Selling your home is a big undertaking. There is cleaning, and staging, and photography . . . and eventually (if you hire an Indiana Realtor), a six-page listing contract for you to sign.
Here are a few things to keep in mind about that listing contract as you’re working through it with your broker (and don’t worry—he or she will answer any questions you have as you go).
Listing contracts do not auto-renew. Therefore, yours will have a start and an end date. Within one business day of the start date, the listing must be in the Indiana Regional Multiple Listing Service (IRMLS.) Be sure to talk with your broker about various strategies when it comes to your listing date. There will also be some legalese, including how much the broker will make upon the sale and a statement about the exclusive right for that broker to sell your property.
This is one of the most important parts of listing your home—the price. It needs to attract potential buyers while also being justified by the local brokers and eventually an appraiser. Hire a broker who can help you find solid comparable sold properties to establish your price so you get it right the first time.
Many items in your home are considered permanent fixtures, including built-in kitchen appliances, owned water softeners, curtain rods, and wall mounts. Even storage barns and sheds are considered fixtures in the sale of your home and transfer for the accepted offer price. If there’s something you want to take with you that would normally go with the sale of the home, it’s up to you to spell it out in the listing contract.
Beware: Indiana listing contracts authorize potential buyers or buyers’ brokers to take videos, photos, and electronic images of the property while they’re in your home. Therefore, sellers should remove any items of a personal nature that they don’t want photographed, transmitted, or recorded such as family photos, paperwork, or personally identifiable information. Have a special collection you don’t want people to know about? Pack it up before you list.
Many buyers will want to consider the cost to heat and cool the home. Have your utility information available to share with prospective buyers.
If you live in a neighborhood with mandatory membership in an HOA, talk to the board and get updated covenants and restrictions for buyers to review before making an offer. This is a contingency of the Indiana purchase agreement, and buyers can get out of the contract if they find something they don’t like in the HOA documents.
This form is a key part of your listing. This lists all the major components of your house, and you have four options for each one: none/not included, defective, not defective, and do not know. What we always say to clients is to disclose, disclose, disclose. Write it in there if something doesn’t work properly in your home or you’ve had problems in the past. A buyer is going to make an offer based on what you’re disclosing to them is wrong with it. If something comes up during inspections and you’ve disclosed it, you don’t have to fix that thing as long as the buyer has seen and signed the sales disclosure.
Due to fair housing risks, brokers will not prepare, review, or submit personal information letters, including photographs from buyer to seller. These are also known as love letters, and they are a big no-no.
While there’s more to a listing contract than what’s discussed here, these are the major things you should know about if you’re considering selling your home. Remember, your broker is there to help if you’re not sure.
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.