and Get the Best Price, in the Shortest Amount of Time

Price it right before you list it . As your REALTOR®, I can help.

I frequently see sellers list houses at above-market prices. Some hope to get lucky with a motivated buyer; others think they need to leave room to negotiate or they need to net a certain amount from the sale in order to buy their next house. These strategies often backfire. Why? Because starting too high usually means the house will sit on the market for a long period of time. And the longer it sits, the more likely that potential buyers will pass it by because they think there is something wrong with it. After all, why else would the house be on the market so long? My role as your REALTOR® is to help you make important decisions and navigate the complicated processes involved in selling a home. I can help you get the best price in the shortest amount time by listing it correctly and by doing the things that you need to do to attract buyers.

You determine how much you want to list your house for.

I will show you how to get an accurate and detailed view of how much properties like yours are selling for, and how long it is taking for them to sell in order to make sure that your house is priced right.  If you price your house too high, it is likely to be on the market for an extended amount of time. The number of Days On Market (DOM) is an important consideration for buyers looking for an house. Excessive DOM can cause REALTORS® and prospective buyers to get the idea that something is wrong with your house and pass it up. Buyers assume that such a house has been looked at by others and passed up because it has something very wrong or it is over priced. They don’t want to waste their time looking at houses that have problems. How many DOM is too long? That depends on the average time for houses, in good condition, and priced right, to sell, in the same area. If the average Days on Market is 15 days then a house that has been on the market for more than 30 days is in trouble. You might have to lower the price significantly to get buyers to look at your house. This is another negative sign for properties and can actually discourage buyers from visiting your property. Houses that have been on the market too long don’t get the showings that a correctly price house will.

You can easily check the listing and sold prices of properties near you by clicking on this button and requesting my mobile application.

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I will mail you instructions for installing and using the app. This application will allow you to see things that are not available from other sources such as the actually sold prices and the days on market of all properties.

Plan ahead.

Put everything that you can in storage, or in your new house, before listing your house for sale. Removing clutter and personal items helps the appeal of the house and removes the possibility that your important personal property will get damaged or disappear. Think Model Home and de-personalize your house. Gather copies or important papers that you are likely to need like:

• loan documents showing the payoff amount from your lender
• deed,
• survey,
• seller’s disclosure notice,
• notice of membership in a utility district (MUD Districts),
• notice of membership in a home owner’s association,
• original floor plans from the builder,
• utility bills,
• inspections reports,
• home owner’s insurance papers,
• certifications and permits for any building or additions to the property,
• warranty information for appliances, HVAC, roof, foundation, etc.,
• receipts for repairs, especially if a warranty is involved,
• divorce papers (if applicable),
• wills and court documents,
• death certificates,  etc.
• all information about liens or contracts on the property (air conditioning, water softeners, etc.)

Check with a title company to see if you need anything special like divorce papers or other documents that shows that you have clear title to the property and the legal right to sell it. Taking care of these things before listing can greatly speed things up and help avoid some problems that might delay closing or cause the buyer to terminate the contract.

Arrange for some place to stay (If your need to)

If you are living in a house, that you own, and need some place to stay, for a few days or a few weeks, while you transition into your new home get an idea of how you want to handle this. The closing for the sale of your current property may not coincide with the closing of your new home or the new home may need some preparation before you want to move in. Have movers scheduled to handle the move for you. Determine how much temporary living quarters that you will need, before listing your property for sale. Arrange to have the utilities taken out of your name  Immediately After Closing, Not Before you Hand Over the Keys to your current home. Utilities need to be left on for the buyers Final Walk through and Acceptance visit.

Arrange for movers

to handle the move for you. The cost is well worth it. Make sure that the moving company is insured, has a good reputation, and does a complete background check of the people that it uses to handle your property. Check to make sure you understand what you are getting for the quoted price. Some movers will sometimes quote you for the truck, but may not tell you that the people actually doing the move are not included at that price. You may not find this out until you get the final bill from the moving company. You don’t want lost or damaged items to take away from the joy of moving into your new home. Use Angie’s List or Home Advisor or some other reputable company that vets and rates companies to select someone that is right for you.

Get it cleaned and looking like a model home

First impressions only happen once. Your house will get the “white glove” treatment by prospective buyers and should be able to pass that test. This begins at the curb. Get the lawn groomed and in great shape and keep it that way. Make sure that buyers are wowed when they open the front door (which should be in perfect condition) and see the interior of your house for the first time. Eliminate odors that could detract from someones first impression. Remove your personal items from the walls remove any clutter caused by unnecessary furniture or decorations. Replace worn carpet. Paint the walls, if necessary. Fix anything that is broken. Replace light bulbs that are not working. Replace the faucets on every sink and bath tub that don’t look new. Replace the air filters in the A/C system. Clean kitchen appliances internally and externally until they shine like new. Dust the ceiling fans and replace the ones that are not in good working order or that make noise. Replace outlet covers that are damaged or that don’t match the others. Clean windows inside and out and make sure that they operate easily. Clean the gutters so they flow properly and don’t leak. Buyers will be looking for anything that they can find wrong with the house. Some things may seem minor, to you, but they provide an indication as to how the house was cared for by the owner. Anything that is in poor condition or in need of repair reflects negatively on the whole property and can significantly affect the selling price or your house.

Get your house inspected before listing it for sale. (this is so important and missed by so many sellers)

Avoid problems from showing up during the option period when the buyer is having the house inspected. Reduce the stress of waiting and hoping that the buyers won’t find anything serious wrong and won’t hit you up for a price reduction, contributions to closing, threaten to cancel the contract, or all of the above.

You may think that your house is in perfect condition but a trained inspector will find enough issues to fill a 25 page report. These problems can mostly be avoided if you have a pre-listing inspection done. This inspection should be a full inspection and is a great stress reliever and confidence builder for the seller. A full inspection costs about $400 from most companies and is well worth the cost. You should also have the HVAC systems, plumbing systems, roof, and foundation inspected, by individual experts, to be sure that everything is in top notch condition.

Get repairs completed before listing your house or allowing showings.

You want to avoid the possibility of someone getting injured while visiting your house due to some unsafe condition like trip hazards, exposed nails, electrical wiring, wet floors, etc. Keep your home owner’s insurance up to date and make sure the you are covered for personal injury. Remember – You only have one opportunity to make a good first impression.

Keep All Utilities On, for the Buyer’s Inspection (even if your are not living there)

Texas One to Four Family Contract (paragraph 7A) requires that all utilities be on for the inspection period and left on once you have a signed contract. Your should check to make sure utilities are on when the inspector or agent arrange for the inspection. If you are not occupying the house, you should follow winterizing procedures during extreme cold weather periods to prevent freezing of water pipes but be prepared for folks that need to use your bathroom (toilet) when visiting your house. You should keep the air conditioning temperature set to a comfortable, cool, level so buyers get a better impression of the property on their visit. Turning the temperature up, during summer months, can create a very uncomfortable condition and the buyers may not stay as long to look around your property. Warmer temperatures can allow for mold and mildew to build up causing a very bad smell that will turn buyers off and can cost lots of money to correct. If you are not occupying the house, you should consider leaving the water turned off, except for the inspection. Water can cause lots of damage that can be very expensive to repair. Water can sometimes be left on by a visitor or toilets can overflow. If your house has a singer water shut-off valve, you can tell the inspector where it is located and give permission to turn the water on for the inspection. Prospective buyers like to turn on lights, test the air conditioning, water, burners on the gas range, etc. as they walk through the house. You should check your property at least daily, or even after each showing, to make sure that windows are closed and locked, water is turned off, and appliances are off, especially gas burners on the gas range. If you cannot do this yourself, have a friend, family member, or neighbor check the property for you.

“7.PROPERTY CONDITION:
A. ACCESS, INSPECTIONS AND UTILITIES: Seller shall permit Buyer and Buyer’s agents access to the Property at reasonable times. Buyer may have the Property inspected by inspectors selected by Buyer and licensed by TREC or otherwise permitted by law to make inspections. Any hydrostatic testing must be separately authorized by Seller in writing. Seller at Seller’s expense shall immediately cause existing utilities to be turned on and shall keep the utilities on during the time this contract is in effect.”

Many deals fall apart during the option period

because of major defects being discovered during the buyer’s inspection. Option periods are very short, usually 7-10 days, so there is not much time to get things repaired. You may have to discount the price of your house or contribute money to the buyer’s closing costs to compensate for those defects in order to keep the purchase moving forward. There is a very real chance that the buyer will just terminate the contract and move on to one of the other properties that they are interested in. If this happens, you have to start over and re-list your property, after the repairs are made. The previously interested buyers have moved on and, hopefully, another buyer will come along and make an offer for your property. A pre-listing inspection shows the buyers that you are being honest and open with them and have taken precautions to insure that the property is in good condition prior to listing it for sale making it less likely that serious problems will turn up during the buyer’s inspection. Some agents and buyers actually plan on getting a price reduction during the option period. They expect to find problems and plan to ask for a price reduction or contributions from you to cover their closing costs. Be proactive and get things in great shape before showing so you can avoid this situation.

If you have a contingency purchase (if you can’t purchase a house without selling your current one),

When the purchase of your new home is contingent on the sale of your current property, this must be disclosed up front. Contingency sales are less attractive to sellers because the closing can take significantly longer due to delays in the sale and funding of your current house. Sellers for contingency purchases generally want to see a recent appraisal or other justification for the list price of your current property. If they feel that you have priced it too high, they may not agree to an offer because they know that an overpriced property will take longer to sell. It is generally helpful if you have a contract with a buyer for your current property before you make an offer on the new property. You should not wait until you have found the house that you want to purchase before listing your house for sale. It is much better to have a contract on your current house before you make an offer on the new one. It is very important that you inform the seller of the house that you want to purchase about your need to sell your current house, even if it is a new house. You must use the “Addendum for the Sale of Other Property by Buyer” where contingency sales are involved.

If the roof is more than 10 years old,

get a roofing company to inspect it and make any needed repairs. They will give you an estimate of the remaining life for the roof. Use a reputable company for this. Avoid “storm chasers” that try to get you to file an insurance claim or the ones that want money up front, before repairs are started.

If there are cracks in the walls,

get the foundation inspected so you know if it is just settling or if the foundation is in need of repair. Don’t just use paint and plaster to cover up cracks in the walls. Prospective buyers will notice this and will want an explanation of how bad the problem really is.

Do a full disclosure. (when in doubt, disclose it!)

Disclose any issues or problems that you know about and that currently exist with the house. Check the Texas Property Code for more information.  There are things that you are required to disclose. You want to develop and maintain a sense of trust between you and the buyer. Hiding things will ruin that trust and may cause the buyer to opt out of the deal or reduce their offer because that don’t know what else is wrong that you failed to disclose. Get your disclosures completed before listing and have your REALTOR® attach them to the listing. If you do an inspection, and get an inspection report, make that available to the potential buyers also.

Work with your REALTOR® to determine what repairs, remodeling, and upgrades make sense to do.

Only do the things that will increase the selling price, give you a positive return on your cost, and get more showings for your house. Your upgrades should be consistent with neighboring properties. Don’t over do it. If everyone else has granite counter tops, and yours doesn’t, the selling price of your house will probably be affected. If your kitchen appliances are old and not in top condition, consider replacing them. I will work with you to determine if any upgrades that you are considering will increase the selling price of your house. Don’t waist your money and time doing the wrong thing.

Click here for Costs vs Value for Remodeling Estimates.

Marketing Your House.

I will market your house professionally. I will hire a professional photographer (at my expense) in order to provide the best pictures for the listing.
This is very important and often overlooked by inexperienced or unskilled agents. The photographer should take lots of photos, 20 or more, with high quality equipment, not a cell phone! You should, personally, review and approve each photo and don’t be shy about rejecting some or all of them (you are the boss). The photos should accurately represent the appearance of the property. Wide angle lenses distort the image and are sometimes used to make rooms or yards appear to be larger than they actually are. You don’t want your prospective buyers to be disappointed when the find out that you have distorted the property’s appearance with the photography. Having a lot of high quality pictures that show off all of the attributes of your house are extremely important. Reject photos that are overly “Photo Shopped” since they look unprofessional and fake. Since about 95% of buyers search the internet for houses, these pictures are essential in attracting buyers and making them want to take a close-up look at your property. Use photos from every room in the house and all around the exterior of the house (don’t use photos of the toilets). Get any needed painting done and remove clutter and personal items from the walls and rooms before having the pictures taken. Having some nice furniture is good but don’t over do it. Take a look at the photographs used in listings and you will get the idea. There are lots of poorly done photos and some that are really beautiful. The cost of using a professional photographer is between $75 and $250. The return on this investment will be tremendous. If your agent does not want to have this done, the way that you want it done, or doesn’t want to pay for it, consider getting another agent! This is a vital part of marketing your property and it is what agents get paid to do.

I will work with you to develop a great, attention grabbing, property description.

This is very important and many people just put the same old drab and tired descriptions that do not show off the unique points of the house and do not grab the buyer’s attention. Therefore there are forgotten quickly and easily. Remember, you are trying to Sell Your Home. You are creating an ad so use words like Gorgeous, Beautiful, Spacious, Awesome where they are appropriate. Point out the unique attributes of the house that make it special like “Cul-de-sac”, “3 Car Garage with Tripple Wide Driveway”, “by the Third Tee Box”, “Waterfront Lot”, “Reserve located in back”, “Freshly Remodeled”, “Granite Counter Tops”, “New Stainless Kitchen Appliances”, etc. and include professionally done photos that show off these things. This statement should allow the potential buyer to visualize your property in a positive way.

This is a good example: “Gorgeous 4 bedroom single story home, freshly remodeled kitchen and baths, granite countertops, double ovens, gas cooktop, new carpet, stone fireplace, and sprinkler system. New stainless kitchen appliances included. Less than 30 minutes to the Medical Center or downtown” With proper photos, this one sells itself.

This one Sucks: “Good starter home for first time home buyers. Good neighborhood. One of the least expensive homes in the area” and it had 7 crappy photos. Good luck with this one!

Remove any valuable personal property

(like jewelry, cell phones, tablets, and laptops, etc.), and prescription medication or keep them securely locked up in a safe. Don’t use a cabinet or chest that can be broken into easily. You probably won’t be home when other people are looking at your house. Remove temptation and opportunity. Remove fragile items that might get broken. Some buyers will bring their children to tour your house, at some point, so protect items from accidents. Remove them.

Clearly label all items that will remain in the house during the showings.

Don’t create misunderstandings about personal property or fixtures, etc. Leaving, or selling, high quality appliances, along with the sale can sometimes enhance the appeal of the house, especially for buyers that need those items. Make sure that you understand the difference between personal property, real property, attachments, and improvements. If there is any questions, and you want to keep it, label it or remove it before showing the house.

Don’t forget about curb appeal

Keep the lawn mowed, shrubs trimmed, and flower beds mulched. (Think Model Home Again) Pressure wash the driveway and sidewalks. If your driveway is badly cracked, consider getting it repaired or replaced. Clean away any green algae or other discoloration on the exterior walls. Make the buyers get excited about seeing what the interior looks like by presenting them with a beautiful picture of the outside. You want it to look like you are creating an ad for Home and Garden Magazine.

Listing Your House for Sale

Now You’re Ready to Get it listed.
I will list your home on the Houston Multiple Listing Service (MLS), as soon as you, and your property, are ready. I will go over your listing agreement with you and make sure that you understand, and agree, with the terms. Your property will automatically be listed on Zillow, Trulia, Realtor.com, and every other relevant listing service, once it is listed as Active on the MLS. If you have any legal questions, talk with a real estate attorney, not your REALTOR®.

I will use a showing service to arrange for and schedule showings for your house.

You determine which days and times that you want to allow REALTORS® to show your home to potential buyers. You also determine how you want to approve showings. You can approve each showing through text or phone calls, or allow them to be approved automatically by the showing service to save time and encourage more showings. The service is cheap and very worth while. I use Centralized Showing Service, to help control scheduling and access to your property. I also use a secure, electronically controlled, lock box called Supra Key, by General Electric Corp. A person must be a REALTOR®, and member of the Houston MLS, in order to gain access to the Supra Key scheduling service and to open the lock box to remove the key. REALTOR® access is recorded on the Supra Key website and can be reviewed, as needed, to see who, and how many, the day and time, that agents have entered your house. The service also controls access times so you can decide which days and times that you don’t want anyone to show up at your house to show it to prospective buyers. Each REALTOR® will be asked for feedback from the buyers that may help you decide if something needs to be changed or repaired, or if they think that the price is too high.

Plan to be somewhere else during showings.

You don’t want to be the one negotiating price and terms for your house. That is your agent’s job. You don’t want to put yourself in a potentially bad situation by being alone in a house with strangers. REALTORS® are finger printed and have had background checks before getting a license issued from the state but they may know very little about their clients. Set the allowable showing days and times so it is convenient for you deal with. You may have people in your house every day, all day long. You can determine what days of the week and times of days that agents will be allowed to show your property.

Be safe!

• Don’t ever allow anyone in your house without being accompanied by an agent and without having an appointment.
• Appointments should be scheduled, through a showing service, between 9am and 7pm, unless you specify otherwise. You can block certain days, or times, that you don’t want showings to occur in case you are having repairs made, or a family event, etc.
• Never open the door to let any one in even if they say that they are a REALTOR®, Inspector, Surveyor, Appraiser, or anything other profession. Your REALTOR® should notify you ahead of time about anyone that is scheduled to come to your property. If you have any questions, call your REALTOR®.
• Make the REALTOR® get the key from the lock box and open the door themselves and unlock the door.
• The fact that your house in on the market can be seen by anyone and can generate the wrong kind of interest. Electronic boxes are pretty secure. The agent has to be a member, in good standing, with the local MLS and has to have a password protected application on their cell phone in order to open the lock box. Their identity, and the time of access, is recorded on a website that your agent has access too. each time that they attempt to access the key.

Stay on top of market conditions and sales in your area.

I will schedule daily or weekly marketing reports to be sent to your email that will keep you up to date on sales in your area. This will allow you to see which properties are selling and alert you to the possibility that you need to make some changes, if your house is not getting attention and not getting offers from buyers.

Negotiating the Deal

My job is not just marketing and listing your house, it also includes skills and experience in negotiating the best deal for you. Your needs and desires will always come first in this negotiation. As a representative of both buyers and sellers, I know the tactics that both sides use when negotiating the terms of the sales agreement. I will help you to prepare and to put yourself in the best negotiating position. I will tell you what to expect and how to head off “nickel-and-diming” tactics that buyer agents used to whittle away at your sales price, either through making repairs or improvements, giving the buyers money (seller’s contribution to closing cost), or by asking you to reduce your price. I will help you review the purchase offers in order to choose the best offer. The best offer is not always the highest offer. Recognizing the best offer, with the best terms, from the best buyers comes with experience. I will explain how I evaluate all offers to help you make the best decision and choose the best offer.

Closing the Sale

I will help you review the Title Commitment and Closing Documents and to make sure that you are comfortable with everything and are fully prepared for the closing and transition. I will be present at the closing table, not my assistant or another agent. I will be with you all the way through handing over the keys to the new owners. I will also be there, after the closing, to assist you with any issues that come up with your future needs. I love this business and I am very good at it. I keep up to date with issues that affect the real estate industry and love talking about it so give me a call any time that you have any questions or needs information. I want to earn your trust and to be your, and your family’s, REALTOR® for ever. For up to date information and events concerning real estate, follow me on FaceBook.