Your Pre-Listing Consultation
Sometimes it’s best to start with the end in mind. When we meet, I’ll ask first about your reasons for selling and what a successful sales process looks like to you. It’s not always about getting the absolute highest price for your property (although it’s fine if that is your top goal!). Are you relocating, managing an estate sale, or dealing with financial challenges – I can help you design a sales plan that addresses any of these situations, as well as many others.
When you list with me, I’ll design a targeted marketing strategy customized to your property and objectives. Any agent can post your property to the MLS and the dozens of websites that showcase homes and land for sale. However, I’ll target the buyers who are most likely to be interested in your property and capable of completing the purchase. I’ll also guide you in negotiating offers and steer you through the contracting and closing processes.
I’m with you every step of the way, making sure your questions are answered and that the entire experience is a positive one.
Why Sell With Me?
My goal is to understand what you expect to get out of the selling process and design a plan that achieves those goals. Whether it is a specific net amount after closing, a tight timeline to find a buyer, or other circumstances requiring you to sell, I’ll make sure my approach to marketing your property and negotiating with buyers matches your needs and expectations.
Here are a few highlights of what to expect from me as your real estate agent:
- I listen carefully to your needs and goals and keep those top-of-mind throughout the process.
- I’m accessible. I’m never more than a phone call, text, or email away when you have questions or concerns.
- I provide you with practical suggestions on how to prepare your home or land so that it impresses and excites buyers.
- I recommend a listing price that will meet your goals, whether those are maximizing your cash return or selling quickly.
- I prepare a marketing plan specific to your property and the buyers who are most likely to be interested.
- When someone makes an offer on your property, I skillfully negotiate so that you get the best price and terms.
- I take care of the dozens of details involved in selling your property, so you don’t have to worry about them.
- I help to ensure everything goes smoothly between signing the offer and closing the sale.
Preparing Your Property For Sale
Bringing buyers to your property is a crucial step in generating offers and completing the sale. Visiting your home or land helps buyers to envision what it would be like to live there. Ideally, you want them to be impressed by what they see – and motivated to make an offer.
To ensure successful visits, I will advise you on how best to prepare your property, determine the viewing schedule that works best for you, and let you know what to expect during and after the buyers’ visits.
Although I do most of the work, there are a few things you can do to make buyer visits successful:
- Make sure your house is neat and clean. If you are selling land, provide a clear path for buyers to walk the property and remove any debris.
- Remove personal items such as family pictures. This makes it easier for buyers to imagine themselves living in the house.
- Find a place to go (including pets), such as a park or shopping mall. Buyers are more comfortable if they can view the property without you there.
- If the property boundaries are not clear, mark corners with stakes and brightly colored flags
How Do You Determine Your Asking Price?
Pricing can be one of the most difficult decisions you make when selling your home or land. Ask for too much and you may miss eager and qualified buyers. Price too low and you may feel like you did not get as much money as you could have at a slightly higher price.
Here’s the good news – I’m an expert at assessing the current market for properties similar to yours and showing you data that will guide your pricing decision. I’ll also highlight the features of your house or land that will be most appealing to buyers.
Beware of agents who promise to get you “the highest possible price”. If your asking price is not competitive, your property will sit on the market for months while you grow more frustrated and impatient. On the other hand, setting a price consistent with other properties that have sold recently will significantly increase your chances of a successful sale. A competitive price might even bring multiple offers!
Keep in mind that setting an asking price is not a “once and done” event. Markets change constantly – an asking price that was competitive last month (or even last week) may no longer be appropriate for your goals. That’s why I will regularly update you on the interest your property generates, and work with you to adjust your asking price if necessary.
How Do You Attract Qualified Buyers?
When you list your property, it must attract the attention of qualified buyers eager and able to make an offer and sign a purchase contract. Otherwise, your house or land may take longer to sell and you may not get the price you expected.
To achieve that success, I’ll work closely with you to create a marketing plan including:
- Obtaining professional photography, virtual tours, and aerial images to catch buyers’ attention.
- Writing a compelling property profile and creating effective marketing materials.
- Uploading your listing to MLS – the Multiple Listing Service that real estate agents and buyers use to search for properties.
- Publishing targeted ads that are most likely to attract buyers looking for a property such as yours.
- Showcasing your listing on my website and social media.
- Promoting your listing to my network of agents and other contacts.
My job is to get the right buyers to see your property, fall in love with it, and make a good offer.
All Offers Are Not Created The Same
When selling your house or land, there are few things more exciting than receiving an offer. That means someone is interested in your property and is ready to commit their money to buy it!
However, the offer to purchase is more than simply a price. The purchase contract used by most North Carolina agents is 13 pages long and can include multiple attachments that affect when and if your property will sell.
As your agent, I will make sure that you understand every aspect of the offer so that you can make an informed decision to accept, reject, or counter. If you choose to counter, I’ll advise you on different options for negotiating and enticing the buyers to sign.
While contracts can be intimidating, I’ll ensure the contract meets the goals we discussed at our first consultation. I’ll also take the pressure off by helping you to fully understand the contracting process.
Making Sure Your Sale Closes
There are few things I enjoy more than telling a client, “You are under contract!.” That means I have found a qualified buyer and negotiated a great deal.
That doesn’t mean my work is finished. Far from it.
As your real estate agent, I’ll work closely with you to ensure the closing process goes smoothly.
I’ll take care of the details. For example, if there are any conditions on the offer to buy your property, such as passing a home inspection, I’ll coordinate with you and the seller’s agent to ensure that the condition is satisfied. I’ll also explain what to expect leading up to closing day and give you advice as to how to prepare.
My goal is simple: To make certain your property sale is a positive experience.
Want to learn more about how I can help you sell your property while making the process easy for you? Please submit the form below or call me to schedule a no-obligation consultation.