So you think it’s time to sell your home. You know that in order to sell it in a decent amount of time, and for the right price, you’ll need to hire a Realtor®. But the commissions that Realtors charge seem like a lot of money.  How do they really earn that money?  Well, unlike most real estate agents, I publish my plan to sell your home up front.  That way you’ll know exactly what is being done and have confidence that you’re getting your money’s worth.  Here is my plan:

Marketing Plan Summary

This marketing plan is a business plan for the sale of your property. It is based upon the following key areas necessary for successful sales of real estate in today’s market:

• Setting the listing price.
• Implementing a comprehensive marketing plan.
• Preparing your home for sale.
• Showing and promoting your home.
• Communicating and providing you with feedback.
• Managing the transaction.

Today, over 75% of buyers use the Internet as a primary resource for information regarding purchase of a new home. They search for homes online. They use property-address-oriented web sites to determine an estimate of value for homes. They use online mapping sites to evaluate the desirability of a location regarding schools, neighborhoods, shopping and commute distances. When they are ready, they even apply for their mortgages online.

Today’s real estate market has created a new paradigm for today’s Realtor®:

First, a Realtor® must perform all “traditional” marketing activities required for selling your home. Performing these activities in a quality, proactive way is, in itself, a demanding job.

Second, your home must be promoted effectively in today’s online real estate marketplace. A few of these promotional activities occur automatically as a result of placing the listing for your home in the Multiple Listing Service (MLS). Most online marketing activities require action and technology awareness on the part of your Realtor® to make sure your home gets the broadest exposure possible.

Setting the Listing Price

Serious buyers will typically develop a good sense for the eventual selling price of your home. They visit a large number of homes with a wide variety of features. They view homes in a variety of conditions. A home that is priced comparably to other recently SOLD homes in the area will sell in an appreciating real estate market. The same home at the same price in a flat or declining real estate market may NOT sell.

These two factors: a) the condition of the real estate market, and b) we are selling to educated buyers, are the two elements to pricing your property correctly. The primary tool that I use to help you understand the value of your home is a Comprehensive Market Analysis (CMA) that I prepare. Here is what it includes:

• A high-level, easily understood value range for your home with the most comparable properties that have SOLD recently in the area.
• A detailed analysis of all properties in the area with the following MLS listing statuses: Active, Pending, Sold.
• A sample of the published value of your home from an online service, such as Zillow.com.
• The detail characteristics of your home taken from the County tax records.
• A statistical analysis of market trends over the last year in your area.

As you see, this CMA includes a significant amount of information from which you can make an educated decision regarding the listing price of your home.

Through out the listing period, I provide periodic updates to the CMA. These updates include information about new listings, pending sales, sold properties, expired listings and withdrawn listings. I also provide new information regarding market trends as it becomes available.

You can review the current market trends and statistics for several areas at the following location on the web: MarketUpdate.NorCalPartners.com.

Comprehensive Marketing Plan

Marketing on the Internet

• Pictures, Pictures and More Pictures! At least as many as the MLS will allow. Buyers want information and the old saying is true—pictures say a thousand words.
• Multiple Listing Service–Metrolist. Listing your property in the MLS is the building block for sales of all real property. I provide the maximum number of pictures that the MLS allows.
• SacBee.com: This is a local internet-based source for active real estate listings. The source for this information is Metrolist. The more information and pictures that are published in Metrolist, the more information and pictures that will be available to users of SacBee.com.
• Realtor.com: This is a national internet-based source for active real estate listings. Its source is also the local MLS. Listings from Metrolist are available via Realtor.com.

Rowland Fellows’ Web Presence:  On my web site, www.NorCalPartners.com, you will have a page dedicated to your property. This page can be accessed through my home page, or directly using an easy-to-remember web address based upon the physical address of your property, such as: www.123OurStreet.com This page typically displays pictures and information about your home and will be publicized on every promotional piece I produce to sell your property.

Promotional Marketing

• The Sign: The “For Sale” sign on your property will display the Galster Group and one or more informational riders.
• Open Houses: This is a very good way to get your home exposed to the neighborhood. Open houses can have diminishing returns after a few weeks in terms of finding a buyer for your home.
• Neighbors: In addition to open houses, personal contact with your neighbors can be quite effective in identifying potential buyers for your home.
• Marketing to Other Realtors: It is true that 80% of the real estate is sold by 20% of the Realtors. Effective promotion within this group of Realtors many times will result in a buyer coming forward to purchase your home.
• High Quality Brochures and Flyers
• Newspaper Advertising: Effective newspaper advertising must have a “call to action”. I use newspaper advertising primarily to support my open houses.

Preparing your Home for Sale

“You never get a second chance to make a good first impression”

A potential buyer’s first impression of your home is critical for their decision to consider it further. Key areas to consider when preparing your home for sale include:

Curb Appeal

The outside of your house can be the source of a very good first impression. Keep the lawn mowed. Have your trees and bushes trimmed. Cut back overgrowth. Plant some blooming flowers. Consider having at least the front door, front of your house, and the trim painted.

Remove Clutter

If you’ve lived in your home for a while, you probably don’t realize the quantity of personal items that you have on display. You have large amount of furniture in your home as well. Buyers need to be able to “see the home”, not your personal belongings and furniture. Since you’ve already made the decision to move to a new home, you consider taking the initial steps to move and remove everything that is not essential for you during the time your home is on the market. Areas to consider include: too much furniture, overflowing closets, crowded kitchen and bathroom countertops or lots of family photos or collectibles on display.

Scents and Smells

Many people are oblivious to scents, but others are extremely sensitive to odors. If you area a smoker, or you have pets, this can be a real problem. To eliminate odors, bathe your pets, freshen the cat litter box frequently, shampoo your carpets, dry clean your drapes, and empty trash cans, recycling bins and ash trays. Place open boxes of baking soda in smell-prone areas, and refrain from cooking fish or strong-smelling foods. Introduce pleasing smells by placing flowers or potpourri in your home and using air fresheners. Baking a fresh or frozen pie or some other fragrant treat is another common tactic.

Repairs

Buyers expect everything in their new home to operate safely and properly. Picky buyers definitely will notice-and likely magnify — minor maintenance problems you’ve ignored for months or even years. Leaky faucets, burned-out light bulbs, painted-shut or broken windows, inoperable appliances and the like should be fixed before you put your home on the market. These repairs may seem small, but left undone they can lead buyers to question whether you’ve taken good care of your home.

• Quick Tips
• Keep counter tops cleared
• Replace all burned out light bulbs
• Open all drapes and window blinds
• Keep pets restrained
• Do not dirty dishes in the sink
• Do not have the washer/dryer running
• Clean or replace dirty or worn carpets
• Put on soft music
• Keep the fireplace clean
• Look at your home from the buyer’s point of view

Showing and Promoting Your Home

Brochures and Flyers

I prepare brochures and flyers for the promotion of your home. The flyers are placed in a box on the For Sale sign as well as inside the house. It is important that we never run out of flyers. I constantly monitor the supply of flyers…it is helpful if you do to!

Advertising

One of the most traditional (and most expensive) forms of real estate promotion is newspaper and magazine advertising. It has also shown to be only marginally effective when promoting a single property. Most Realtors use this form of marketing as a method to promote themselves first, and secondarily, promotion of the properties they represent. An exception to this rule is open house advertising (see below).

Open Houses

Many Realtors will tell you that Open Houses are not effective in selling your home. I believe just the opposite! Open Houses are a very effective tool for prospective buyers to view your home in a casual and informal manner..

• Advertising for Open Houses
• Open House Directory of the newspaper.
• High-quality electronic advertisement on Craig’s List.

Online announcement via the MLS and Realtor.com

Tips for preparing for an Open House

• Pull the drapes back
• Light lamps
• Simmer a few drops of vanilla on the stove
• Light your fireplace
• Set the dining room or kitchen table if you have particularly nice linen or china
• Put fresh towels in the bathroom
• Leave the house, if convenient, so I am free to deal with prospective buyers in a confidential and professional manner.

Marketing to Other Realtors

It is important to promote your property to the largest population of prospective buyers as possible. Realtors are always working with buyers who are looking for properties similar to yours. As a result, an important part of my marketing effort is promoting your property among the Realtors who are working in your area. Here’s what I do:

Tours

I am a member of the Sacramento Realtor Alliance. This group is made up of 20 Realtors® from 10 different real estate companies. We tour our listings every month. Your home will also be included in the local MLS tour.

Real Estate Sales Offices

I make sure that every Realtor from every Real Estate company in the immediate vicinity of your property has received a flyer promoting your property.

Using Technology to Market Your Home

Technology has become a vital part of selling real estate in today’s market. Without an effective technology plan for selling your home, you cannot be assured that your property will receive the widest exposure possible. Here are the key elements of my technology plan:

A Web Site for Your Home

Your home will have a dedicated web site. This site will provide pictures and descriptive information about your home. A viewer will be able to easily contact be via phone, email or through an information request form on this site.

Communicating and Providing Feedback

Price

Through out the listing period, I provide periodic updates to the CMA. These updates include information about new listings, pending sales, sold properties and expired/withdrawn listings.

Market Status

I provide a statistical analysis regarding Market Trends in your area as part of my original CMA. I provide monthly updates to this analysis.

Open Houses

You will receive weekly feedback from open houses that are held. I document all visitors that view the home. This provides me with enough information to be able to follow up with them effectively. It also allows me to provide you with meaningful feedback.

Showings

Every time a Realtor® uses the lockbox, an electronic record is created and sent to me, along with that Realtor’s contact information. I follow up with each Realtor that shows your property and I report their feedback to you.

Internet Statistics

I receive regular reports on the number of “visits” to your property’s web page and virtual tour. I receive this information from MetroList and Realtor.com. I also receive statistics about visits to my own web site. From this information, I provide you with information about the activity your property is receiving on the internet.

Managing the Transaction

Transaction Coordination

From the initial listing agreement and agency disclosures, to the final offer and counter offers, property inspections and mandated government forms, there can be over 25 different required forms associated with a transaction. Each one must be used for the correct purpose and must be signed and/or acknowledged properly. I manage the transaction personally to ensure it is done correctly.

Buyer Qualification

Many transactions are not completed because the buyers are not qualified properly. If your home goes “Pending” from an unqualified buyer, this effectively takes your home off the market during that time. Realtors generally do not show their clients properties that are in a pending status. This can have a dramatic effect on the time it takes to sell your home AND the sales price of your home!

Offer Negotiation

Many times, offers are made with a number of contingencies. If satisfying a contingency is directly under your control or the control of the buyer, it may not introduce risk to the transaction. When the contingency is out of the control of the buyer there may significant risk to accepting the offer. An example of this type of contingency is when the buyer’s purchase of your home is contingent upon selling their existing home. Again, having your home in a “Pending” status in this situation can have a dramatic effect on the time required to sell and sales price of your home.

Timeline Management

The timing of the sale of your home can be the most important aspect of the transaction! Your ability to purchase your new home may be dependent upon the sale of your existing home. If you are already in escrow on your new home, appropriate timing and “project management” in the sale of your existing home is crucial. I facilitate a highly professional, expertly executed transaction. I implement actions and perform negotiations that mitigate the risk of escrow not closing on time. I also ensure that all government disclosures are performed. This ensures that the escrow on your property will close when you want it to!