Selling a home is not always easy and doesn’t always happen as quickly as we’d like. The truth is we do need to work together as real estate agent and home seller in order to make it work.
So what do we need to do together to make it happen? First off there is no guarantee that a home will sell by following a certain scenario.
If there was, there would be a whole lot fewer real estate agents out there because using a simple template to get positive results would end up with a few who jumped on board quickly and left the rest out there looking for other jobs. The truth is every time you sell a home it’s different and for this reason alone each agent handles every sale differently. No two home sales are ever identical. They may be similar but they are never identical.
But there are a few things to keep in mind that need to come together when selling your home.
Communication
First off there has to be open communication between everyone; between the realtor and the home owner and the Realtor and the potential buyer. There are different methods of communication to utilize so there’s no excuse for not being able to contact each other. The first and best way is by phone but you can also text and email to keep lines of communication open. If your agent isn’t available to you or to others that may be interested in your home they may miss out on the one call that could be the one that will sell your home. You have to be realistic about how available your Realtor is but within reason you should always get your calls returned within less than 24-hours and within the same day if the call is placed early in the day. Exceptions to the rule are holidays. Everyone, realtors included, should have family time to enjoy during the holiday seasons.
Message
Part of the communication aspect of selling your home involves making sure you take down good messages and leave messages to communicate with your Realtor. If you have a family with children, make it extremely clear that when your Realtor calls he message gets put on this pad or message board immediately so you see it as soon as you enter the house. Miscommunication can cause a multitude of problems when showing your home from you being unprepared for a sudden knock at the door with a potential buyer waiting to view the house to you leaving the home in disarray and the Realtor showing up with someone to view the home.
In the same sense it’s important to make sure you leave messages with your Realtor about problems, questions, or issues you may have. A good realtor will check their messages regularly. Don’t call and just hang up thinking “I’ll just call back when they’re in” because you may forget and something may be overlooked that could be important to you and/or your agent.
Another message is getting the message out that your home is available. This is where your realtor comes in handy because they know what magazines are out there for free listings, how to list in newspapers, where to go to get the word out.
Professionalism
There has to be a level of professionalism kept between the Realtor and all parties involved. It is fine to feel as though a friendship or bond has been created but the truth of the matter is that you want a professional selling your home for you. You want them to guide you with their brain and not their heart or sentimental connection to you and your family. At all times a level of professionalism should be kept between the Realtor and all parties involved. This also assures that the Realtor is keeping your best interests at heart.
A realtor’s professionalism also helps to assure that things are handled in a timely and professional manner.
Reliability
Reliability is actually something that needs to be conducted by all involved. If you say you’re going to have your home ready for a showing at 7pm on Thursday then make sure you stand by that. Don’t constantly cancel appointments, especially last minute. There’s nothing more aggravating to anyone, not just the buyer or but all of those involved actually, than having someone in the loop that isn’t reliable. You have to be realistic also and understand that sometimes emergencies come up but emergencies are rare and shouldn’t be a regular part of the selling of the home. Be reliable as a seller and expect the same of the potential buyer and the Realtor.
Accessibility
You have to have your home accessible at all times. If you’re putting limitations on hours when the home can be shown and being picky about how often Open Houses are being held you’re only limiting your own selling options. If the Realtor can’t get potential buyers into the house to see if they like it, they can’t sell it for you. In the same sense the Realtors have to be accessible, within reason also, so that when a potential buyer wants to see the home the Realtor is available to fit the potential home buyer’s schedule.
Keep your home in viewable condition at all times. Yes, your house can look lived in but keep it clean and free of clutter that can quickly make a house look smaller and unkempt. Try to remove personal items as much as possible so that if you get that last minute call from your Realtor that someone wants to view the house this afternoon while you’re at work, you know it’s going to be fairly passable and not an embarrassing movement to say, “Sure, go ahead.”
Innovation
Your Realtor has to be able to come up with unique and interesting ways to make your home stand out to potential buyers and other realtors who are showing homes to their own clients. Things like a “Realtors Showing” works well.
A Realtors Showing is like a small, by invitation only, gathering with a few h’ors deurves to bring the Realtors in the area into the home to show it off. This takes a bit of work and the Realtor may ask the seller to help with the set-up. Staging the home perfectly is a must and showing off the selling points of the home is the main idea. It’s not a long, drawn out event and it’s easy to lure people (Realtors) in with the promise of a few refreshments and in the process showcase your home.
Sometimes part of the innovation is allowing the Realtor themselves come up with different ideas or even letting the homeowner suggest some things. What about a billboard? Electronic billboards are wonderful and often you can purchase a space that runs through different billboards every 10-30 seconds for a reasonable price. A picture of your home, the agent’s number and the words “Is This Your Dream Home?” could bring attention to the local area; especially if it has never been done before. Of course you have to be realistic and realize that some of the costs of innovative ideas may have to be shared by both the home owner and the Realtor but if it brings attention to the home it could well be worth it!
Innovations can include everything from somehow getting a local story about the home, especially if it’s a historical house to buying late night advertising displaying a series of beautiful homes in the same price range on television.
Of course the word innovation says that there’s always something someone hasn’t thought of yet too and between you and your Realtor you could come up with something interesting.
Value
It is important that your home is priced right and valued in the proper price range. Is it a “Buyer’s Market”? Is it a “Seller’s Market”? Can you ask top price? What have other homes in the area sold for? Overpricing the home will result in the house sitting on the market for a long period of time; while under pricing the value of the home can result in the seller losing out on money that they shouldn’t lose out on. This is where the Realtor’s experience comes in and is very important. Listen to the experience of the realtor and allow them to guide you properly; otherwise you could end up with a house on the market for a very long time.
Personal Interest
Without a doubt the most important factor of all in selling your home is that you need a buyer that’s interested. Hopefully with the right Realtor out there showcasing your home, the right curb-appeal, and the following of each of the steps we’ve mentioned you will easily pull in prospects.
Most of all you need an amazing Real Estate Agent to guide you through each and every one of these steps we’ve gone over. Without the proper agent, selling your home can be next to impossible. A lot of people think “I’ll save that couple thousand by selling my home myself. How hard can it be?” but the answer is resoundingly clear; it is extremely hard and extremely time consuming. Realtors are Realtors for a living. They work 40 plus hours a week to guide sellers and buyers in finding or selling their homes. They know the technicalities, the typical scenarios, and in the end save you from losing thousands on wrong decisions and incorrect guidance.
We’d like to take a moment to offer our expert services to you if you are thinking about selling your home. We can talk about your expectations and how we can help you reach the goals you have for selling your home. Work with a Realtor that can assure that the steps we’ve mentioned in this presentation will happen, making selling your home a pleasure instead of a nightmare. We’re here for you.
