Tuesday, November 15, 2016 / by Stephanie Cornacchione
What To Expect Once Your Home Is On The Market
What to Expect Once Your Home is On the Market
The time it takes for the entire process of preparing, listing, and selling a house varies from one case to another. Here is an outline of the usual progression of events that occur when you put your house on the market.
Generally, you can expect a 3 step process:
- Getting the house ready
- Showing it off
- Responding to the marketplace
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Getting the House Ready:
Prepare your home for picture-taking and tours by tidying up and making necessary repairs and improvements to give it that extra zing. Remember how important the first impression is. How the house shows on the outside is just as important as the inside.
Fix any known issues in advance. Buyers will perform an inspection that will likely reveal any known problems, best to deal with them before the sale. Ask us, we can help with these items.
Our free staging team will visit to answer any important questions about this preparation and suggest any other changes to maximize demand and your sale price. They may also suggest returning with more items to compliment your existing decorations.
Lockbox, Signs and Marketing Flyers- To begin exposing the home to potential buyers and other real estate professionals, we will place your home in the local Multiple Listing Service (MLS). The description of your home will highlight key features, updates, and upgrades of the home. Once uploaded to the MLS, all other agents in the area will see that your home is for sale. Your house will also appear on over 600 websites we submit it to including public consumer sites such as realtor.com and other top real estate sites.
Don’t be Camera Shy- Most buyers start their home buying search on the internet. A professional photographer ensures that proper lighting and composition is used to achieve the best angles and produce photos of the highest quality. It is imperative to have professional photographs, including aerial and virtual tours of your home to create the greatest impact.
A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words- Buyers typically view many homes, and it can become confusing which home was which. Providing professional marketing flyers allows prospective buyers to recall the home with visual aid and description easily. Within a couple of days after listing features sheets will be delivered to your home for buyers to take after their viewing.
Pre-Release Marketing and Marketing Blitz - we pull the trigger on the full spectrum marketing plan custom created for your home to ensure it will sell fast and for top dollar. Our campaigns include online, Google, Yahoo, Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, Youtube, local newspaper ads, magazines, flyers, emails, phone marketing, radio broadcast, mobile applications, open houses, broker caravans, reverse prospecting, signage, doorstep delivery, direct mail and much more.
2. Showing it Off:
Open House- The traditional open house is a thing of the past. Showcasing an “Everyday Open House”, will allow potential buyers to obtain access to the property at the most convenient time for them. Buyers are swamped with weekend activities and commitments, and for many buyers, the traditional open house just doesn’t work. The benefits of this system allows for more buyers to view the home and potentially the seller may see multiple offers on the home.
Private Viewings- We will be bringing our clients and other agents will also be bringing their potential buyers to your home. Your home is a showpiece. Keeping it clean, clutter free, and show ready is imperative.
Feedback- We personally follow up with each agent who showed your home, for feedback. This information is very useful in determining what potential buyers think of the condition, and price. These communications give us the opportunity to answer questions that may arise from the showing. Working hand in hand with other agents is a critical component to maximizing demand.
We will be in regular contact with you regarding the feedback and we can determine together if there are any concerns that need to be addressed.3. Responding to the Marketplace:
Traffic Patterns- You should get the most traffic in the first two to three weeks after your house is listed. Anyone looking for a house like yours will want to see it. We will keep a very close watch on the number of showings. Keeping the pulse on this critical piece will ensure that you are keeping up with the market condition. We will assist you in determining the best steps to keep your listing top of mind to prospective buyers.
The average days on market (DOM) can vary depending on your home, location and market conditions. In a slower market, buyers can take their time and usually do. If you have buyers come back a second or third time, it usually means they are seriously considering your home, and we will be in contact with their agent. Any offers, even one you consider lowball, are a chance to begin negotiating, which often leads to a sale.
Neat Freak- Keeping your house in tip-top shape, especially if you have kids and pets, is one of the most difficult parts of selling your home. But remember: Buyers will walk into your house and try to picture living there. Most people don’t have the vision to look past toys scattered throughout the house, dishes in the sink, or pet food spilled on the floor.
Changing Course- What happens if things aren't going as planned? Markets do shift, caused by a variety of things. Inventory, interest rates, political, economic, employment, environmental and more.
Working with us, you will already know your options. Prior to putting your home on the market we will have already discussed expectations and the "what if" things don't go as planned. Whether you choose to take advantage of our Guaranteed Sale program, or make adjustments in strategy, the path will be well laid out for you in advance.
Knowing what to expect when your house goes up for sale can be half the battle of getting through the transaction.
