I have an existing home and am buying a new home which is under construction right now. What steps do I need to take in selling my current home? How much in advance do I need to put my current home on the market? How do I screen seller's real estate agents? How much commission should I expect tp pay them? What points do I need to consider when choosing a seller's agent?Can I hold off closing the sale of my existing house till my new house is ready to close?Thanks

find an agent and they will tell you the steps to prepare the house for sale.when to put it on market depends on location, selling price and market conditions(not good now)commision in cali is 6percent i think.choosing an agent you need to talk to them and ask them why you should choose them. ask a couple and get there answers and see how they compare. look at ads and see who has alot of listings thats usually an indication of how hard they work. ask them if they would hold open houses put out flyers, run ads, how they plan on marketing it.you would have to come to terms with your buyers on terms of occupancy theres generally room for negotiation

I'm a realtor in CA. With the way the market is right now, I'd list your house right away. Many houses are staying on the market for 6-9 months before they are sold now. You may be in a situation where you sell before your new house is built, but it's far easier to find a temporary rental than to pay on 2 mortgages. When screening an agent, find out what kind of marketing they do and make sure that they will also hold frequent open houses for you. Right now, most of my houses are selling because I am holding regular open houses.Standard commission rates are 6%, with 3% going to the listing agent and 3% going to the buyer's agent. Some realtors will list your home for 5% and still give you all of the service of an agent charging 6%. The downside to paying 5%, instead of 6% is that the commission paid is now only 2.5% each side and less agents will show your house to their buyers because they are making less money.Most builders will not hold off the closing of your new home. The only option you may have is a bridge loan, where you take a loan on the equity of your current home as a down payment for the new one. Again, this creates a higher monthly output when it comes to payments so I do not recommend this in a market such as now.If you have any further questions, you can e-mail me at CalifLoanOfficer@Yahoo.com.