Selling Your Home in Western New York: Start With the Plan
A plan for price, preparation, marketing and offers, built before the home goes on the market.
What selling a home involves in Western New York
Selling a home is rarely one decision. It is a price, a preparation schedule, a plan for who sees the home, a way to weigh offers and a closing that has to fit the rest of your life. Most sellers are also doing something else at the same time: buying the next home, moving for a job, or changing the household.
The people who call me say some version of "What do I do first?" The answer is a conversation about where you are trying to go. The order of the steps depends on your date, your next home and what you need the sale to do for you.
My approach is to start with strategy before you make a move. Price, preparation, marketing and offers get planned together before the home goes on the market, so the sale runs on a calendar you chose and not one that was forced on you.
After speaking with Merritt and knowing her background with digital / social media marketing she was a lock in.
Map out your next move before you need to make it.
Start with the situation you are actually in
The fundamentals of a sale do not change, and the situation around it changes almost everything else. Start with the page that matches where you are:
- Downsizing, when you are ready for less maintenance and buying the next home too.
- One household becoming two, when a home bought together is being sold apart, married or not.
- Two households becoming one, when two homes are becoming one and one of them has to sell.
- Selling a parent's home, inherited or not yet.
- Selling before you move away, when the sale has to fit a move date somewhere else.
- Moving up, when you are selling to buy your next home.
- Buying in another state, when the move is somewhere I do not work and I introduce you to someone who does.
If none of these fits, you are selling a home in the ordinary way, and the rest of this page is for you.
A straightforward sale still has a calendar. Even when nothing else is changing, you have a date you would like to be done by, a price you hope to see and a home that has to look the way a buyer expects. Without a plan, those three pull against each other: a firm date pushes the price down, a high price pushes the date out, and condition decides how much each one is worth. The plan settles how much of each you are willing to give up before the listing is live.
How the sale runs, step by step
Every sale I run follows four steps, and each one is written out on my selling process page:
- Equity sets the price from comparable sales, the homes competing with yours and your timeline.
- Presentation decides how the home is prepared and shown before any photograph is taken, with professional photography and video on every listing.
- Impact aims the campaign at the buyer your home should attract.
- Campaign Strategy covers the launch, every offer and the closing.
If you want to see where your home might land before you commit to anything, what your home is worth shows how the number is built.
What to settle before you list
These five decisions shape the rest of the sale. Settle them early and the listing runs on your calendar.
- Your date. When do you need to be finished, and how firm is that date?
- Your next home. If you are buying, decide whether you sell first or buy first. Moving up shows how I plan each one.
- Your price evidence. Start with the sales that compete with your home. What your home is worth explains how I build the number.
- Your preparation. Decide what gets cleaned, decluttered, fixed or staged before any photograph is taken, and what can wait.
- Your decision-makers. Everyone who must agree or sign belongs in the first plan. If the home is part of an estate or a separation, your attorney confirms who has authority to sell.
Preparation costs money and time, so I recommend it against the price you are aiming for and the date you chose.
From offer to closing in Western New York
Price is one part of an offer. Terms, timing, risk and certainty matter too. I lay each offer out side by side so you can see what you would be agreeing to, and you decide which one to accept.
Before you accept an offer, I call the buyer's loan officer to confirm a true pre-approval, not a computer-generated pre-qualification letter. A sale that falls apart after it was accepted costs you time you may not have.
Closings in Western New York run through attorneys, lenders and other parties. Your attorney tells you what you need to sign and how. I keep the dates organized so nothing waits on you longer than it has to. Contract to closing often runs about 60 days here, and the full path from listing to closing can take 90 days or more, with preparation before that. A closing date is a planning point, not a promise of keys on that day.
What it costs to sell
The sale price is not the amount you take home. Expect these to come out of it, and ask your attorney to confirm the figures for your sale:
- Your mortgage payoff and any other lien on the property.
- Agent compensation, which is agreed in writing before the home is listed.
- Your attorney's fee.
- New York State real estate transfer tax. The state sets it at $2 for every $500 of price, and it is paid by the seller. The New York State Department of Taxation and Finance explains it.
- Adjustments at closing, such as property taxes and utilities, which are divided by date.
- Preparation, repairs, moving and any storage.
Before you decide to list, I build an estimate of what you would take home from the price range and these costs, so you can compare it with what your next step needs. Your tax professional advises on tax consequences.
What the first conversation is like
The first conversation is not a pitch. I ask where you are trying to go, when you need to be done and what you want the sale to do for the next step. You leave knowing what your home is likely to bring, what it costs to wait and what order makes sense.
You do not need to have decided to sell. Preparation takes time, and an early conversation lets you do it on your own schedule.
If a sale is not the right move yet, I will say so. Sometimes the right answer is to wait, and I would rather tell you that than list a home that should not be listed.
Selling in Lancaster and across Western New York
I live in Lancaster and work across Western New York: the city of Buffalo, the Northtowns (Clarence, Amherst and Williamsville), the Southtowns (Orchard Park, East Aurora, West Seneca, Hamburg and Elma), and east of the city (Depew and Alden). My Lancaster page goes into this in more detail.
When you are ready to start, talk with me about your sale, and I will lay out the order that fits your timeline.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I get started selling my home?
Start with a conversation about where you are trying to go, when you need to be done and what the sale has to do for your next step. From there I lay out the order of steps, including how the home is priced, prepared and launched.
Should I sell now or wait?
It depends on your date, your next home and what you need the sale to do for you. I run that comparison with your numbers, and sometimes the answer is to wait.
Do I have to buy my next home before I sell?
No. I plan around two strategies, selling first or buying first, and I show you what each one asks of your finances before you decide.
Who decides the price and which offer to accept?
You do. I recommend a price from the evidence and lay each offer out side by side, and the decision is yours.
Can you help if I am selling and moving out of state?
Yes. I plan the sale around your move date and can introduce you to an agent I know and trust where you are headed.
What does it cost to sell a home in Western New York?
The costs come out of your sale price: mortgage payoff, agent compensation agreed in writing, your attorney's fee, New York State transfer tax, closing adjustments and any preparation or moving. I estimate what you would take home before you list, and your attorney confirms the closing figures.
How long does it take to sell a home here?
It depends on preparation, price, buyer financing and your closing date. Contract to closing often runs about 60 days in Western New York, and the full path from listing to closing can take 90 days or more, with preparation before that. I work backward from the date you need.
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Ready to make your move with Merritt Kreutzer Real Estate?