1.
Pre-Marketing Consultation
Price
- The initial asking price is an extremely important aspect of
the successful sale of a home. Statistics show that the
closer the initial list price is to the actual selling price,
the less time the home is on the market and the more bottom line
proceeds are retained by the Sellers. The market value is
arrived at by careful consideration of comparable home sales and
by such factors as condition, location, current market
environment, etc.
Condition
– The condition of your home is of major importance in
attracting serious buyers. Cosmetic improvements can
sometimes be made which enhance the first impression and build
immediate interest. Consultation is offered on ways to
capitalize on the image of the property.
Strategy
- We discuss special marketing strategies as well as showing
arrangements and procedures.
2. Develop a
Formal Presentation Piece, Fliers, and Ad Copy
We use design, materials and ad copy which showcase your home in
the most positive light. This professional look is
consistent with the goal of bringing the highest possible offer
in for your home.
3.
Preannounce Listing to Top Area Agent Networks
It is highly possible that one of the area’s top agents may be
working with the buyers for your property. A pre-market
announcement to these agents may well result in some early
showing activity and increased competition to buy your home.
4.
Photograph Interior and Exterior of Home
A picture is worth a thousand words. Especially with the
expanded capability of the internet, interior photos offer
excellent additional exposure for your home other than the
extremely important exterior front shot. Often a virtual tour is
the right choice to give the market greater exposure to your
home.
5. Submit
Listing to MLS, Install Direct Dial Sign and Lockbox (if
appropriate), Schedule Brokers Tour
Statistically, the MLS system represents the highest number of
sales of any of the various marketing sources. Most of the
active buyers in the marketplace are working with agents.
Through the computer system, literally thousands of agents are
given access to you home's characteristics and my comments about
it. Any agent with a buyer in your price range in your
area is able to scan through in moments and pull your listing
from a database of homes all over the county.
6. Showcase
the Listing with Top Placement on Top Search Engines
The Internet is the most important advertising and
communications vehicle to emerge since the television. Your
listing agent’s personal web site is the only site which will
individually showcase your home listing. Company web sites hide
your listing among those of all the other agents in the company.
But, because the agent has a personal web site doesn’t mean it
will ever be seen by buyers. On the Internet, Top Search
Engine Placement assures visibility. When a buyer goes to
one of the most popular web sites and searches for real estate
in your particular area, does the agent’s web site come up
highly ranked on the first page of results. If not, the chance
of it being seen by buyers dwindles. Listing with me also makes
places your home listing on
www.realtor.com the most
popular real estate website in the country, Long & Foster’s
corporate home page,
www.longandfoster.com,
www.homesdatabase.com, as well
as other separate websites.
7. Scan
Research Databases of Homebuyers for Potential Buyers
We constantly contact people throughout the area to reach
potential homebuyers and determine their timetables and
preferences. Also, people are visiting our web sites all
the time, in many cases leaving their names to be contacted to
be apprised of new listings. Our databases of buyers are
extensive and one of our first priorities will be to search for
the people in the proper price range who are prospects for your
property. These database are unique, owned personally by
Rebecca & Tom Williams, and unavailable to other agents.
8. Develop
Probable Buyer Profile and Initiate Direct Mail Campaign
Including Immediate Neighborhood and Large Organizations
Direct mail pieces are sent to neighborhoods in which people
live who may be logical prospects for your home. Also,
mailings are done by professional type, i.e. doctors, lawyers,
etc. and to area-specific organizations which have a high level
of incoming personnel such as the World Bank, IMF, embassies,
etc.
9. Conduct
Open House(s) with Washington Post Announcements
Open houses can sometimes produce buyers even though they can
not be relied on as a primary way to sell the home.
10.
Advertise in Trade Publications and Other Media
The Washington Post and various display periodicals, such as the
Gazette, Almanac and the Homebuyers Journal are the preferred
media for advertising, in addition to Long & Foster’s
Extraordinary Properties.
11.
Follow-up Personally with Agents Who Have Shown the Home
Agents may literally have shown buyers hundreds of houses.
Personal follow-up can bring your home back into focus, possibly
resulting in a sale where there might have been none.
12. Update
on Activities and Market Conditions
You are updated regularly regarding local sales, interest rate
changes, showings and anything else impacting the sale of your
home.
13.
Consult for
Adjustments to Facilitate Sale
At intervals during the sales process, consultation
concerning price and condition is provided in order to
bring a sale in the shortest time possible with the highest
return to you.
14.
Represent
Seller During Negotiations
As your agent, I have fiduciary responsibility to assist you
in obtaining the highest possible bottom line proceeds from the
sale of your property. Years of negotiating, training and
experience are at your full disposal.
15. Handle
Detail and Scheduling of Inspections, Contingency Removals
and All Follow-up Paperwork Relating to Contract Settlement
The activities that occur after the contract is ratified are
extensive. Many contingencies need to be addressed,
inspections scheduled, deadlines met and appropriate paperwork
processed. Special attention is given to these matters
because breakdowns in communications and/or scheduling in any of
these required activities can result in delayed settlements or
even null contracts.
16. Consult
and Coordinate on Moving Issues
Packing up, leaving and going to settlement on one end and then
settling on your new property and moving in can be a logistical
challenge for you.
I consult with you to help make this transition a smooth one.
17.
Attend and
Monitor Settlement
You don’t want any last minute wrinkles complicating your
settlement procedure. I am there to help if any unforeseen
troubleshooting becomes necessary.
Benefits of Listing
with Tom and Rebecca Williams
All our first appointments with
sellers are free consultations where the entire process is
discussed and realistic expectations are set. There is a direct
correlation between your time frame and the price you set on
your house. Questions are always welcome and answered free of
charge. To schedule a free consultation
E-Mail us.
We offer our sellers the following
services:
LOCAL NEWSPAPER ADVERTISING,
ADS IN LOCAL REAL ESTATE BOOKS,
NETWORKING,
ADS IN REGIONAL PAPERS
EXCELLENT FOLLOW UP ON ALL SHOWINGS
RELOCATION SERVICES
INTERNET EXPOSURE
What We Offer You - Our
Sellers
We are professional. We enjoy our
business We are dedicated to our business. We take pride and
satisfaction in our business.
AS REAL ESTATE PROFESSIONALS:
WE KNOW OUR BUSINESS. We know
the actual selling prices of comparable homes (your
competition). We can advise you on enhancing certain features of
your home to make it more attractive to prospective buyers.
WE KNOW WHERE TO LOOK FOR
PROSPECTIVE BUYERS. Through the Long & Foster's contracted
referral network, contact with our colleagues and a great
personalized marketing plan, we are able to generate qualified
prospects for your home.
WE KNOW HOW TO NEGOTIATE. An
experienced third party, familiar will all aspects of real
estate, is best qualified to help negotiate a contract and
represent the seller's interests to the prospective purchaser.
WE KNOW HOW TO EXPEDITE. With
our background, training, and experience in finance we can speed
up arrangements for financing your home to see the transaction
through to the closing in a minimum of time.
WE WORK FULL TIME. When you
employ us along with Long & Foster to sell your home we are on
the job twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. When you
employ us you can be secure in the knowledge that we are taking
care of business of marketing your property.
WE GUARANTEE OUR WORK. When
your home is sold and closed for the price, terms, and
conditions agreed upon by you, then and
only then, do we get paid.
Eight Big Time Mistakes
That cost you money when
selling your home.
#1 Basing
asking price on needs or emotion rather than market value.
Many times sellers base their pricing on how
much they paid for or invested in their
home. This can be an expensive mistake. If your home is not
priced competitively, buyers will reject it in favour of other
larger hom es for the same price. At the same time, the buyers
who should be looking at your house will not see it because it
is priced over their heads. The result is increased market time,
and even when the price is eventually lowered, the buyers are
wary because "nobody wants to buy a house that nobody else
wants". The result is low offers and an unwillingness to
negotiate. Every seller wants to realize as much money as
possible from the sale, but a listing priced too high often
eventually sells for less than market value.
#2 Failing to
"Showcase" the home. A
property that is not clean or well maintained is a red flag for
the buyer. It is an indication that there may be hidden defects
that will result in increased cost of ownership. Sellers who
fail to make necessary repairs, who don't spruce up the house
inside and out, and fail to keep it clean and neat chase away
buyers as fast as REALTORS can bring them. Buyers are poor
judges of the cost of repairs and often build in a large margin
for error when offering on such a property. Sellers are always
better off doing the work themselves ahead of time.
#3
Over-improving the home prior to selling.
Sellers often unwittingly spend thousands of dollars doing the
wrong upgrades to their home prior to attempting to sell in the
mistaken belief that they will recoup this cost. If you are
upgrading your home for your personal enjoyment - fine. But if
you are thinking of selling, you should be aware that only
certain upgrades are cost effective. Always consult with your
REALTOR before committing to upgrading your home.
#4 Choosing
the wrong REALTOR. Often
this happens because of choosing for the wrong reasons. Many
homeowners list with the agent who tells them the highest price.
You need to choose an experienced agent with the best marketing
to sell your home. In the real estate business, an agent with
many successfully closed transactions usually costs the same as
someone who is inexperienced. That experience could mean a
higher price at the negotiating table, selling in less time, and
with a minimum amount of hassles.
#5 Using the
"Hard Sell" during showings.
Buying a home is an emotional decision. Buyers like to "try on"
a house and see if it is comfortable for them. It is difficult
for them to do if you follow them around pointing out every
improvement that you made. Good Realtors let the buyers discover
the home on their own, pointing out only features they are sure
are important to them. Many sales are lost by overselling. If
buyers think they are paying for features that are not
particularly important to them personally, they will reject the
home in favour of a less expensive home without the features.
#6 Failing to
take the first offer seriously.
Often sellers believe that the first offer received will be one
of many to come. There is a tendency to not take it seriously,
and to hold out for a higher price. This is especially true if
the offer comes in soon after the home is placed on the market.
Experienced Realtors know that more often than not the first
buyer ends up being the best buyer, and many, many sellers have
had to accept far less money than the initial offer later in the
selling process. The home is most saleable early in the
marketing period, and the amount buyers are willing to pay
diminishes with the length of time a property has been on the
market. Many sellers would give anything to find that
prospective buyer who made the first, and
ONLY, offer.
#7 Not
knowing your rights and obligations.
The contract you sign to sell your property is a complex and
legally binding document. An improperly written contract can
allow the purchaser to void the sale, or cost you thousands of
unnecessary dollars. Have an experienced REALTOR who knows the
"ins and outs" fully explain the contract you are about to sign
to you, or have your lawyer review it before acceptance.
#8
Failure to effectively market the property. Good marketing
opens the door that exposes the property to the marketplace. It
means distinguishing your home from hundreds of others on the
market. It also means selling the benefits, as well as the
features. The two most obvious marketing tools (open houses and
print advertising) are only moderately effective. Just 1% of
homes are sold at open houses, and advertising show that only 3%
of people purchased their home because they called on a print
ad! Agents use these tools to attract future prospects, not to
sell the house. The right REALTOR will employ a wide variety of
marketing activities, emphasizing the ones believed to work best
for your home.
Being aware of these Big Time mistakes
will help ensure you receive top dollar for your home
when the time comes to sell your home!
