When You Hire Chris Ann Cleland to Sell Your Northern Virginia Home...
When a Northern Virginia home owner hires me to sell their property, there are many things going on, some behind the scenes, that they may not realize are happening to get their property sold. We go over this stuff in the listing presentation, but once we've been through the paperwork to make the listing relationship official, all that marketing and planning we talked about seems to float right out their minds. So here's what I do, broken into the life cycles of your listing.
MARKETING
I've got a great new listing and it's time for me to tell the world about it. Here's the steps that I take to reach those buyers that are in the market for your home.
Staging---Walking through your property with you, I will make suggestions of how to arrange furniture, declutter and do minor property maintenance to bring the home to a show ready position. The home won't be in the same condition as the way you live in it, but it's worth it to keep the home in it's show ready condition.
Photographs---I take of ton of photographs of your home, inside and out, including any community amenities, and edit them. Ninety-nine percent of photos are not ready for the Internet until they have been straightened, brightened and/or color adjusted. This is the first impression buyers are going to have of your home. I want to make sure the first impression is a good one.
Measurements & Home Details---You'll notice when I am in your home, I scribble notes and measure rooms. I want as much information in the hands of a buyer as I can give them. Why? Because I've been out with buyers only to find out that not having two sinks in a master bathroom, or granite counters in the kitchen is a deal breaker. Why waste a buyer's time and yours if I can take notes about what your home offers and share that through the listing.
Signage---I will order a yard sign for your home and attach my website address and phone number riders so buyers can contact me directly with any questions.
MLS---Inputting your home in the MLS is the first step in truly "getting it out there." I take my time and make sure that I enter every detail I know about your home. I don't want a listing that tells only the list price and address. I want to tell them what your HOA fee covers, if there is high speed Internet service and so on. I also use the photo descriptions available to give details of the home, room by room.
Online Brochures---The next step is to create an online brochure that I can use to write a narrative on your home with more of those photos I took. The MLS feeds many websites, but if you want a customized listing, an online brochure needs to be created. This is one that I am able to share through my own blog. I am also able to feature your listing on the sidebar of my blog with this online brochure.
REALTOR.com---Listing enhancements on REALTOR.com are worth every penny. Again, I can write a customized narrative about your home, photo descriptions, special messages, add open houses and so forth. Best of all, enhanced listings are given priority ranking within area home searches.
My Website---Your listing will be featured on my website, whose address will be on your sign post.
Social Media---If your neighborhood has a Facebook page, we'll share the online brochures with the members of the group. I'll share it with area agents and residents through my own social networking.
Newsletter---I publish a newsletter every 4-6 weeks that is mailed to past clients, friends, family and prospects. Your listing will be featured in it.
FOLLOW-UP
This isn't as exciting as the marketing, which is where most sellers want the focus, but it is necessary to keep the listing on a course to sell.
Showing Feedback---The lockbox I place on your property is assigned to your listing. When an agent accesses the lockbox to show your home, I get a notification that they have shown the property. It's not always immediate, but I will know who has been through and when. I follow-up with every agent about what their buyer's thought of the home. Sometimes we get useful information that can help us make the home more attractive to buyers, sometimes we don't. It's always worth the time to make the effort to communicate with buyer's agents.
Weekly Check-Ins---Touching base with my clients is very important. I do it at least once a week, on Monday or Tuesday. I will keep you updated as to any feedback from buyer's agents and any changes to the local market that affect the listing. I'll also share any marketing we did the prior week.
NEGOTIATING
Woo-hoo. We've got an offer. Here's where you'll love that I'm a contract nerd.
Reviewing Offers---Not all offers to purchase your home will be great. There are some terms you should counter, depending on market analysis and your own needs or desires. Having an agent that understands the Northern Virginia Regional Sales Contract inside and out is key. I'm that contract nerd. In 2007 I gained a higher level of license with the Virginia Real Estate Board when I became an Associate Broker. And being a full-time professional, being actively engaged in the business of real estate every day keeps me sharp. The art of negotiation is something I learned through various sales training in my previous marketing jobs. I'll help you negotiate the best deal possible.
Getting from Contract to Closing---The stickiest part of any transaction comes once a home is under contract. We want to stay on track to close. That often times means staying on top of the buyer's agent to make sure inspections are done and appraisals ordered in a timely manner. We may have to order a termite inspection. HOA documents need to be procured for the buyer. All of this is handled through my checklist system that gets us from contract to closing.
Constant Negotiations---You would think that once the ink is dry on the contract, you are done negotiating. Nope. There are pop up negotiations with each inspection. I'm there every step of the way to help you negotiate home repairs to post settlement occupancy.
CLOSING
This is the fun part. The goal of selling your home is in sight.
Pre-Closing---Making sure you have arranged the transfer of utilities, stopped any automatic payments for mortgage and HOA dues, and so forth are all part of my job. Settlement is scheduled to best accommodate your schedule. You'll know where to be, when to be there and what to bring.
Attend Closing---Not being present for a real estate closing is not an option for me. I am there with you through every step of the home sale. Closing is no different. HUD-1 settlement statements get reviewed for accuracy before we ever arrive at the settlement table. Some mistakes are caught at the settlement table, but most are caught before you ever get there.
Post Closing---Sometimes issues arise after settlement. Maybe your HOA is still billing you. Maybe you didn't get your proceeds in a timely fashion. Pick up the phone and I'll help you work it out. It takes very little effort for me to help you with a post settlement issue because I know who to call and how to solve the problem. I do this all the time.
HUD for Tax Purposes---The final thing I do for my sellers is mail them a copy of their HUD-1 settlement statement for tax purposes the following year, when they are preparing last year's tax return. I know that you will likely misplace that document in your move, so I mail out another.
Enjoying what I do makes it easy for me to stay on top of real estate trends, contract issues/changes and market conditions. With my marketing background, it is easy to do what needs to be done to get buyers through your home. I will make it look effortless, but that doens't mean it won't be effective. Just sit back and let me at it. All I ask is you keep you your home in show ready condition.
Chris Ann Cleland, Associate-Broker-Licnesed in VA, Long & Foster REALTORS®
703-402-0037, ChrisAnn@LNF.com, www.NVARealEstate.net, www.SpeakingOfHomes.net
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