Selling Your Home

When selling a home, it’s not just what you do that’s important. Just as important is how well you do things, and how well you time them. For example, taking photos with an iPhone vs professional photos that include a virtual tour.

There are certain points in the selling process when your home will get the most attention from potential buyers, so you want to put your best foot forward to make the most of those moments.

For example, listing a home as Coming Soon is one of the points that a home will get the most views. Many realtors will skip this step, and many others will post one photo, with ‘more to come’ once the home is active. This is a wasted opportunity. By preparing the home and scheduling professional photos before listing the home as Coming Soon, you make the most of the moment.

I focus not only on using all practical best practices to help you sell your home, but performing them at the highest level at the optimal time.

Key Factors That Sell Homes

The primary drivers for successfully selling your home are: 1) Price, 2) Condition of the Home, 2) Marketing, and 3) Negotiating

Pricing It Right

  • No amount of marketing can sell an overpriced home.

  • The value of your home is determined by what a buyer is willing to pay, not by the amount of money you have invested in your home.

  • Buyers make their pricing decisions by comparing your property to other properties SOLD in your area.

  • I have spent years in accounting and finance preparing analytical models for companies with hundreds of millions and even billions of dollars on revenues. When I prepare a competitive market analysis for your home, it will be with the same care and discipline that I would use for the CEO of a major compilation.

  • I’ll never overstate the expected selling price just to get a listing.

  • I’ll review the details with you to give complete transparency to the process and to make you comfortable that we are listing your home at the optimal selling price.

The Condition of Your Home Matters

  • Attract Qualified Buyers - A house in great condition will attract solid buyers - those who are serious, motivated, and qualified. Fixer-uppers attract riskier buyers, those with less secure financing.

  • Stand Out Against the Competition - I will offer advice and services to help get your home in the best condition to attract the most qualified buyers and to stand out against the competition.

  • A fresh coat of paint can completely change the feel of any space. In addition to painting, there are a few high-impact updates that might be worth considering for your home. I can help you determine whether any of these popular updates are right for you.

  • Pre-listing Inspections - If you are uncertain about the condition of your home, you should consider having a pre-listing inspection done. Discovering and repairing problems before putting your home on the market places you in control. Having your house in move-in condition also helps you avoid delays to closing and demonstrates to buyers, agents and the buyer’s home inspector that your house has been very well maintained. You want buyers to focus on how they would live in your home, not what they would have to repair.

In the appropriate circumstances, I will pay to have your home pre-inspected - that shows how strongly I feel about the benefits.

Effective Marketing

With your home optimally priced and looking great, the next step is to show it off!

A carefully detailed marketing plan will be implemented to generate the most possible excitement from buyers and their agents.

The marketing plan will include professional photography, listing your home on the MLS and pushing it to top real estate websites (Zillow, Realtor.com, etc), and paid social media compaigns (Facebook, Youtube, LinkedIn, etc), etc.

Negotiating

When the pressure is on, you don’t rise to the occasion - you fall to your highest level of preparation.

All the preparation done to this point puts you in the strongest possible position from which to negotiate.

Negotiating involves more than haggling over price. It also involves getting the best possible terms to get you through closing with minimal stress.

As your representative, I’ll provide you with facts relevant to the transaction, inform you of communications from the other party, and take other reasonable steps to help you make informed decisions.

Documents For Sellers

It’s best to have the opportunity to review standard documents ahead of time, rather than waiting until the last moment. Below are some of the common documents encountered by sellers when marketing their home.

Working with Real Estate Agents Brochure – describes the various types of agency relationships available for sellers. Agents in NC are required to review this with you. It is not a contract. You will be asked to sign a receipt page to document that you have been given the brochure. Download the Q&A or Seller Receipt

Listing Agreement - before a real estate agent can help you market your property to sell, you must enter into a written agreement. Download the SAMPLE Exclusive Right to Sell Listing Agreement

Offer to Purchase and Contract – this will be the document that buyers will used to make offers on your home. Download a SAMPLE Offer to Purchase and Contract

Residential Property Disclosure - for sellers of residential property, they will need to complete the residential property disclosure and provide to the buyer(s). Download the SAMPLE - Residential Property Disclosure

Mineral, Oil and Gas Disclosure - this is a representation of the seller to the buyer reguarding whether they have severed the mineral, oil, or gas rights to the property. Download the SAMPLE Mineral, Oil, Gas Disclsoure

Lead Based Paint Disclosure - for homes constructed during or before 1978, sellers must provide buyers with a disclosure regarding the hazards of lead based paint. Download the SAMPLE Lead Based Paint Disclosure

NC Real Estate Commission Brochures – the documents below are publications from the NC Real Estate commission that should help educate buyers and sellers of residential properties:

Closings
Due Dilligence for Residential Buyers
Due Dilligence Q&A
Earnest Money
Offer and Acceptance