Lizzy Corvello- Realtor

I really hope you know you don’t just have to pick the first agent you met, or your sisters best friend who just got her license. While that is appreciated and I love my sphere (big hugs to my family and friends who have lovingly supported me in this role,) YOU NEED TO HIRE THE BEST FIT. Nope, we’re not just talking personality here (although that matters,too.) Loads of people can give a great first impression… but did you know that over 70% of agents didn’t sell a single home in 2024? do you want to take a 70% chance that your agent didn’t do business at all last year- a year where the industry went through a rollercoaster settlement and dozens of new pages of legal representation paperwork? I wouldn’t want to take that chance on one of the biggest financial transactions of my life.

After consulting myself, discussing with all decision makers, and your team, we will set realistic expectations and goals. This will set us up to anticipate realistic timelines, financial goals and things you need in order to make this transaction both a success and as smooth as possible for yourself. This part of the conversation may be very easy and it may be a little more on the difficult side, but it will always be my honest opinion based on my experience and knowledge of the local market.

Please feel free to ask me questions if you have them. Chances are, someone has asked me the same question before. I do this every day, and it is likely that you do not. So, it is natural that you should investigate and have questions about things you may want more information about. I am an open book, if I am unable to answer a question- and depending on the question, I will defer to by legal team, California Association of REALTORS legal team, or I will recommend that you speak with an attorney, CPA or other licensed professional to get the answers you are looking for. Once you are ready, I am here to help you on this part of your journey.

I am always happy to make recommendations on how to best stage your home to maximize space, depersonalize to make it more attractive to buyers, and give you a list of value added projects that will give you the most bang for your buck. My favorite (practically free) value added projects are: touch up paint (because you probably have the color in your garage) bleaching grout lines, caulking and sinks, re-caulking around tub, toilets and sinks, deep clean– especially window tracks, sliding door tracks, inside and outside windows, replace light bulbs, patch minor cracks and dings to wall (don’t forget to paint, too,) and pack and store as much as you can (ALL off-season clothing, as much as you can out of closets etc) Having your home in the cleanest shape possible is key to getting the most equity out of your home. Added bonus, when you move, you’ll have it easier.

While it isn’t always easy to keep the dishes done and be ready on a moments notice, if you focus on generally keeping the home ready to show that will allow you to be more prepared when (and it will happen!) we get a last minute request to show. People generally do understand that occupied homes are just that- being lived in, however it makes it harder to feel themselves living there if there’s too much clutter, the sink is overflowing with dishes, there’s dog messes in the lawn or they can’t walk into the room because of the kids not cleaning their space.

In the ideal world, you will have multiple offers. But, that isn’t always the case with every home in every market. We will review them as they come in, or if you prefer to review them on a date that you pre-determine we can also do that. Prior to our review, I will summarize offer(s) as well as reach out to lenders to get as much information about the potential buyers as I can prior to our conversation. This will give us an apples to apples comparison of the offers. A responsive lender who picks up their phone is always so much easier to work with than a big-box lender that you have to spend 45 minutes on the line with to get to speak with a human. You will have options on how to respond- you can say “yes,” “no,” or you can send a counter offer to one or multiple offers at the same time.

From a seller perspective this part can be a little daunting. Waiting to see if this is going to go through can be tough, especially if there are other dominoes waiting on this one to move forward. The timeframe for the appraisal, loan approval and inspection period is typically 14-17 days. The best thing we can do to prevent a failed sale in this situation is to have inspections and disclosures up front, check to see if the lender has underwritten the buyer(s) file and priced the home accurately according to neighborhood comparable properties. Additionally, your responsibilities as a seller will be to fill out information requests from title, HOA transfer (if applicable) and to start the transfer process if you have amenities like Solar on the home.

Final details include but are not limited to: removal of contingencies, contractual repairs, pre-funding conditions, all parties signing with title, buyer funds being placed in escrow, mandatory lender waiting periods, buyer final walk through, and lender funding the loan. This is also the time to finalize the transfer of things like solar leases etc. During this time, you should also gather contact information to close accounts/services or transfer to your new residence if possible.

Everything has to get in order to make all the pieces fit. This means if it is a single transaction, we have to get the buyer and their lender paperwork lined up, seller paperwork lined up, and verification from both agents that it is ready to close. Once that is done, and the lender funds the loan, the closing package can go to the County in which the property is located. Official recording will depend on how busy they are and depending on what time of day the package is submitted, where the package is in line etc. Once it is recorded the title company will notify the agents, who will notify their clients. Generally, unless there is a pre-negotiated rent back, the buyer will take possession of the property that day.