I have written a guide to buying in Crested Butte. Have you wondered about the process of selling in Crested Butte? Reviewing this guide will give you an idea of what it will look like. My goal is to ensure the selling process is seamless and stress-free.
The first step is to interview an agent. During the interview make sure you understand their marketing plan – more specifically how will they sell your home? Ask them how they will communicate with you and what are some of their stats (their average listing days on market and price to sales ratio). They will give you a price analysis of your home price and be able to show comparable homes prices and sales. You should feel like they have an excellent grasp of the Crested Butte real estate market and have stats to show you where the market is as well as where they think the market is heading.
After choosing an agent, it’s time to get your home on the market. Your agent should give you tips on staging and curb appeal. Staging is important so the potential buyer can picture themselves in the home. You want to remove personal items, de-clutter, and deep clean. Curb appeal is important as oftentimes buyers will not go inside the property if the exterior does not speak to them. If the home is in good condition and priced well you will be getting showings and hopefully an offer will soon follow. I tell my clients that if in the first 60 days there are very few showings and no offers, then the home is 10% overpriced. If there are showings but no offers than the home is about 5% overpriced.
If you are to accept an offer we will move to the contingencies and title work. Buyer’s will submit earnest money (“good faith” money) to the Title Company handling the closing. This will ensure they are serious and protects you if they walk-away without staying in the guidelines of the contract. The buyer will receive a copy of the title and tax certificate to review within a week or so of going under contract. They have time to review and dispute anything if needed.
Throughout the process of the contract the buyer will also complete an inspection, a current improvement location certificate (ILC) will be issued if needed, a well test if applicable, a radon test if they see fit, and anything else that comes up. Throughout these processes there may be additional negotiations if they buyer asks for money to fix anything. They can also ask you to have specific things fixed directly.
If the buyer is receiving a loan to purchase the property the buyer will have a loan contingency deadline. The two deadlines that I find to be of most concern, is the inspection deadline and the loan deadline.
Once all of the contingencies have passed it is time for closing. If you are not here locally the closing packet will be sent to you a few days before closing for you to sign and mail back. If you are here in Crested Butte you can go sit down at the closing table and sign all of the documents in person. Once everything has been signed by both parties the title company will record the executed documents at the county recorder’s office and the transaction is complete.
Overall, once the home is under contract, there is very little the Seller has to do. The Seller’s agent will be doing most of the work and should have excellent communication with you. I’ve seen more than one contact fall through due to an agent not communicating well and poor negotiation skills.
I hope this gives an insight into selling in Crested Butte. As always, please do not hesitate to contact me for help.