SELLERS

Information for Sellers

Perhaps you’re considering selling your home. Perhaps it hasn’t even crossed your mind yet. Either way, as a homeowner, it’s important to understand what can impact the sale of your home.

The local California Central Coast real estate market is constantly evolving.  Appreciating and depreciating markets have a huge impact on how much you can successfully get for your home.  Understanding these concepts and creating a true perception of value is what will end up netting you the most money possible and get your home sold the fastest.  In addition, having a Realtor that has strong negotiation skills can often net you up to 20% more for your home!

When considering selling a home, having a more than competent Listing Agent Realtor is imperative. As your agent, we understand the importance of going above and beyond to meet your specific needs. To ensure you experience a smooth and successful home selling experience, some of the exceptional services we provide include:

1. Identifying Areas for Improvement: To maximize the sales price of your home, we evaluate your property and identify areas for improvement that could drastically increase the sales price. Keeping your budget in mind, we might suggest simple repairs, such as new paint and flooring, as well as enhancing to generate increased interest. If potential buyers drive by and don’t like the way the house looks, they won’t stop. We provide a list of suggested repairs, prioritized by their potential benefits, and you make the final decision on which improvements are done.
2. Arranging Repairs and Vendor Coordination: Dealing with repairs can be overwhelming and time-consuming. We alleviate this burden by making all of the arrangements with our trusted vendors and contractors, or using those of your preference. We can meet vendors at the home to give them access and to confirm the work is done properly.
3. Assistance with Downsizing and Decluttering: If you’ve been living in your home for a long time, you’ve likely collected a lot of stuff. Dealing with it can be overwhelming. We offer comprehensive support and help you identify what you want to take to your next destination and arrange for transportation. Additionally, we can help you sell, donate, recycle or dispose of all of the remaining items, making the downsizing process more manageable.
4. Strategic Home Staging: The decision to stage a home, whether with your own furnishings or those of a professional stager, should be discussed. Depending on the unique characteristics of your home, leaving the space empty might draw attention to the best attributes, such as the size, finishes or views. Other times, staging helps buyers visualize themselves living in the home. Each home is so different, let’s discuss what makes sense for your home.
5. Pricing the Home: Determining the right price for your home is crucial. While crystal balls won’t tell us how much your home will sell for, we can discuss what other similar homes have sold for and determine an appropriate asking price. Ultimately, you have the final say on the listing price, and we will provide guidance on the potential outcomes based on different pricing strategies.
6. Compelling Marketing Materials: Creating high-quality marketing materials is essential to attract potential buyers. These items are paid for by the agent and skimping is not an option. The key components to really highlight a home should always include:
   1. Professional Photography: Don’t allow your agent to take photos with their phone. There is no way it will do your home justice.
   2. Floor Plan: Once buyers have seen a home, they want to visualize if their family and furnishings will work in the home. The floor plan helps them understand the layout and flow. We want to make sure the buyer whose offer is accepted is the right buyer. Not one that decides the master bedroom is a bit too small after we’re already in escrow!
   3. Virtual Tour: This allows potential buyers to zoom in or out from various areas of rooms before they even come into the home. It also helps them remember the home after they have left. This is an excellent way to weed out lookie-loos and those people that your home just won’t work for.
   4. Video: While the items above help tell the story, your agent will always be able to tell the story better and the video helps with this!
   5. Four color professional flyers are a must! Flyers showcase eye-catching visuals and provide comprehensive information to interested parties.
7. Extensive Marketing Reach: We believe that there is no such thing as too much marketing. In addition to listing your home on the Multiple Listing System (MLS), we employ various strategies to reach people who may not even realize they are looking for a home. Online advertising, social media marketing, print advertising, and direct mail are all excellent ways to get the word out and maximize exposure. Keep in mind, the more potential buyers that see the home, the better chance you have of receiving higher offers!
8. Broker Caravans and Open Houses: Broker caravans and open houses are a great way to attract potential buyers into your home. If you’re still living in the home, we work with you to determine the best times for open houses or showings, taking into consideration your schedule and minimizing disruption to your daily life. The more availability you offer, the better it is for the sale, but we always strive to find a balance that works for you.
9. Offer Evaluation and Negotiation: Once your home is on the market, we keep you informed of the activity of showings and open houses. The more activity, the better. When we receive an offer for your home, we help you understand the terms, evaluate the buyer’s qualifications, and advise you in deciding whether to accept, reject or counter the offer. There are some reasons to reject an offer such as if the offer is just too low too early on or if the buyer isn’t really qualified. Our goal is to ensure a smooth escrow process by making informed decisions that align with your best interests.
10. Expertise in Inspections and Negotiations: Buyers often request inspections to make sure they know what they are buying and that’s a good thing! There will likely be a request for repairs and we make sure anything you agree to makes sense. If some damage was obvious or disclosed prior to the buyer making an offer, we will advise you to not cover those items. This is another level of negotiation that can help add to your bottom line!

Fortunately, we have rarely had listings fall out of escrow because we are prepared for almost all possibilities. Our goal is to make this process as comfortable and profitable as possible for you.