Click on a title below to read about
the value I bring to the sale
of your
home:
- Pricing your property properly
- Staging your property for the market
- Proper preparation and presentation
- Timing your listing
- Contracts—Disclosures and the Law
- The Contract
- My cost to you
- Cost of selling agent
- Conclusion
Pricing your property properly:
I will bring the expertise of the largest and most mature residential real estate office in DC and Northern Virginia to your home. We will tour your home as a group, briefly, and give the same feedback that a buyer in this market will give you. What “blemishes” stand out? What do I like, what don't I like? What is the objective value relative to other properties in this general neighborhood that I have seen in the last several weeks? What should I do to maximize my return on this property? Multiply the 'I' by 30 to 40 and you will feel the power of our group pre-marketing assessment of your home.
Next, as your agent, I will synthesize this feedback, add my own impressions and determine a rough sales price for your home. I will then compare this price to the raw data of recent comparables in the area and to the properties that are comparable that are currently on the market or that I have knowledge of that are coming on the market during your marketing period. Properties that you will be competing with!
Pricing in this market is critical. Not too high and not too low. We want that "just right" price that will maximize your return.
Staging your property for the market:
Our objective is to get you the best return on your investment. That investment may include needed improvements before marketing. It may include something as simple as diminishing the clutter. Remember, you have lived in your home every day for a long period of time and may not even notice something that could cost you thousands when you sell your home. We will take a fresh look at your home and we want to help you bring your property on the market in the most pristine condition possible.
Proper preparation and presentation:
Immediately upon listing your property, I will upload multiple photos of your home. These photos will start in our regional multiple listing service. The will then migrate to Coldwellbankermove.com, Coldwellbanker.com and Realtor.com. All of this will take several days. The longest delay will be Realtor.com which takes 5 to 7 days.
At this point your home will be exposed to thousands of prospective buyers in the area and around the world. To enhance this exposure, my company spends thousands of dollars monthly to purchase hundreds of keywords to assure up front search engine placement. We purchase keywords in Google, MSN, Yahoo and all the other major search engines. It's not enough to get your listing on the net. You have to make sure it will be found!
Simultaneously, I will prepare and print a professional looking media piece that I will produce and have available when your home is presented to the marketplace.
Timing your listing:
With over 25 years of experience in this marketplace, we have an excellent feel for the correct "timing" in this market. We know when we are likely to have the most buyers in the marketplace. We want to bring your home on the market on one of those optimal weekends.
Contracts—Disclosures and the Law:
Washington DC and Northern Virginia, like other jurisdictions, have become an increasingly complex place to do business over the past 20 years. When our office opened in 1975, the DC/Virginia sales agreement consisted of one legal page front and back. No disclosures, no nothing. That was it. Today, the agreement accompanied by the required disclosures can be 30 to 35 pages. Buried in all this print are many provisions required by DC and Virginia law, and many other carefully crafted by our trade association legal counsel over the years designed to protect you, the seller, and the buyer from "unintended consequences." Interpretation of this document is critical to a smooth transition from contract to settlement. For example, did you know that you, the seller, are required to give a property disclosure notice to the purchaser? Did you also know that, depending on the timing of presentation of that disclosure, you could have a voidable contract (voidable by the purchaser right up to the day of settlement!). It is my job to help prepare and present the proper disclosures and to help you negotiate and execute a sales contract in such a manner that you will be fully protected.
The Contract:
When a buyer, or buyers, is ready to make you an offer, we help you look a lot deeper than the price. We want to make sure that before you become legally obligated by a contract that it is one that will in all likelihood make it to settlement. We hate surprises. A lot of heartache can be avoided during negotiation. What kind of inspection are they asking for. What condition of your home and appliances are you guaranteeing. What lender are they using? What appraiser? How solid is the pre-approval letter? does the selling agent have a reputation for getting his contracts to settlement? If we are fortunate enough to generate multiple offers, how do you use your leverage to not only get the best price but to also get the "cleanest" contract? My office has dealt with literally thousands of these situations and we know what we are doing.
My cost to you:
My fee is 3% of the sales price. I, and my firm, bring all of the above to the table at no up front cost to you. No retainer, no nothing. I am in one of the few businesses that work 100% on contingency. In addition to working on contingency, I will invest my time and my money, my firm's time and money, in marketing your home with no guaranteed return. If, at the end of the day, I am not able to bring you a sales contract satisfactory to you, I not only make no money, I lose my investment.
Cost of selling agent:
I recommend 3% to any agent who is able to bring a ready, willing and able buyer who is willing to meet your terms. In this market, there are many ways that a buyer could become interested in your home. Word of mouth, sign, the internet. However, the number one way that a property sells in Washington DC area is through a licensed Realtor. My colleagues in my office or a competing office. It is true that the inventory is tight but you want to create as much incentive as possible for those "buyer's agents" to show and sell your home.
Conclusion:
If, in your mind, all that we bring to the table is a sign and a POST ad, then we are of no real value to you in your home selling process. As I have tried to outline above, we believe that we bring a lot more. We believe that our efforts will help you achieve greater financial benefit and a lot less legal exposure. I believe that as a professional yourself, you do not have the time to invest in this process. If you want to maximize your return, it is far more complex and challenging than a couple of open houses and filling in a form or two. I look forward to working with you and will do everything in my power to help.
