Understanding the Home Selling Process

It's important that we price your home properly from the start.  New listings receive a lot of attention.  If your home is overpriced during the initial marketing campaign, you will lose many qualified buyers to competing properties.  Your property will receive the most attention during the first two weeks on the market.

Your M Squared consultant will provide you with a complimentary CMA (comparative market analysis) to assist you in pricing your home.  Your CMA will include currently listed and recently sold properties matching similar criteria to your property.  

Once we've determined the proper price for your home, we need to prepare the listing agreements.  Your listing agreement will include the types of advertising to be used when marketing, guidelines for showings and open houses, the commission rate, and other pertinent details to allow us to best market your home to potential buyers.

Your M Squared consultant will schedule a time for one of our home stagers to visit your home.  Your property will be photographed for print, online and interactive video.

M Squared listings are secured with smart card, digital lockboxes that monitor all activity for your listing.  In addition, all showings must be scheduled in advance, and are accompanied by your M Squared consultant.

Moreover, M Squared will not show your listing to prospective buyers who have not received loan pre-approval from an accredited lender. 

No DC broker is better equipped to market your property than M Squared.  Your listing is offered on over 300 online websites, including: Trulia, Zillow, Google Maps, Frontdoor, Home Finder and Hot Pads and The Washington Post (just to name a few).

In addition to online syndication, our listings are marketed to over 3,000 co-operating brokers and agents throughout the District to weekly emails and private agent-online open houses.

All marketing campaigns are complete with professional photography, brochures, postcards, and online virtual tours.  

The "written offer" covers such subjects as the purchase price, down payment, terms of conventional financing or financing to be provided by the seller; and covers such other subjects as the location and duration of the escrow, title insurance issues, termite and other inspections, seller’s disclosure concerning the property and any contingencies upon which the parties’ obligation of performance depends.

Once the contract is formed, the seller signs the “acceptance” portion of the offer. If the seller makes changes in the terms of the offer, a “counter offer” is prepared. There may be several counter offers between the parties. Once both parties have accepted and signed an acceptable counter offer, an enforceable contract is formed.

The escrow holder creates a set of “escrow instructions” that set forth the terms of the transaction. Once the instructions are signed, the escrow holder obtains information and creates documents necessary to carry out the terms of the transaction. 

Before the escrow closing, the seller may be required to perform various steps such as: “strap” the water heater, install smoke detectors and low-flow toilets. Some local government regulations require additional “retrofits”

The escrow company prepares the deed for signature by the seller in favor of the buyer and requires the buyer to deposit the balance of the cash consideration. At the “closing”, the escrow records the deed in favor of the buyer and tenders the net proceeds of sale to the seller after paying real estate commissions and seller’s closing costs, typically including the cost of the buyer’s policy of title insurance; one-half the escrow fees; and document preparation and recording fees. The buyer’s “closing costs” which are deposited in escrow along with the cash consideration required to complete the purchase, include one-half of the escrow fees; the cost of the lender’s policy of title insurance; document preparation and recording fees; and prorations for secured property taxes and homeowner’s insurance. Following the closing, the buyer becomes the owner of the property and takes possession.