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!
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!
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!
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!
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.
üBuyers want photos that show the property, but
also show it well without intentionally misleading them.
üBuyers 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.
üBuyers want listings to be advertised where
they’re at. Not just online, but social media and dedicated real estate sites.
üBuyers 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?
üBuyers love video and want tours of listings as
still images don’t necessarily give an insight to the feel and flow of the home.
üBuyers 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!
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!
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!
