WHAT'S NEXT? 

Our innovative marketing strategies are unparalleled. Marketing your home is much more than just placing it on the MLS and putting a sign in your yard. There is a lot that goes into the process of getting the word out about your house and a team of trusted experts that help us. We have three phases of the marketing process: Marketing Preparation, Marketing Execution, and Marketing Conclusion. Every listing and every market is different, so every marketing plan is different, but this article gives an overview of the art of the possible.

Marketing Preparation:

First, we meet with you and see the property to look at its features, details and learn about its history. We review the market and identify improvements, alterations and cleaning that needs to be done. We prepare a Comparative Market Analysis and advise on the price point that will garner the most exposure and generate the highest offers. This analysis is based on recent sales of comparable properties in the neighborhood.

We then write the description of your property, verify the square footage and other facts, and prepare your home for photography. Photo preparation may be full staging or helping to create a neat and clean home by removing personal items and moving a few things around. Our cleaning crew and stagers always get gold stars from our clients.

A picture is worth a thousand words. Our photographers are very experienced and will create beautiful photos of your property. Depending on the property and the market, we also purchase virtual tours, single-property websites, floor plans, or drone shots and footage.

Marketing Execution:

Once we have all of that done, we submit your property to the Multiple Listing Service (MLS), exposing the listing to other Realtors with interested buyers. We then create a page on our website for your property and feature it on our home page as well as our listings page and its own page. In addition to our website, your house appears on real estate websites including Realtor.com, Zillow.com and Trulia.com. This is super-important because 99% of buyers start their home search online.

Our team advertises your property on social media, so you will see it on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and other platforms. They also create our exclusive client newsletter and include your home with links back to the website. We then create and deliver printed marketing materials, including flyers, door hangers and newsletters featuring your home. We also work with the press to feature properties in the news. If we're holding an open house for your property, all of these advertising efforts get kicked up a few notches, plus we create and print property booklets and place open house signs around the neighborhood.

The process isn't static, though. We follow up with all agents and buyers who have visited your property for valuable feedback and keep you informed with updates and activity reports. We discuss any price adjustments necessary with you to keep your property competitive, and make those changes on our digital products, advertising, and websites.

All of this effort sets you up to present your home in the best light and gets your property noticed by buyers and their agents. Once we get prospective buyers, we ensure that they have lender approval and proof of funds for closing costs and down payment. We represent and advise you on the presentation of all contracts by cooperating agents and negotiate the best possible price and terms for you.

Once you jump into escrow, our team makes changes in the MLS and across all websites, social media, on newsletters, and other digital platforms to reflect this status. We handle follow-up and keep you informed, after the contract has been accepted, on all lender, title, and other closing procedures, until close of escrow.

Marketing Conclusion:

Finally, we declare success and deliver your closing package, including any net proceeds to you. The active marketing of your home is done, but we are not. Once your home is sold, we again make changes on all digital platforms to show that the property is off the market.

PRICING VS TIMING

intelligent pricing

Timing is extremely important in the real estate market. The above graph illustrates the importance of placing your property on the market at a realistic price and terms from the very beginning.  A property attracts the most excitement and interest from the real estate community and potential buyers when it is first listed; therefore it has the highest chances of a sale when it is new on the market.

Pricing your property competitively will generate the most activity from agents and buyers. Pricing your property too high may make it necessary to drop the price below market value to compete with new, well priced listings.

How do I determine the value of my home?

You are not the one who decides the value of your home-- the market does. Location, condition, competition, and lending/mortgage rates are all factors that determine the value of your home.

Can I still sell my home even if I have only lived there for a short period of time?

You can sell whenever you wish, but you will more than likely lose money if you buy a home and sell too quickly! The payments you make in the early part of your loan mainly go to the interest portion of your loan, not the principal. If you sell early in the process, unless you have made extra principal payments, got the home at an extremely low price, or made a large down payment, you will most likely have to bring money to the closing table in order to sell.

What should I consider when selling a home?
The most important factors are condition, price and exposure. We look for areas where we can cosmetically tweak the look of the home and add perceived value. A great example would be painting the front door to prepare for sale; you can then seek to settle on a preferred listing price. Listings rarely sell at exactly the listing price. Therefore, we view listing price really as just a marketing tool that we can manipulate to our client’s advantage. Finally, to ensure exposure the home needs to be seen: be it open houses, broker open houses or attention from marketing -- great advertising across all mediums only adds to a home's bottom line.

Should I make the repairs?
Since buyers often include a contingency “inspection clause” in the purchase contract which allows them to back out if numerous defects are found, completing minor repairs before putting the house on the market may lead to a better sales price. Once the problems are noted, buyers can attempt to negotiate repairs or lower the price with the seller. Any known problems that are not repaired must be revealed as a material defect. Part of what we offer is to help the sellers to come up with a strategy to avoid potential issues.