Home Seller’s Guide: The Step by Step Process for Olympia WA Sellers

Selling your home isn’t easy as there are a lot of decisions to be made, a lot of work to get your home show-ready, negotiations, inspections, and then the final punch of packing and moving! It’s a lot to take on.

This Home Seller’s Guide that I have prepared for Olympia, Washington and greater Thurston County sellers will give you the step-by-step process and guidance to selling your home so you can take control of your next move including:

• Easy steps you can take to maximize your profits that don’t require a whole-house remodel!
• A proven pricing strategy to squeeze the most the market has to offer.
• How hiring the right listing agent pays off.
• The most effective promotional activities to showcase your home.
• What closing costs to expect.
• And all of your most frequently asked questions finally answered.

Let’s get started.

Table of Contents

Preparing to Sell your Olympia, Washington Home

Why Preparing to Sell is an Important Step Not to Overlook

Not being prepared to list and sell your home can financially and emotionally become an overwhelming burden. Taking the time to properly prepare for the sale of your home will:

• lessen stress
• take away many of the unknowns in the sale process
• will put you in a position to make better decisions like a pro
• can save you time and money

How to Prepare your Home for the Market

This advice may not be new to you but these things are very important to work on before your home is listed on the market:

EXTERIOR:

• Create inviting curb appeal.
• Stage your front porch with flowers, maybe a bench or chair
• Mow, edge and have a neat and tidy lawn
• Weed the flower beds
• Prune back shrubs/trees
• Caulk, paint as needed
• Wash windows
• Clean gutters

INTERIOR:

• Deep clean the home from the ceiling to the floors
• Clean the appliances
• Prepack/declutter and remove excess furniture and belongings from the home
• Depersonalize your home by packing up photos, certificates, etc.
• Organize closets, pantry, bathroom vanities

What Easy and Low-Cost Home Projects Bring Value

If you are looking for ideas to improve your home sale and attract more buyers, here are the simple things you can do to easily increase your home’s appeal:

• Paint – go for that “builder beige” look. Take a cue from new construction and you’ll notice that new homes have the entire interior painted one neutral color. Accent walls and strong paint colors make look great with matching furniture and decor but will look out of place when the home is empty.
• Update light fixtures – this is an easy and affordable update many homeowners can do to increase the appeal of their home. Also adding warm but bright light bulbs help with ambiance.
• Add house plants – faux or live will do the trick to create a comforting space.
• Replace or add cabinet pulls – update outdated cabinet pulls or consider adding pulls to kitchen cabinets.

More expensive projects you may consider:

• New flooring – replace worn carpets and refinish scratched hardwood floors.
• New kitchen appliances – consider replacing the built-in appliances like the stove, microwave, and dishwasher.
• Add a backsplash – if your kitchen is lacking a backsplash, add a neutral backsplash. It will make the kitchen look finished.
• New exterior paint
• Replace windows – if you are the original owner of the home, and you have windows with condensation between the glass panes (seal is blown), you may be able to get those windows replaced at no charge from the manufacturer.
• Fencing – add or replace or repair.

Repairs

BEFORE listing your home, take care of repairs – it is one of the BEST ways to reduce stress and save money. The reason is that not only will a well-maintained home make a positive impression on buyers but the typical buyer will want a home inspection. If you agree to make repairs, the buyer will want a licensed contractor to do the repair and the repair will need to be done in a short amount of time. This can leave you without the time to get multiple bids and get on your preferred contractor’s schedule. Or it could be an easy fix that you could have done yourself but now that you are under contract, a buyer is requesting a licensed contractor.

Should You Have a Home Inspection Prior to Listing your Home?

You may want to hire a licensed home inspector to inspect your home. The benefits to this are:

• you’ll know the defects and will be able to fix them yourself or be able to get contractors to give estimates, bids and advice on the repair
• it should lessen any surprises when the buyer has their home inspection
• it can arm you with information if the buyer’s home inspector has questions or comes up with another finding

If you do decide to have a home inspection prior to listing your home for sale, you will need to disclose all findings on your Seller Disclosure Statement and provide that written inspection report to prospective buyers.

The Most Common Inspection Items AND Repairs in your Purchase & Sale Agreement

In the purchase and sale agreement that you’ll enter into with a buyer, Washington state has codes that are required for home sales, and as such, are written into the boiler-plate contracts. Taking care of these simple items before listing your home will save you time and headaches.

Sellers will be required to:

1. Install carbon monoxide detectors (one on each level of the home and outside of the bedrooms).

2. Replace smoke detectors that are over 10 years old. 

3. Inspect and pump the septic tanks - tell your pumper that this is for a home sale. They will prepare additional paperwork that is required to be filed at the county for home sales. 


Common findings on inspection reports:

1.  Service the furnace, gas/wood fireplace, heat pump/air conditioner - have a  licensed HVAC technician clean and service these appliances, and repair any findings.

2.  Make sure the hot water tank has two earthquake straps (lenders require this).

3.  Remove moss on the roof - DO NOT PRESSURE WASH YOUR ROOF.  For composition roofs, roofers recommend sprinkling zinc or baking soda on the roof and brushing off the moss.  Pressure washing can take years of life off the roof by removing the granuales that protect the roof tiles.  My recommendation is to hire a licensed roofing company to do this work.  And you might as well have them clean the gutters while they are there!

Staging – Real or Virtual?

Whether your property will be vacant or occupied, you can take advantage of staging services. Actual staging services can bring real furniture into your home and you pay a monthly rental fee, or a professional stager can help you with furniture placement with your current belongings and help you create an inviting home for prospective buyers.

Stagers can bring a fresh eye to your home and can offer suggestions to showcase its best, most profitable features.

Virtual staging is another route to go and is most effective for vacant listings.

How I use this in my marketing is to show buyers the before (of the vacant room) and the after, disclosing this is virtually staged for inspiration. This saves the seller from having people and furniture in their homes with the potential of dings or damage with moving furniture in and out.

I provide virtual staging for the main rooms of the house for free for my sellers.

Here are some examples from my listings:

Pre-Listing Paperwork

Prior to listing your home on the market, here is the paperwork I’ll go over with you that will need to be completed and signed:

• Listing Agreement
• Seller Disclosure Statement
• Agency Pamphlet
• Disclosures
• Gather Homeowner Association meeting minutes and financials
• Prepare the Power of Attorney, if needed
• Gather any unrecorded documents
• I will be ordering the preliminary title report to see if there are any “clouds” on title; I’ll order the legal description, plat map and CC&Rs (neighborhood rules).

Now that you’ve prepared the house for sale, how to prepare yourself for the sale.

Prepping the house for sale is tiring and takes a lot of effort, but don’t stop there! Next comes the showings, inspections, final walk-throughs, and the closing process.

Setting expectations and discussing potential obstacles and how to get around them ahead of time are discussions I think are worth having with my sellers. Some sellers want to be prepped for this while others are good at taking it as it comes.

Negotiations

For some sellers, they want to be prepped as to what they can expect from buyers, how buyers will respond to their home, what are common things they may negotiate and what sellers can do. We can discuss:

• Your obligations under the Purchase and Sale Agreement and the buyer’s obligations.
• What buyers typically negotiate – for example, asking the seller to cover their closing costs and how sellers can counter that.
• What terms are you looking for that a buyer would be willing to give you – for example, if you needed extra time to move out.

Process of the Transaction

Mutual Acceptance – You and the buyer will negotiate terms but there will be another potential round of negotiations when the buyer performs their home inspection.

Home inspection. After the inspection period, the buyer will respond to you with:

1. The inspection contingency is satisfied and the buyer is moving towards closing.
2. The inspection contingency is not satisfied and the buyer is terminating the agreement.
3. The buyer is notifying you they need more time for specific inspections.
4. The buyer will negotiate repairs and/or a monetary credit.

Appraisal – After the inspection contingency is satisfied, then the appraisal will happen. If there are issues with the appraisal, there may be more negotiating needed.

Buyer Final Walk-Through – Prior to the close date, the buyer can do a final walk-through of the property to make sure the negotiated repairs are completed and the home is in the same condition or better. A buyer can bring their home inspector to this walk-through as well to make sure repairs were completed.

Sign Closing Documents – A few days prior to the close date, you’ll sign your closing documents at the escrow company.

On the day of closing, you’ll have all the house keys, mailbox keys, garage openers, any combination codes written down and any other paperwork or information that stays with the house ready for the new owner.

---

Pricing Right for the Market

With all of the online “estimates” of value, you’ll find your house value differs from site to site to site. A computer algorithm can’t determine your list price because there is more than just looking at past sales and tax records. When I tour your home to see its condition and learn about the updates/upgrades you’ve completed, and get an understanding of your goals – a quick sale, willing to do repairs, sell as-is, etc.- I take all of that to come up with a list price. A computer just can’t do that. Here’s how I analyze the market data:

As I look at Market Conditions and The Competition, I take a closer look at the following classes of comparable properties:

• Recently Sold
• Currently for Sale
• Failed to Sell
• Pending Sales

I look for clues to learn more about these sales, or the sales that failed, and why. This can give me more information to determine your likely sales price.

How is the Appraiser going to View your Home?

This is another factor I take into consideration. Appraisers are to determine if the agreed-upon price between you and the buyer is fair. But appraisers have to submit documentation to support their price opinion. No longer are the days of when an appraiser can accept anecdotal information such as there were multiple offers, they were over the asking price, etc.

If your home does not appraise, this can end up in a terminated offer, a delayed closing and/or a reduced sales price.

Therefore, because many buyers will be getting financing and will have an appraisal, I develop my market analysis as would an appraiser. This isn’t much of a stretch for me as I started my real estate career as an appraiser.

Buyers Compare Homes and are Excellent at Determining Value

Comparison shoppers will not pay more for a property than they could pay for a similar one. And as buyers tour homes that most likely have similar features, locations, and amenities, they become market experts quickly.

Plus, now more than ever, buyers have access to a tremendous amount of information about properties, the history of sales, and if your home is priced right for the market.

The Benefits of Pricing “Right”

Pricing at a realistic market value generates more interest and buzz, which leads to better quality offers earlier in the process. 

Buyers search based on how much they can afford.

An overpriced property is not wanted by those who can afford it,
and it is not seen by those who want it.

Ask me for the latest data showing priced-right and price-reduced homes.

Sellers that did not have to do a price reduction sold their homes on average in 6 days and sold for OVER their list price.

Sellers that DID need to do a price reduction in order to attract an offer sat on the market nearly 7 times longer than their priced-right competitors and ended up receiving less.

When I work with buyers, typically the first question they ask about a listing is how long it has been on the market. If it has been on the market for a while, then they feel the sellers are desperate and the buyers can come in with a low-ball offer. The next question from buyers is why hasn’t it sold? Is there something wrong with the house? This is not the ideal situation for a seller, and this is why pricing right is so important.

Stats compiled by Coldwell Banker Evergreen Olympic Realty from information and statistics derived from the Northwest Multiple Listing Service for Thurston County home sales, excluding new construction, distressed sales, and manufactured homes in July 2021.

“I want to add a buffer so that I can negotiate down.”

This is a common response from sellers who want to price above the market conditions. 

Here’s why this strategy is problematic in real estate:

• Unlike selling a car or a TV, you don’t negotiate with the buyer.  I negotiate for you with the buyer’s broker.

• The buyer’s broker knows the market, knows the value of homes, and studies the market. That’s their job. If they see a home that is over-priced, they will either ignore it or worse, use your listing to make another listing look better for their buyer.

Pricing FAQs

If my home sold in a day, did I underprice it?

One easy tip to get more money from your home sale

---

Your Promotion Strategy to Attract Today’s Home Buyers

The successful promotion strategy involves a multi-pronged approach and each prong needs to be executed at the highest level. As both a buyer agent and listing agent, I know what buyers are looking for in a property, what they like, and what they dislike. I can showcase the most desired features of your property that buyers are looking for.

Captivating Content

Your home has compelling features that make it the dream home for the next owners, and this is captured through engaging narratives, quality photography, videos, virtual tours, and more.  Although I can only describe the house, not the potential occupants, we can still create an engaging story.

“A sunny playroom with space for rocket ships and tea parties.”
“A media room wired to capture all the action of the big game.”

Inspiring Photography, Video and Drone Footage

It’s all about photography! If you have prepped your home, then your home is going to look great for photos! But as a reminder, before the home photoshoot, please prepare by cleaning and decluttering, arranging furniture, and providing as much light as possible to the home.

---

---

Inspiring photography of your home, showcasing its best features, is key to attract buyers to your home. Here are a few examples of my listing photography:

Videos and Drone Photography

Videos are very important for buyers to see how rooms relate to each other and how the house “flows.” A walk-thru video can accomplish this nicely. Although this may not reduce in-person showings (and that isn’t the goal), it helps focus the showings to serious buyers.

For properties like this one, because the floor plan was a little complicated, I did walk-thru the entire home. Sometimes, I will do more of a teaser video and will just highlight snippets of a home. This home was on acreage and I flew a drone to capture the land.

Where Will My Listing Be Posted?

1926 69th Way SE Tumwater WA – for sale

Each method of promotion and medium is executed at the highest level to give you the best results. As you are preparing to list your home, I am also preparing to create the strongest, most compelling promotion of your home to motivated buyers.

---

How Buyers Schedule Showings to See your Home

The pandemic created protocols that are still followed today to keep everyone healthy.

Steps to a Showing

• Buyer’s broker will make an appointment with you through our app, ShowingTime.
• You’ll leave the house at least 15 minutes prior to the appointment.
• If you can, turn on all the lights and open up the window coverings.
• Take your pets with you.
• Do not go back into the home until the buyers have left.
• I suggest wiping down surfaces, cabinets, doorknobs, light switches after each showing.

In addition, I will supply shoe coverings for buyers and their broker.

Helping Buyers and their Brokers by providing Showing Instructions

Using the ShowingTime app to Schedule Showing Appointments

The Lock Box – How Brokers Access Your Home

Who Else Would Access the Lock Box?

• Buyer Brokers with the Home Inspector(s)
• Buyer Brokers with Contractor(s)
• The Appraiser

ALL OF THESE SHOWINGS ARE BY APPOINTMENT ONLY.

How to Prepare for the Home Inspection

The buyer’s broker or I will arrange the home inspection appointment with you. The same showing protocols will be in place for the buyer, broker and inspector – and for you, too. So that means plan to leave the house and have the home looking in good shape.

The home inspector usually arrives 15 minutes early to start on the outside of the house.

Home inspections can take 2-3 hours.  Home inspectors will go under the house, on the roof, check the attic, and will be checking all the kitchen appliances, electrical outlets, will run the dishwasher and will be running the furnace and a/c to make sure everything is in working order.

• The inspector will need to access the electrical panel – please make sure it is not blocked.

• Keep the area to access the attic space(s) clear so that the inspector can have a ladder there, and also clear the area to the crawl space. 

• If you have a pilot light for the fireplace, please make sure that is on so that the inspector can test the fireplace.

The buyer’s agent will be at the inspection, and sometimes the buyer will be there as well.  The buyer’s agent will let them in and will lock up when they are finished.

Sometimes additional inspections are needed and if so, the buyer’s broker will be there with the contractor. They will make that appointment with you and again, treat this like a showing and not be in the house for this appointment.

How to Prepare for the Appraiser

The appraiser will make an appointment with you to see the property. The interior inspection can take 15-30 minutes. The appraiser will be taking photos of all rooms in the house, may need to look in the attic and crawl space so make sure those access points are accessible, then will be outside to measure the home and take exterior photos.

It is recommended to treat this like a showing and to not be at home and to have the home looking great. After all, we want your home to shine when the appraiser is there!

Showing FAQs

• What do I do with my pets during showings?
• A story about securing your valuables and prescription drugs.

---

How Much does it Cost to Sell a Home?

Seller’s costs are unique to each seller as there are many things that can affect the final fees to sell a home but in very general and broad terms, sellers in the Olympia area can expect their closings costs to be about eight percent of the final sales price.*

The five main costs that sellers can expect are:

1. Commission. The commission is paid to the listing firm and then shared with the buyer’s brokerage.*
2. Real Estate Excise Tax. In the state of Washington, sellers pay a graduated tax when they sell their home. The good news is in January 2020, this tax actually went down for nearly all sellers in Thurston County. Click here for a detailed post on how this graduated sales tax is calculated.
3. Title Insurance Policy. Sellers purchase a title insurance policy for the buyer to ensure the property is clear of title defects.
4. Escrow. In our area, we do not use attorneys to close transactions but instead, use escrow officers. This escrow fee is usually split 50/50 between buyer and seller. Escrow is a neutral third party who prepares the closing documents, disburses funds, and records the transaction at the county.
5. Prorations. Prorated costs usually include real estate property taxes and homeowner association fees, if you pay HOA dues. Sometimes you’ll get a refund on these at closing depending upon if you’ve paid these costs for the year and when you close on your home.

*The Northwest Multiple Listing Service (most of Washington State is in the NWMLS) made changes to how real estate commissions are paid. In the past, the seller would pay the listing lirm the commission and from that commission, the listing firm would share that commission with the buyer’s broker firm. Now the seller pays the the commission directly to the listing firm and to the buyer’s broker firm. Commissions to both firms are negotiable.

What could increase my costs to sell my home?

Examples of other factors that could increase your costs to sell include the things you may negotiate with a buyer like:

• contributing to their closing costs
• agreeing to repairs
• offering a credit in lieu of repairs
• buying a home warranty

Your escrow officer will be preparing your final settlement statement listing your debits and credits for the transaction. Examples of other debit items may include:

• the mortgage payoff amount
• final city utility bills
• mobile notary fee

When are my closing costs paid?

The good news is these costs are paid from the seller’s proceeds at closing. Sellers do not pay these fees upfront. These fees and other costs such as the payoff of the mortgage, utility charges, miscellaneous recording/county fees, etc. are listed as separate line items on the final settlement statement, which escrow prepares at closing.

---

My Service to You – Giving You the Best Outcome

There are a range of outcomes you can have when selling your home, and part of that is having a knowledgeable and experienced broker working on your side to help you accomplish your goals.

Anyone can sell your home but can you get the best outcome with just anyone?

Too many times I talk with people who think selling real estate is all about a sign in the yard and nice photos. That is only one very small portion of my service to you.

My Value to You as your Listing Broker

My value to you is my hard-earned knowledge and experience over decades of working in real estate every day, encountering different issues, situations and pitfalls.

This background is simply not something consumers can get online.

My role as your broker is firmly seated as a guide and a distiller of all of the information available.
 
I translate this information and know-how to apply it to your home sale so you can have the most desirable outcome for you.

All of this is to empower you to make the best decisions for you.

What I Do for You as Your Listing Broker

A letter from Ken Anderson, President and Designated Broker
Coldwell Banker Evergreen Olympic Realty

Thank you for the opportunity to present our services.  There are many things to consider when you decide to buy a home: Choosing an agent is the most critical.

Francine Viola is one of our top people. She is intelligent, reputable and has a great sense of humor, too. You will find that she brings a critical eye toward detail and a big commitment to getting things done right.

As a consistent Coldwell Banker award winner, she is one of the most productive agents in the county, country and internationally within Coldwell Banker. Very few associates in markets our size achieve any distinction, let alone one of the company’s top honors.  The award is simply a reflection of her service. 

As one of the most respected REALTORS® in the community, she consistently puts the needs of her clients first, delivering positive outcomes for them.

Thank you for choosing to partner with Francine Viola.

About Francine Viola, Realtor®

My Message to You

Most people become sellers because of a significant life event.  Although this can be a very exciting time, it can also be daunting to make smart choices about complicated decisions in a short amount of time.