What You Need to Know Before Selling Your Home

We all know that selling a home can be extremely stressful, but with the right agent by your side, you can experience a smooth and successful transaction. Our job is to provide you with all the information necessary for you to make good decisions and to make your sale happen as quickly as possible, with the fewest headaches, and for the highest net proceeds.

 

Top Six Reasons to Hire our Crew

1. Work with experienced professionals for peace of mind.

As a real estate team with over 30 years of combined experience, we have consistently earned top production awards.  We adhere to a strict code of ethics and are committed to the highest level of training and education. We have in depth knowledge of sales and market trends in not only Greater Annapolis, but all of Anne Arundel County, and our understanding of contract law ensures all the documentation is handled expediently and correctly.

2. Prepare home for a quick & high-priced sale.

We provide our sellers with a detailed “to do” list of how to thoroughly prepare your house for the market.  We earned an Accredited Staging Professional designation early on and help our sellers make good decisions about what items to keep and what items to remove to generate the maximum buyer interest.  Additionally, our Crew has a storage facility of staging props and furniture which can be used if appropriate.  We will also bring in a full-time stager, if necessary, particularly when we are listing larger vacant properties.

3. Deep comparable analysis dive.

Pricing is perhaps the most important decision a seller needs to make right after hiring an agent.  Selecting the right price for your home involves careful analysis of not just sold comparable properties but also current active listings that will serve as your competition. We provide our sellers with detailed real-time information on the listings you are competing with in your market and how to make your listing stand out from the crowd and connect with buyers who are ready to buy.

4. Start marketing your property before it goes on the MLS.

As the #1 Brokerage in Anne Arundel County and the greater Annapolis area, we have access to a large network of top-notch agents. We place most of our listings into the Coldwell Banker Exclusive Look program which alerts CB agents to up and coming listings. Through this network, we are able to sell many listings at full or higher sales prices before going on the mass market thus saving our sellers the stress of endless showings to potentially unqualified buyers. On top of that we have a stellar marketing plan that includes professional photography and videography to showcase your home in the manner it deserves. We use open houses, flyers, just listed postcards, print media, social media, online advertising, direct communication, and more to target all the marketing groups.

5. Successfully navigate through negotiations and contract contingencies.

As a team lead by the Certified Negotiation Expert, we can help you with detailed offer evaluation and negotiating the best terms. We are very skilled in getting through the inspection process.  We check in with every listing inspection to better understand any significant repair issues so that we can better communicate them to our sellers.  We work with a long list of qualified contractors who can provide repair estimates as well as make the repairs within the timelines of the contract. We assist sellers with negotiating seller credits in lieu of making repairs as well.  Additionally, we monitor all other contingencies including financing and the sale of other real estate to ensure that all agreed upon terms are successfully executed according to the timelines in the contract.

6. Prepare for a smooth settlement.

We assist our sellers with all title requests, survey issues, and ownership concerns to ensure the property transfers smoothly to the owners.  We have a lengthy list of professionals to help us with this process.

Five Essentials for a Successful Sale

Not Under Our Control

1. MARKET

The market is always shifting. Global pandemic, recession, inflation, mortgage availability, competition and the public’s perception of the health of the economy all play a role in house prices. It may be a buyer’s market (where there are a lot of houses for sale and buyers have more negotiating power) or it may be a seller’s market (where there are limited houses for sale and the sellers have more negotiating power). The pricing of your home must reflect the current market because we cannot dictate market conditions.

2. LOCATION

The pricing of your home must reflect its location. The more desirable the location, the higher the market price. When buyers choose a location they look for access to amenities, school districts, low traffic, easy highway accessibility, proximity to parks, etc. All of these things must be taken into consideration when determining the value of your home. Obviously, we cannot control the location of your property but we should consider it in our pricing.

Under Our Control

3. CONDITION

The pricing of your home must accurately reflect its condition. Your job is to make your home bright, light filled, and clean (as close to a model home as possible). Our job is to tell the world about it and gain maximum market exposure. Most buyers today prefer an updated, well maintained home with an open floorplan. Take a look around your home. What things can be fixed that will have a big impact on how well your house shows? We will  provide inspirational staging to get you the most money. If your house needs more substantial improvements, ask us about our Coldwell Banker Real Vitalize improvement program.

4. TERMS

In addition to price, buyers will include specific terms in the purchase agreement (e.g. approval of financing, home inspection, etc.). If you are willing to accept offers with a variety of terms, you increase the buyer pool. The price of your home must reflect the terms. For example, you can often negotiate a higher sale price if you are willing to accept terms that are important to the buyer (such as a longer/shorter closing date). The good news is that we are experienced negotiators, so we’ll be in your corner to protect your interests.

5. PRICE

Price is the most important factor in the sale of your house. If you price your home too low, you leave money on the table that is rightfully yours. If you price it too high, buyers will not come see it, your home languishes on the market, and other agents will use it as a tool to sell their listings by showing better value. Once a house is on the market for a while, all buyers ask the same three questions:

  • How long has it been on the market?
  • What’s wrong with it?
  • The sellers must be getting desperate, should we try a low-ball offer?

Failure to properly price your home can cost you thousands of dollars. Setting the right asking price is the single biggest factor that determines the success or failure of your home sale. That’s where our knowledge of the market and pricing expertise come in. We will help you choose the right price that will get you maximum exposure in the market, so you sell quicker for the most amount of money.

Home Interior

RealVitalize® Program

When you list your home with us, we can help you make the needed improvements and repairs to prep your home for sale at no cost to you until closing, using the RealVitalize program. There are no hidden fees, interest charges or markups. Most homes using the program sell at or above list price*.

Included in the program:

  • Staging
  • Appliance Purchasing & Installation
  • Cleaning
  • Kitchen & Bathroom Upgrades
  • Handyman Services
  • Curb Appeal Enhancements
  • Electrical Upgrades
  • Carpentry
  • Drywall & Insulation
  • Landscaping
  • Painting
  • Plumbing
  • Moving & Storage
  • Junk Hauling
  • And much more...

*Based on Coldwell Banker property spotlight marketing plan usage data reported through May 31, 2020: On average, sellers whose agents use the plan benefit with a 1% higher sales price.