SELLERS: Here's what your realtor does for you BEFORE the property is on the MLS

Sellers, wondering how realtors earn your trust and confidence BEFORE we list your property for sale?

My co-realtors are all abuzz. So many of us doing other things that buyers and sellers may not know about. So this may be a good time as any to relate what else we do, especially for out-of-town client.

The following is a list, compiled from just a few of our various activities BEFORE we activate the listing.

• Tenants are moving out....so we attend the move out walk-through, take pictures, make observations about the condition of the property, get information about the tenant's forwarding address. If the property was rented through a property manager, then we work in conjunction with that property manager on the move-out list

• Analyze the condition of the property. Make recommendations on what we can do to bring the property to marketable condition

• Consult with the property owner --- do they have a budget for repairs? Give ideas on how just a little bit of improvement can help in setting a list price. For example, if the interior and exterior paint costs $5,000, we may be able to list the price at $10,000-20,000 higher than if we didn't get the job done. It all depends on the finished product, the comps and the location.

• Prioritize on what needs to be done upon knowing what the owner is financially able to shoulder

• Get bids and estimates from the trades. Meet tradespeople at the premises, provide guidance on what we're looking for. Provide bid specs. Then help the owner decide on the winning bidders

• Schedule the workers. Paint first. Then recarpet. Refinish the wood floor.

• No budget for staging?  We select what we can use at the property, or bring a few things from our very limited collection of staging items, often borrowing from our own house.

• A fixer? Well..depending on the property, we can do something with a fixer, too!

Here's a BEFORE picture of a fixer lixing room

And here's the AFTER picture of the same room after removing the carpet, bringing in a few staging materials

• If the owner is not able to pay for the workers outright, some realtors may be able to convince the trades to wait for payment at escrow, or the realtor may front some money and wait to be reimbursed at escrow.

• Once the property is ready, the realtor arranges for picture taking and/or visual tours. Some realtors are creative enough to do this, or to hire other professionals.

• Arrange for continous maintenance of the yard for curb appeal.

There's a lot of work in preparing and maintaining a property for sale. This is just an example of what we do for our clients.

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