From Contract to Closing – 10 Steps of Selling a Condo

This step-by-step guide to selling your Chicago condo will answer all your questions and help you prepare for the process. Armed with this knowledge, you’ll be able to sell your condominium more quickly and stress-free. The 10 steps outlined below will cover everything from start to finish.

1. Establish a Fair Market Price
   Your goal is to sell your condominium or house for the best price possible, in the least amount of time. The more time your property sits on the market, the less likely you are to find interested buyers. At Chicago Lakefront Properties, we’ll help you with a market analysis and appraisal to determine what your condo is worth before we calculate the asking price.
2. Hiring a Real Estate Agent
   When choosing a listing agent, you want to ask about how they will market your property and what experience they have, especially in your area of town. Hiring a realtor is crucial to get the best exposure possible, which will help you get the property sold much more quickly.
3. Staging Your Condo
   Spend some time and money getting your condo looking as good as possible. Curb appeal is very important to attract interested buyers. Add a fresh coat of paint, clear out the clutter and thoroughly clean the entire property, from the bathrooms to the lawn.
4. Marketing Your Condo
   You will need to maximize your advertising efforts to reach as many potential buyers as possible. Simply listing the condo with MLS isn’t enough. Your real estate agent should be able to use their contacts and marketing resources to get the word out to as many in Chicago as possible.
5. Open Houses and Viewings
   It’s important to hire a listing agent who is willing to work hard to show your condominium to as many prospective buyers as they can. The majority of viewings will take place after work and on weekends, so be sure to ask your agent what their work hours are before you decide to hire them.
6. Reviewing Offers
   Your agent will contact you immediately when a new offer is made on the property. You will work with them to determine which offers are worth negotiating. The agent will work with the buyer to determine their credit worthiness and other important factors before negotiations begin.
7. Offer Accepted
   Once you have accepted their offer, your Chicago realtor will prepare a memorandum of sale, confirm the agreed upon price in writing and send to all parties. At this point, you will also agree on dates to inspect the property, exchange contracts and negotiate the terms of the deal.
8. Contracts Exchanged
   Once evidence of good title, concessions toward repairs and closing costs, etc., and the buyer’s mortgage offer have been confirmed, the exchange of contracts will occur. Typically, a 10% deposit will be transferred to the seller from the buyer’s accounts. The completion date is set by a mutual agreement at this point.
9. Completion of Sale
   The final stage of the sales process involves the remaining 90% of funds transferred from the buyer to the seller. Once the money has been cleared in your account, the keys will be released to the buyer.
10. Congratulations!
    You’re done! You have officially sold your condo and can move on with your life. The stress and anxiety are over and you can now move on with your life.