Our Strategies for Selling Your Home
Selling a home in the Marin real estate market is both an art and a science. It takes many skills. As top Marin-based real estate professionals, we have a proven, successful sales plan for you. Our commitment is to sell your home at the best possible price, with minimal stress, and the greatest benefits to you. Here are the steps in the process of selling your home.
Pricing Your Home
Our goal is to assist you in obtaining the best price that will attract the largest number of buyers and result in a fast sale of your home. We learn your financial needs, review with you in detail recent sales of comparable properties, and then develop with you the best pricing strategy for the prevailing market.
Pricing is based on several factors, including:
- Recent sales of similar homes in your neighborhood.
- Opinions of other real estate agents familiar with your neighborhood.
- Location.
- Market activity and time of year.
It is important not to overprice or underprice. We can explain the issues with either extreme.
See this longer discussion of what your home is worth.
Inspecting Your Home
First, our in-house home builder, Robert Ross, inspects your home at no cost to you. He provides structural information that helps up promote your home.
Before presenting your home, we hire licensed inspectors to establish the present condition of your home. The inspections may include the structure, pests, sewer line, and roof. Their qualified, written reports are important for obtaining the best offers:
- Defects in your home, if any, are disclosed to buyers before they present offers. Since home sales are “as is,” they are well informed that corrections or improvements will be their responsibility. Without these disclosures, buyers may want to do their own inspections and try to negotiate the price based on their inspections reports. This costs sellers time and money.
- Sellers may choose to repair defects to attract more buyers. It is our job to advise you on what you might do to get the highest return on your investments.
Improving and Staging your Home
Buyers want what is trending in home design. Making your Marin home most appealing to buyers is of primary importance. Keep in mind that most buyers first view your home on the internet. This first impression is critical. If they like the photos, they will take the next step to visit in person. We recommend the staging that is appropriate to your home. See more on the importance of Staging Your Home.
Evaluating the Economics of Improvements
Our goal is to bring you the highest sale price in the shortest time. We recommend improvements that will make you money. It is not unusual to realize a 2-5 fold return on improvements. The most valuable improvements are typically painting, flooring, lighting, and professional staging.
Timing is the other important factor. If your home does not attract buyers in the first two weeks, the sale price is often lower. Improvements result in more interest and faster sales.
Photographing Your Home
Good photos are essential for selling your home, and we give you the best! Photos provide the important first impression. With as many as 90% of potential seeing your home online for the first time, great photos are even more important. Most buyers will cruise past a listing with interior photos showing a vacant or unattractive house.
Networking within the Real Estate Community
After the Marin MLS (Multiple Listing Service), networking may be the most important avenue we have to market your home. Madeline is a Top Agent associated with the Top Agent Network from its inception. This network is strategically positioned to provide high impact email marketing to other top real estate agents. You benefit directly from Madeline’s strong connections with this powerful network.
As a home seller, networking benefits you by allowing your house to get maximum exposure before it hits the MLS, and during the entire listing and marketing of your home. These agents spread the word fast to their pool of buyers, and you benefit. Madeline also attends monthly real estate networking meetings to market your home and keep current with the local Marin market. Cooperation among other top agents, whether it be assisting in pricing your home, reviewing market conditions, or bringing you a buyer, plays a most key role in the real estate-savvy Marin County.
Advertising Your Marin Home on the Internet
We list your house on the Marin MLS and advertise it widely on the Internet. In addition to presenting your home on dozens of real estate search sites, we prepare a special web site for your home.
Print Advertising
We provide custom fliers and brochures and circulate “Just Listed” cards to the neighborhood. Magazine and newspaper ads have little benefit for sellers. They are primarily advertising for the listing agent and brokerage.
Open Houses
Open houses for Marin real estate agents and brokers are held on the first two weeks of your listing, then as often as needed. We will cater these events to attract more real estate agents.
Open house for the public are on Saturday and Sunday afternoons.
Personal Care and Interest Makes the Difference
We get involved with you to ensure that you have a remarkable Marin real estate transaction. We are sensitive to your needs and privacy while maximizing the exposure of your home to buyers and real estate agents. We always end a transaction with the certainty that our client’s needs and desires have been met.
Free In-Home Presentation: Contact Madeline
Selling your Marin home is one of the most important financial transactions you will make in your life. Don’t take risks. Contact Madeline for a free consultation on selling your home. We will learn about your requirements, assess your home and its value, and present you with the best options for selling.
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