Some helpful hints for the sellers

1. Real Estate Agent and Real Estate Agent
Many people think of the real estate agent as a salesperson. Many agents (perhaps most agents) would jump at the chance to be "just" a salesperson. But they aren't just a salesperson. Most states have legislated it so that real estate agents are also — agents.

An agent is "responsible" to their clients. They have a duty, called a "fiduciary duty." This means the agent is responsible to act in the best interests of their client. A car salesman does not have to act in your best interests -- they just have to sell the car. It isn't that simple for real estate agents.
Real estate agents not only have to sell the house, they have to be responsible. That involves a lot of liability, which is one reason for all the disclosures and the pages and pages of contracts, and why they want to be paid for being more than "just" a salesman.

Selling a home should be like any other business transaction, but all too often sellers make emotional or impulsive decisions that cost them money and time.

Choosing the right Realtor to market a property and negotiate the sale is the most important step in the process.

2. You get what you pay for
Paying a cut-rate commission will often get you a sign in the front yard and placement in the Multiple Listing Service, but little additional effort from your agent.

Realize that agents and real estate companies put up their own funds to market and advertise your home. Marketing and advertising costs money — the lower the commission, the less incentive for an agent to put up his or her own money to market your home.
Incentive plays a very important role in sales. A “full service” agent earning a full commission will often “drop everything” to handle any challenges that come along — an agent earning a small commission does not have that same incentive.

Incentive is also important to the buyer’s agent. Since there are almost always two agents involved in every sale, they split the commission according to the listing agent’s instructions. One agent is your listing agent. The other agent is the buyer’s agent. When your listing agent dropped his commission, did he also reduce the commission that will be paid to the buyers’ agent? If so, you won’t find as many agents willing to show your house – they’ll be showing houses that offer a customary commission to the buyer’s agent.

Finally, negotiating ability is an important skill in a listing agent.

Are you willing to put your faith in an agent who can’t even negotiate his or her own commission?

The best agent is the one who will do the most effective job of marketing the property, negotiating the most favorable terms and conditions, and communicating with the seller to make the process as smooth as possible.

3. Pricing of the House
When it comes to pricing your house, when you’re ready to sell it, keep in mind you must sell in the market you’re in today. It doesn’t matter what your former neighbor got six months ago, or what properties are listed for now. All that matters is this — whatever the last sale price in your neighborhood of your model — that’s probably your sale price now.

Some agents tell you what you want to hear. In the real estate profession, this is known as “buying a listing” and is employed by shortsighted agents who are more interested in themselves than they are in you. However good it works as a short-term “sales tactic” in getting your listing, it is an extremely poor strategy in selling a home at the highest possible price.

You see, your house gets the most attention from other agents when it is a “new” listing. If priced properly, lots of agents will show it to their buyers. If you price it too high, no one will show the house and it will sit on the market for some time. When you finally drop your price to reflect its real value, your house is “old news” and buyers may think you are growing desperate. Therefore, the prices you are offered will come in lower and lower and you may find yourself accepting a price that is below what you could have received had the house been priced properly to begin with.

Besides, pricing your home too high will only make similar houses for sale look that much better. Overpricing helps sell those houses, not yours.

When you first put your home on the market, agents and buyers pay attention. It is like going to fancy steak house and your server brings the steak to your table while it is still hot and "sizzling." New listings receive priority. They are on the "hot" sheet circulated in real estate offices. The MLS computer identifies new listings. Your listing agent may hire a service to distribute fliers to all the buyer's agents. There are office previews and MLS tours. Sure, you can market later, too - but agents and buyers pay attention when your house is new to the market.
You can only be "new" once.
Dropping your price later deprives you of the best opportunity to market your house when it still has "sizzle."
Later marketing is less effective.

Bear in mind, the market is the market. Work with the market you’re in, not in the market you wish it would be.

4. Preparing Your Property for Showing
With buyers, you never have a second chance for a first impression. A small investment in time and money will give your home an edge over other listings in the area when the time comes to show it to a prospective buyer.

Disconnect Your Emotions

When conversing with real estate agents, you will often find that when they talk to you about buying real estate, they will refer to your purchase as a "home." Yet if you are selling property, they will often refer to it as a "house." There is a reason for this. Buying real estate is often an emotional decision, but when selling real estate you need to remove emotion from the equation.

You need to think of your house as a marketable commodity. Property. Real estate. Your goal is to get others to see it as their potential home, not yours. If you do not consciously make this decision, you can inadvertently create a situation where it takes longer to sell your property.

The first step in getting your home ready to sell is to "de-personalize" it.

Showing the House

Your house should always be available for show, even though it may occasionally be inconvenient for you. Let your listing agent put a lock box in a convenient place to make it easy for other agents to show your home to home buyers. Otherwise, agents will have to schedule appointments, which is an inconvenience. Most will just skip your home to show the house of someone else who is more cooperative.

Most agents will call and give you at least a couple of hours notice before showing your property. If you refuse to let them show it at that time, they will just skip your house. Even if they come back another time, it will probably be with different buyers and you may have just lost a chance to sell your home.

Try Not to be Home

Home buyers will feel like intruders if you are home when they visit, and they might not be as receptive toward viewing your home. Visit the local coffee house, yogurt shop, or take the kids to the local park. If you absolutely cannot leave, try to remain in an out of the way area of the house and do not move from room to room. Do not volunteer any information, but answer any questions the agent may ask.

Lighting

When you know someone is coming by to tour your home, turn on all the indoor and outdoor lights — even during the day. At night, a lit house gives a "homey" impression when viewed from the street. During the daytime, turning on the lights prevents harsh shadows from sunlight and it brightens up any dim areas. Your house looks more homey and cheerful with the lights on.

Fragrances

Do not use scented sprays to prepare for visitors. It is too obvious and many people find the smells of those sprays offensive, not to mention that some may be allergic. If you want to have a pleasant aroma in your house, have a potpourri pot or something natural. Or turn on a stove burner (or the oven) for a moment and put a drop of vanilla extract on it. It will smell like you have been cooking.

Make Your Home "Anonymous"

If there is a new home sales tract near your home, go visit. It doesn't matter what size the homes are. What you will find are some wonderfully (but sparsely) furnished homes that anyone could live in — with the emphasis on "anyone." They are anonymous. There may be a baseball glove in the boy's room, but no family photos on the walls.

There may be "personality" — but no person.

The reason you want to make your home "anonymous" is because you want buyers to view it as their potential home. When a potential home buyer sees your family photos hanging on the wall, it puts your own brand on the home and momentarily shatters their illusions about living in the house themselves.

Try your best to have it look like a model home — a home with furniture but nobody really lives there.

5. Why should you list with us?
We consider the packaging, pricing, and marketing of your home to be a science.

We are versed in the science of packaging, pricing, and aggressively marketing your home. While many agents settle for simply listing your property in the Multiple Listing Service, we consider the sale of your home to be a new product launch that requires a proven marketing strategy and brilliant execution which includes:
Packaging and cosmetically enhancing your property as much as possible, with no or little cost, to maximize the selling price and the return on your investment.
Aggressively marketing your property through proven highly effective marketing channels.
Expertly negotiating with buyers to maximize the equity you walk away with.

Staging a house is one relatively simple way to have a home get noticed by potential home buyers.

We know how to create attractive spaces that appeal to the general public, where individual buyers can picture themselves living in your house.

We’re professionals “Stagers” with over 25 years of experience.

Once we have smartly packaged and aggressively marketed your property, the purchase offers start coming in. Here’s where we take full advantage of our expertise in negotiating the highest possible selling price. This includes gathering intelligence on the buyer’s motives, educating you how to act during negotiations, and helping you develop strong counter-offers. Once you have accepted a purchase offer, we will navigate the entire closing process for you. This will ensure you avoid legal pitfalls and ensure we meet all of our deadlines.

We have a proven track record, accomplishments and power of the ultimate realtors. We are experts at identifying those areas where we can appeal to the buyer’s senses — leave this to us. We look forward to brilliantly packaging and aggressively marketing your home. Our marketing plan will ensure we get the highest possible price for your home.

Please feel free to call us at any time, we are always available to help answer any questions that you may have.

We look forward to working with you. Sell Well and GOOD LUCK TO US!