Any realtor can list a home for sale, but actively and effectively listing, marketing, and closing a real estate transaction takes expertise, not just a real estate license.
If you know me at all, you know that I'm passionate about business; specifically Real Estate. That can sometimes leads to lengthy and often complicated dialogues and posts. The topic of effectively listing your house for sale is broad enough that I could literally write an entire book about the process. This post really summarizes the most important 'Must Do's" when listing your home for sale.
1) FIRST THINGS FIRST - MAKE SURE YOUR AGENT IS LISTENING!
Without a doubt, step number one is: Make sure that your Realtor is
listening. Effectively selling real estate requires a clear understanding of the sellers' motivating factors;
all of 'em! Your real estate agent has to know the right questions to ask in order to draw out the most important factors...and then he or she has to be LISTENING!
Steven Covey said it best; "Begin with the end in mind." The real question shouldn't be "What is your real estate objective?" or "How much do you think you need to sell your house for?" The discussion surrounding selling your home ought to start something like this:
"Truthfully, why are you selling? What life changes are happening or are you anticipating that are motivating you to sell?" Is the seller looking to get absolute top-dollar out of an investment property that they are trying to flip? Are they anxiously trying to avoid foreclosure by completing the short sale process before their home goes to auction on the courthouse steps? Is one of the sellers changing employment and is in a race against the clock? Are the sellers recent "Empty Nesters" looking to downsize and simplify their lives? That's only four different stories and four very different motivating factors. There are countless different scenarios, each deserving its own unique plans, strategies, and timeline. Unless or until your Realtor has a real understand of what your motivating factors are, how can he or she truly give the absolute best service.
2) VIDEO, PHOTOGRAPHY, and a STRONG WEB & SOCIAL MEDIA PRESENCE
I listed this step second only because it's such a huge priority. However, note that none of this can be started done without first preparing your home for sale. If you've got updates or upgrades, small repairs or staging to complete, do them first. Once your home is showing like a model, you can proceed with this very, very important step.
With today’s very mobile and very tech savvy public, creating an attractive online presence is paramount! Capturing sensational, eye catching pictures and videos of your property is vital. We all know how easy (ok, and fun) it is to "share" pictures, videos, and internet links with our friends and family over social media. Well, the better the images, the higher the likelihood that the recipients will actually open your link! To capture those pictures, and yes...video, your Realtor will likely need to photograph your home at different times of day in order to to capture it in its best light; interior, exterior, and even surrounding attractions (parks, lakes, mountain views, etc. if applicable) warrant equal attention as we'll never know exactly which picture caught your buyers' attention.
Any Realtor who can fog a mirror can share your listing with a bazillion real estate websites. In fact, it happens almost on accident while creating a listing on MLS. But, will your agent create a custom video, and really take extra care in showing your home at its best? Creating, posting, and sharing an engaging video of your home drastically increases the likelihood of
your home being found on the next Google search...rather than one of the other 144 homes for sale in your town. I know this to be true from personal experience. It just tends to be one of those steps that many agents aren't willing or able to do.
3) THE PRE-LISTING & STAGING PROCESSES
Your Realtor should walk your property with you, inspecting its current condition and noting any necessary
or strategic repairs or updates your home might need. Completing this process before the home is actively marketed is just one example of being proactive during the home selling process. Your Realtor may recommend that you make a small repair or update some feature of your home. He or she may, however, advise you NOT to make an improvement that you were thinking about making as that change may not actually increase your net proceeds.
4) MAKE YOUR FIRST IMPRESSION COUNT
Obligatory cliche number 82: "You only get one chance to make a first impression." That is absolutely true. You get exactly one shot at being that "NEW" listing, and it's vital to leverage that opportunity. Together, walk through every part of your property and work together with your Realtor to ensure that your home looks its very best for its very first showing. Make a list of what needs to be moved, packed up, rearranged, put away, etc. I've done this process dozens of times, with great success. Here are just a few great staging tips that I've picked up along the way:
- Curb appeal get's 'em in the door. Spend a little time and/or money to make the front yard look its best. If they don't come in...they're not buying.
- Your kitchen and master bathroom sell your home. Make 'em as close to perfect as you can, even if it delays the listing.
- Leave the closets half empty (or is it half full?) We want 'extra storage' and this shows the buyer that you've got plenty.
- Organize EVERYTHING as though it was in a retail store.
- Fold your sweaters and jeans as though they're on a shelf at the Gap.
- Organize your shoes.
- Organize your linens as if Bed Bath & Beyond is comin to do a catalogue shoot.
- Get those old Slurpee cups and "World's Best Dad" mugs out of your kitchen cabinets.
- Organize your garage like a workshop...or better than that, a place to park your cars.
- Take the "home" out of your house. Take down your wedding pictures and pack up your daughter's softball trophies. De-personalize your house. Let it become their house.
- Open your window coverings. If they're broken, take 'em down. It brightens the room.
5) SETTING THE LIST PRICE
This might come as a surprise, but your Realtor should not set the list price...
you should! Remember...we work for you. Your Realtor should, however, provide relevant market data as well as
a strong opinion as to what your home should sell for
. Important Note: If your home is priced improperly to begin with, you will likely lose money, lose time, lose sleep, lose your hair...or all of the above!
Often times, sellers will optimistically
(and often with guidance of an overzealous sales agent) list their home at the absolute highest price they could possibly sell it for. This strategy will more than likely bite you on the backside. It typically leads to a long, slow, and painful transaction. After a couple of weeks on the market, with little or no activity, the property will start to appear “stale” to potential buyers and their Realtor. “I wonder what’s wrong with that property? Why is it still on the market? Does it have a pest problem or foundation issues?" This is what the discussion around the water cooler sounds like.
The opposite scenario (listing too low) often
appears to yield fantastic results! Although it is the lesser of two evils, it is by no means the best case. This strategy often sounds something like this.
"WOW! We got 6 offers over the first weekend and we ended up selling our house for $15,000 over our asking price! YEAH! Our Realtor is AWESOME!” Now don’t get me wrong, this can be a fantastic turn of events, and your Realtor may in fact be awesome. However, this circumstance is far more likely an indication that your property wasn't listed high enough to begin with and it could have (and should have) sold for $25,000 over the asking price...if your Realtor was "actually"
awesome. You've GOT TO get the initial list price right in order to secure the highest and best offers, and I've got a pretty strong track record in doing exactly that.
6) STRATEGIZING
When your home can be listed is very different from
when your home should be listed. Your sales plan and strategy must keep in mind in relation to what you discovered during point #1.
- When will we be reviewing offers?
- How aggressive will be we be with regard to negotiations?
- How often will we hold the home open?
- When will you be able to vacate the property?
- Etc.
The answer to these questions change depending upon the motivating factors of the seller. So your realtor should create a plan based around your needs and motivating factors. Most agents are pretty good about having a plan. "OK. Let's create a plan
and stick to it!" That's a great idea, in theory, but this is real life. Sometimes life brings unexpected changes, and those changes are best met with intelligence and flexibility. Yes, we'll create a plan, and we'll execute that plan. But we'll keep flexible enough (when possible) to address these changes if and when they arise.
7 ) MARK IT AS 'COMING SOON'
Actively and strategically
marketing your property before it’s actually available for sale tends to create an inflated interest and curiosity in your property. This is not just for the public, but for or local area Realtors and brokers as well. Intentionally creating this sort of ‘feeding frenzy’ mentality increases the initial demand for your home hopefully, resulting in several willing and able buyers once you 'go live.' This is an absolute ideal condition! Sharing the upcoming listing at office meetings and brokers tours, as well as placing a highly visible "Coming Soon" sign at your house are just two ways of getting the word out early.
8) DO A FINAL WALKTHROUGH
Once again, your Realtor should walk the entire property with you one more time. Pay attention, inside an out, making sure that you've addressed any little (or big) repairs that were discussed in your initial walk-through. Make sure that you've really nailed the staging; the front yard, the back yard, the side yards, and every room inside the home. Be sure that you're ready...then, as stated in point #2, it's time to capture pictures and videos!
9) LIST WITH THE RIGHT BROKER
In the areas I serve (Redlands, Yucaipa, Calimesa, Cherry Valley, Beaumont, and beyond) there is
Century 21 Lois Lauer Realty, and then there's "everyone else".
When I moved to Southern California from the Bay Area, I could have gone to any office...and I almost did, but ultimately I came to Century 21 in Yucaipa because of their dominance in the marketplace. We've got well over 100 agents between our two offices and have been the industry leader in our area for decades. Seriously? Why fight it? Century 21 Lois Lauer Realty became as successful as it is for many, many reasons. As a home seller, why not leverage those reasons? Leverage their advertising budgets, the enormous networks, their position in the community, their relationships with lenders, escrow, title, and take advantage of the systems that only the very best brokers have mastered.
Know in advance that listing your property for sale is typically the easiest and least stressful part of selling your home. Next comes reviewing offers, negotiation the terms of a contract, overcoming obstacles, and navigating the closing process. Each of these are equally important and equally complex. Make sure that your real estate agent is well equipped to handle all of these areas before you pull the trigger and sign that listing agreement.
Much more to come on the topics discussed above, but this ought to be enough to give you a better perspective on what's important during the home selling process. I hope you took something valuable away from this post.
Thanks in advance for remembering my name when the topic of Real Estate comes up in conversation. If you're local , just remember Andy@LoisLauer.Com I'm always here to help.
My business thrives by word of mouth. If you appreciate the information provided on my blog, please share this post on your favorite social media sites, and with anyone you feel could use my service.
Until next time.
