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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 team of real estate agents 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 team of real estate agents once you choose one so they 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 team of real estate agents is the best way to determine the right selling price for your home. A team of real estate agents 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

We 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. Our 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 team of real estate agents.

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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. We 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 team of real estate agents 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

See why our clients love working with us.
Hank W.

Hank W.

Moved to the West Coast from New York City and had a very specific sort of house in mind. LaVerne took as much time as necessary to do searches and to show properties to my wife and me. We were not easy to please, but LaVerne f...
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Ameen B.

Ameen B.

We have been working with LaVerne for the last 12 years. He is very helpful and goes out of his way to get every small detail.
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Catriona V.

Catriona V.

LaVerne did a wonderful job helping me purchase a home in Seattle while working remotely. He was my eyes and ears and was extremely knowledgeable about multiple neighborhoods, construction projects, and commuting paths both sou...
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Byron G.

Byron G.

We've relied on LaVerne for four hassle-free real estate transactions since 2018. His professionalism, industry knowledge, and attention to detail are remarkable. But it's the way he listens, absorbs, and then advocates on beha...
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Janet C.

Janet C.

Super real estate broker! I had a condo that needed some upgrades. He guided me as to what would add value. When it was listed, an offer came in on the first day that I was not enamored with. I gave him my thoughts, he gave me ...
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Buyer

Buyer

LaVerne Pike is a highly professional realtor. He is very easy to communicate with and get help through his work. He has helped my family buy and sell our properties. I highly recommend him for your future real estate needs.
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Donna F.

Donna F.

LaVerne is our family's real estate agent. He handled several transactions for us: the sale of my son's home in Kent, the purchase of his new home in Sammamish, the purchase of our home in Woodinville, and the sale of the home ...
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Vicki B.

Vicki B.

My daughter and I worked with LaVerne several years ago. He worked nonstop to help us find the condo we were looking for. After putting in numerous hours, we finally found it in Redmond Ridge, Washington. I moved in after my da...
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Tammy E.

Tammy E.

LaVerne did an amazing job helping us sell our condo. He was very informative and helpful throughout the process and listened to our input as well. He made us feel very well taken care of. I would highly recommend him whether y...
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Karin M.

Karin M.

LaVerne has helped us buy and sell our houses. He is an amazing agent and a great person. I trust his expertise 100%. He knows what he is doing, and it just makes this stressful process so much easier. Thank you, LaVerne, for e...
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Taylor K.

Taylor K.

LaVerne was extremely responsive and supportive through the marathon that is the Seattle housing market. He worked with us for a whole year. He was committed to helping us find the perfect first home.
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Robert C.

Robert C.

LaVerne has become like family over the years as our trusted advisor in all matters pertaining to real estate. Always a gentleman, he conducts himself with dignity and integrity through the sales and purchase processes, ensurin...
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Neha B.

Neha B.

LaVerne is a phenomenal agent. We have been working with him for years. He goes above and beyond to ensure his clients are satisfied when buying or selling a home. I would 100% recommend working with LaVerne.
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Darcy G.

Darcy G.

LaVerne was prompt, polite, knowledgeable, and patient. However, he also knew how to push things through when needed. He tirelessly searched for homes with my husband, advising him with authority on the hunt for our home. We ha...
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Zain B.

Zain B.

LaVerne has helped us buy and sell several properties. Each transaction has been an exceptional experience, most recently helping us sell a condo in this tough real estate environment. He is as responsive as one could be, no ma...
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Kay R.

Kay R.

As always, it has been a pleasure working with LaVerne! He goes out of his way to get things done for us in a timely and professional manner! Thank you for everything.
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Bryson B.

Bryson B.

LaVerne helped my family and me buy a townhouse in Seattle when the market was moving rapidly. He went with us all over town on multiple weekends, despite us not being high-income earners and knowing his commission would be rel...
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Amin A.

Amin A.

LaVerne did an amazing job helping us sell our townhouse and condominium. He was very informative and helpful throughout the process. He made us feel very well taken care of. I would highly recommend him whether you are buying ...
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Shaida A.

Shaida A.

Laverne has become like family over the years as our trusted advisor in all our real estate matters. Laverne conducts himself with dignity and integrity throughout the purchase and sales process, ensuring a favorable outcome fo...
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Charlie B.

Charlie B.

It was great to work with Laverne again. He was with us for the purchase of our house in 2013 and again when we sold it in 2025. He really knows the business very well and helped us navigate what turned out to be a sale with a ...
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Work With LaVerne

The truth of the transaction is a team effort, keeping on track until the end. Success is built on a foundation of focused effort & clear understanding of the desired goal. There is no mistake with LaVerne, he sets your satisfaction as priority #1. He does not sell homes, LaVerne provides results! His proven success, results in satisfaction.

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