How We Launch a Listing

Selling a home is a sequence of decisions, and most of them are made before the first showing. Here's every step, what happens at each one, and why it matters.

Before it goes live Launch and the first two weeks From offer to closing

Before it goes live

1. Set the price

   The price comes from what similar homes have sold for, what's for sale right now and what's under contract, adjusted for the differences. North of the River that includes the new construction nearby, where a builder's incentives can set the number your buyer is comparing against. Buyers with saved searches get an alert the day a new listing matches, so the starting price is the one the most interested buyers see.

   Request a market reviewEstimate your net proceeds

2. Prepare the home

   Deal with what a buyer's inspector or insurer is likely to flag, decide what to fix, credit, or leave, and get the house clean, clear, and ready for photos before anything goes public. Gather what buyers will ask for: permits, the roof's age, any four-point or wind mitigation reports, and HOA or CDD documents.

   Preparing your home, with a checklist

3. Professional photography

   For most buyers the listing photos are the first showing, and usually on a phone. That argues for a professional photographer, daylight, every light on, a fully prepared house, and photos in the order you'd walk through it.

4. Video

   A walkthrough video shows how the rooms connect in a way still photos can't, and it's easy to share. Some listings add a 3D tour, which lets a buyer who's still out of town walk through on their own.

5. Drone photos, where they help

   Aerial shots earn their place when the land is part of the story: acreage, water, a preserve behind the house, or where the home sits relative to the neighborhood's amenities. Flying a drone for business falls under the FAA's Part 107 rules, which call for a certified remote pilot (FAA).

Launch and the first two weeks

6. Go live, complete

   The listing goes public with everything ready at once: photos, video, description, disclosures, and showing instructions. The buyers who get a new-listing alert will look right away, so the version they see first should be the finished one.

7. The MLS

   The MLS shares the listing with agents at other brokerages, and IDX and syndication feeds carry it to real estate websites, including the home search on this site. It's how buyers who are working with other agents find it.

8. Social media

   Social posts reach people who aren't actively searching yet, including neighbors and friends of friends who may know a buyer. Short video and a few strong photos suit these feeds better than a full gallery.

9. Local Facebook groups and pages

   Local Facebook groups and neighborhood pages put a listing in front of people who already live nearby, and who often know someone hoping to move closer. It should only be shared where a group's rules allow it.

10. Targeted digital promotion

    Paid ads can put a listing in front of likely buyers beyond the local area. Housing ads on Facebook and Instagram run under Meta's special ad category, which limits or removes targeting by age, gender, and ZIP code (Meta). That's a fair housing protection: a home is marketed to anyone who might want it.

11. Showings

    Agree up front on how showings are scheduled, how much notice you get, and whether an agent will be there. Before the first one, put away valuables, prescription medications, and anything with personal information on it. Ask for feedback after each showing: in the first two weeks, it's the quickest read on whether the price and presentation are working.

From offer to closing

12. Compare offers on the net, not the price

    Two offers at the same price can leave you with very different results. Start with what's left after any credits or agent compensation the buyer asks you to pay, then weigh the terms: cash or financing (and which loan type), the size of the deposit, the length of the inspection period, how the contract handles a low appraisal, and the closing date.

    Net proceeds calculator

13. Negotiate, in writing

    Counteroffers go back and forth until both sides sign the same terms. In Florida, a contract to sell real estate has to be in writing and signed to be enforceable (s. 725.01, F.S.), so a promise made on the phone isn't part of the deal until it's in the contract or a signed addendum.

14. Inspections and the appraisal

    The buyer's inspection period is set in the contract. On the widely used Florida Realtors/Florida Bar "AS IS" contract, the buyer can cancel during that period and you aren't obligated to make repairs; other contract forms handle repairs differently. Either way, expect a repair or credit request, and on an older home, the four-point and wind mitigation inspections the buyer's insurer asks for. If the buyer is financing, the lender's appraisal follows. A low appraisal means renegotiating, the buyer covering the gap, or a cancellation if the contract allows it.

    What an inspection will find

15. Closing

    The title company or closing attorney clears the title, gets payoff figures for your mortgage and any liens, and prepares the settlement statement. Review it before closing day: it should match your contract, including the credits and the property tax proration. Keep the utilities on and your insurance in force until closing, since the buyer's final walkthrough comes shortly before. After you sign, your proceeds are paid out as the closing agent instructs, and the deed is recorded with the county.

    Before you send or accept any wiring instructions, call the title company at a number you already have, never one from an email.

    Selling costs and net proceeds