Top 5 Reasons To List Your Home During The Holidays

Top 5 Reasons To List Your Home During The Holidays

In Lewis County, homes prices have increased 13.21% compared to this time last year. More and more owners are beginning to realize they no longer owe more than their home is worth. Obviously, it’s a great time to list your house!  But many sellers wonder if this season is a good time to list, let alone the inconvenience, for fear they will lose money on their sale. Although counter to popular opinion, the winter holiday season is one of the best times to sell your home! The following is a list of the top 5 reasons to list your home during the holidays.

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#5 Less Competition

Many sellers take their home off the market. Less inventory means buyers compete over your home!

#4 Fewer Tire Kickers

Buyers who want to look at your home during the holidays are very serious and could be under a serious time crunch.

#3 Decorations are Encouraged

Your holiday decorations add to the ambiance of the home and allow the buyer to imagine themselves celebrating with family and friends.

#2 Time is of the Essence

Some buyers have to buy before the end of the year for tax purposes. Others are starting new jobs in January and want to get settled in before day 1.

#1 Mo' Money

The holiday season is a time filled with family and friends enjoying each other’s company, good food, memories, and “coming back home.” All of these emotions factor into more money for you!

These are the top 5 reasons to list your home during the holidays. While it is true that most home purchases are completed in the summer months, the second best season for buying and selling is during the holidays. During the recent economic downturn, the holidays were actually the best season for buying and selling real estate in Lewis County.

If you’re looking for a Realtor to assist you with your next home sale, or even if you just have questions about the current market, let’s chat about your options!

Top 5 Seller Complaints (And Why They’re Easy to Fix)

Top 5 Seller Complaints 

(And Why They’re Easy to Fix)

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5. Agent Tried to Give My Home Away

Image Courtesy of  EyeOnYourHome.net

“Your home doesn’t have any offers, we need to reduce the price” Does that sound familiar? Every drop in price seems like you’re leaving money on the table just so the agent can make a quick sell. While that may or may not be the case, an agent can’t reduce the price of your home without your signature. If you’re not sure what your agent is doing to market your home, why would you agree to a price reduction? I see many sellers SETTLE for poor marketing because they’ve entrusted their agent to get the job done, without verifying the quality of work. 

Easy Fix: 

Ask your agent for examples of their work, then ask for the analytics. If it’s not up to par, ask them to update it. If they refuse, talk to their designated broker, and if it still doesn’t get fixed – tell them you want to cancel the listing.

4. Agent Made My Home Look Like a Dungeon

We’ve all seen it, there’s even websites dedicated to it: The Horrible Picture. Whether it’s dark, grainy, sideways, or there’s something creepy in the middle of the room, there’s no shortage of unprofessional photos for listings. Some agents simply don’t know any better and some are just lazy. 

Easy Fix:

The stats don’t lie, here is one example. If your agent does not provide professional photography to sell your listing, demand it or find another agent who does.

The professional photography difference for the same listing

3. Agent Did Not Do Anything to Sell My Home

Image Courtesy of ScanOnTheSide.com

While there are agents who do nothing, the majority at least do something. The problem is this is never communicated to the seller. I’ve actually heard agents say, “All agents do the same thing, pick who you like the best.” These agents truly believe there is no difference, and that’s truly sad. If an agent can’t differentiate themselves from the competition, how hard do you think they’re going to try to get your home sold? 

Easy Fix:

Make sure your agent has a plan of action, and make sure you understand what’s happening. If that plan is not being carried out, speak with your agent and see if they’re willing to correct it in writing.

2. Agent Only Contacted Me to List and Re-list When My Home Expired.

Image Courtesy of  Someecards

I’m not sure how this occurs. There are so many emotions that happen when you’re selling your home, it’s like riding a roller coaster. How does the agent not call with feedback from showings, marketing updates, or just to check in? In my listing appointments, I am explicit about what and when I communicate and I invite my clients to call me anytime. I can’t promise to answer the phone immediately but I always make time to return calls at the end of the day. Agents are the ones getting paid to serve you, not the other way around.

Easy Fix:

Make sure you have a communication plan with your agent in place before listing and make sure your agent follows it.

1. Agent Did Not Sell My Home

Image Courtesy of  BHHNEProperties.com

And the #1 complaint from sellers I hear is that their agent just did not get it done. Coincidentally, or not, usually the other complaints on this list show up in the conversation as well. You have so many different companies and agents to choose from, it’s hard to know what the correct decision is. 

Easy Fix:

Here’s a couple questions to separate the wheat from the chaff:

#1. Will you put it in writing that you will let me out of the contract if I’m not happy with your services?

If the answer is not unequivocally yes, move on.

#2. Other than price and closing costs, how can you save me money during the negotiating of the offer?

This question tests their knowledge of real estate forms. If they can’t come up with at least 1 immediately, move on.

#3. Will you agree to a communication plan and put it in writing?

If the answer is not unequivocally yes, move on.

#4. What is your average list to sales price ratio?

If they don’t know this off the top of their head, move on. Ask them to present the evidence to you before signing.

#5. What services do you provide that are different from your competitors?

If the answer is “we’re all the same” or “customer service”, move on. I’m not saying customer service isn’t something that differentiates, it’s just subjective. Look for answers that are verifiable and produce results. 

If you're looking for a Realtor in the Chehalis or Centralia area of Lewis County who's an expert in re-marketing expired and hard to sell properties, give me a call!

Napavine Homes for Sale: 120 Woodard Rd

Napavine Homes for Sale: 120 Woodard Rd

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3 BEDROOMS | 2 (2 full ) BATHROOMS | 1782 SQUARE FEET

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Presented By:

Eren Millam

Realty World Cosser & Associates
360-219-3616
Licensed In: Washington
License #: 113974

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Property Description

Extraordinary location just outside Napavine & less than 5 min from I-5, this 1.26 acre property boasts a 36x36 shop, a 60x24 multi-use building, and move-in ready 1782 SF home w/ lifetime metal roof. It's an easy walk to school, Annie's Market, the post office, or just cross the road to hit the baseball & soccer fields. Perfect for large gatherings w/ wrap around driveway, covered deck, updated windows, and heat pump for efficient energy use. Lot next door also available if you need more land!

Centralia Home for Sale: 821 Marsh St

Centralia Home for Sale: 821 Marsh St

Perfect location off the main road, NO FLOODING, just a short hop onto I-5! Excellent craftsmanship has turned this 1920's bungalow into a modern 3 bdrm home w/ plenty of room to grow! Original fir flooring & a dollop of custom woodwork maintains a touch of character blended w/ newer updates & amenities that any discerning buyer would expect. Fenced backyard ideal for pets, gardening, and gathering around the BBQ! Copious amounts of parking including the garage/work shop! Make it yours today!

Centralia Home for Sale: 821 Marsh St

821 Marsh St, Centralia, WA

Just Listed

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$ Click for current price
3 BEDROOMS | 1 (1 full ) BATHROOMS | 1737 SQUARE FEET

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• Free List of Foreclosed Homes For Sale
• Avoid Foreclosure
• Free Home Values
• Homes Close to Where You Work
• Mortgage & Refinance
• Centralia Homes For Sale
• Centralia Homes for Sale
• Search All Homes For Sale

Presented By:

Eren Millam

Realty World Cosser & Associates
360-219-3616
Licensed In: Washington
License #: 113974

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Schedule a Showing/Request Info

Property Description

Perfect location off the main road, just a short hop onto I-5! Excellent craftsmanship has brought this from a 1920's bungalow to a modern 3 bdrm home w/ plenty of room to grow! Original fir flooring & a dollop of custom woodwork maintains a touch of character perfectly blended w/ newer updates & amenities that any discerning buyer would expect. Fenced backyard ideal for pets, gardening, and gathering around the BBQ! Copious amounts of parking including the garage/work shop! Make it yours today!

7 Tips for Chehalis / Centralia Home Sellers: Tip #7 FSBO/Expireds

7 Tips for Chehalis / Centralia Home Sellers: 

Tip #7 FSBO/Expireds 

Good morning and welcome to the final tip of 7 Tips for Chehalis/Centralia area Home Sellers. I’m Eren Millam Realtor of Realty World Cosser & Associates and I hope you’re having an extraordinary day! Last week we covered setting expectations for extraordinary communication from your agent. We’ve got a lot to cover today, so let’s get started!

The #1 reason why sellers try to sell their home without a realtor, is the cost savings. This could be 10’s of thousands of dollars or more on a single home. That is a big PRO!

The #2 reason stems from a distrust of realtors, in that sellers believe they can market their own home just as well, if not better than, an agent. Why pay realtor fees when you can do it yourself?

Let me be clear, real estate agents have EARNED their reputation.

Let me also be clear, not every agent is created equal!

I have seen many For Sale By Owners who have done better jobs at marketing than Realtors. Many agents have forgotten that we are in a marketing and service industry and they have given the rest of us a bad name.

Now, let’s address the concerns of For Sale by Owner properties:

#1 Saving on Realtor Fees

Only 2% of FSBOs sell to someone they DON’T know. If you have someone lined up for your house, there’s a good chance you’ll be able to sell your home. If not, there’s a 98% chance you won’t sell.

On top of that, studies have shown that homes listed by Realtors, sell for more on average than homes sold by the owner. My personal experience bears this truth. I average 11% greater sales price for my clients than when they tried to For Sale By Owner. Now, I don’t charge anywhere close to 11% commission so while the seller did pay a Realtor commission, they netted more money in their pocket by using me rather than doing it alone.

Also, during the transaction, I was able to guide them through the process and save them money by negotiating on their behalf when it came to inspections and repairs.

#2 Marketing Your Home

In a previous lesson, I discussed a little bit of what I do to market homes. However, there are not many agents that market the same way I do. It’s no wonder so many people are disappointed when their home expires from the market. When I go on listing appointments of expired homes, sellers are flabberghasted by the difference because they’ve never even heard the type of marketing language I use by any other realtor. 

A new set of buyers hits the market on average, about every 3 weeks. This is one of the reasons why a Realtor will ask for a price drop every few weeks if the home hasn’t sold. But, what have they done to market it? Most sellers seem to have this question, yet few ask it. Many agents will “set it and forget it” and hope for another Realtor to bring them a buyer. With me, you will know what I’m doing, when I will ask for a price reduction, and how much we should reduce it based on how the market reacts to it.

The final reason why a seller chooses not to work with a Realtor is because they’ve had a bad experience in the past. There is nothing I can say to change that experience. It may seem like a lot of work to weed through all the different agents and their promises, but it will save you money, time, and stress if you make the right selection. Here’s some questions to ask to assist you in selecting the right agent for you:

What sets you apart from other agents?

How is your marketing different than other agents?

How often will I be hearing from you?

What happens if I’m not satisfied at any point in the contract?

What’s your opinion of open houses?

These are just a few questions to get you started. If you hear anything that is too generic or “we’re all the same, pick who you get along with more” type answers, those should be red flags. You’re hiring someone to sell your product, they should be adept marketing and service professionals! I hope you’ve enjoyed this series and if there’s anything you take away from it, let it be this: Don’t settle for anything less than Extraordinary! 

7 Tips for Chehalis / Centralia Home Sellers: Tip #6 Extraordinary Communication

7 Tips for Chehalis / Centralia Home Sellers: 

Tip #6 Extraordinary Communication 

Good morning Lewis County! I’m Eren Millam Realtor and I hope you’re having an Extraordinary day! Last week we covered marketing to the modern buyer. If you missed it you can click here. Today we cover what to expect from your agent regarding communication.

The #1 complaint from sellers of agents is a lack of communication. The expectation varies from seller to seller, but if you don’t discuss this prior to listing, during listing, or after the listing, how does your agent know what you want? It may seem like I’m putting the blame on you, the seller, but I’m not. An average agent will never know what you want because they’ll never ask or discuss it with you. You’ll hear from them when you list, then again when you’re about to expire.

An Extraordinary agent will discuss with you their plan of communication and ask if that works for you and if you have any changes you’d like to make with it. Not only when they’ll communicate with you, but what they communicate to you. For example, I update my clients every two weeks on the general market, changes in the market that affect their listing (like new on market, pending, and sold), activity on the home (if vacant), as well as how well the marketing is working.

A lot of agents will ask for a price drop when there are no offers, but they won’t tell you what they’ve done to market your home. These same agents typically employ a “set it and forget it” tactic of entering it on the MLS and hoping another agent brings along a buyer. If you find yourself in that situation, I’d ask for specifics and if they can’t deliver them to you, I’d fire them.

You’re the boss and you set the expectation of communication with your agent. Why settle for less than Extraordinary communication? Although this video tip is short, the topic is important! Next week we’ll address what happens when your listing expires and the pros and cons of listing For Sale By Owner. Until next time, don’t settle for anything less than an Extraordinary day!

7 Tips for Chehalis / Centralia Home Sellers: Tip 5 Marketing to Modern Buyers

7 Tips for Chehalis / Centralia Home Sellers

Tip 5 Marketing to Modern Buyers 

Hello, I’m Eren Millam Realtor, creator and curator of Lewis County Homes dot com. The Place for Lewis County Real Estate! Last week I provided some great tips on DIY staging and you can find that video here. Today we talk about the modern buyer and how to market to them.

Pre-internet, if you want to buy a home, you went into a Real Estate office and looked at a book of current listings. Once you found something you like, you went out and toured it with your agent. That’s no longer the case. A buyer starts their search online and can look at any listed home in the world from their home computer. Question is, do you think the change in how buyers search and find their homes requires a different type of marketing than was used prior to the internet? 

The answer is most certainly, yes!

This doesn’t mean that all old forms of marketing no longer work and shouldn’t be used, but it does mean that in order to get the highest price for your home, you need to expose your listing online using modern marketing techniques! If you select an agent who only markets your home in print advertising, you’re missing 90% of the market. So, what does it take to market to online buyers? 

Let’s ask them how listings grab their attention.

ü  Buyers want photos that show the property, but also show it well without intentionally misleading them.

ü  Buyers want lots of photos. Studies show properties with more photos tend to get more interest because the fewer the photos, the more buyers believe something is being hidden.

ü  Buyers want listings to be advertised where they’re at. Not just online, but social media and dedicated real estate sites.

ü  Buyers want listings to show up when they search for them. How frustrating is it to come across a home and not be able to find it again?

ü  Buyers love video and want tours of listings as still images don’t necessarily give an insight to the feel and flow of the home.

ü  Buyers want access to all pertinent information of properties, and they want it all in one place and easy to access.

If your agent doesn’t know this, or doesn’t know how to provide this to buyers, how well do you think they’re going to market your home?

I’ve heard complaints of other agents from buyers and sellers alike, that are frustrated with the quality and amount of pictures. Most do and say nothing because they assume it doesn’t get any better. As a Realtor, it is my job to professionally market your home, so why wouldn’t I get professional photos? Do you think professional advertisers use their cell phones to sell their products?

The majority of modern buyers no longer read the newspaper or real estate magazines. If they do, it’s an online version. Multiple, consisting social media posts is no longer the exception, but the rule. Even better, is a post that sends an interest buyer to a single property website that features your home and all its information, pictures, and video tours! They can then share this information with their family and friends, further exposing your home beyond its initial reach.

Finally, a buyer’s typical search on Google goes something like this: “chehalis homes for sale between 150-250k”. Typical results are Zillow, Trulia, etc. and send them all available options. Wouldn’t it be great if you could get your specific home at the top of the results? And instead of sending them to Zillow, they’d go directly to your home’s video tour? You’ve now got the buyers attention for 3 minutes rather than the usual 5 seconds and they have a reason to come back or share it.

If you want to get top dollar for your home, you need to market to the modern buyer. Without the enhanced marketing techniques, you’re missing a great deal of potential buyers and exposure. Buyers set the market, so why not make them compete for the chance of owning your home? Next week we’ll cover agent communication and why it’s important for you not to settle for less than Extraordinary. You know the drill, go out and make it an Extraordinary day!

7 Tips for Chehalis / Centralia Home Sellers: Tip # 4

7 Tips for Chehalis / Centralia Home Sellers: 

Tip # 4: Staging Your Home

Hey there! Eren Millam Realtor here and I want to tell you why it’s important to stage your home when selling. Last week, I spoke about the importance of correctly pricing your home and you can find that video here.

When you first started house hunting, you probably gave your agent a list of criteria that you wanted in a home. They probably took you to a few that matched all your criteria only to find out that’s not at all what you wanted. When they ask you for feedback, you probably said, “I don’t know, I just don’t “feel” it”. Sound familiar? Well I am here to tell you today that the feeling you didn’t feel probably has to do with how your home is staged.

When I talk about staging, I’m not talking about professional staging, although that is your best option. Sometimes staging can be as simple as re-arranging furniture so the showing can “flow” though the house. Buyers do not buy a home because it matches their criteria, they buy it because of how it makes them feel. This may seem silly to you, but I encourage you to try it for yourself!

Here’s more evidence. When agents were asking if staging made a difference to their buyer, 96% said it had some or a great effect on their buyers. If a buyer can’t imagine themselves in your home, they won’t buy it period.

So here’s some things you can do to stage your home on your own:

Clean: Not your average cleaning, but spring cleaning type of cleaning. Deep cleaning throughout the house. Dust, vacuum, mop and don’t forget to clean the windows!

Light: Make sure all your lights work, and turn them on. Open up the blinds and let natural light in. Turn unnecessary electronics off (tv, computer, etc).

Pre-pack: Remove personal items and knick-knacks, remove rugs, and make sure to put away daily use items such as shoes/hygiene etc. Put away toys, remove items from refrigerator, pack personal photos etc.

If a doorway is blocked or you can’t easily move from one room to the next, open it up!

It’s annoying, but you have think of your home full of memories, now as a product that you’re trying to sell for top dollar. If your memories are everywhere in the house, the new buyer won’t be able to imagine their own memories. Worse than that, I’ve had buyers get sidetracked looking at photos on the wall or perusing the titles of magazines on your coffee table. If the buyer has more interest in anything other than the home, you’ve lost them because they won’t even remember it.

So staging makes a big impression on buyers whether it is done or not done. I’ve outlined a few things you can do on your own and can answer any question you might have if you want to take it further. Next week, we’ll talk about marketing and what it takes to get today’s buyers to pay top dollar for your home. Now, get out there and make it an Extraordinary day!

Chehalis Home For Sale: 1528 Ceres Hill Rd, Adna, WA

1528 Ceres Hill Rd, Adna, WA

Get Directions Click Here

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$ Click for current price
3 BEDROOMS | 2 (2 full ) BATHROOMS | 2352 SQUARE FEET

Less than 10 mins from I-5 on a quaint country road, you'll find the perfect fusion of rustic design & modern amenities! Taste the succulent bounty of apple, plum & pear trees or harvest history from your 56-year old grapevines! Make your way inside & you're greeted by an open concept chef's kitchen leading to the great room w/ vaulted ceilings and exposed beams! Ideal for entertaining, you're just a few steps away from the private backyard & fire pit. This is the life you've been longing for!

• Follow This Home!
• Free List of Foreclosed Homes For Sale
• Avoid Foreclosure
• Free Home Values
• Homes Close to Where You Work
• Mortgage & Refinance
• Search All Homes For Sale

Presented By:

Eren Millam

Realty World Cosser & Associates
360-219-3616
Licensed In: Washington
License #: 113974

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