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Comprehensive Home Selling Guide for the Outer Banks

Everything you need to know about putting your home on the market, accepting an offer, and closing on your home.

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 team of real estate agents 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.​​​​​​​

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Step 1: Understand Why You're Selling

What do you want to accomplish with the sale of your home? Do you want to make a certain amount of money that you can put toward a larger or nicer home? Do you need to sell it as soon as possible to facilitate a move to a new city or area? Once you understand your needs, you can better craft your offer. For example, if you need to sell quickly, you might want to price your home lower than if your goal is to make a certain profit margin. Make sure you convey these needs to your team of real estate agents once you choose one so they can adjust your selling price accordingly.

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Step 2: Determine Selling Price

Knowing how to price your home is one of the most important parts of the selling process. 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 team of real estate agents is the best way to determine the right selling price for your home. A team of real estate agents with experience can determine what other comparable homes are selling for, evaluate the current market, and may even suggest a home appraisal.

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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. Once you price your home, it’s time to start getting it ready to be shown to potential buyers. This includes getting rid of clutter, depersonalizing the space so that buyers can envision themselves in the space, making any small repairs, and doing a deep clean to make sure your home is in pristine condition.

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Step 4: Develop a Marketing Strategy

We will develop a marketing strategy that is perfect for advertising your home. This involves listing the home and then driving the right people to that listing through social media campaigns, agent-to-agent referrals, traditional media, or SEO advertising. Our team creates a marketing campaign that aims to get the most possible traffic to your listing in the first three weeks after becoming a client.

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Step 5: Evaluate Offers

Receiving an offer is an exciting part of the process, but it doesn’t mean the journey is over. We will evaluate each offer and make sure the party making the offer is prequalified or pre-approved by a mortgage lender and that their offer is acceptable to you. If the offer is too low, you can make a counter-offer or offer other ways to bridge the gap, such as covering some or all of the closing costs, making repairs, adjusting the move-in date, or leaving some appliances or fixtures for the new buyer.

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Step 6: Accept an Offer

Once we deem the offer is acceptable, we will review the proposed contract to make sure it’s all in order and includes the necessary components such as deposit amount, down payment, financing, inspection rights and repair allowances, contingencies, settlement date, and a list of fees and who will pay them. When both parties have agreed to the term, a final contract will be prepared by your team of real estate agents.

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Step 7: Get Ready to Close

You have accepted an offer and are now very close to the end of your selling journey. But first, you and the buyer must make a list of what needs to be done before closing. In some cases, your home may need to be formally inspected, surveyed, and appraised. In other cases, major or minor repairs will need to be made before the house can close. We will head up efforts to develop and execute this list, get each action item paid for by the correct party, and make sure everything is in order by the closing date. A few days before the closing date, we will call the company closing the transaction to make sure everything is ready to go. If you haven’t done so already, you also need to make arrangements to move out of the home so the new buyer can take possession.

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Step 8: Close

You’ve reached the last step in the seller’s process. When you close on a home you are selling, you are legally transferring ownership of the property to the new buyer. We will meet with the company closing the transaction to sign the final paperwork and go over any issues that have not yet been taken care of. During this time, you can also make plans with your team of real estate agents to handle final details such as canceling utilities, cable, and lawn or trash services, changing the name on accounts that the new owner is retaining and ensuring the new owner has instructions for all appliances that will remain in the home.

Congratulations!

Once you have sold your home, you’re free to take the next step on your journey. Whether this is relocating to a new city, moving into a larger home, or downsizing and enjoying your life as empty-nesters, knowing all your selling responsibilities have been taken care of will help you achieve peace of mind for your new path.

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Client Experiences

Hear From Our Happy Clients

See what buyers and sellers say about working with The Gamiel Team.

"Elizabeth has represented my wife and I multiple times over the years with both buying and selling. When it comes to selling your home she provides advise on the dos and don'ts, she is extremely professional, and she replies fast to both our questions and questions from other agents, she is a true liaison. Her knowledge and advise are sound, she advised me into listing my home for more than I thought it was worth, she was right, sold in less than two weeks."
"Elizabeth has represented my wife and I multiple times over the years with both buying and selling. When it comes to selling your home she provides advise on the dos and don'ts, she is extremely professional, and she replies fast to both our questions and questions from other agents, she is a true liaison. Her knowledge and advise are sound, she advised me into listing my home for more than I thought it was worth, she was right, sold in less than two weeks."
Nash
"Christie Baer from Pirate’s Cove Realty was amazing to work with. Christie knew the market, went out of her way to accommodate our limited time in the Outer Banks, and she gave us sound advice. Her recommendations for the home and septic inspectors as well as the title lawyer made the process seamless and they were excellent. She helped us with all the negotiations and took the stress out of our home buying bidding process. She was our proxy for the walk though process and ensured our closing went smoothly. She’s really terrific!"
"Christie Baer from Pirate’s Cove Realty was amazing to work with. Christie knew the market, went out of her way to accommodate our limited time in the Outer Banks, and she gave us sound advice. Her recommendations for the home and septic inspectors as well as the title lawyer made the process seamless and they were excellent. She helped us with all the negotiations and took the stress out of our home buying bidding process. She was our proxy for the walk though process and ensured our closing went smoothly. She’s really terrific!"
Buyer
"We have bought and sold properties with Elizabeth Cloninger 4 times. There is no one better! Elizabeth knows the market, is a great communicator, pays attention to detail, and will do whatever she can to facilitate the buying or selling process. I would give her infinite stars if I could but this Google review limits me to 5. She's the best!"
"We have bought and sold properties with Elizabeth Cloninger 4 times. There is no one better! Elizabeth knows the market, is a great communicator, pays attention to detail, and will do whatever she can to facilitate the buying or selling process. I would give her infinite stars if I could but this Google review limits me to 5. She's the best!"
Judy G.
"Elizabeth Cloninger of Pirates Cove Realty is an excellent agent. She stays on top of everything and makes sure it’s a smooth sale. If you listen to her and do what she advises you’ll get top dollar. I recommend her to anyone selling or buying."
"Elizabeth Cloninger of Pirates Cove Realty is an excellent agent. She stays on top of everything and makes sure it’s a smooth sale. If you listen to her and do what she advises you’ll get top dollar. I recommend her to anyone selling or buying."
Dolores I.
"We recently had the pleasure of working with Elizabeth Cloninger of Pirate's Cove Realty during the purchase of our second home in Manteo, NC — and we couldn’t be more pleased with the experience. Elizabeth is everything you’d want in a real estate agent: responsive, knowledgeable, professional, and patient. She quickly earned our trust and consistently provided sound advice without ever making us feel pressured. Her calm, thoughtful approach made the entire process enjoyable and seamless. Elizabeth's deep knowledge of the Manteo area and sharp attention to detail were clear advantages throughout the search and negotiation. Elizabeth is a skilled negotiator who represented our interests with care and expertise. Simply put, she listens and delivers. We highly recommend Elizabeth to anyone looking to buy or sell in the Outer Banks. She’s a true professional in every sense of the word."
"We recently had the pleasure of working with Elizabeth Cloninger of Pirate's Cove Realty during the purchase of our second home in Manteo, NC — and we couldn’t be more pleased with the experience. Elizabeth is everything you’d want in a real estate agent: responsive, knowledgeable, professional, and patient. She quickly earned our trust and consistently provided sound advice without ever making us feel pressured. Her calm, thoughtful approach made the entire process enjoyable and seamless. Elizabeth's deep knowledge of the Manteo area and sharp attention to detail were clear advantages throughout the search and negotiation. Elizabeth is a skilled negotiator who represented our interests with care and expertise. Simply put, she listens and delivers. We highly recommend Elizabeth to anyone looking to buy or sell in the Outer Banks. She’s a true professional in every sense of the word."
Jeff W.
"Christie did an outstanding job assisting us in selling and buying our new condos. Her persistence and great attitude were instrumental in the sale of our condo. She has a great deal of knowledge of the area, along with prices for resale value on our new condo purchase."
"Christie did an outstanding job assisting us in selling and buying our new condos. Her persistence and great attitude were instrumental in the sale of our condo. She has a great deal of knowledge of the area, along with prices for resale value on our new condo purchase."
Jenn R.
"Elizabeth was professional and available, the best, most proactive realtor! She anticipated our needs , time constraints and worked to accommodate us. Highly recommend!"
"Elizabeth was professional and available, the best, most proactive realtor! She anticipated our needs , time constraints and worked to accommodate us. Highly recommend!"
Linda P.
"Elizabeth was referred to us for the purchase of our first vacation rental. Not only is she a top notch agent and ensures everything is on track, she also gives you guidance and tips to consider. She is a gem and keeps her clients apprised of all that is going on. She will take care of your needs with no problem. She will be who we turn to in the future should another opportunity arise. Highly recommend her for your real estate needs."
"Elizabeth was referred to us for the purchase of our first vacation rental. Not only is she a top notch agent and ensures everything is on track, she also gives you guidance and tips to consider. She is a gem and keeps her clients apprised of all that is going on. She will take care of your needs with no problem. She will be who we turn to in the future should another opportunity arise. Highly recommend her for your real estate needs."
Melody E.
"Elizabeth and her team did a wonderful job helping us get our condo sold. From getting us "show ready", marketing the property to guiding us through the negotiation and closing process Elizabeth was on top of things. Although I knew she was juggling multiple properties, we never felt we didn't have her undivided attention. Highly recommend Elizabeth whether you are buying or selling real estate!"
"Elizabeth and her team did a wonderful job helping us get our condo sold. From getting us "show ready", marketing the property to guiding us through the negotiation and closing process Elizabeth was on top of things. Although I knew she was juggling multiple properties, we never felt we didn't have her undivided attention. Highly recommend Elizabeth whether you are buying or selling real estate!"
Susan E.
"Elizabeth is the Best! From staging to showing, to negotiating, to closing, she was top-notch. Her expertise in knowing what buyers want and knowledge of the market got us a wonderful offer and got it fast! I didn’t stress a bit. She handled everything, including removing a mess of a nest on our balcony! Hands down. We would have her represent us as sellers or buyers again!"
"Elizabeth is the Best! From staging to showing, to negotiating, to closing, she was top-notch. Her expertise in knowing what buyers want and knowledge of the market got us a wonderful offer and got it fast! I didn’t stress a bit. She handled everything, including removing a mess of a nest on our balcony! Hands down. We would have her represent us as sellers or buyers again!"
Tanya J.

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