We all make mistakes. When we analyze the reasons, we often realize that they all stem from the same thing: lack of due diligence, lack of knowledge and information, not knowing which questions to ask, what to expect from the process, how to differentiate a true professional from someone who just looks and sounds like one. Not knowing these things resulted in poor and costly business decisions.
We all engage tax accountants, medical specialists, car mechanics, tradespeople, brokers for insurance and mortgages. If we all understand the critical importance of working with specialists in other fields, then why don’t Home Sellers look for and demand to work with a specialist when they are handling the sale of their largest financial asset?
In thirty years of looking after thousands of clients, nobody has ever asked me what my specialty was. This only means one thing: The real estate industry has not done a good job of pointing out the differences and does not promote the fact that selling a home is a dramatically different process than buying one.
Home Selling requires a different mind and skill set, a significant investment in marketing and systems, the understanding and use of modern technology, indepth market knowledge, and strong marketing and negotiating skills.
Home Sellers must understand the importance of searching out a home selling specialist, just like they would in any other field.
PILLAR #1: Selecting a Realtor
- How to interview a realtor; what questions to ask
- What to demand, to expect and to look for
- How to communicate with your realtor
PILLAR #2: Staging
- The best choice is not always the most obvious one.
- How to present your home to the market.
- How much is too much, what is enough and when can it work against you.
PILLAR #3: Pricing
The price is right, but this is not a game. This is Critical: Picking the right pricing strategy can make the difference of thousands of dollars, made or lost.
- How to set a realistic price?
- Should we start higher? We can always reduce later, right?
- Don’t we need room for negotiations?
- How do we make sure we are not selling below the market value?
- If the buyers like the house, won’t they make an offer anyway?
PILLAR #4: Marketing
Also one of the most critical elements. Real estate marketing has become a highly specialized field. Why? Because technology changed the game and turned it upside down.
- What matters in the marketing process? What doesn’t?
- What’s effective? How can we measure it?
- Where are the buyers? Where do we find them?
- How and where do they shop?
- Why do we need a marketing specialist?
PILLAR #5: Negotiations
This is one of, if not THE most important aspect of the selling process. It’s literally where thousands of dollars change hands within minutes. Yet, you as a seller are not privy to these discussions. Ever wonder what goes on behind those closed doors?
- Are dollars flowing our way or away from us?
- What are the agents talking about?
- How do we know if our agent is negotiating from a position of strength?
Learn more about negotiations…
PILLAR #6: Communications
This can make or break your entire selling experience.
- Will you tell us what we like to hear or what we need to hear?
- How will we know what’s going on?
- How often will we be updated?
- How easy will it be to reach our agent?
- Will we be dealing directly with our agent?
- How quickly will our agent respond?
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