series ii: Professional Advertising & Print Materials - 10/07/07 07:50 PM
Not all agents are as adept at others when it comes to advertising. That's why it's critical for a seller to understand the capabilities of their agent. The seller should ask to see examples of an agent's work prior to enlisting their services.
Virtual agents are quick to denounce any advertising which costs money-printed advertising especially. Instead they'll post your listing on virtual message boards in the hope that everyone is internet savvy and looking in the right place.
Not all agents will provide the same level of advertising. Therefore we have decided to list some of the services we offer as an … (0 comments)
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series ii: Intimate Local Market Knowledge - 10/02/07 06:37 PM
Intimate Local Market Knowledge
By their own admission, virtual companies cannot compete on a local level against agents specializing in a particular market. Instead they have to rely on volume in an expansive market area. This is problematic for a virtual company who does not have agents working in a specific area of expertise. It's even more problematic for a seller who is replying on local market expertise to gain a competitive edge.
Local market knowledge will benefit sellers in a challenging market. These are some of the advantages in working with a professional full service real state agent:
Having intimate local knowledge … (0 comments)
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series ii: Networking With Local Agents - 10/02/07 06:24 PM
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series ii: Negotiating-Part of a Series - 10/02/07 06:21 PM
Presenting Offers & Negotiating in Person
Anyone who has experience in negotiations will likely confer that to negotiate well one must know their adversary. Local real estate professionals have an upper hand in any negotiation when they have access to this information.
Having experience with how other agents may likely coach their client could be of great value in a particular negotiation.
Virtual agents and on-line companies in an effort to stream-line the process and be able to cut their overhead, have designed elaborate schemes to complete a paperless real estate transactions. And while this contribution to the industry is admirable since the … (0 comments)
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series ii: Knowing The Competition & The Comparables - 10/02/07 06:18 PM
It's essential to price a home properly. Failing to do so could cost a seller thousands of dollars as they attempt to chase the market.
Knowing a local real estate market can only come with experience-gained by visiting homes first-hand. Weekly real estate tours are designed to allow agents to view new listings and failing to keep up on the inventory of homes can be catastrophic to an agents' career.
Real estate agents have a distinct advantage over home appraisers since agents get a first hand look at homes before they sell. An appraiser is relegated to driving around a list of sold … (0 comments)
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series ii: Enhancing A Home's Appeal - 10/02/07 06:16 PM
Enhancing A Home's Appeal
A full-service professional agent can offer tips and advice on preparing your home for sale. Since each home is unique, a boiler plate list of recommendations is nice to have and easy to put on-line, but it can hardly replace an agent's first hand look at your home.
A professional full service agent has experience in your local market regarding which enhancements or improvements will provide an acceptable return for an investment in a particular area. An agent who specializes in a particular area will be able to determine what the profile is of the typical buyer for … (0 comments)
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series ii: Looking After a Seller - 10/02/07 06:13 PM
The success of a full service professional real estate agent relies on repeat business and referrals from satisfied customers. In order to achieve this, agents are constantly enhancing their services. Caring about the client and their needs are of the utmost importance.
Being a local agent allows for a more hands-on approach to an industry that replies heavily on communication and advice.
Looking after a listing means being physically to show it to a prospective client with little notice. Once a buyer drives by your home, if they cannot get in they may never come back-especially if they have mentally moved on, or … (0 comments)
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series ii: Hosting Broker Tours - 10/02/07 06:11 PM
Hosting a special tour for brokers should be part of every agent's marketing plan. That is of course if your broker knows why they are there and if of course it's a traditional part for the particular market. Sure it's fun to meet colleagues and chat about your weekend, but there are more important things to accomplish-that is if your broker is physically available to hold a broker tour.
These are some of the things you can accomplish:
Serve a catered lunch tour. Giving away food for free makes little sense if you own a restaurant so why would it makes sense for … (0 comments)
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series ii: Hosting Open Houses-Part of a series - 10/02/07 05:29 PM
Everyone knows open houses don't sell homes, right? Isn't that what virtual brokers want you to believe? In fact they need you to believe that because they won't hold open houses; yet as matter of course they send their buyers to view open houses since they also don't show property. How can they accurately assess the success of open houses without doing them? They rely on a statistic they often quote that less than 1% of all sales resulted from a buyer seeing the home at an open house-perhaps. If a buyer finds a home on-line, but decides to buy it … (3 comments)
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series ii: Gaining Exposure For Your Home - 10/02/07 04:57 PM
As the real estate market enters a new phase where homes will take longer to sell and sell for less, sellers will need to have an edge over their competition. Absent just having the lowest price in the neighborhood what else can a seller do?
While pricing your home correctly is fundamental to a successful sale, there are many other factors which play into selling your home.
Getting Maximum Exposure for Your Home
Your home's exposure to the market is critical. The more buyers who know about your home the better the chances are of finding the right one. Buyers have many avenues today … (0 comments)
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series ii: Examing The Real Estate Model-Part two in a series - 10/02/07 04:51 PM
Examining the Real Estate Model-Part 2
In a strong seller's market it's much easier to sell a home. In recent years many Bay Area homes have been selling over the asking price in a week or two and with multiple offers. With record high median prices, it's not surprising that many would flock to the industry to get a piece of the action. Unfortunately, the market has changed and many of the start-up virtual companies may find it difficult to attract clientele. While the temptation to hire a bargain basement company may be attractive given a decrease in available equity, that's … (0 comments)
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series ii: Meeting Buyers At The Property - 09/29/07 08:27 PM
One of the big complaints from the buyers of on-line virtual agents they represent is they can't get in to see a home since their agent does not show property. A virtual agent's buyer's only recourse is to go to open houses or call the listing agent directly to show the home.
Many listing agents are unwilling to work with buyers who already have agent representation, and of course they are not supposed to. They can however make a home available to a buyer working with a virtual agent if they so choose. The virtual companies are quick to blame listing agents … (1 comments)
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series ii: Full Service vs. Limited Service or Virtual Agents—Is There Room for Everyone? - 09/29/07 08:02 PM
The short answer is of course yes. Different sellers have different needs and abilities and some may choose a full service model and others limited or no service at all-the choices have been there all along. Yet the arrival of virtual Internet brokers has spawned a new ideology of it's either "us or them".
The very survival of limited service or virtual Internet brokers relies on two things: The first is they are able to convince everyone that paying a 6% compensation is the only alternative to their "discount" model, and the second is that they must convince their prospects that the … (4 comments)
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