Before you list.
Selling a Home in Austin & Central Texas
Many sellers are handed a price and asked to sign. The better starting point is understanding the market.
See the comparable sales, what's competing with your home today, and an estimate of what you could walk away with after expenses. Then decide what's right for you.
If a PCS, retirement, growing family, or another life event is driving the timeline, that changes the strategy. Every decision should support your goals, not just the market.
Start where you are.
Which One Sounds Like You?
The work is the same. What is driving the sale is not.
Walkthrough to wire.
The Home Selling Process
Seven steps. Two to four weeks of prep, then 30 to 45 days from accepted offer to funding.
01
Walkthrough and valuation
I walk the house, then bring back comparable sales, your current competition, and a price range with the reasoning behind it. You also get an estimated net sheet at this stage, before you commit to anything.
02
Prep list, ranked by return
Paint, landscaping, and repairs that pay you back, separated from the ones that do not. I will tell you what to skip. If you are already gone, I coordinate the vendors and check the work myself.
03
Photography and staging
Professional photography, floor plan, and video. Buyers decide whether to tour your home from the first few images, so this is not the place to economize.
04
Launch and showings
Live on the MLS and syndicated everywhere buyers look, timed to hit the weekend. You get showing feedback and traffic numbers, not silence.
05
Offers and negotiation
Price is one term of several. I vet the buyer's financing, compare net proceeds side by side, and negotiate the option period, closing date, and a leaseback if you need time to move out.
06
Inspection and appraisal
The buyer's inspection will find something. I handle the repair negotiation, and if the appraisal comes in low I supply the comparable sales to challenge it. This stage is where sales are saved or lost.
07
Closing and funding
Settlement statement reviewed line by line before you sign. Remote closing by mobile notary or power of attorney if you are out of state, and your proceeds wire out once the sale funds.
Supporting you after the process ends.
Address changes, the final water bill, your tax documents next spring, and a referral agent at your next duty station if you need one.
The difference.
Experience That Changes the Strategy
21 years in uniform
PCS moves, deployment timelines, and unexpected orders don't follow a normal real estate calendar. When military timelines drive the move, the strategy adapts to the mission, not the other way around.
A home can be sold from anywhere
Already at your next duty station? Listing coordination, vendor access, repairs, showings, and updates continue without you having to return. Decisions stay in your hands, even when you're hundreds or thousands of miles away.
VA experience before the appraisal
Many buyers in Central Texas use VA financing. Potential issues that can affect a VA appraisal are identified before the home goes on the market, reducing surprises during the transaction.
Pricing backed by data
The list price should be supported by the market, not by hope. Comparable sales, current competition, and market conditions shape the strategy because the first weeks on the market have the greatest impact on the outcome.
Jeanette Spain
21-year Air Force veteran. Certified Military Relocation Professional.
What comes off the top.
What Selling Costs
Sellers pay at closing out of the sale proceeds, not up front. Here is what usually comes off the sale price before you see your wire.
Your loan payoff
The largest line by far, and the one most sellers forget includes interest through the closing date plus any escrow shortfall. Your lender issues the exact figure to the title company.
Varies
Brokerage compensation
Negotiated in writing before we list, and whether you offer anything toward the buyer's agent is your decision. I will explain how that choice affects showing traffic so you are deciding with real information.
Negotiated
Title policy and closing fees
In Central Texas the seller customarily pays for the owner's title policy, plus escrow, survey, and recording fees. All of it is negotiable in the contract.
1% to 1.5%
Prorated property taxes
You owe taxes for the days you owned the home this year, settled at closing. Because Texas taxes are high, a mid-year closing can make this line larger than sellers expect.
Day-count
Prep, repairs, and concessions
Paint and cleaning before listing, then whatever you agree to after the buyer's inspection. Some sellers also contribute toward the buyer's closing costs to win a stronger price.
Your call
What you actually walk away with
I build you a net sheet with your real payoff and your real numbers at the valuation appointment, before you list. You will see the estimate again with every offer, so you are comparing take-home, not headline price.
Net sheet
Ranges are typical for Central Texas and are not a quote. Local custom on who pays which fee varies, and every line above can be negotiated in the contract.
