Sellers

Complete Home Listing Services for Home Sellers

Pre-Marketing Services and Products

• Free Initial Consultation – This is where we meet in order to determine whether you want to work with us and vice versa. Should we all decide to work together, we’ll put together a game plan and strategy that may involve some or all of the services listed below. This 90-minute Initial Consultation is Free.
• Competitive Market Report (CMR) – The CMR is a report that is used to determine current market conditions at a specific point in time.  The report consists of recent sales from the past 90 days that are comparable to your home.  It also includes the list of homes that are currently available for sale and will be direct competition for your home.
• Competitive Market Analysis (CMA) -  The CMA is the CMR plus a complete pricing strategy and market timing report that can be used by the homeowner to maximize sales price and minimize time on market.  Completed at time of Listing Agreement.
• Basic Staging Analysis – An on-site evaluation of your property and a recommendation report for each room of the home. (Completed at time of Listing Agreement).  Professional Staging services available upon request.

Marketing Services and Products

• Signs – Signs are credited with selling as many as 15% of homes in the US.  A prominent sign can generate traffic from buyers as well as agents.  There are two different types of sign presentation- the basic metal sign that can be pushed into the ground by hand or the professionally installed wooden sign post with all the additional riders.
• Brochure Stand with Color Brochures – Brochures are a tool used to make your property stand out from all the others a buyer might see in a day of house searching.  Brochures left in the home don’t necessarily sell a home, but they do make sure your home is not mixed up with another or forgotten altogether.   Basic Brochure for 4.5% Listing, Professional Brochures from www.homevisit.com for 5.0% Listings
• Flyer Box with Brochures – In their initial research, buyers will typically drive through a neighborhood and scope it out.  This will include gathering as much information about the neighborhood, as well as information about homes for sale without utilizing the services of an agent.  These research buyers will pull flyers from flyer boxes and use this information to start forming opinions.  They will also take these flyers and go back to their computers and view the online property listing including the photos and slide show.
• Lockbox – A lockbox is crucial to making your house accessible to agents showing their clients property.  It’s also crucial to tracking who is entering your home and when.  Complete Home agents use the Sentrilock  digital lockbox that can be used to limit times for showings and tracks every agent that goes through the property.  This tracking allows an agent to follow up with and generate feedback for a homeowner, which is invaluable.
• Multiple Listing Service (MLS) and On-Line Presence* – Still the number one search tool of choice for agents, the Multiple Listing Service is a must if you want to get exposure for your home to real estate agents and brokers.  The latest surveys indicate that 40% of homebuyers find the actual home they buy because their agent found it for them using the MLS. The local MLS (MRIS) is also the feed source for property search sites such as Homesdatabase.com and Realtor.com. This service includes online photos and a basic MLS-generated slide show available on the MLS, Homesdatabase.com and Realtor.com. It also includes being listed on an additional 13 listing sites (15 total). PLEASE NOTE BELOW REGARDING THIS SERVICE.
• High Quality Digital Photos – Photos will be taken using a 5.0MP digital camera and will be used for brochures, the MLS listing, the slide show, your personalized web site and any and all listing sites that allow pictures on their site.
• Additional Online Presence and Marketing – 85% of homebuyers use the internet to begin their home search and they are now using an increasing number of sites to do so. In order to make sure your home is seen by every potential buyer on the internet, you need to cast the biggest net possible in order to catch their attention. With this service, your property will be listed on a total of 37 property listing sites.
• Personalized Website (5% Listings Only) – A website with your own home address as the url created specifically to increase your online presence and marketing reach.

Market Updates and Analysis

• Sales Activity Report and Evaluation – You’ve been on the market for 30 days – it’s time to evaluate and reevaluate.  The Sales Activity Report is just what you need to see if your initial pricing strategy is still in line with today’s market conditions.
• Agent and Buyer Feedback Report and Evaluation – One of the most important resources for a home seller is the feedback report.  An ongoing effort to gather information from the agents and homebuyers that have seen your property is vital to the success or failure of the sales process.  A three pronged attack is necessary to get the highest feedback rate possible.
• Pricing Strategy Update – The initial list price is important, but knowing when to make a price adjustment can be the difference between getting top dollar and never selling.  Chasing the market down is one of the most stressful and costly mistakes home sellers make and the reason for this is poor initial pricing strategies and a failure to update the price in a timely manner.

FULL SERVICE AGENCY AGENT/BROKER SERVICES

Contract Negotiations and Representation

• Sales Contract Negotiations – Over 240 successfully negotiated sales in a 4 year period allows an agent to finely tune their negotiation skills.  With the rapid rise and fall of the market, one misstep in negotiations can be disastrous.  This is where a good agent will earn their commission and then some.
• Inspection Contingency Negotiations – Just because the home is under contract doesn’t mean it’s sold.  Many a contract has come unraveled because a contingency such as a Home Inspection could not be removed.  An experienced agent can keep a deal together or recognize when a deal is lost and get you back onto the market and under contract without losing precious time.
• Financing Analysis and Evaluation – There are many horror stories about transactions blowing up at the closing table because the buyer couldn’t get funding.  Lending rules and regulations are changing on a daily basis.  Over 90% of the problems with financing are evident from the very beginning of a transaction.  An experienced agent can advise their clients about potential problems and see the warning signs before they become problems.  This analysis and evaluation can save a home seller not only thousands of dollars, but also avoid the stress caused by a delayed or unsuccessful settlement.
• Other Contingency Analysis and Negotiations – Sale of Home Contingency, Coinciding Settlement Contingency, Radon Contingency, Financing Contingency, Appraisal Contingency…the list goes on.  Any one of these can cost you money or blow up a deal.
• Home Owner Association (HOA) Services – This includes requesting the HOA documents and inspection and getting the documents over to the buyer(s) immediately after contract ratification. This also includes negotiation of any HOA violations and securing a “cure letter” in order to provide proof to the buyer(s) that those “violations” have been remedied. Since the HOA docs are a way out of a real estate contract for buyers in Virginia, this is a very important and often underestimated/overlooked part of the transaction.
• Final Walk-through Inspection Negotiation – Buyers will conduct a walk-through inspection of the property just prior to settlement. This walk-through inspection covers 44 items plus any and all Home Inspection items. The buyer could come back with items they want addressed and another set of negotiations begins.

Closing and Funding Services

• Escrow and Title Company Liaison Services – The endless paperwork and coordination of schedules is imperative for avoiding a delay in settlement.  The lender, title company, buyers agent, the insurance companies and others all need paperwork.  One missed document could be anywhere from a small problem to a disaster.  This service alone represents 10 to 12 hours of work during the final 2 weeks before settlement.
• Third Party Liaison Services – Coordination and communication with the various third party service providers involved in the transaction is crucial. One missed step can lead to the entire deal blowing up. These service providers include appraisers, surveyors, termite inspectors, title search companies, the Home Owner Association and others.
• HUD-1 Evaluation – A two page government created document loaded with opportunities for unauthorized or inflated charges.  How is a seller to know if the charges are legit or fluff?
• Settlement/Closing Table Representation – A contentious sale has been known to blow up at the table over the most minor of problems.  A cool head and creative thinking are vital to getting all the parties to come to an agreement that will complete the deal.

Post Settlement Services

• Post Settlement Representation – Completion of the real estate transaction does not necessarily coincide with the settlement date. Things such pre-settlement walk-through inspection issues, escrows, post-settlement occupancy agreements, security deposits, post-settlement walk-through inspections and others all survive settlement day and must be addressed post-settlement.