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Thinking about selling your property????
First. Reconsider selling your property!! I cannot imagine living in a better place than the Northern Neck. But, if family/health matters dictate a move or if you fell in love with the place and want to move from a second home to your permanent house, then we fully understand.
Second. Here are at least 3 things you should consider when deciding on a company to sell your property:
Pay for Performance!!!!!!!!
Exposure!!!!
Communication!!!!
Pay for Performance. I believe that a listing company should perform. IT IS THAT SIMPLE. All of the listing agreements have one clause that basically says –“If, at any time I am not, in the sole opinion of the seller, satisfactory, this listing agreement becomes null and void within 24 hours of being notified by the seller”.
---- Further, you should know that I not have a company standard Commission rate. The rate depends on property specific circumstances. In some instances, we will agree to a commission rate if the property sells within a specific time frame and to a reduction if the property does not sell within that time frame. In other words PAY FOR PERFORMANCE.
BUT, understand that every listing agreement is a partnership. We need to agree to a market price upfront. That price is based upon the sold price of similar properties. You, as the seller, should get a copy of the data and be told how the agent came up with the figure. This is NOT rocket science!! You should also receive data that should tell you what your competition is if you decided to list the property. ALSO, note that this estimated market value is not static. It can change with changing market conditions.
Exposure, Exposure. Exposure!!!
-----Here is a news bulletin for sellers--- 5 percent of properties are sold thru the print media. If you want to see you property in flashy magazine spreads to get that warm and fuzzy feeling?? GREAT!! We suggest you turn up the thermostat and rethink your listing company. Where do you think the greatest majority of buyers find properties??? DUH???! THE INTERNET??? The amount of property sold over the internet has been growing at exponential rates.
-----NOW, if your property is listed on the internet, go take a look at the listing and ask yourself if the info you find does your property justice.
Communication. If your listing company communicated with you at the time of listing and when the listing expired, CHANGE your listing company. You should expect to be informed as to how many people are viewing property, getting feedback from prospective buyers, statistics on how often people are viewing your property from the internet as well as information as to what is selling and not selling.
-----Also, much to the owner’s amazement, there are properties for sale in the Neck that are not listed on the local MLS system. If you listing company is not a member of the local MLS system, then ask her/him how does the hundreds of agents that ARE members of the local board, know the property is available to show????????????
-----Lastly, do you or your agent insist the agent on being present each time the property is shown?? DUMB IDEA IN my OPINION. I have sold over $5 million dollars in property in 2007 and about 85 percent of the time the listing agent has not been able to meet the touring schedule and, as a result, the property is not shown on the initial visit. Think about it!!! One can usually schedule between 8 to 12 properties on a day and trying to schedule around another agent’s schedule is almost impossible. EVERY lost chance to show a property is a lost chance to SELL.
----Some companies will urge you to provide a bonus of x dollars to stimulate agents to show your property. Every agent is different and may or may not be able to assign some success to this approach. We at Re/Max Waterfront Realty have this philosophy—simply put –keep the bonus. IF you have your property priced at a level the market will support then agents should be focusing on whether your property meets the criteria of any particular buyer NOT whether there is a chance for an elevated commission. I can assure you that the agents at this brokerage focus on client satisfaction and not the dollars.
-------Lastly, NEWS BULLETIN—BUYERS R Smart. Buyers, thru the internet, know comprehensively what is on the market. They know what has sold and for how much and how long properties have been on the market. They know what is a deal and what is not a deal. You need to know this when deciding on a price for your property.
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