Luxury at every price point, for every life phase.
Client Testimonials BARBARA has lived in the area her whole life, she knows the ins and outs of all of the most desired neighborhoods in Fort Worth. I was blown away by the little details she knew. She is a wealth of priceless knowledge! Her response time is practically immediate and communication was clear and frequentBarbara was made for real estate, the process was seamless, she made it fun and I will recommend her to anyone looking to buy or sell a home! – Paige W. We had a wonderful experience working with THURMAN. He is knowledgeable, responsive, prompt, and has a great personality. He is always available to answer all your questions and give his expert advice. He really knows everything about real estate and he can guide you in the right direction. We are definitely going to work with him for the future projects.” – Stephanie L. SHELLY Forrest helped us sell our home in October 2020. She made the process easy and stress free even when we ran into a couple of unexpected issues with our title and survey. She was professional, willing and fun to work with. We highly recommend working with her. We sold our home in less than a week! - Mary W.
Dear Potential Client, We know selling your home can be a big and overwhelming decision. • Our commitment to you is that we will partner with you every step of the way to provide you with the highest level of service, professionalism, and expertise to make this a positive experience.We work and live to give the extraordinary in all we do as we serve our clients and community. When you choose The Schweitzer Group, you will get a group of professionals with various strengths and backgrounds that work well together to sell your home. • Thurman enjoys staying on top of new development in Fort Worth as our city continues to grow. He is a former IT Director which gives him a leg up on all of the latest real estate technology. This coupled with his love of local development knowledge enables him to help his clients buy and sell real estate at the best possible price. • Barbara’s years of experience as a COO provides the group with best in class processes and well-honed negotiation skills. She has been working with Thurman for years to grow their personal real estate portfolio and advise on design selections for the homes they renovate. • Shelly’s engaging personality, communication skills and connections are the foundation to attracting interested buyers locally, regionally and globally to our listings. On the following pages, our team has put together important information for your review before we meet as we start to deliver on our promise to deliver an extraordinary experience during your home selling experience. • Our listing process to sell your home • Frequently asked questions • Recent client references We look forward to speaking with you, getting your home sold, and helping you, your friends and family with all of your real estate needs. Sincerely, The Schweitzer Group
Barbara Schweitzer
Thurman Schweitzer
Shelly Forrest
817.821.2694 bschweitzer@briggsfreeman.com
817.475.4060 tschweitzer@briggsfreeman.com
817.521.8113 sforrest@briggsfreeman.com
THE LISTING PROCESS:
Promoting Your Property OUR MARKETING PLAN – MAXIMUM EXPOSURE & BEAUTIFUL PRESENTATION Every marketing plan is custom-tailored to best suit your property and capture your target audience. Your first showing is online, so photos, video and digital media have to be perfectly presented and widely disseminated to get as many qualified eyes on your home as we can. These efforts get buyers in your door. Your home’s showing condition and our in-home presentation get buyers to place an offer.
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PRICING STRATEGY: We will discuss your timeline and if there is a specific date the home needs to be
sold by. There will be a review of all comparative properties sold in the last 6 months to help you determine the
appropriate price for your home based on your desired results and timing.
PHOTOGRAPHY & VIDEOGRAPHY:
Our photographers are architectural and commercial-rated
masters in their field. They capture the best angles to lend beauty, context and emotion to your property photos.
We also create professional property videos to increase views and engagement of your home online.
LISTING ON MLS & UTILIZING REVERSE PROSPECTING : The Multiple Listing Service is
a powerful tool – we can see who’s “liked” your property on their search portals, and we can reach out to their
agents to encourage showings. We can also see how many search portals your home has landed on.
MAXIMIZE ONLINE EXPOSURE : By virtue of Sotheby’s cascading site structure, your home will show up on all major sites (Zillow, etc), plus many you’ve never heard of. And all of our listings go on SothebysRealty.
com - the most-visited realty website internationally, period.
AGGRESSIVE SOCIAL MEDIA & EMAIL CAMPAIGN: We network professionally with all top local
and feeder-market agents to pull eyes to your home through social media and email campaigns, and we rely on
“word of mouth” marketing through powerful private Facebook groups to get more people talking about your property.
YARD SIGN, LOCK BOX, SHOWING TIME: Our Sotheby’s blue sign has been likened to the “Tiffany’s box” of real estate. E-boxes streamline access to your home and also allow us to track entry and exit to
the minute.
PRINT MEDIA: All that beautiful photography goes into stunning flyers, property books and magazine ads to further set your home apart from the competition.
OPEN HOUSES & BROKER’S OPENS: Having an open house will allow us to talk with neighbors
and people who are interested in your home. These people may not have seen prior marketing and may stop in
because they saw the sign for the Open House. Often times the neighbors have friends or family looking to live in the area. The Broker’s Open allows us to get pricing and other feedback on the property from other Realtors.
THE LISTING PROCESS:
Transaction Milestones & Negotiations HOW WE APPROACH NEGOTIATIONS: • We gather all pertinent information. Good decisions require it. • We want your thoughts – what’s important to you? • We offer advice and perspective based on our experience and communication with the other party. • WE manage the process and YOU make the decisions.
ALONG THE WAY: We will update you weekly on showing feedback and market trends for your area. If needed, we will discuss a price adjustment to get your home sold.
WHEN WE GET AN OFFER: Here’s what to expect from us:
1. Net sheet with a rough estimate of your proceeds from the sale given the offered terms. 2. We always call the agent to ask questions about history with the client, motivation, etc. 3. We always call the lender / bank to confirm the quality of the pre-qualification / approval / proof of funds.
4. Multiple offers? We strategize your responses and break down all competing terms on a spreadsheet.
WHEN WE ACCEPT AN OFFER: More often than not, we will be in Active Option Status. You’ll get a “next steps” email detailing important deadlines and what to expect from the inspection and appraisal process from a negotiations and logistics standpoint.
WHEN WE GO “PENDING”: Normally a point of relief for all parties, we’ve concluded the majority of negotiations – barring any appraisal issues. You’ll get another “next steps” email detailing coordination we’ll need to make for keys, access, final walkthroughs, closing and move-out. We proactively communicate throughout the process. We are with you every step of the way.
Common Seller Questions • CAN WE LIST FOR ONLY 30/90 DAYS? Six months is our company policy to ensure that your property receives the best exposure we can provide.
• WE WERE THINKING ABOUT A COMPANY BESIDES SOTHEBY’S or we haven’t really heard about your company. I think you realize that a company doesn’t sell a home, it’s actually the individual agent’s activities. After reviewing my marketing plan, I’m sure that you will feel confident that I can sell your home for top dollar.
• WILL WE SAVE THE COMMISSION BY SELLING IT OURSELVES? In a study done over the last three years by the NAR (National Association of Realtors) it was determined that the average seller will end up selling their property for 14% less than one where professional representation and exposure exists.
• CAN WE LIST OUR PROPERTY HIGHER AND COME DOWN LATER IF IT DOESN’T SELL? It makes sense at first thought to list high and leave room for negotiating, however, this creates problems in getting the home sold. Most buyers won’t even bother looking at the properties that are priced too high. When we price the property right, you have the chance for multiple offers versus not having any offers or opportunities to negotiate.
• IS IT BETTER TO USE A FRIEND IN THE BUSINESS? In today’s market almost everyone knows one or two people that in are in real estate. The question you need to ask yourself is, are you selling the house to do a favor to your friend or truly looking for an aggressive agent that will net you top dollar for your home? Please take a minute to review our plan of action to sell your home and you will immediately see what separates us from all competition.
• WHAT DO YOU DO TO SELL HOMES? There are two types of agents in real estate today: Passive and Active. We are a team of active agents, meaning when you sign the contract we immediately get to work marketing your property and creating maximum exposure for your home. We have found that a motivated homeowner wants an agent that will work actively and aggressively to get their home sold. Please refer back to our “Property Marketing Plan” for the step by step plan we use to sell your home.
• WILL YOU CUT YOUR COMMISSION? No… can we tell you why that makes us nervous if another agent has agreed to this? If an agent isn’t strong enough to stand up to you during their negotiations regarding their own worth and value, how strong can they possibly be defending you and the value and price of your home during future negotiations? Do you want someone who is going to use your equity as a negotiating tool in the same way that they do their own commission?
Client Testimonials Thurman is a solid and dedicated realtor. He has helped us tremendously hunting for very specific properties over the last 6 months. As a Fort Worth native, his knowledge of Tarrant County is awesome. He does impeccable analysis for his customers that can help so much in the various decision making processes. I plan on continuing to use Thurman for both personal and investment properties in the near future.” – Jeff C.
We used Barbara to purchase our house in Fort Worth. She was very accommodating from the start, arranging a showing on a Sunday afternoon with very little advanced notice. She then prepared documents and had them ready that evening so that we could provide the Seller with an offer that was accepted. She provided a very clear binder of what all the closing documents would look like to make it easier to be prepared for the execution and also helped with vendors for the things that needed to be done for the house. She followed that up by being there at closing to answer any last minute questions. We have never had an easier experience purchasing a home and we owe it all to Barbara.” – John A.
I have really enjoyed working with Shelly Forrest on my search for a new residence. She is very professional and sincere. She listens to my needs and makes sure to recommend ideal options for me to consider. Thanks Shelly!! – Amelia R.
Thurman Schweitzer 817.475.4060 | tschweitzer@briggsfreeman.com
Shelly Forrest 817.521.8113 | sforrest@briggsfreeman.com
Barbara Schweitzer 817.821.2694 | bschweitzer@briggsfreeman.com