The seller’s guide
Nine steps, a ten-item preparation checklist, and where the money actually comes back.
Start here
Selling a home in Scottsdale, and in North Scottsdale especially, is mostly decided before the listing goes live: on price, on preparation, and on whether anyone outside the MLS ever sees it.
This is the guide Kathy gives sellers in print, produced with WFG National Title Insurance Company. It walks through selling a home in Scottsdale end to end, gives you the preparation checklist she works from, and ranks which improvements actually return money at resale so you do not spend on the wrong ones.
You can also take the printed version with you. Buying your next home at the same time? The Buyer’s Guide covers that side.
None of it replaces advice on your specific situation. Take tax and legal questions to your CPA or attorney before you list.
Select a REALTOR®
Interview more than one. Ask what each will actually do in the first fourteen days, and ask to see it in writing. Ask which recent sales they would price you against, who takes the photographs, where the listing goes beyond the MLS, and how often you will hear from them. A good answer names things. Full marketing’ is not an answer. Ask Kathy every one of those questions. She will answer them in writing before you sign anything.
Determine your selling price
Not what you paid, not what the neighbor got last spring. What is competing with your home right now, and how it compares room by room. In places like Grayhawk or DC Ranch that means your enclave or village, not the whole community name. The first two weeks bring the most attention a listing will ever get, so an optimistic start usually costs more than it gains. Start with the instant estimate, then have Kathy walk the house for the number you would actually list at.
Prepare your home for sale
The checklist below is the whole job. Most of it is decluttering, paint and light, and most of it you can do yourself. Finish before the photographer arrives, because the photos are the first showing. On an older home or one with a pool, a pre-listing inspection means nothing in the buyer’s report comes as a surprise.
Sign a listing agreement
Term, price, compensation and what marketing you are getting, all in writing before anything goes live. The agreement should also say how any buyer’s agent compensation will be handled, since that is now negotiated separately and in writing, and what happens if you need to pause. This is also when you complete the Seller’s Property Disclosure Statement. Arizona sellers must disclose known material facts, and when in doubt, disclose.
Marketing and showings
Photography, the Sotheby’s International Realty network, and Kathy’s own postcards, pop-bys and local collaborations. Then open houses, repeatedly. Plan to leave the house for showings and keep it ready: lights on, blinds open to the view, the air conditioning set comfortably in summer, and pets and valuables out.
Review offers and negotiate
Price is one term. Financing type, close date, contingencies and the inspection period all change what an offer is worth to you. A cash offer with a short inspection period can beat a higher financed offer that still needs an appraisal to hold. Kathy lays offers side by side on what you would actually net, not on the headline number, and counters where it counts.
Accept offer and open escrow
The buyer’s earnest money goes to a neutral escrow company, and the clock starts on every date in the contract. From here, deliver what the contract calls for on time: disclosures, HOA documents where there is an HOA, and the pool safety notice if there is a pool. Keep the home, yard and pool in the condition they were in when you accepted.
Home inspection and repairs
The buyer inspects; you respond. This is the second negotiation and the one that most often decides whether a deal closes. Repair requests arrive on the Buyer’s Inspection Notice and Seller’s Response, and you can agree, decline, or offer something in between, such as a credit. If the buyer is financing, the appraisal lands in this same window. Use licensed contractors for any agreed repairs and keep the receipts, because the buyer will ask for them.
Funds transferred and title exchanged
The deed records with Maricopa County, funds disburse, and you hand over the keys. You will sign your side with the escrow officer a few days ahead. Wire fraud targets sale proceeds too, so confirm payoff and disbursement details by phone with your escrow officer at a number you already have. Keep the closing statement with your tax records.
The home sellers checklist
Ten items, in order, for selling a home in Scottsdale. Almost all of it is time rather than money, and it moves the number more reliably than a renovation does.
Return on home improvements
A brief summary of the upgrades that typically reap the highest return, according to Realtor.com. Recovery rates are national averages and will vary by home and by market, so treat them as a ranking rather than a promise.
The pattern is worth noticing: targeted jobs like a garage door, new windows or a minor kitchen refresh recover more of their cost than major remodels and additions.
94% recovered
Replace the garage door
76% recovered
Replace windows to be more energy efficient
73% recovered
Add or enhance outdoor living space: water features, an outdoor fireplace or kitchen, new landscaping
73% recovered
Minor kitchen remodel: repaint cabinets, replace counters, replace appliances
64% recovered
Upgrade the bathroom: new fixtures, mirrors, fresh paint, redo caulk around tub and shower, replace grout
61% recovered
Add indoor living space such as a bedroom, bath or walk-in closet
60% recovered
Upgrade the front door: replace, repaint, or replace the hardware
58% recovered
Major kitchen remodel
Ask before you renovate
A new garage door recovers more of its cost than a major kitchen remodel. If you are selling a home in Scottsdale, Kathy will walk your house and tell you which of these are worth doing on yours, and which to leave alone.
The seller’s resource guide
The printed guide to selling a home in Scottsdale that Kathy brings to a listing appointment.
Seller questions
What should I do before listing?
Work the ten-item checklist above. Declutter, depersonalize, deep clean, touch up paint, fix the lighting, and get the landscaping tidy. It is the highest-return time you will spend.
How is my asking price decided?
By looking at what is genuinely competing with your home right now, adjusted for condition, position and finish, not by what you paid or what a neighbor got last year. Kathy walks the house before she gives you a number.
Should I renovate before I sell?
Usually not a major renovation. The Realtor.com figures above are consistent: a garage door or energy-efficient windows recover far more than a major kitchen remodel. Ask before you spend.
What does Kathy do that other agents do not?
Physical, local marketing. Postcards, pop-by gifts and collaborations with Scottsdale businesses, on top of the Sotheby’s International Realty network. In a slow stretch it is what keeps showings coming.
What happens if the buyer’s inspection turns something up?
You respond. Repair, credit, adjust the price, or decline. It is the second negotiation of the sale and it is the one that most often decides whether a deal closes.
How long does selling a home in Scottsdale take?
It depends on price, condition and the community. Kathy will give you a realistic range for your specific home rather than a market average, and will tell you if your expectation is off.
What is your home actually worth?
Start with the instant estimate. When you want the real number, Kathy walks the house.