The Steps to Effectively Market and Sell a Property

STEP EIGHT

Need advice on what it takes to sell a home in Santa Fe? Effectively putting your property on the market and creating a great sale is all about the details. Once your property is listed with the Neil Lyon Group, what happens? Quite a bit, as you will see. Please read on.

At the time a property goes “under contract” we enter a new and critical phase of the selling process.

tion, we handle the buyer’s pre-closing walk through, we assist with the transfer of utility accounts and we will be with the owner at the closing table to provide the support that will be needed in the 11th hour and to be a resource when last minute questions arise.

● The Contract Checklist:

● Extraordinary Expertise:

The purchase agreement

NEIL LYON, CRB, CRS, GRI FOUNDER

505 660-8600 cell 505 954-5505 office neil@neillyon.com MATT DESMOND ASSOCIATE BROKER

Contracts are long and complex. The standard purchase contract is currently 16 pages and accompanied by as many as 40 pages of disclosures and other related documents. To make the process of monitoring the contingencies (usually 5 or more) and their related time frames manageable, we promptly produce a contract checklist that summarizes every contingency and important detail in the contract and the related deadlines. This provides a practical tool that the owner can use to monitor the escrow process. We send the summary to all involved parties so that everyone can keep abreast of the many details that will be handled as the transaction moves to closing.

More often than not, the hardest work begins once the purchase contract is executed and the escrow process begins. As a team that handles upwards of 30 to 50 transactions a year, we have seen just about anything that an owner can imagine and many things they cannot. Our job is to manage the complicated process from start to finish, which gives us great satisfaction and is the reason why hundreds of property owners and buyers wouldn’t work with any one other than the Neil Lyon Group.

505 670-1289 cell matt@neillyon.com NINA FARANA OPERATIONS MANAGER

505 954-5522 nina @neillyon.com DONALD BURG MARKETING AND DESIGN DIRECTOR

505 988-2533 donald@neillyon.com CINDY LYON ASSOCIATE BROKER

505 660-8400 cindy@neillyon.com

SANTA FE BROKERAGE

● Constant Contact:

The NLG Operations Manager also delivers weekly updates to owners to highlight upcoming milestones as the escrow process moves forward. There will be appointments to manage that will include inspectors, appraisers, insurers, the buyers or those engaged by the buyers, in-laws, siblings of the buyers, contractors, architects, surveyors, well and septic inspectors (when applicable) and a host of others who are involved and will request access to the property.

326 Grant Avenue Santa Fe, NM 87501 505 988-2533 sothebyshomes.com

STEP THREE

Meet with the owner

Prepare and collect needed documents

● To

understand the circumstances driving the desire to sell: Reason(s), timing, possible broker referral in the destination market, and other important considerations. ● To

thoroughly view the property and understand it’s major attributes in order to determine its value and recommend the most effective listing price. ● To

gather information about the home for marketing and advertising: its history, construction details, past repairs and renovations and what aspects of the property have been the most important to the owners. ● Prepping

the property for the best possible sale. To determine if a “pre-marketing inspection” would be beneficial or necessary, and if any work is required to prepare the property for the market. STEP TWO

Determine the market value and recommend the most effective listing price ● We

review recent and relevant sales and make needed adjustments on the most relevant sales to zero in on the property’s expected market value.

● Bringing the Transaction to Closure:

As contingencies are satisfied and waived, we get closer to the anticipated end of the escrow process. We make sure the closing statement is correct, we assist with the buyer’s re-inspec-

4

STEP ONE

● We

determine which currently available properties represent competition to the property and how those properties impact our listing price recommendation. neillyon.com

OCTOBER 2020

● Sotheby’s International Realty (SIR)

Listing Documents: They include the Listing Agreement, the Neil Lyon Group Performance Guarantee Amendment, the Property Data Form, the Waiver of MLS Benefits, the Seller’s Property Disclosure Statement and Lead-Based Paint documents (if the house was constructed prior to 1978 or if the exact construction date isn’t known but prior to 1978 is likely). ● Owners’ Documentation:

In addition to obtaining the documents required by SIR, most owners possess important documents that can be useful to the sales and marketing process. If available, we’ll want a set of house plans or an accurate floor plan, a property survey or site plan, a past title insurance policy (which could reduce the cost to the seller when a new title insurance policy is issued for the next owner), and a well-drilling record and/or septic permit, if the property has a water well or septic system. If applicable to the property, we’ll want a well-sharing agreement, a road maintenance agreement, and a complete summary of past repairs and renovations that have been completed during the ownership of the property. Any information that can be provided regarding the roof warranty (whether it is transferable and, if so, how to complete the transfer), will serve to expedite your transaction. ● Title Commitment and Record-

ed Documents: We will contact our preferred title company and order a neillyon.com

title insurance commitment and the recorded documents. If the commitment reveals issues of concern, we can address these issues early in the marketing process to avoid the impact of their presence on a possible sale. Timeliness in dealing with title issues can be the difference between a closing that is right on schedule, or a delayed closing or contract termination. STEP FOUR

The three initial marketing tools ● Photos: After

we receive the executed listing documents, we will engage one of our professional photographers to produce over 35 interior and exterior photos of the property. We typically have the images within 7-10 days. ● A Matterport 3-D Virtual Tour: will

be filmed within the same time frame. This process requires that the property is staged and camera-ready and that only the videographer is present at the time of filming (2-5 hours depending on the size of the home and the number of levels). Our videographer will then edit and produce the film so that within 24 hours it is ready to be posted to our Matterport-ready websites. ●A

Color Luxury Brochure: The NLG Marketing Specialist will visit the property to experience the environment and collect first-hand information for the text and to create an extensive list of property features. This will be combined with images selected from the photographs to produce a 4-page brochure.

The Steps to Effectively Market and Sell a Property STEP FIVE

Going live to the world ● The

Santa Fe Multiple Listing Service (MLS): Just a few hours after the marketing tools have been uploaded into the SIR marketing system (Atlas), your listing will go live on the MLS which immediately pushes the property information out to over 1,000 area brokers and affiliates. The reach of the MLS is extensive and from that platform it will be picked up by more than 150 national, regional and affiliate real estate websites that participate in its network. Millions of viewers can tap into your listing from sites that include Realtor.com, Homes.com, wikirealty.com, HomeSpotter.com, homesandland.com, HomeFinder.com and Home2Me.com and many others. ● SIR Listing Management System:

By virtue of the property information being entered into the SIR Atlas system, it will be linked to other internationally recognized websites, which include: SIRSantaFe.com, sothebyshomes.com, sothebysrealty. com, WSJ.com, NYT.com, IHT.com, openhouse.com, Trulia, Frontdoor, Real-buzz.com, homes.com, yahoo, homefinder.com, Zillow, Shaglui Tatler, House24, HomeAdverts. com, MansionGlobal, Dwell, FT.com, JamesEdition and PropGoLuxury. ● neillyon.com: Our

proprietary website, neillyon.com, will feature your property and it will also provide a conduit for your property to link to many other websites created by individual real estate brokers which will significantly expand exposure

2

The Steps to Effectively Market and Sell a Property

for your property. On neillyon.com, your property will show on the Home Page on a rotational basis in a variety of ways: as a “Featured Property”, as a “Home of the Week” and on the NLG blog that provides fodder for many important search engines. ● Email Blasts: The

customized email blasts that we produce for each property are pushed out to two important email lists: the first is the 1,000-plus brokers who are members of the Santa Fe MLS, and the second to a highly valuable list of our prime contacts. This second list has been created over many years as the result of completing hundreds and hundreds of transactions over the past 25+ years. It includes past clients, local influential business owners, highly productive real estate brokers from around the US who have been important sources of business to the NLG, and an ever-growing list of SIR agents and brokers from around the globe met and courted at the SIR conferences we have attended over the past 30 years. All year long, on a weekly basis, we are communicating with these many important contacts with email announcements and market updates. ● SIR’s Marketing and Public Rela-

tions & Publicity Department in New York City: This professional staff is always on the lookout for newly listed special and unique properties. When they receive information that one of our luxury properties is about to go on the market, they will determine if it is marketable to prestigious US or international publications and websites. The competition for these very limited and exclusive placements is significant, as we are vying with unique and special properties being newly marketed by SIR offices around the world. neillyon.com

● HOME Magazine: Periodically

your property will be advertised in our monthly full-page ad that we place in this magazine, which is produced and distributed by the Santa Fe New Mexican. Distributed on the first Sunday of each month, HOME offers a full month shelf-life with strong distribution. HOME is placed in the Sunday newspaper and reaches over 50,000 readers and 3,000 overruns are placed in front of real estate offices, chamber commerce, visitor centers, hotels, restaurants and shops around town. ● The Sunday Edition of the New

Mexican: On a rotational basis, properties will also be advertised in this publication. We don’t control these placements as they are selected and funded by the company. However, when we learn that one of our properties has been selected, we will notify the owners of this advertising. We also feature properties in periodic full color inserts within the New Mexican such as “We Are Santa Fe” which appear concurrent with big events such as Indian Market or Balloon Fiesta. ● Wall Street Journal: Occasionally

we place ads in full color, standalone SIR WSJ inserts. These pieces showcase the extraordinary properties we represent with distribution to 55,000 WSJ subscribers in prime key markets including: NYC, Greenwich, the Hamptons, Houston, Boston, Cape Cod, Palm Beach, Santa Fe, Los Angeles, Pasadena, Greater Ventura County, Santa Barbara, Santa Ynez, Monterey/ Carmel, Sonoma, and San Francisco.

● Specialized Sotheby’s International

Realty and Sotheby’s Print Publications: When an owner wants to fund print advertising because they feel such advertising is important, we have access to SIR and Sotheby’s (the famed auction house) print publications. Our experience tells us that such advertising is not critical nor effective enough to justify the expense. However, if an owner feels so strongly about print and wants to fund it, we will determine the best possible options and will facilitate those placements. STEP SIX

Showings to possible buyers ● Preparation: When

we receive a showing request, we promptly notify the owner of the day and time and seek their approval to confirm the appointment. If the owner cannot accommodate the request, we’ll determine when it will work for all parties involved. Once the appointment is set, a member of the team will handle the showing. We will be at the property well in advance of the showing to open window coverings, turn on all lights, and make sure everything is ready for the viewing. In the warmer months, this may include opening doors and windows, as well. During winter months, we will shovel walkways, if necessary. When owners are in town, most will handle pre-showing preparations. ● Immediate Showing Feedback: When

a showing is over, we close the property and secure it. Promptly afterwards, we contact the owner (with a phone call, text or email) and let them know what we observed during the showing. If the owner is in Santa Fe,

the call or text will also let them know that they can return to their property. ● Buyer’s Broker Feedback: When

showings are logged into our showing management system (ShowingTime), a showing feedback request is automatically emailed to each showing broker so that the broker can tell us how productive the showing was. After we receive this feedback we forward it to our sellers. Occasionally, a broker will not use this platform to give us feedback. On those occasions, we will follow-up with them personally and let our sellers know what we learn. Also, on very rare occasions we receive broker feedback that isn’t constructive, informative or appropriate. In these cases, we exercise good judgement and do not forward such feedback to the sellers. ● Property Oversight: While

we are showing our listed properties, we keep an eye on maintenance issues that may become evident, especially if our clients are not full-time residents. Whether it’s a new roof leak, a leaky toilet, a door that now doesn’t properly close, we will contact the owners if we discover anything is awry. STEP SEVEN

Reporting In addition to the feedback calls and reports each owner will get after each showing, there are other ways we stay in touch and keep our owners current on all that we are doing to expose their properties and what is happening in the general Santa Fe marketplace. ● Monthly “Homebase Insight” Re-

ports: These reports generated by SIR tally website “hits” from the key real estate internet sites (such as neillyon.com

SothebysHomes.com, SothebysRealty.com, the Zillow Group sites, Realtor.com, WSJ.com and Homes. com) that have uploaded our property listings. On a monthly basis, we email these reports to our clients so they can view the number of total views of their listings from these sites on a daily basis, along with the number of weekly and all-time views. ● Quarterly Market Update Reports:

These informative newsletters are emailed to our owners and to our key contact email list. In addition to keeping our owners updated on what is happening in the residential real estate market in Santa Fe, these publications demonstrate our expertise in the world of Santa Fe real estate. Buyers (and sellers) are often directed to us by one of the hundreds of recipients of these publications, which can provide an edge to our property sellers. ● Consultations:

We are also in contact with our property owners on an “as needed” basis. Sometimes it happens that a home that is rarely occupied needs some attention. We’ll will let the owners know. Another occasion for a discussion with the owners will arise at a time when the market is indicating the need for a price change. This can occur when, after a significant number of showings, there have been no repeat showings or we receive feedback indicating that the asking price is too high. If we show a property many times resulting in few or no repeat showings (this does happen), this is critical information that we will discuss with owners. In addition to the need to discuss a price reduction after many showings, if there are very few showings over time, this as well will necessitate the need for a conversation about price.

3