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Taking the Stress Out of Selling

Our homes are one of our most important investments which is why it's important to have an experienced team guide you every step of the home selling process.
From strategic pricing and carefully executed staging, to high-end video production and contract negotiations, you can rest assured that you're getting the most of your investment.

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 NAR members 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 agent is the best way to determine the right selling price for your home. A team of real estate agent 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 NAR members 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.

What Our Clients Say

After using Mike for the purchase of our house previously, we knew he was the go-to guy when we were looking to sell. Mike is a master at his craft and a wealth of knowledge when it comes to the real estate world. As first-time sellers, we needed all the help we could get. His team was able to assist us with timelines, staging, and making our house look its best when it came time for showings. Communicat...

— Brittany M.

What Our Clients Say

We highly recommend Michael for any west suburb real estate needs! In a highly competitive market, Michael’s expertise and knowledge of the area gave us an edge and provided critically important information in our home search process. As first-time homebuyers, Michael was extremely patient with our many questions and helped us feel comfortable throughout the process. He truly ensured a smooth experience ...

— Meagan G.

What Our Clients Say

The marketing and support that Mike and his team provided in selling my home was thorough, thoughtful, creative, and so very appreciated. He and his team gave insightful thoughts on how to get our home staged and ready for showing in my very short time frame. They answered every question I had quickly and efficiently and stayed in constant contact through what is often a stressful time for people! It was...

— Heather D.

What Our Clients Say

Bought my first home in May with Kyle’s help. He was always there for me with every silly question I had as a new homeowner and would answer back right away! Even if he didn’t know the answer he’d reach out to his resources and get me connected with them. (I will say even his resources are amazing people!) will always recommend Kyle. He even drove to McHenry County for me! Kyle is kind, genuine, and funn...

— Amber C.

What Our Clients Say

Michael and the team have been extremely helpful throughout the entire home-buying process. Michael took the time to learn our wants and needs and was always available to answer any questions we had. Buying a home can be scary and stressful, but he eased a lot of those feelings by being hands-on and involved from beginning to end. Because of him and his team, we were able to find the perfect home. We can...

— Jessica N.

What Our Clients Say

Michael and his team were extremely helpful when looking to purchase a new home. He provided great information in the initial consultation with relevant information and what to expect in the current market. He stayed in contact and scheduled viewings quickly and efficiently. Helped us make a competitive offer and made the home-buying process much easier.

— Jake A.

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Work With Us

Welcome to The Thornton Team Residential, your premier real estate experts in Wheaton, Glen Ellyn, and Chicago Suburbs. As a top 1.5% producing team, we understand that a home is more than a property, it's about community. Led by Michael Thornton, a top-tier member of NAR with a proven track record, we are dedicated to making your real estate journey seamless. Join us in finding not just a house but a place full of awesome memories that you call home.