You sign a listing agreement to sell your property. There are a few keys items at this point:

Coming soon.  Many home sellers choose to put their home in “coming soon” status, rather than have the home active for showings right away.  The main reason is to have time to prepare the property for showing:  be it cleaning, repairs or staging.  While the property is in Coming Soon status, the seller and the listing broker may not promote or advertise the property in any manner other than as ‘coming soon’. Properties in this status may not be shown.  The maximum length of time in northwest Ohio is 21 days.

Coming soon is NOT designed to circumvent the selling of a property on the open market.  Proponents of coming soon say it gives buyers a fair chance to schedule showings in advance.  This may also drum up some excitement for your listing.

Possession.  Will you be able to turn over the keys to your home at the closing of the sale?  In Ohio many sellers select 30 days after closing.  If unsure at this time your listing can simply say possession is negotiable. 

Describe your home.  This will help me market your home to potential buyers.

For example at my house we love watching the sunset from the back patio.  We love how light the traffic is on our block.  We love walking the dog - our Indy has lots of friends she visits.  We love the perennial garden and how easy it is to care for.  We love the flow pattern for entertaining from the kitchen out to the patio.  We love the proximity to beautiful parks along the Maumee River.

On to Step 3: Preparing Your Home

Back to 20 Steps to Selling a Home