulars you are looking...
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DANA H.

Catrina was the right real estate professional for our house sale. We were out of the area when our house was on the market and she took care of everything including scheduling contractors, overseeing painting and carpet instal...
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TRISHA K.

Catrina did such an incredible job selling our house a couple of years ago we decided to work with her again to buy us a forever home! She is truly the best in the business and there is no question that her experience and couns...
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ALAN P.

After 43 years, of living in the same Point Loma home, I was hesitant to put my future in the capable hands of Catrina Russell with Coldwell Banker West. After our initial meeting, I was confident she would accomplish her sched...
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JORDAN

Catrina Russell wowed me throughout this experience. I have never met an agent quite like her. She made all the arrangements for the market-ready viewing of the home, met with the contractors, and made sure the work was perform...
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MADELINE C.

Catrina sold one piece of property and helped us buy another property all within 30 days' time, closing on the same day. Everything was smooth, timely, and so easy for us. She was always three steps ahead, knew how to guide us,...
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ANNA R.

My husband and I were at a place where we were open to looking at homes, just to see what was out there. We'd had some brief experience with Redfin and talking with other agents, but Catrina was referred to us as "the closer". ...
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BRIAN G.

Catrina found a great buyer for our home without it ever hitting the market. Her follow-up on things was efficient and pleasant. She keeps the process mellow and manageable. In general she is a great person who is very good at ...
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WENDY M.

Catrina is an awesome Realtor! This is our second real estate transaction with Catrina and would never use anyone else. Great listener, able to identify our needs quickly, well connected in her neighborhood, always available!
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