Our objective is to make this all-important process as painless for you as possible. In order to maximize your sales price and sell quickly, a lot of things have to fall in place. It means that all the i’s must be dotted and t’s crossed. It’s all about process and execution. Knowledge and experience are essential.

1. Initial Contact & Consultation

First, by phone, email, or in person, our Initial Consultation is your chance to explain your needs and plans. Everyone’s needs, motivations, and plans for moving are unique and important. It is our job to understand them. It is also a chance for you to ask us questions. You will definitely be interested in finding out how much your home is approximately worth. Maybe you are curious about the home sales process in general as well as the current state of the market. We will be glad to answer any and all questions you have.

2. Listing Consultation & Agreement

We use what we learned in our Initial Consultation to conduct in-depth research and map out a Sales Strategy tailored to your needs. We present our findings in the Listing Consultation. We review current market trends, recent market activities, comparable sales and analysis, an estimate of costs and net. We also offer a unique selling and marketing strategy tailored made to your home. In nearly all cases, our clients appreciate the thought and care that goes into it and agree to the Representation. Learn more about our Smart MLS Price Valuation and check out our Sample Listing Presentation (pdf).

3. Preparations & Pre-Staging

Even the best-kept home requires some spit and shine polishing or more. But you are not alone. We go through your house inside-out and front-back like a home inspector to come up with the Smart Pre-Staging Report. We inventory items to fix, renovate, or spruce up. We also brainstorm ideas to improve the presentability of your home. Focusing on your ROI, recommend things which may be required and point out those which might be nice but not necessary. Learn more about our Smart Pre-Staging Report.

4. Marketing & Feedback

First, your property information and professional quality photos are entered into the MLS. From the MLS, the information is distributed to the WWW, hundreds of thousand Realtor members of the MLS, newspapers and online real estate websites, classifieds, and as well as the major brokerages and websites like Re/Max, First Team, Century 21, Zillow, Trulia, Redfin, Purple Bricks, Zillow, and Realtor.com. Then the Signs are put up. Viewings are scheduled. Flyers and emails are sent throughout your neighborhood. Then Smart Open Houses go live. The feedback we get from visitors, other agents, and open houses are used to adjust strategy. Offers are entertained and sometimes rejected.

5. Offers & Negotiation

People often think negotiation starts when you receive an offer and ends when you open Escrow. However, that is not the case. Negotiation really starts the first time you think about selling your home. It continues through our Initial Consultation, Listing Consultation, our Preparation, and Marketing. If we did our job right, we will very much likely get a good offer sooner or later. We just need to assess whether the offeror and the offer are good. It doesn’t stop there. Our many years of negotiating sales contracts will give you an advantage.

6. Escrow & Close

Some people assume that they already sold their home when they start escrow. But there are still many hurdles (and a lot of work) left. The biggest one regards the loan. Does it meet appraisal? The bank also does final due diligence. Then there are home inspections and repair requests. There are pest control and pest remediation, often associated with termite. Then there are the strict timelines and possible delays. These represent the many opportunities picky buyers have to renegotiate the terms of the deal. We front-load the process to reduce the risk of hiccups along the way or buyers walking away. We also keep close to the schedule and keep the buyers accountable throughout the process. The escrow and the home sale is not complete until the escrow closes, the title is recorded, and you get the check.