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A Step-by-Step Guide to Selling your Home

Step-by-Step Seller's Guide to Selling 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 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 real estate agent 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. I 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 I deem the offer is acceptable, I 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. I 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 real estate agent 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.

WHAT MY CLIENTS SAY

Rick is outstanding at what he does. My wife and I have worked with Rick for several years, and can attest to how professional and easy to work with he is. Every step of the way, he has guided us through the challenging process of buying a home in LA. He has helped us understand what is important to us and all the steps necessary. He's been beyond patient with us as we never wanted to buy until we felt like we had the right place, and he has never pressured us to enter a deal that wasn't right for us. That being said, when we did put in a bid or finally enter escrow, he worked diligently and expediently to close the deal. Anything needed on his end was completed almost immediately, and he constantly was in communication with us, the seller's agent, our mortgage lender, and all the other involved parties. His communication skills in this high pressure environment are collected, calming, and transparent. And at the end of the day, it's clear he has your best interests in mind. He's genuinely a kind human and has regularly checked in on our family. He is trustworthy, dependable, available, and highly experienced. I'd like to recommend him without reservations- this is the person you want on your side.

— Justin P.

WHAT MY CLIENTS SAY

Rick Ojeda helped me buy my first home in 2024, and I truly couldn’t have asked for a better experience. From start to finish, Rick was professional, knowledgeable, patient, and always available to answer my questions — and as a first-time buyer, I had a lot of them. He took the time to understand exactly what I was looking for and guided me through every step of the process in a way that made everything feel manageable and stress-free. Thanks to his expertise and negotiation skills, I ended up with an amazing house and an incredible deal that I still can’t believe worked out as well as it did. What really sets Rick apart is how much you can trust him. He is honest, transparent, and genuinely cares about his clients. At no point did I ever feel pressured or uncertain — I always knew he had my best interests in mind. Buying a home is one of the biggest decisions you’ll ever make, and having someone like Rick in your corner makes all the difference. If you’re looking for a realtor who is hardworking, trustworthy, and truly exceptional at what he does, I can’t recommend Rick Ojeda highly enough.

— Zack T.

WHAT MY CLIENTS SAY

Rick answered our questions in a way that was easy to understand and took the time to explain every step during the process of selling our house. He is supportive, honest and wise, always offering positive solutions. He created a safe space to share concerns and helped us work through them constructively. I highly recommend him!

— Lisa S.

WHAT MY CLIENTS SAY

Rick is great to work with full of energy and always available when you need him. He really listens and makes sure you get exactly what you want. He’s helpful at every step of the process, which makes everything so much easier. I’d definitely recommend Rick and his team.

— Jeannette T.

WHAT MY CLIENTS SAY

I found Rick Ojeda to be an exceptionally skilled and dedicated real estate professional. He showed strong expertise in sales strategy, marketing presentation, attention to detail, and closing. He successfully sold my townhouse at an excellent price and worked diligently to ensure the deal was completed smoothly. His support team at The Partners Trust was also professional and a pleasure to work with. I confidently recommend Rick Ojeda as a real estate broker.

— Stephen M.

WHAT MY CLIENTS SAY

As the buyer’s agent representing a client on an Encino property, it was a pleasure working with Rick Ojeda, who represented the seller. Rick was professional, patient, and highly responsive throughout the entire process. His communication was timely and transparent, which helped keep the transaction moving smoothly from start to finish. Rick represented his clients well while also maintaining a collaborative and respectful approach that made working together seamless. He was proactive, organized, and handled every detail with professionalism and integrity. I would gladly work with Rick again and highly recommend him to anyone looking for an experienced and dependable listing agent. A true 5-star professional.

— Michael R.

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Contact Details

Rick Ojeda | CA DRE#00987794 |
Carolwood Partners Inc.

(310) 902-7676
[email protected]

9440 SANTA MONICA BLVD, PENTHOUSE
BEVERLY HILLS, CA 90210