Tips and Tools to Help You Get Your Home Sold

More great selling tips….this time from a Seattle, Washington pro, Courtney Cooper at Cooper Jacobs Real Estate Services.  Visit her blog on Active Rain.

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I was recently hired by a wonderful couple that have had their home on the market over 200 days.  They were researching agents and marketing was there #1 focus in hiring an agent.  An important strategy for them without question. 

But….I told Mr. Seller in our very first conversation, “No amount of marketing in the world will sell an overpriced listing.”

Pricing is important and not an exact science.  We’ll revisit this topic again so stay tuned.   The following is a bit harsh, but appropriate to bring to the discussion.

 

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Saw this while on SoCalMLS this morning and had to laugh.  After writing my last post, photography is fresh on my mind.  This is a classic example of some of the poor judgement out there in the Real Estate profession.

Thank goodness!  An indoor bathroom.  I was wondering.  Looks like their keeping it clean too.  A bonus!

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Words are not necessary in this post – photos will do the trick.  I will say that as the market changed, my photos changed.  As a marketing specialist, as all Realtors should be, I never take my own photos anymore.  That market is gone.  I don’t cut my own hair, I don’t do my car tune-ups, I don’t put together my tax returns – I’m not an expert in these areas.  So, no, I never take my own photos.

BEFORE (note: lights are on, room is clean, and yes, the flash did go off)

AFTER : Professional

I love this shot.  It is the same room with no change to the staging at all.  A fire photoshopped into the fireplace, exquisite lighting for the ‘light and bright’ feel buyers are looking for, and the wonderful angle only achieved by someone with all the right equipment!

 

  

BEFORE:

 

 Again, lights are on, space is open, clean and well staged.

 

 

 

 

 After:  Professional

  

 

 

But honestly, which loft photo looks more spacious, more inviting for those buyers?

 

 

BEFORE:

  Now, I admit, this is not the best exterior shot.  This was taken as the market changed.  Just a few weeks before, I could have photographed my dog, and sold this condo. 

Instead, the market changed dramatically just as I took this listing.  This was my lead photo for some time.  Frustrated with the showings, I hired a pro and sold it in 3 weeks!

 

 

AFTER (Professional):

 

The warmth and brightness of this phot brought buyers.  The resolution quality here is not great but that is more about my blogging skills rather than the photography, but you get the idea.

 

 

 

BEFORE:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

AFTER (professional):

Good photography is no longer reserved for the high price points.   For high buyer traffic, strong buyer and agent interest,  and the highest price possible, good photography is the beginning.  Expect this as a minimum from any agent you are interviewing. 

I’ve  mentioned before the importance of Internet marketing.  The powerful opportunities to marketing properties online begin with great photography!  Don’t sell yourself short.  This is the beginning of showing your home at it’s best.  It’s a must, not a luxury.

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Unfortunately, the response I get from people when I tell them I have a buyer interested in viewing their home is not alway so positive or accommodating.   I will say that, by and large, most sellers are accommodating, yet there is a percentage that make it feel as if I’m putting them out.  As expected, these are the sellers that have been on the market for extended periods of time.

Don’t get me wrong, as a mother of 3 children, I get the disruption to nap time.  I understand family in for a visit from out of town.  I understand the mad dash to do the quick pick up before someone comes by. 

It is never easy to have your home on the market and in markets that have a long selling cycle, this process looses its thrill very rapidly. 

And there is no excuse for the ‘professionals’ that drop by unexpectedly saying, ‘Didn’t you get my call?’  Agent courtesies go a long way in making this easier on a seller.

That being said, when I see in the Agent Remarks of a listing “No showings before 10 am, or between 1 and 3 for the kids naps, and preferably not after 6 pm.  Also, no showings on Sunday.  Give 3 hour minimum notice,” I know we have either a) a difficult seller, b) an agent unwilling to educate their client, c) not a motivated seller.

Keep in mind, when inventory is high, Buyers and Agents will go through only so many hoops to show and tour your property.  There are too many things to see with cooperative and motivated sellers.  Why kill yourself to see this one?  It’s easier to move on.

Be pleasant and accommodating with the Agent bringing the Buyer.  This may be the very Agent that sells your home.  Don’t paint the picture to the Buyer and Agent that you are difficult to deal with even before escrow is open!

You can swear under your breath when you get off the phone and do the made dash to stage it like a model.  In the meantime, remember, you want to get your home sold.  You want to get every dollar you can.  Every showing counts!  The more accommodating you are, the sooner you’ll get that home sold!  Grin and bear it, hang in there. 

 

 

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There is no question that technology has had a dramatic impact on the Real Estate industry, agents, buyers, and sellers.  Gone are the days of agents caring around ‘the book’ updated weekly with current inventory.  The magic and coveted book is now all over the web and available to anyone that can turn on a computer.  The consumer often has seen all the houses they are ready to tour before they ever talk to an agent. 

The industry, and the agents, must keep up with the consumer and their changing needs and expectations.  Yet have we?  Is the industry responding fast enough to the change?  In some ways yes, but in other ways no.

Agents continue to sell print advertising to potential sellers during listing appointments even though study after study points to its ineffectiveness.  Why?  I think there are a few reasons.

1. Agents’ Ego: they pay to have those little square photos by their listing because they love the facetime.  They are seen as someone doing business by those that casually peruse the papers out of sheer curiousity.  Friends, colleagues, neighbors see them and it validates them as a Realtor.  But does it sell a house?
2. Seller’s Ego: there is something impressive about seeing your home in a print publication that is has 1,000’s of subscribers.  The home seller’s equivalent of ‘your name in lights’.
3. Sellers Feel Validated:  Print advertising is tangible evidence that the agent is spending money to promote your listing and earning that hefty commission.
4. Lead Generation Tool for Brokers:  Some agents spend a tremendous amount of time talking about all of the Broker dollars spent on advertising in so many different publications.  Yet, ask yourself, who does that advertising serve?  This is a critical question to ask yourself while interviewing agents and listening to their marketing plan.  Where do those calls go?  Who answers that line?  Are they motivated to sell my house or just capture a buyer lead?  Often these calls go to the ‘updesk’ at an office where agents sit so they can capture buyer leads generated from this Broker advertising.  That agent likely doesn’t know your home and their primary goal is to get a buyer, not necessary to sell your house.
5. Agent’s Haven’t Kept Up With Technology: Sometimes an agent (even some great ones) have not kept pace with the changes in the industry and the change in consumer demands.  They’ve always done print advertising and still are so used to selling that as a critical piece of their marketing plan.  Clearly this is out of touch.  A 2007 National Association of Realtors (NAR) study showed that 84% of buyers used the internet to search for a home.

Marketing a home powerfully online is the best way to drive buyer traffic to your home.  A good agent knows how to do this thoroughly and effectively so that they generate buyer calls or, at least, inspire those buyers to call their own agent and request to see your home. 

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There are few things in the Real Estate world more painful that having your home languish for months on the market.  Your home was in the paper, your agent held all those open houses, you turned on all the lights and had the music to create just the right atmosphere, and you priced it to sell….Right?

You may, or may not, have done all the right things to get that home sold.  But this site will help you piece together all crucial elements for a successful sale.  I’ll share with you my stories; stories from a Realtor about homes that I’ve been able to sell for clients that have spent months (or more) on the market with other agents, and even listings that languished on the market (my dad’s - but that’s a story for another day!).

 

In every case – I can tell you where we went wrong.  It’s never a mystery.  So if you are wondering what went wrong with your listing, or if you’ve just happened to find your way here planning for a successful sale, this site will help you put the pieces together for a successful sale.

1. Marketing – The marketing plan has to serve your listing.  Where are the buyers looking for homes?  Is the marketing positioned where your buyer is looking?  Does the marketing serve the brokerage, the agent or your listing?
2. Photography – This is a hot button!  I know from experience that great photography increases showings.  Increased showings = sale (often at a higher price).  One Connecticut blogger has made an entire blog of bad MLS photos.  Although some of these are in the extreme – they happen every day.  We’ll definitely cover more on this topic!
3. Cooperative Sellers – Accessibility goes a long way.  Make your home tough to see and you will shrink the showings, particularly not a good thing in high inventory markets. 
4. Staging – We live in our homes in a different way than we sell our homes.  Look at the money builders spend on staging those models! There’s a reason – buyers need to feel an emotional connection to the property.  Unwilling to hire a stager…reconsider or do your research.  The time and money will come back to you. 
5. Agent Selection – There are many wonderful and professional Realtors in the industry with a high level of integrity.  Find one.  Find a professional that takes this job seriously.  Don’t just find the person that is filled with promises (fast sale with low commissions, the pricing advice that you want to hear rather than the truth, etc.)
6. Pricing – Of course and let’s be honest!  Are you chasing the market?  The best marketing plan and the best house in the world will never sell if it’s overpriced.  Ask my dad! 
7. Motivation - One thing I have learned the hard way over the years…I can’t be more motivated to sell my client’s home than they are.  Are you motivated to sell?  What are your goals?  Assess your needs and your intentions with an agent that is looking for more than a new listing.   Talk to your real estate professional in an honest and candid way about why you want to sell.
8. Stay informed - Know the market conditions, listen to the feedback from showings, watch your neighborhood and let it speak to you.  Look at the information you gather as if you were the buyer.

We will address all these points within this site.  Come back for more or subscribe to make sure you are hearing the latest.  This information can translate into thousands of dollars if you are willing to really listen.

I’m always available for questions – whether you are an Orange County Seller or not.

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