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Are you fresh?

By
Real Estate Agent with Ellicott City Clarksville Howard County Maryland Real Estate 535650

Are you fresh or do you stink like a stale pair of old crusty socks?

 Do you really give top class service to your clients Mr., & Mrs. Seller?

I showed 10 homes today, all in the $700,000 to $800,000 price range in lovely Ellicott City Maryland. All the homes were less than 15 years old.

First I have in hand all of the MLS print outs. 2 homes do not have a main picture: 1 was listed in May and one was listed last Monday. (Today is Sunday)

1 home had a lead picture but the only comment was "Nice House- don't let the cats out" This was the public remarks as well as agent remarks.

Out of the 10 homes we viewed 3 showed very well- Nicely staged & neat and tidy.

3 out of 10 had flyers either outside of the home or inside and only one of those three looked like they had taken more than 5 minutes to put together.

2 had an empty flyer box attached to the sign.

1 had a sign with spray painting all over it and another had a sign with the name rider hanging off.

None of these homes were short sales or foreclosures, but one was so dirty with a pungent odor that my clients did not make it past the foyer.

2 had carpets that were long past their prime with stains and folds.

The home my clients fell in love with was the least compatible to what they had conveyed as their desires- but they fell in love with the presentation.

The front yard was immaculate- not too fancy, but freshly mulched and with summer flowers, the front door sparkled and was recently painted.

Stepping inside was a delight- soft music, well lit and incredibly clean. On the dining room table was a plate of home made cookies with a note from the agent welcoming us to the home. A very elegant full color flyer was placed at different locations throughout the house. A binder had been compiled by the listing agent of not only pictures of the house in different seasons but of all the amenities available in the area. There were school reports available and menus from local eateries.  Obviously someone had taken the time to actually market the home to potential buyers. My clients decided that if someone made the effort to sell their home, then they obviously cared about the home while they lived in it.

How far do you go in this tough market to stand out from the crowd?

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Comments(41)

Susan McQuaide
Keller Williams - Simpsonville, SC

Those are all wonderful ideas! It is amazing what going that extra step can do.

Jun 16, 2008 08:54 AM
Yvette Smith
LONG & FOSTER - Williamsburg, VA
Realtor In Williamsburg VA, Homes for Sale

Hi Ellie from Elliot City!!  How cute is that?!?  I love your background pics!  I'd like to think that I'm fresh!!  In turn, my buyers & sellers will also be fresh...that's what I advise.  Of course, they'll do as I advise, because I am the professional resident expert!!  Right?

Thanks for sharing,

Jun 16, 2008 10:08 AM
Nancy Larson
I am a licensed referral agent in NJ - Hutchinson Island, FL

Fabulous blog and plan to share this with my realtor friends....thanks for sharing.

Jun 16, 2008 10:23 AM
Debra and Scott Brooks
Brooks Prime Properties, Lake Conroe - Conroe, TX
Lake Conroe Real Estate and Luxury Home Specialists!

Hi Ellie- You are so right! I'm here at Lake Livingston, Texas. In our heat and humidity, I just don't understand Sellers that leave the AC off. I know energy bills are high, but give me a break. No one wants to stand inside of a hotbox for very long. They are just hurting their chancves of selling and their agent should advise them so. Very good points.

Jun 16, 2008 12:14 PM
Kevin O'Shea
Coldwell Banker - White Plains, NY
White Plains, NY Real Estate

Great ad for a staging company.  You should pass it on to a local stager and let them use it as long as they leave your name on it.

All the best!

Jun 16, 2008 01:20 PM
Sharon Harris
Keller Williams Keystone Realty - Hanover, PA
Realtor

very nice to have a really cared for house to show. And cookies to boot. I will never be that organied to make cookies and have them waiting for a showing?

Jun 16, 2008 01:45 PM
Lane Bailey
Century 21 Results Realty - Suwanee, GA
Realtor & Car Guy

I'm amazed by what some think is acceptable marketing and presentation. 

Jun 16, 2008 01:51 PM
Linda Scanlan
A Fan of AR - Burleson, TX

Ellie, I'm always embarrassed when I see something like this. At the very least maintain the MLS with pictures! What a disservice to a client when they have an irresponsible agent.

Jun 16, 2008 02:10 PM
Derenda Grubb
CENTURY 21 Mike D. Bono & Co.'s - Lake Charles, LA
GRI, ABR, CRS

Welcome Ellie,

Very good post.  It is really a very simple priciple; treat others as you would have them treat you.  That means take the steps to market their home as you would your own.  It is easier to sell that way.

Jun 16, 2008 02:24 PM
Roland Woodworth
Blue Cord Realty - Clarksville, TN
Blue Cord Realty

Elli... CONGRATULATIONS on your sucess today. This is a great post !

Jun 16, 2008 03:06 PM
Wayne B. Pruner
Oregon First - Tigard, OR
Tigard Oregon Homes for Sale, Realtor, GRI

You had a big day Ellie. I really hate it when an agent cannot even deliver the most basic services.

Jun 16, 2008 04:00 PM
Anonymous
Anonymous

Great Post glad you shared. Have a great week!!

Andy Laughlin

Connect Realty

Jun 16, 2008 06:49 PM
#33
Sabrina Kelley
ERA Herman Group Real Estate - Woodland Park, CO
Woodland Park Colorado Mountain Homes and Land

I hope the days of the under motivated broker is going to fade. I think customers and "real" pros are going to close the gap.

Excellecne is the new trend amongst realtors who will be sucessful.

Jun 16, 2008 07:21 PM
Ellie McIntire
Ellicott City Clarksville Howard County Maryland Real Estate - Ellicott City, MD
Luxury service in Central Maryland

Scott- No air conditioning in TEXAS. Good grief.

Sharon, I believe the agent placed them there before the showing

Roland- Thank you

Sabrina- Exactly- the small details do make the difference.

Jun 16, 2008 11:22 PM
Debbie Summers
Charles Rutenberg Realty - New Smyrna Beach, FL

It's all about the presentation...  I'll never understand dirty homes that are on the market. 

Jun 16, 2008 11:45 PM
Ellie McIntire
Ellicott City Clarksville Howard County Maryland Real Estate - Ellicott City, MD
Luxury service in Central Maryland

Debbie- unless it's a foreclosure there is no excuse.

Jun 17, 2008 12:05 AM
Kelly Sibilsky
Licensed Through Referral Connection, LTD. - Lake Zurich, IL

The implication by the commenter above that an agent who does not preview all listings is unprofessional annoys me. It's not unprofessional at all, just a different way of doing business based on our own personal experiences with past and current clients. If we previewed all the homes and decided against showing certain homes based on our own personal opinions, we might in fact eliminate the very home the client would have purchased. I've been surprised many times by what a client chooses to purchase - and it has sometimes been the ugliest, dirtiest of the bunch - one I never would have purchased, let alone wanted to show. But they could see through all that and recognize what the home could be, they fell in love with the lot or the floorplan, or simply felt connected to it because it reminded them of the house they grew up in. In my opinion, previewing implies that we can either get inside our client's heads and know exactly what they want, or it implies that we know more than they do about what they want. I read a lot of renovation-type magazines and one of the recurring themes expressed by the homeowner is that "their agent didn't want to show them the house or tried to talk them out of it" and yet they purchased it anyway - dirty, ugly and smelly as it was - and lovingly renovated it to a thing of beauty!

Jun 17, 2008 01:06 AM
Gary Barnett
Home Matters - Indianapolis, IN
Home Matters Property Stylist Group, Indianapolis

Ellie, please consider posting this in the "Stage it Forward" group.

Jun 17, 2008 01:53 AM
Ellie McIntire
Ellicott City Clarksville Howard County Maryland Real Estate - Ellicott City, MD
Luxury service in Central Maryland

Kelly- well put. We are not the ones buying the home. Personally I feed off of my clients when they look at a home. I see their reaction to certain details.

Gary- Okie Dokie

Jun 17, 2008 04:10 AM
Kathy Clulow
Uxbridge, ON
Trusted For Experience - Respected For Results

Ellie - Presentation presentation presentation is second only to location location location. You do what needs to be done to present the property in its best light.

Jun 20, 2008 02:43 AM