Sell your house without the surprises that cost you money
Most of what goes wrong in a sale is decided before the sign goes in the yard. A number keyed in wrong, a roof nobody checked, a repair list you cannot fund. Here is exactly how I run a listing in Orange, Seminole, Lake and Volusia counties, what I pay for so you do not have to, and what it costs you at the end.
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What actually happens, start to finish
You will know what happens next, every week, because it is written down. There are 71 steps in the process I run. Here they are in the eight groups that matter to you.
1. Facts and pricing, before anything goes public
Nothing is published until the beds, baths and square footage agree across two independent sources. Public records and old appraisals disagree more often than people think, and a wrong number follows a listing everywhere it goes. Pricing comes off what buyers actually paid for the closest comparable homes, adjusted at the margin, not off a neighborhood average.
2. Photography, video and a 360 walkthrough
Professional photography, a video walkthrough, and a 360 tour a buyer can move through on their own. Bracketed exposures fused so the windows are not blown out and the rooms are not dim, ceilings and window light corrected, one consistent grade across the whole set. A lot of buyers in this market are shopping from out of the area, and they decide whether your house is worth a trip from those three things alone. You approve all of it before any of it goes out.
3. MLS entry, complete, with every document attached
Two things go wrong at entry: fields left blank, and documents nobody uploaded. Your listing gets filled out completely, then read back out of the live feed to confirm it landed the way it was keyed.
Then the paperwork goes up with it, so a buyer's agent never has to chase me for it:
- The seller's property disclosure
- The Florida flood disclosure, which residential sellers have had to provide at or before the contract is signed since October 2024
- HOA or condominium documents and budgets where they apply
- The survey and any permits you hold
- Warranties, and the floor plan
An agent who has to email me for a document either slows your offer down or moves on to a house where it was already there. This is also where we decide Coming Soon or straight to Active, and start the 14 day clock if we use it.
4. Location proof
Drive times measured on real routes, not guessed from a map. Your parcel boundary drawn on a satellite basemap. Your lot size and HOA position ranked against the rest of the subdivision. Portals do not show buyers any of this. Boundaries come from county GIS and are not a survey.
5. The marketing build
Listing remarks, captions written per platform, graphics built in four different shapes so nothing is cropped badly, short vertical cuts of the video for social, and a single-property website for your house alone.
6. Launch
The MLS, seven social surfaces, Google Business Profile, email to my list, and links from the neighbourhood pages I already run, all fired as one coordinated week rather than dribbled out.
7. While it is on the market
A shared tracker you can open any time to see exactly what has been posted and where. A marketing pass every week, not just the first one. And if the market says the price is wrong, we deal with it early instead of waiting.
8. Under contract to closed
Status changed on every surface, scheduled posts pulled down, the single-property site retired, open permits chased. This is the part nobody advertises and every seller notices when it gets skipped.
You should not hear about the roof from the buyer's inspector
Here is where sellers lose real money. You accept an offer, the buyer's inspector finds a four thousand dollar problem, and now you are renegotiating at the exact moment you have the least leverage. Your house is off the market, you have made plans, and the buyer knows it.
The No Surprises Listing: I cover a pre-listing inspection before we go live.
We find out what is wrong on our schedule instead of theirs. Then you choose: fix it, price it in, or disclose it and move on. All three are fine. What is not fine is finding out in week six.
Fix it now, pay for it when you close
The other reason houses go to market unprepared is simpler. The house needs eight thousand dollars of work and you do not want to spend eight thousand dollars on a house you are leaving, before you have sold anything.
NextHome Refresh, powered by Notable, is a line of credit of up to $50,000 for getting your home ready, with nothing due until closing.
- Use it for paint, flooring, landscaping, staging, cleaning, repairs, appliances, and even moving or a temporary stay during the work
- The inspection itself is an eligible expense, so the two programs work together
- Applying uses a soft credit check only, and there is no lien on your property
- You choose your own contractors. Funds come as a card, a bank transfer, or a check sent straight to the vendor
- Interest accrues only on what you actually spend
- If you end up not needing it, you close the line and it costs you nothing
According to Notable's own data, market-ready homes sell 31 percent faster and 9 percent higher, though individual results vary and are neither warrantied nor guaranteed.
To qualify you will generally need a signed listing agreement, a credit score of at least 680, at least 20 percent equity, and a list price under $4 million.
See what you would qualify for
Interest may apply. Loan eligibility is not guaranteed. Loan funds, interest, and fees are due twelve months after origination, upon the sale of your home, or upon acceleration, whichever occurs sooner. Subject to the terms of your loan agreement, and the terms and conditions (notablehome.com/terms). Notable NMLS #1824748. Based on Notable data. Individual results may vary and are neither warrantied nor guaranteed. Loans are made by Notable Finance, LLC, an affiliated lender, or Quorum Federal Credit Union, and are not made by any real estate broker or agent. NextHome is not the lender.
What this costs you
My listing fee is 2 percent.
Compensation to an agent representing the buyer is a separate decision and it is entirely yours. It is negotiable, it is not set by law or by any association, and you can choose to offer nothing at all. We will talk through what that choice does to your buyer pool before you decide.
What is included at no extra charge, because it should not be an upsell: the pre-listing inspection, professional photography, the video, the single-property website, the location data work, and the weekly marketing while you are on the market.
Beyond commission, a Florida seller normally also pays documentary stamp tax on the deed at 70 cents per $100 of the sale price, the owner's title insurance policy at the state promulgated rate, prorated property taxes up to the closing date, and any HOA estoppel or lien search fees. Your mortgage payoff comes out of the proceeds.
What is your house worth right now
Start with a real number instead of a portal guess. I will send you what comparable homes in your neighbourhood actually closed for, and what that means for your house specifically.
Questions sellers ask
What will I actually net?
Take the sale price, subtract your mortgage payoff, commission, doc stamps, title, prorated taxes and any concessions you agree to. That is your net. I will build you an exact net sheet for your address and price before you sign anything.
Who pays the closing costs?
In Central Florida the seller customarily pays the documentary stamp tax on the deed and the owner's title insurance policy, and typically selects the title company. The buyer customarily pays their own loan costs, lender's title policy, survey and inspections. The contract controls, and everything in it is negotiable.
What does it cost to sell, all in?
For most sellers, commission plus roughly 1 to 1.5 percent of the sale price in doc stamps, title and closing fees, plus prorated taxes and whatever concessions you agree to. Your payoff is separate. A net sheet turns that into a real number for your house.
What about capital gains and taxes?
Florida has no state income tax on the sale. Federally, if the house has been your main home for at least two of the last five years, you can generally exclude up to $250,000 of gain if you file single and up to $500,000 if you file jointly. Gain is measured against your adjusted basis, not your purchase price, which is why receipts for improvements matter. That is general information, not tax advice. Confirm the specifics with your CPA before you rely on any of it.
Why do some houses sit?
Almost always price, and almost never the market as a whole. A house that is priced correctly and marketed properly gets showings in the first two weeks. When it does not, we look at the feedback and the competing inventory and we act early, because the longer a listing sits the more buyers assume something is wrong with it.
Can I back out after I list?
Talk to me before you sign, not after. Listing agreements have a term and cancellation conditions, and I would rather set expectations honestly up front than hold somebody to paper they regret.
How long should I have owned it before selling?
There is no rule that stops you selling at any time. The two-year mark matters for the federal gain exclusion above, and if you financed recently, closing costs on both ends mean a very short hold rarely comes out ahead.
How do I buy the next one while selling this one?
This is the most common real problem sellers have, and there are several ways through it: a sale contingency, a post-closing occupancy agreement so you do not move twice, or lining up the closings on the same day. Which one fits depends on your equity and how much competition your price band has. Bring it up early, because it changes how we sequence everything.
Do I have to fix everything first?
No. Selling as-is is a legitimate strategy and sometimes the right one. But as-is usually gets priced by buyers as if every unknown is a big one, which is why the pre-listing inspection matters, and why the Refresh line of credit exists for the work you would rather do than discount.
What if I sell it myself?
Look back at the eight groups above. That is the work. Doing it yourself means doing those things yourself, including the MLS entry, the photography, the marketing, and the part after you are under contract. Some people do it well. Most underestimate group 8.
Start with a conversation
No pressure, no obligation, and I will tell you honestly if now is not the right time to sell your house.