A Step by Step Guide to a Safe and Successful Sale

From richardrobbins.com

Step 1: Choose the Best Agent for You

While you can sell without an agent, the benefits outweigh the risks of not using one.

• Pricing is an art that requires market expertise, experience, and skill

• Negotiating requires effective communication, finesse, and fearlessness. A professional will be able to guess the possible outcome with more accuracy. 

• Marketing is complex and multi-pronged. Think beyond lawn signs and listing on MLS, there’s also staging, photography, social media outreach, not to mention a professional’s connection to other agents and buyers.

• You can’t put a price on safety. Strict protocols for COVID 19 and regulated systems through office appointments and multiple points of contact means that only officially licensed realtors and their client(s) are entering your home

• Paperwork is daunting. A great agent knows how to fill out all the forms, which forms to use and how to properly correct any mistakes that may come up. They also know how to make sure you are protected on paper by adding or removing clauses to your benefit. Most agents also have the use of an office which provides advice and thorough auditing to ensure forms are completed satisfactory and are future proof. If you ever need to reference these forms in future and have lost them, there’s also a good chance, the agent’s office has a copy on file.

Step 2: Pricing Smart

The ultimate value of your home is in constant flux according to the current market no matter the physical state of your property. Setting a good list price requires research into current market trends, similar homes for sale, previous sales of your property, sales of ones nearby, and a strong sense of intuition/street smarts. Pricing your home right from the beginning results in high exposure, more showings, more offers, and ultimately the highest price for your home. If it’s priced too high, you risk losing interest of buyers and help competitive houses sell faster; priced too low and you could miss out on thousands of dollars.

Step 3: Marketing Your Home for Results

Customized marketing campaigns for each home ensure it’s best qualities stand out, creates buzz and attracts buyer’s attention. Here’s what good marketing looks like:

• Professional photography, 2D and 3D floorplans, and virtual tours

• Knowing what type of buyers your listing attracts and marketing there, whether that’s out of area, on specific social media sites, or even internationally

• Speaking of, using all forms of social media effectively. Paid campaigns, shared posts, stories all help to get people thinking and being aware of your listing

• Proactive outreach. Passive ads go far, but sometimes being the one to reach out goes even farther. Personal emails, text messages, phone calls, DM’s and talking about a listing within our social circles creates unexpected connections to find all types of potential buyers

• Print marketing is not dead. Letters or postcards to specific buildings or neighborhoods and feature sheets are a way to get your listing directly into the right person’s hands-literally! A well designed postcard with a clear message will hold peoples attention enough to read the message and hold onto the information if it applies to them. This may not bring immediate results but people tend to hold onto physical things longer than compared to digital spaces.

• Virtual and video open houses. In the pandemic era, open houses haven’t’ been quite as popular, but whether they are closely monitored and following protocols or through virtual meetings it’s still possible to tour properties and showcase your home to other agents and potential buyers with little to no commitment.

Step 5: Negotiating Expertise

When an offer comes in, the ability to negotiate is invaluable. When multiple offers come up, you will find an experienced realtor to be your saving grace. The ability to navigate through various prices and terms to find the best most genuine offer comes only through good communication and fearless motivation. An offer can be a start to a conversation of sorts where counter offers are presented back and forth. This is normal and means there is genuine interest. They buyers are also showing that they are willing to bend if you are as well. Consider all aspects of the offer including conditions, assets included, and closing date as well as price. These all affect the attractiveness of an offer depending on what your ultimate goal is.

Step 6: Calculating Your Bottom Line

A firm offer is a step from one plane into a connecting flight. You’re not quite at your destination, but you’re almost there. More paperwork needs to be filled out, signed, vetted and filed. Calculations need to be cross checked and legal/title transfer fees need to be paid. Thankfully these fees mean that an agent, your lawyer and their brokerage will successfully handle most of these things for you. 

Selling your home is an exciting and rewarding journey when you’re informed and do things correctly from the start.

This is where I hope to help.

I’ll provide you with a complementary market evaluation of your home, a detailed look at what I would do to get home sold, and of course answer any questions you may have.

Also by having this initial conversation you are under no obligation to hire me as your agent.

So let’s talk, I’d love to showcase how we can sell your home fast and for the best price.

With gratitude, 

The ASP Team