Seller's Guide

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.

main

Step 1: Understand Why You're Selling

What do you want to accomplish with the sale of your home? And what is most important to you—pricing, timing or convenience? Do you need to make a certain amount of money in order to upgrade to a larger or nicer home? Do you need to sell as quickly as possible to facilitate a move to a new city or area? Your goals and needs will play into the overall marketing strategy that Lauren develops for your home.

main

Step 2: Determine Selling Price

Knowing how to price your home is one of the most important parts of your marketing strategy. 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 experienced agent knows how to study comparable sales and read the market temperature to properly price your property.

main

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. Lauren will work with you to build a personalized plan for fetching the highest ROI for your property. Prepping your house for market is key. Your plan may include getting rid of clutter, depersonalizing the space, making repairs and/or cosmetic updates, deep cleaning and staging to make sure your home has its best foot forward. 

main

Step 4: MARKETING EXECUTION

Lauren will bring in professionals to capture your home in its best light. This may include photographers, videographers and or drones. She will work hard to make your property shine and to drive the right people to your listing through targeted agent outreach, social media campaigns, traditional media, open houses and more. 

main

Step 5: Evaluate Offers

Receiving an offer is an exciting part of the process, but it doesn’t mean the journey is over. Lauren will evaluate each offer to make sure the Buyer is financially qualified and that their offer is acceptable to you. Lauren may recommend countering terms of the offer to try to arrive at terms that put you in the strongest possible position.

main

Step 6: Accept an Offer

Once you’ve accepted an offer, the Seller will deposit Earnest Money and your timelines will all begin. Real estate involves many important deadlines and Lauren will make sure you stay on track throughout the process. 

main

Step 7: Get Ready to Close

In order to get to the closing table, you must make it through many contingencies. Contingencies typically include an inspection period, title work, a survey and an appraisal, among other hurdles. Lauren will help you navigate contingencies and continue to negotiate on your behalf.

main

Step 8: Close

As you approach closing, Lauren will help you make arrangements for transferring utilities and moving out of the home. She will help you review final closing figures and finally, you will meet with the title company closing the transaction to sign the final paperwork.

Congratulations!

Once you’ve sold your home, you’re on your way to your next chapter! Once a client, always a client. Lauren will stay in touch long after the sale and will continue to be a resource for your real estate needs. This includes providing home service provider contacts, market analysis for your property, market updates, community information/reminders and fun, exclusive events!

Testimonials

Emy & Michael F.

Emy & Michael F.

We highly recommend Lauren for her personal service and expertise. She led us to find the perfect home. Lauren guided us through the entire home-buying process, always helpful and accessible. Her patience, professionalism, and ...
Read More
Stephanie & Joe

Stephanie & Joe

Lauren came highly recommended and even then she exceeded all expectations. This was the first house we sold and she helped with every step along the way from preparing our home to show to staying on top of everything to ensure...
Read More
Adam M.

Adam M.

Lauren did such an amazing job. She went above and beyond with setting up the house for pictures and showing. She made the documents and administrative details as easy as possible, with disciplined attention to detail. She was ...
Read More
Pablo C. & Alesea C.

Pablo C. & Alesea C.

Lauren Hewitt did a fantastic job in getting us into the home that we wanted. It was quick, efficient, and very professional. Lauren had gone much more than the extra mile to help us work through all the details. She also intro...
Read More
Lindsay & Jake M.

Lindsay & Jake M.

Lauren was everything we could ask for a realtor and a lot more. Buying a house is such a stressful experience, and looking back on it, I can’t even imagine how my wife and I would have gotten through it without her help. Every...
Read More
Alicia R.

Alicia R.

Lauren was referred to us by a family friend a few days after my Mother passed away. This was an extremely difficult time for my brothers and me. With graciousness and empathy, Lauren guided us through the process of putting Mo...
Read More
Phil S. & Mike Z.

Phil S. & Mike Z.

I thank the real estate gods every single day that we found Lauren to be our realtor. She was warm, professional, attentive, and incredibly hard-working. As first-time homebuyers, she walked us through every step of the process...
Read More
Brandt & Jo Ann S.

Brandt & Jo Ann S.

Lauren was used by our daughter and her family when they moved. She was outstanding with them and we were impressed by her attention to detail and caring with them. So, when we decided to buy a home in the area we contacted Lau...
Read More
Becky S.

Becky S.

Lauren helped to get my parents ready to sell their home so they could move to assisted living. She spent all the time they needed going over the process and what they were to expect. She provided great resources for improvemen...
Read More
Rex

Rex

Lauren did a great job from start to finish on the house she sold for me. She did a good job listening to my needs and supported my decisions after she offered sage advice throughout the process. She was willing to take on the ...
Read More
Patrick C.

Patrick C.

Lauren is everything we could have ever wanted from a realtor. She was absolutely flawless. Flawless communication, meant that with her we never felt left in the dark. Even when we took a hiatus from looking at houses for month...
Read More
Kim F.

Kim F.

Lauren is the real estate agent to end all real estate agents. Tireless, positive, kind, attentive, and more. There aren't enough superlatives to describe the care that she provides to her clients. Truly a gem.
Read More
Tom & Toby C.

Tom & Toby C.

Lauren is the quintessential real estate agent! She is extremely knowledgeable of the market, incredibly detail oriented and an exceptional communicator. As soon as we signed on with Lauren we knew we were in good hands! She wa...
Read More
Jacqueline L.

Jacqueline L.

I can do nothing but praise Lauren's work! Lauren is extremely competent, devoted, tireless, poised in every interaction, responsive and professional. She goes above and beyond to ensure her client's complete satisfaction. Laur...
Read More
Dagmar S.

Dagmar S.

Lauren was an amazing key player for us worked hard for us and with us! Thank you so much!
Read More
Katie S

Katie S

Lauren is absolutely the best!! As first time home buyers we had endless questions and Lauren was there to answer them all. She walked us through the process and taught us so much along the way. She consistently advocated for u...
Read More
Nick V & Gina D

Nick V & Gina D

Lauren was our realtor for our most recent home purchase in The Village of West Clay: she was amazing! I felt like she really went above and beyond for us. First, she took us as clients after we encountered a difficult situat...
Read More
Erin R

Erin R

Lauren was amazing to work with. She went above and beyond in helping us find the perfect house, and she was able to extract the things that were important to us to help us find the options that would best suit our family. She ...
Read More
Katie J

Katie J

Our family chose Lauren Hewitt to sell our home because of her expertise in the marketplace. She offered us great personalized service, helping us with contractors and getting the house ready to sell. The transaction was very s...
Read More
Richard F

Richard F

Lauren is a star!! My family and I moved to Westfield and she couldn't be more helpful. I picked her out after interviewing a few realtors in the area. Lauren was always available for my questions and had knowledge of the areas...
Read More

How Much Is Your Property Worth?

  • INSTANT PROPERTY VALUATION
  • EXPERT ADVICE
  • SELL FOR MORE

Work With Lauren

Lauren Hewitt is a trusted partner and advocate for her clients. With extensive expertise in the local market and a proven track record of delivering results, she is committed to delivering an exceptional experience. Lauren specializes in buying, selling, relocation and new construction in the greater Indianapolis area. Reach out today to schedule a consultation.

Follow Me On Instagram