Want to know what your real estate agent does to sell your house?
When getting help with money, whether its insurance, real estate, or investments, you should always look for someone with heart of a teacher, not a salesman.
Dave Ramsey
Our adventure begins with positioning your home on the market and getting it out to as many potential buyer’s as possible!
Positioning your home in today’s market
What is your home really worth? It is important for your home to be positioned correctly to attract the right buyers and shorten the amount of time it is on the market. Your home should be positioned based on the “market approach to value” I will research your competition (the active listings in the area), the comps (comparably sold homes) and how quickly homes are moving on the market. This comparative process uses the same data and approach most appraiser use. I will bundle this together in a nice little book and give this to you as a present.
Staging…for what!?
Realtors have seen it all before. The house that has pretty rainbow colors on the wall and the house that has the new granite in the bathroom. According to the NAR (National Association of Realtors), seventy-seven percent of buyers’ agents said staging a home made it easier for a buyer to visualize the property as a future home. Are you wondering what will sell your home? Is putting granite counters in going to be worth it? Most important will the market support granite? I would be happy to share with you whether or not making changes to your home will be worth it.
Where that commission goes…
Selling a home is a team effort. Realtors pay other Realtors to sell your house. What!? You thought I get all that commission? According to the NAR, 30% of buyers found their home through their Realtor. It is actually our career to keep lists and lists of buyers looking for houses. We have buyers rubbing their palms together in anticipation for a house like yours to hit the market.
What is this MLS and why is it so important?
Realtors have a wonderful tool called the MLS. The MLS gives out all the information for your home to over 9,800 realtors. In our area we use NEOHREX MLS. It is spread across 27 counties in Ohio and 9 counties in West Virginia. 10,000 realtors use the MLS daily. Realtors have found out what the prices range, bedrooms, baths, style of home, and how much land their clients are looking for. Realtors set up automatic emails for clients so when your home is listed and it has enough bathrooms, guess what!? The buyer is going to get an automatic email that your house is fresh on the market! I share your home with all Realtors through the MLS.
Internet and Social Media
According to the NAR 51% of people find their home through the internet. I ensure that your home will be presented on Zillow, Realtor.com, Trulia, You Tube, Face book, and other large brokerage’s websites. Did you know that your house will show up on all the other brokerage’s websites? That is because we pay them to sell it.
Social Media is huge. According to Mark Zuckerberg people spend 40 minutes a day just on Facebook. Find an agent like Lauren Patrick, that has a large presence on facebook. Events, Facebook Live, videos, pics, and paid advertising are all great tools to get your home noticed.
Using video to sell your home is key. According to a study done on internet traffic, video views are expected to make up 84 percent of all Internet traffic in the United States. I work with a local photographer to make professional videos that are uploaded all over the internet and social media. Videos make your house rank higher in web searches.
Running home to Show? I don’t think so.
Showings take time. It is a nice piece of mind that you do not have to worry about running home for showings. I had a house this past weekend that had 8 showings in one day. But you can count on your realtor to manage the pre-approvals and showings. Realtors are held to very high ethical standards. That is why we are put in charge of the security of your home. May I suggest only showing to pre-approved clients? It is easy for Realtors to get pre-approval or talk to lenders before showings.
Open Houses
Our team at MB Realty works together to do open houses. Open houses are advertised in local papers, on flyers around town, on Laurenpatrickrealtor.com, and a special Facebook event will be set up and promoted.
Negotiating
The most successful real estate agents master listings, lead generation, and negotiation. Negotiating is the fun part! Things that are negotiated in real estate: price, earnest money, closing costs, what is and is not included in the sale, that hot tub you just bought, home warranties, inspections, inspection removals, your grandma’s rocking chair, and closing time.
Throughout the process, you will need to be knowledgeable of and negotiate with a variety of people handling the transaction. These people include the buyer’s agent, lender, inspector, title company, appraiser, and others.
Inspections
I help arrange and provide access for inspectors. If the buyers send over a list and it is beyond confusing, it is up to me to make it simple. I will come to terms that will work for both parties. I can introduce you to some of my favorite contractors who in the words of Larry the cable guy will get er’ done.
All the Paperwork…
Each state has different regulations regarding contracts that are constantly changing. A realtor is certain to use all the legally required disclosures for selling property in Ohio. Do becareful you do not open yourself up to a lawsuit, if you do it yourself.
Appraisal and Loan Process
Do you know what loans are available for your type of home? According to the NAR, 46% of first time home buyers use FHA loans. Will your home be ok for an FHA buyer? I would be happy to share my knowledge of what is and isn’t ok.
Overwhelmed? I will take care of it! Unfortunately for me, but fortunately for you, I only get paid when you do. That means if we get an acceptable offer on your home, we both get paid. Hiring an agent who is active in the market will make your selling one of your biggest assets an educated experience.
Call me so I can come check out your home and get a Market Analysis together for you.
216-577-9220
This awesome content was written with love from your Realtor Lauren Patrick (with a little info from the NAR, Dave Ramsey, Kristen Laning and Mark Zuckerberg)
