SELLER PRE-LISITNG GUIDE
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A B O UT DAVI D H ARR IS D AV I D H A R R I S R E A L E S TAT E I’m David Harris…father, marketer, musician and general optimist. I’m the 9th worst gift wrapper in the State of Connecticut and some folks say I make the world’s best grilled pizza. I’m also the head honcho of the David Harris Real Estate Team at Keller Williams. I absolutely love the business of helping people buy and sell real estate…and happen to be quite good at it. Specializing in residential properties, our team brings an abundance of energy, creativity and enthusiasm to our work. We follow proven systems that predictably get our seller clients more money in less time than traditional agents. Our comprehensive systems are designed to prepare and showcase your home so that it “pops” and captures the buyer and broker interest…which is the first step to a successful sale. I hope this Pre-Listing Guide answers any questions you might have while highlighting some of the benefits of working with the David Harris Real Estate Team to sell your home. If you’re serious about selling, we’re serious about helping you get it done right. Thanks for your time. I look forward to earning your business and helping you successfully achieve all of your real estate goals.
Exceptional Marketing.
Exceptional Results.
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TRUSTED ADVICE 1 ARE YOU DEALING WITH AN EXPERT? Did you know that the average agent only sells between 4-5 homes per year? Did you know that less than 45% of real estate agents spend less than $500 per year on training and professional development? These are the facts, so how do you know if your agent is an expert when it comes to helping you sell your home?
TH E DI FFEREN C E What’s the difference? EXCEPTIONAL SERVICE: It all starts with Quality Customer Service. We provide expert guidance to help you make an educated decision. EXCEPTIONAL MARKETING: Marketing is one of the most important aspects of the successful sale of your home. We invest a lot of time and money using the perfect mix of technology, cutting-edge marketing tools and good old fashioned hard work to market and sell our properties. EXCEPTIONAL RESULTS: At the end of the day, results are what matter the most. Many of our listings sell in an average of 84 days at 98% of list price.
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SE L L E R I N FORM AT I ON THE SELLING EXPERIENCE You have decided to sell your home. You’re anxious to start the process, but you really want to make sure you have the right person working to sell your home for all it’s worth. Before anything else, it is a good idea to sit down with an experienced agent and clarify your motivations, draw up a basic time frame and get a detailed outline of the selling process. But first, there are a few questions you may need to ask yourself before listing your home. WHY SELL? Why do you want to sell your property? Do you plan on simply moving to a larger home or property, or do you plan on moving to another neighborhood, school district or city? You might think your reasons are obvious, but it would be helpful for you to consider the implications of each option for your lifestyle, opportunities, and finances. Being clear about your intentions for selling will make it easier for the agent to determine the most appropriate option for your situation. WHEN SHOULD I SELL? You should immediately establish your time frame for selling. For many sellers, it is an urgent matter, and for others, not so much. Obviously, serious sellers would like to sell as quickly as possible and for the most amount possible. However, it is good to know what the most effective plan of action is before listing your home. If you need to sell quickly, we can speed up the process by giving you a complete market analysis and action plan to help you obtain all of your goals. If there is no pressing need to sell immediately, we can get together to review the market conditions and find the most favorable time to sell.
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TRUSTED ADVICE 2 SELL YOUR HOME WITH A PROFESSIONAL Our proven and successful marketing plan is designed to create results and get your home SOLD - fast! A vast understanding of the real estate market and years of experience in innovative marketing accelerates the selling process through my marketing plan.
SE L L E R I N FORM AT I ON THE 3 ELEMENTS TO EVERY SUCCESSFUL HOME SALE MARKETING Marketing is one of the chief skills and responsibilities of a great real estate agent. Marketing includes how the property is represented and positioned to the general public and the real estate agent community. CONDITION Condition refers to the overall condition of your home. People make snap decisions in new situations. This is especially true during the showing of a home buyers are considering purchasing. In preparing your home for the market, we need to put this trait of human nature to work for us. Your home needs to make an impression such that snap judgments of potential buyers is favorable. You have the ability to command a higher asking price and substantiate it, when your home is in top condition. PRICE Pricing is one of the most important aspects affecting the marketability of your home. During our initial visit, we will review a Market Analysis and discuss various pricing strategies based on your property and your situation. Before we hit the market, we will come to an agreement on the best pricing plan for you.
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M ARKET I NG OUR MARKETING SYSTEM When you’re ready to take the next step toward selling your home, we are here to help. Our comprehensive marketing plan will get your home seen by thousands of motivated buyers. Ultimately, our goal is to get your home the most exposure necessary. THE RIGHT PRICE We put together a custom marketing plan with an effective price. A wellpriced home can often generate competing offers and potentially drive up the final sales price. Our market analysis takes into account comparable properties that have recently sold, For Sale By Owners and properties actively listed on the Multiple Listing Service. THE RIGHT EXPOSURE When we market your home, we create a listing that “pops” and emphasizes its most unique and salable aspects. We then put your home in front of buyers and other real estate agents, establishing it on the local MLS, other top real estate websites, your own unique property website, social media, direct mail and promoted open house events. EFFECTIVE INTERNET MARKETING We use the Internet to ensure your listing is highly visible anywhere in the world at any given time. With over 95% of buyers starting their home search online, this is a crucial part of your marketing strategy that you can’t afford to miss.
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TRUSTED ADVICE 3 VALUE IN SYSTEMS For most of us, our home is our biggest investment. When it’s time to sell, get the value and service you deserve with the help of a real estate professional with proven systems in place. We have the experience, expertise and a complete system to help you successfully sell your home.
M ARKET I NG OUR MARKETING PRODUCTS Advertising is important. Exposure is key. Having the right marketing products not only helps define your home, but also helps highlight the great qualities of your home. However, great qualities cannot be highlighted in poor marketing products. They go hand-in-hand. Our premium marketing products ensure that your home is showcased to maximize value and overall appeal. These products include: PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY In today’s market, photos will be the buyer’s first impression of your home and as you know, you only get one shot at making a first impression. We always hire professional photographers with the best equipment to create the most compelling imagery. HD VIDEO/VIRTUAL TOURS We use video to help generate an emotional response in buyers. Realtor.com says that listing with videos/virtual tours are viewed up to 40% more than listings without. In this technology-driven world where sites like Youtube and Vimeo are some of the biggest sites on the web, why would you market your home with one hand tied behind your back? FLOOR PLANS Floor plans are a critical part of the home shopping experience. It’s important to buyers to know the proportions of rooms, where the kitchen is located and how they can flow from one room to the next. Only a floor plan can give you this vantage point, so we always include floor plans on our listings. UNIQUE PROPERTY WEBSITE We create a custom property website for your home that we drive buyers to. This website showcases your property with photos, video, local attractions, schools, neighborhood information and printable brochures. It provides a 1 stop location for buyers to get the full experience of your home. With the lead capture feature, we are able to collect the buyer’s contact information to develop direct communication with them where we can further explain and highlight the best features of your home as well as any any questions or overcome any objections. OTHER We use direct mail, high quality property brochures and open house events to further promote your property. We also call a radius around your property to reinforce our direct mail efforts. The idea is to create as much of a buzz about your property as we can.
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M ARKET I NG OUR SALES APPROACH COMMUNICATION The foundation of our comprehensive sales approach is communication. Communication is vital to our success and we involve you in every step of the process from establishing a sales price, showings, buyer and agent feedback, open houses, negotiating offers and finally closing the deal. DAYS ON MARKET Lowering the number of days on market is an essential asset in helping you move on with your life. It can be the difference between 10’s of thousands of dollars as well as reducing the inconveniences of maintaining a show-ready property and people walking through your home. LIST TO SALES PRICE It takes a dedicated, well organized and well-informed team to close quickly for above average list price to sales price ratio. We consistently maintain an above average list to sales price ratio, meaning we consistently put more money in our seller’s pockets than traditional agents.
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TRUSTED ADVICE 4 FREE MARKET ANALYSIS - DAVIDHARRISREALESTATE.COM Our free market analysis takes into account comparable properties that have recently sold, as well as those currently listed for sale to give you an accurate and detailed evaluation of what your home is worth in today’s real estate market.
M ARKET I NG STEPS TO SUCCESS PROFESSIONAL STAGING Home staging is not decorating. Decorating appeals to the person living in the house; staging is positioning the home to appeal to the psychological needs of buyers by creating a series of impressions that build an emotional connection to help buyers imagine living in the home. We offer a free staging consultation with a professional home stager to take an objective look at your home and help position it so that it’s most visually appealing to buyers. Well presented homes look better, photograph better and sell faster than poorly presented homes. PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY, VIDEOGRAPHY & FLOORPLANS Our professional photographers and videographers capture each room at the best angles and highlight the best features of your home to attract buyers and entice them to make an appointment to view the property. ADMINISTRATION We pre-load your listing with as much detail and information as possible to attract buyers. MARKETING Our team creates feature sheets, property booklets, glossy brochures and “Just Listed” postcards. We believe in producing crisp and clean marketing materials to present your home to buyers in the most professional manner. We also use the reach of Internet syndication and hyper-targeted social media posts to market your property with modern and eye catching designs. STEP 2 LAUNCH - We launch your listing live on the MLS, syndicate it to hundreds of real estate websites including Zillow, Trulia and Realtor.com. We deliver a lockbox and printed materials and launch our social media campaign. STEP 3 MAINTENANCE – Our team monitors your listing to ensure it’s top of mind at our brokerage as well as the real estate community. We make sure you are positioned correctly in the market based on recently sold properties as well as your competition.
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GET TO KNOW US! Keller Williams is the world’s largest real estate franchise by agent count, has more than 975 offices and 186,000 associates. The franchise is also No. 1 in units and sales volume in the United States. These are milestones we’re proud of. We are the #1 name in real estate. With the largest network of agents, there is no company better at representing you in the sale or purchase of real estate anywhere in the world.
W H ER E B UY E RS COM E FRO M F I R S T S T E P S B U Y E R S TA K E W H E N LOOKING FOR A HOME
51% INTERNET 34% REAL ESTATE AGENT 4% YARD SIGN | 4% FRIEND | 4% OPEN HOUSE
2% NEW BUILDER | 1% NEWSPAPER | 1% SELLER
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TRUSTED ADVICE 5 CONTACT A PROFESSIONAL Contact us anytime you want to know what’s really happening in the market. If you have questions, we have answers! When you’re ready to take the next step toward selling your home, we are here to help. We’ll make sure your home receives the best exposure and reaches the right buyer - whether they’re in another city, country or right in your neighborhood.
ON LI N E FAC TS O N L I N E FA C T S & T O O L S With over 95% of buyers starting their home search online, we put a lot of emphasis on Internet marketing to ensure your home is visible on the most frequently visited platforms. 99% of people search for a home using three main search engines. We make sure your home is as visible as possible on these platforms in addition to all the top real estate specific websites.
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HO M E EVALU AT I O N W H AT ’ S M Y H O M E W O R T H One of the most important questions people looking to sell their home have is: “What will my house sell for in today’s market?” We have a very dynamic real estate market. Prices can change due to local, regional, national and international economic conditions, net migration to the area, political sentiment and of course inventory levels determined by supply and demand. You need to have an experienced real estate professional give you a comprehensive look at the local market activity with a particular focus on comparable properties that have recently sold in your area. Factors that determine what your home is worth: • Square footage and number of bedrooms and bathrooms • Lot size in acreage • Recent renovations, upgrades and improvements • Number of garages • Location (neighborhood, cul-de-sac, quiet or busy street, views, proximity to neighbors) Another important factor is the opinion of value. Properties priced too high will sit on the market and become “shop worn.” Ideally, the property should be priced at Comparable Market Value. Studies continue to show that a property listed at 15% over market value has a 20% probability of sale; 10% over market value has a 30% probability of sale; 5% over market value has a 50% probability of sale. Properties priced at market value have a 95% probability of sale. The method most often used in evaluating single family homes is the Comparable Method. A property is worth what the buyer is willing to pay for it and this is determined by the basic laws of supply and demand. These two factors are evaluated by comparing the home with similar homes that have sold within the market area, with appropriate consideration given to location, amenities lot size, condition, and financing terms.
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TRUSTED ADVICE 6 WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY Sellers often make the mistake of wanting to price their homes high at the start, with the assumption that they can always reduce the price to a more realistic level later on. However, interest peaks when your home is fresh to the market and often declines as time goes on.
HO ME PREPARAT I O N P R E PA R I N G YO U R H O M E TO S E L L You can do many things to increase the appeal of your property and create a lasting impact on potential buyers. When you decide to hire the David Harris Real Estate Team, we will work closely with you up front to ensure your home is presented at its absolute best, both online and in person. The following are just a few factors to keep in mind when listing your property for sale: 1. CURB APPEAL: Keeping your landscape pristine, and adding creative touches to your yard, such as colorful annuals, will create an immediate impact on passers-by and potential buyers. 2. PROPERTY REPAIRS: Simple upgrades such as window repairs and a fresh coat of paint in the most frequently used rooms will instantly brighten up the property. 3. PRESENTATION AND STAGING: Prior to listing your home, we will help address any needed repairs and help prepare your home so that it’s most appealing to today’s sophisticated buyers. To be most effective, we enlist the help of a professional stager who stages over $30 Million in real estate each year. 4. DISCLOSURES: We will provide you with the necessary federal and state disclosure forms for you to fill out prior to listing your home for sale. Now that your home is looking its absolute best, it’s time for us to bring in our professional photographers and videographers to capture the most compelling imagery and video that we’ll present to buyers and other real estate agent by way of our comprehensive marketing plan.
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SELLI N G T IP S P R I C I N G YO U R H O M E There are many factors involved that lead to the successful sale of your home. However, there are two very key components that stand out from the rest when it comes to pricing. FIRST: Pricing your home correctly is so important. An overpriced home can be detrimental in the end, while an undervalued property certainly doesn’t always generate the buzz it needs. Pricing your home properly takes an experienced professional that understands the market and has a track record of success. The last thing you want is for your home to stay on the market longer than expected. At that time, interest starts to diminish and perception of the home could go from positive to negative. Below shows the best time to sell and your window of opportunity. By taking advantage of these models, you can price your home properly, create a buzz and gain traffic to your home.
AT T R A C T B U Y E R S N O W ! SECOND: Attract buyers immediately. Sellers and agents tend to experiment with price by starting high and dropping it over time. This rationale is not the best approach.
Activity (Amount of Interest)
A listing gets the most attention on its debut. As the WALL STREET JOURNAL reports, the week that a listing goes on the market, we estimate that it gets nearly four times more visits on real estate websites than it does a month later, which is when most sellers will initiate a price reduction.
Highest Potential
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Time on Market (Weeks) Your Asking Price
Dangerous Risk Gamble
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TRUSTED ADVICE 7 THE DETAILS, THE DIFFERENCE Doing the little things in order to prepare your home for sale could be the difference between quickly selling your home and having to wait longer than expected. An experienced agent understands what little things truly matter and that the difference is in the details.
I MP O RT AN T FACT OR S I M P O R TA N T FA C T O R S W H E N HIRING AN AGENT 1. GETTING TOP DOLLAR - This is the main reason why most people sell. To get the most money possible from the sale of your home. 2. PROVEN TRACK RECORD - How is your agent’s track record and how does it stack up against the competition? 3. COMMUNICATION - Does your agent communicate with you every step of the way? 4. QUALITY MARKETING - Are your agent’s marketing strategies, concepts and materials attractive, effective and consistent? 5. SELLING FAST - How long are you willing to wait for the sale of your home? 6. PERSONALIZED SERVICE - What special services is your agent providing that others are not? 7. EXCELLENT NEGOTIATION - Is your agent an expert negotiator? Many claim to be, but the proof is in the pudding. 8. CREATING THE MOST DEMAND - Does your agent create a buzz for your home and is he or she pricing your home correctly?
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TRUSTED ADVICE 8 A PREMIUM AGENT GETS PREMIUM RESULTS The real estate market in Connecticut is a diverse one, ever-changing, but for the most part, reliable. Through many years of experience, market knowledge and unique marketing concepts, we are able to give our clients premium service and premium results.
T EST I M ON I A L S W H A T O U R C L I E N T S A R E S AY I N G “Dave did a wonderful job for us. He took our house that had been sitting on the market and used some innovative techniques to get it sold quickly. He also took lots of time, care and effort in getting our house sold! I would recommend him to anyone looking for a Realtor.” - CLARK & JEN T. “Dave was incredible to work with, and made the whole process of selling our house EASY and EXCITING. He gave us great and honest feedback on how to stage our home, he was encouraging and accommodating, and he sold our house in a matter of days. He was extremely knowledgeable about what type of buyer would be interested in our house, and he marketed accordingly. Can’t recommend Dave enough!” - ERICA & PETER B. “We are extremely glad to have chosen David as our Realtor. He was very friendly and helpful. He answered everytime I called or texted and I know we were not his only clients. We live out of state and had to have repairs done, David was there for us when we couldn’t be. I would recommend you give him a call.” - VALERIE AND JACK G. “David Harris is not only a dedicated and reliable real estate agent, but also a true professional in every sense of the word. Shortly after I retired I made the decision to down-size, after living in my home over 33 years. David represented me as a seller and a buyer. David offered expert advice regarding the sale of my home...staging suggestions, determining the asking price, types of advertising, etc. He worked diligently and thoroughly, and all the while his endless patience and calm reassurance saw me through the ups and downs of the sometimes very trying selling process. I had an accepted offer after just two weeks on the market! The same holds true for the process of finding a new home. David helped me through every step...offering guidance and objective viewpoints to help me make the right decision. David knows the market very well. He helped me focus my search, as well as redefine my goals...when at the start I was “ all over the map”. His enthusiasm, diligence, knowledge and strong communication skills helped me locate and purchase the PERFECT house! David Harris is a top notch Realtor. I cannot thank him enough and I highly recommend him to anyone on the seller’s or the buyer’s market.” - KAREN H.
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203.570.7321
david-harris@kw.com www.davidharrisrealestate.com