Edgewood, WA Real Estate Blog

Notwithstanding all the technological advances of recent years, the fact remains that selling real estate is a simple business-

Price the property appropriately and expose the ‘heck’ out of it.

Note I said simple, not easy. The distinction reminds me of something I heard or read about Bob Hope being “accused” by a reporter of being worth $22 million – back when a million dollars was really something (sorry I can’t remember the exact details). Bob responded with “it’s really pretty simple, all you have to do is make $1 million a year for 22 years.”

Of course the devil is in the details. Pricing a property appropriate to a buyer’s perception of value can include enormous variation. The gap between pricing “as-is” and preparing a home to “market-ready” condition is where the majority of my efforts are spent.

Most of the marketing I do takes place before a home is ever placed on the market.

What are we selling? – we’ll probably need a home inspection to find out. What repairs are mandatory… what repairs/improvements will also provide a significant return on investment? We can’t properly price the home without knowing these things first. Who will complete the repairs and/or improvements and will I or the client incur the expenses (and risk)?

When will the home be ready for staging by a professional designer (I use professional designers rather than stagers, but that’s another story). When will it be ready for professional grade photographs? Four color laminated brochures can’t be sent to the printer, nor can we built the property’s web-site without the photographs first being completed. All support a buyer’s perception of a home’s value.

All pre-listing marketing must be completed prior to “show-time”. We only get one chance to make a first impression, to be “new on market”. NWMLS rules require all listings be turned in within 24 hours of signing, so we’re doing the all the up-front work on a handshake.

Only agents genuinely confident in their knowledge, abilities and client relationship are going to be prepared to make the full pre-listing investment in marketing. Nothing separates the talkers from the doers like having to put a significant sum of your own money at risk.

Exposure is a topic for another time.

Negotiating agreements and then getting them closed also take time and effort. But without an offer, they’re moot.

When an offer materializes within the first week or two of a home coming onto the market, there’s always someone who comments on how simple it is to sell a home. And they’re right of course… just like Bob Hope said.