Sell

Selling in South Florida

What actually happens between deciding to sell and handing over the keys — what we do at each stage, and what it asks of you.

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What is your property worth?

An opinion of value from Martin or MaryEllen, prepared by looking at your property and at what comparable homes nearby have actually sold for. It is written by a person, not generated by this website, and there is no cost and no obligation attached to it.

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Before it goes live

Preparing a property for market

A property gets one first week. Most of the attention it will ever receive arrives in it, so the work happens before the listing goes live rather than after.

Walk the property with fresh eyes
We go through the house the way a buyer will, and say what we notice — including the things you stopped seeing years ago. You decide what is worth acting on.
Repairs worth doing, and repairs that are not
Some work returns more than it costs; plenty does not. The aim is to spend as little as possible while removing the objections that would cost you more at the negotiating table.
Decluttering and presentation
Rooms photograph and show better with less in them. Where staging makes sense we will say so, and what it would involve.
Paperwork before it is asked for
Permits, warranties, HOA or condo documents, insurance history, any survey. Having these ready keeps a contract moving instead of stalling it mid-inspection.

Pricing

Positioning and presentation

The asking price is the single decision that most affects how your sale goes. Set it correctly and the property draws attention while it is new. Set it too high and you spend that first week proving to buyers that something cheaper is better value — then reduce anyway, to an audience that has already moved on.

We work it out from what comparable homes nearby have actually sold for, not from what they are asking. What is currently competing with you matters too: a buyer choosing between three similar homes is choosing on price and condition.

Presentation is the other half. Two properties on the same street at the same price will not perform the same if one is better prepared and better photographed. Where we think something should change before launch, we will say so, and we will explain why.

We do not publish a target price, a timescale or a percentage on this page. Any of those would be a number invented about a property we have not seen.

Marketing

How your property is presented to buyers

What a listing gets as standard. What each property actually needs varies — a waterfront home and a two-bedroom condominium are not sold the same way.

Photography and video
Professional photography, and video or aerial work where the property justifies it. Most buyers decide whether to view from the pictures alone.
The listing itself
Written to describe the property accurately — the wrong buyers viewing is a waste of your weekends. Distributed through the MLS to the portals and agent networks that syndicate from it.
Floor plan and measurements
A plan answers the questions photographs cannot, and cuts down on viewings from people whose furniture was never going to fit.
Direct outreach
Agents with buyers in your price band, and people who have already asked us about something like yours. This is the part that does not appear on a portal.
Signage and print
Where the location and the property warrant it. Some homes sell to a neighbour, or to a neighbour’s friend.
Enquiries answered by us
Every enquiry about your property is answered by Martin or MaryEllen. A buyer who cannot get a reply within the day books a viewing at the house that replied.

Viewings

The showing process

Living in a property while it is for sale is the least comfortable part of selling. This is how we keep it manageable.

Booked around you
Showings are scheduled through us with notice, so you are not answering the door to strangers or losing an evening at short notice.
Accompanied where it helps
Some properties need someone there to explain them — a renovation, a view at a particular hour, a quirk of the layout. Others show better empty.
Feedback you actually hear
What agents and buyers said afterwards, passed on plainly. Repeated feedback about the same thing usually means something, and it is better acted on early than argued with.
Security and access
Who came, when, and with which agent. Valuables and medication put away, and access controlled.

Offer to closing

From an offer to the keys

Accepting an offer is the middle of the process, not the end of it. Florida contracts run on defined windows, and most of what follows is keeping those dates.

Reviewing offers
Price is one term. Financing, deposit, inspection and appraisal windows, the closing date and what the buyer is asking you to leave behind all change what an offer is really worth.
Negotiating
Counter, accept or wait — we set out what each looks like from where you are standing, and you decide. Multiple offers are handled openly, with every buyer told the same thing.
Inspection and appraisal
Both can reopen the negotiation. What comes back is worked through item by item rather than met with a single number.
Through to closing
Title, the buyer’s financing, insurance, the walkthrough and the closing date itself. Most of this is chasing other people, and most of it happens without you needing to be involved.

Nothing on this page is legal or tax advice. Contract terms, disclosure obligations and the tax consequences of a sale are matters for your attorney and your accountant.

Questions

Seller questions

How do I find out what my home is worth?

Ask for an opinion of value. Martin or MaryEllen look at the property and at what genuinely comparable homes nearby have sold for — not what they are asking — and explain the reasoning. There is no cost and no obligation to list. This website does not calculate a value for your home and never will; a number generated from public records cannot see a renovation, a new roof or the state of your association.

Is that the same as an appraisal?

No. An appraisal is carried out by a licensed appraiser, usually for a lender, and follows a defined standard. An opinion of value from an agent is a considered view of what a property should be marketed at. They are different documents for different purposes, and a lender will not accept the second in place of the first.

What happens if I price it high and see what happens?

Usually the same thing: the property draws its largest audience in its first week, spends that week proving to buyers that something else is better value, and then reduces — to an audience that has already moved on. Pricing from what sold rather than from what is asking tends to end better, though every property and every seller’s circumstances differ.

Should I make repairs before listing?

Some work returns more than it costs and plenty does not, so it is worth going through the property with someone before spending anything. Broadly, the aim is to remove the objections that would cost more at the negotiating table than they cost to fix — not to renovate for a buyer whose taste you do not know.

How are showings handled?

Booked through us with notice, so you are not answering the door to strangers or losing an evening at short notice. Some properties show better accompanied — a renovation that needs explaining, a view at a particular hour — and others show better empty. Feedback from agents and buyers is passed on plainly, including the parts you may not want to hear.

General information. These answers describe how things usually work, not a policy or a promise, and they are still being reviewed by Martin and MaryEllen. Nothing here is legal, tax or financial advice — and what applies to your property depends on your property. Ask, and you will get an answer about yours.

Put any of them to us directly — get in touch or call the number below.

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