How your home gets priced, prepared, marketed and closed, and what it costs you.
Selling is a sequence of decisions, and the early ones matter most. Price and presentation set what happens in the first two weeks, and the first two weeks set what you eventually get. Everything below is the order I work in, and what you should expect from me at each stage.
If you are weighing it up, start with a valuation, or look at homes that have recently sold to see what buyers here have been paying.
Before anything is photographed or listed, we look at what has actually sold near you in recent months, what is competing with you right now, and what is under contract. That is what sets a realistic asking price. Sold prices carry the weight: active listings tell you about competition, not value.
Not every repair pays for itself. We walk the house together and separate the things buyers will notice and price against, from the things that can be left. Paint, light fixtures, landscaping and decluttering usually return more than a major renovation you will not enjoy.
Most buyers meet your home on a phone screen first, so the photographs are the showing before the showing. The house gets cleaned, staged as far as it makes sense, and shot properly. Poor photos cost real money in this market.
The listing goes on the MLS with full details, which is what feeds Zillow, Realtor.com, Homes.com and the brokerage network, and it appears here on my own site. Accurate data matters: the wrong school, acreage or square footage costs you buyers who filter it out.
We agree how showings are handled and how much notice you need. Then we watch the response: how many people come through, what they say, and whether anyone comes back. In the first two weeks, silence is information.
Price is one part of an offer. The financing, the closing date, what the buyer asks you to pay, how much earnest money they put up and how long they want to inspect all change what an offer is worth. We compare them side by side and I negotiate on your behalf.
The buyer inspects during their due diligence period and may come back asking for repairs or a price adjustment. You can agree, offer a credit, counter, or hold firm. What is reasonable depends on what turned up and how the rest of the market is behaving.
If the buyer is financing, an appraiser confirms the home supports the price. Georgia closings are conducted by a licensed attorney, so we send everything to the closing attorney, you sign, and your proceeds are disbursed. Keep utilities on until it closes.
The honest answer comes from comparable sales near you, adjusted for condition and what is currently competing. Ask me for a valuation and I will show the comparables and how I arrived at the number, rather than a single figure from an automated estimate.
Expect the commission you agree, your own closing costs, prorated property taxes, any payoff on your mortgage, and whatever you agree to contribute toward the buyer's costs. Since 2024, what a seller offers a buyer's agent is negotiated rather than published in the MLS, and I will explain the options before we list.
Georgia sellers are expected to disclose known material defects, and most sales use a seller's property disclosure form. Disclosing a known issue up front is almost always cheaper than a buyer finding it during due diligence.
It depends on your equity, your loan and your tolerance for moving twice. We map both routes with real numbers before you commit, including what happens if your sale closes first.
Many homeowners who have lived in the home for two of the last five years exclude a large part of the gain from federal tax, but the rules have conditions. Ask a tax adviser about your own situation before you count on it.
Two things decide it: price and presentation. Once you are under contract, four to six weeks is typical with a financed buyer. I will tell you honestly if the price we discuss is likely to sit.
Call or text (678) 761-0949, send a message, or start with the MLS search.
Rayshell Scott, Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Metro Brokers, 1218 N Peachtree Pkwy, Peachtree City, GA 30269.
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From what comparable houses near you have actually closed at recently, adjusted for condition, and from what is competing with you on the market right now. You get the number and the evidence behind it. If the house needs work to reach a higher number, I will tell you what the work is before you commit to it.
No, but where repairs are worth doing I handle them rather than hand you a list of numbers to call. I bring in the painters, flooring, landscapers, cleaners and dumpster rental, schedule them, and check the work before it is paid for. It is the thing my clients mention most often.
Peachtree City, Fayetteville and Tyrone in Fayette County; Newnan in Coweta; Jonesboro in Clayton; Fairburn in south Fulton; Stockbridge and Hampton in Henry County; and Conyers in Rockdale.
Yes. Compensation is not set by any association or by the MLS. What I am paid is negotiated between us and written into the listing agreement before the house goes on the market, and what is offered to a buyer's agent is your decision too.
Me. I am a real estate agent with Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Metro Brokers, out of the Peachtree City office at 1218 N Peachtree Pkwy, and I am the one who walks your house, prices it, coordinates the trades, handles the showings and negotiates your offers.
A walk-through and a price with the reasoning behind it, at no cost and with no obligation. Call or text me on (678) 761-0949, or use the form on this site. My office is the Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Metro Brokers office at 1218 N Peachtree Pkwy, Peachtree City, GA 30269.
By providing us with your information, you acknowledge and agree to our Privacy Policy.
