Selling in Connecticut

Before we put a sign in the yard, I walk the house with you and we’re honest about it: what’s worth fixing, what buyers won’t care about, and what it’s worth this month in your town.

What’s worth fixing

Less than sellers expect. Paint, light, and anything that reads as deferred maintenance earn their keep. A full kitchen you’ll never cook in generally doesn’t.

I’ll tell you which side of that line each item falls on, including when the answer is to do nothing and price for it.

Pricing and launch

Price comes off your actual house and recent local sales, not an online estimate that doesn’t know you redid the kitchen.

The opening days usually bring the most attention, and a price cut in week six doesn’t get that audience back. That’s why the launch price matters more than any later adjustment.

Once we’re live

The marketing, showings, and negotiation run through me, and you’ll hear from me with updates rather than only when there’s a problem. That’s a low bar. It’s also the thing I hear most from people unhappy with their last agent.

Want a number before you commit to any of it? Start with a Home Value Review.

What happens next

1. Price it. Recent comparable sales, set against your bottom line.
2. Prep and photograph. Real photos, before it hits the market.
3. List and market. Live on the MLS. Showings begin.
4. Review offers. We negotiate price and terms together.
5. Under contract. You accept, the buyer’s deposit comes in.
6. Attorneys and contract. The attorneys handle the contract.
7. Inspection, appraisal, financing. I manage the requests.
8. Close. You sign, hand over the keys, proceeds are wired.

Where I work in Connecticut

I’m licensed across Connecticut and I’ll go where the work is. Guilford, Madison, Clinton, Westbrook, Old Saybrook and Killingworth come up most often, along with Cromwell, Berlin and the river towns.

Three things change the preparation more than the town does.

Septic and well. Plenty of Connecticut houses are on one or both. Neither is covered by a standard home inspection, and both are separate appointments worth booking before anything else. What to check on septic and well

Flood zones. Near the water, the flood map, the insurance quote and the elevation certificate decide more than almost anything else, and buyers will ask. Shoreline flood zones

Property taxes. The mill rate varies enough between neighboring towns to change what a buyer can carry each month, which changes who can afford your house. How Connecticut property taxes change a budget

For what the market is doing right now, the October Connecticut briefing has Middlesex, New Haven, New London and Hartford county by county.

Common seller questions, including what it costs to sell and what is worth fixing first, are answered here.