Founder of ForSaleByOwner Company Hires Realtor to sell his home.

Now that's a kick. Here's a man who earned quite a bit of money as the CEO of a company that promotes  and makes a lot of money from FSBO's (For Sale By Owners),  how easy it is do yourself, and when it came time to sell his own house, what did he do?

He hired a Realtor.

The company he founded, by the way is ForSaleByOwner.com

You know what happened? The Realtor felt that the seller's asking price was the wrong strategy, and urged the founder and former CEO to raise the price by a whopping $150,000. There were multiple offers, and then.. it sold! So not only was this particular owner underpricing his home,  he will net MORE out of the sale after the real estate  commission is paid. If you want to know, his home sold for  $2.15 million and it was in the Chelsea section of Manhattan.

This just seems so incredibly comical that someone in that position would go against his own grain, and it should speak volumes to the many sellers with no real knowledge of selling real estate as to what they should do when it comes time to sell their home.

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The Top Five Mistakes that Sellers make- The Fairfield County CT Version

Here it is. It offer my own version of the Top Five Mistakes that Sellers Make.  You may have seen a littany of articles on those "top five mistakes". Go ahead if you want, and look at all of the articles on this subject-  there are quite a lot, I can assure you. As a matter of fact, I typed in "top five mistakes that sellers make" in Google and it returned about 415,000,000 results in just 0.32 seconds.

With that, I offer you my original Top Five, which may not necessarily agree with the other Top Five Lists, but I can pretty much guarantee you that all of these are appropriate for our area,  and actually..... anywhere you want to sell your home. Here they are, in order of importance.

1. Hire the Right Realtor
2. Hire the Right Realtor
3, 4 and 5. Hire the Right Realtor!

All of the reasons that your home doesn't sell is because the wrong Realtor is representing you, period- end of story.

Hiring the wrong Realtor is the worst thing that you could possibly do. All four hundred some-odd million of these lists could have stopped right there, because all of the other items that are on those lists  are agent related.

The bottom line is that it rests with your Realtor, so your top five priorities in selling your home should truly be focused on just one thing. That is, Hire the Right Realtor.  There is  only one answer to the number of "mistakes"  that I saw, and continue to see in the marketplace. Here  are some of them, and as you can see, the common denominator has to be your agent.
 
1. Overpricing Your Home- wouldn't your Realtor tell you the right price?
2. Not staging your home? Doesn't your Realtor assist you with this as part of their service?
3. Under-marketing or OVER-marketing your home including misrepresenting your home's features, condition or square footage? Your Realtor is the professional he/she should know exactly how to market your home. Shame on your Realtor for this one, period.
4. Sticking around during Showings, and/or not making your home readily accessible for showings? Hasn't your Realtor advised you how this can adversely affect your home sale?
5. Picking the wrong buyer- Shouldn't your Realtor be helping you on this?

Keep it simple and get it sold. Hire the Right Realtor.  These people did.

......and the right Realtor? That's me! :)

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Seller Tips: Proper Staging and Guidelines for Home Showings.

When you list your home for sale, a lot of emotions can come to the forefront of your thoughts. You love your house, you may  have some sentimental memories there, and it's only natural to think that everyone who comes in should like it enough too want to buy it, too. But that's not always the case.

The most important thing to remember is that it is not a personal affront to you when a buyer comes into your home and doesn't wish to pursue a purchase.

There are things that you can do before, during and after a home showing that will assist your Realtor in making the process as quick and painless as possible  There are also things that you shouldn't do that can also hinder a sale. SEE ARTICLE ON "Should a Seller Leave During Home Showings".

Before the showing:

Is you home properly staged for sale? We have a few general tips on staging  and have also provided useful links right here within this article for your reference.

OUTSIDE: Make sure your front porch is inviting. During the summer months, put a potted plant near the door. In the fall, Mums are nice, and make sure that the porch and front walk are clear of any fallen leaves. In the winter, make sure your walk is devoid of ice and/or snow. SEE ARTICLE ON Exterior Staging

INSIDE: Pick up any clothing on the floor, on the bed, draped on the couch, or in the laundry room.  Gather all of your personal papers and put them out of sight. Make sure your counters are clean, no dishes are in the sink, and that your home smells fresh.  In, short, it's time to de-clutter. DO NOT spray something like Febreze all around the house moments before a showing. It's obvious to buyers, and it looks like you are hiding something.

During the Showing: Try and leave if you can. You don't have to leave until the buyers come, but  really- try not to be there.It can get uncomfortable for the buyers and you want them to have their own "space" while they are looking.

After the Showing: Most  buyers spend about 10-15 minutes looking at an average sized  home. Any less, they are probably not interested. If they stay over 20 minutes, there may be some interest. You should expect that your agent (that would be me!)  will obtain feedback for you on the showing. Be prepared for negative feedback, and again... do not take it personally. Feedback helps you and your agent tweak the marketing of your home in order to effect a sale.

When you decide to sell your home, be prepared for the gamut of emotions to pour out. Don't shoot the messenger if the news is not exactly what you want to hear, and always be fully prepared for the last minute showing. It could very well be your last showing, too!

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Positioning Your Home "IN" the Real Estate Market is Supermarket Science.

You should know the difference between being IN the market and ON the market. Being IN the market means that your agent is doing everything he/she possibly can do to make sure your home is visible to as many qualified buyers as possible. Being ON the market means that although your home is listed for sale, your home is NOT as visible as it can and should be.

That's where positioning your home in the marketplace become KEY!

Positioning your home IN the market means pricing it strategically, and placing it strategically within the marketplace. The best examples I can use for both strategies is in something you can see with your own eyes every day, or as often as you want and is simple to understand. It's that black and white.

 The next time you go into the supermarket, take special note of  where the staples are. By the staples I mean butter, milk and meat. There's a valuable marketing  lesson there.

Actually, I can tell you exactly where they are. They are in the back of the store, or at the rear of an aisle. Why do I know this? Supermarkets and grocery stores have positioning down to a science. Years of research tells the management to put those necessary everyday  items in the back of the store so you can't run in and run out without possibly picking something else up along the way. It's great marketing- no doubt about it. And the equivalent  of  that is "positioning your home  IN  the market".

The supermarkets and grocery stores have the pricing strategy down pat, too.  The most expensive items on the shelf are generally at eye level, because they are easy to see, and easy to get to. The deals are on the bottom shelf or on the top shelf, and are harder to spot. Sometimes the supermarket positioners play tricks on you where there is a "teaser" item on the middle shelf with a very low price, and an extremely marked up item right next to it. The trick they are trying to play on you is that if you see something that is priced very well on the shelf, you might also pick up that item next to it, not realizing that it has been marked up considerably.

Now I don't subscribe to any trickery in real estate, but I DO believe in  strategic pricing and strategic positioning in order to get my clients the very best price for their home. Can I tell you what the strategy is for your home? It is not the same rule of thumb for every home. It can't be. But, when you hire me to market and sell your home,  you can rest assured that I will be strategic in every move I make to get you the very best price.   Just contact me whenever you're ready.

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Trust Your Gut. Spot Red Flags When Negotiating the Sale of Your Home

Your gut instincts are usually right on target. Learn to trust them. Sometimes, we get that gut feeling that something can or will go wrong, and we dismiss them for whatever reason. Maybe it's because  the reason we got those gut feelings is because of something totally unrelated, and we recognize that. Or, maybe the other party did something  to diffuse the initial concern.

Nobody ever wants to tell you, "I told you so", and you should not ever have to feel like saying to yourself, "I should have listened to my gut and I didn't. That's what got me into this predicament"

So let's talk about those gut reactions, and gut feelings when it comes to negotiating. When you can chalk those up to past experiences when there are many of the same factors involved, it is time to listen.

This may seem out of context, but it really isn't, if you think about it.  A few years ago,  I went to a Realtor safety class that was given by a seasoned detective. He gave us a great presentation and went on to say that we (as Realtors) put ourselves at risk  on a daily basis. He said something that resonates with me to this very day, and that not only involves personal safety, something that is smart thinking in day to day life- and I have taken that one step further to include negotiating.

What he said is that is if you have a concern, you learned that (physical and/or) emotional response from a prior event. Listen to your gut. If it says you need to be concerned, then be concerned. Period. And take an appropriate course of action.

Now what does all of this have to do with negotiating? We are not talking about safety issues, we are talking about negotiating. And that, we are...

You probably have not been involved in a large number of home negotiations, but I am assuming your real estate agent has. There are few obvious red flags to concern yourself with.

When the party on other side of the transaction displays some behavior that just doesn't seem right and it's right there from the beginning, don't expect it to get any better throughout the transaction.

If a buyer or seller is nickel and diming you from the very beginning, expect it to last right up through and including the closing.  That doesn't mean that you shouldn't work with that buyer or seller, it just means that you should know what you are in for, and to be ready for it. That may mean holding back some negotiations that are inevitably bound to happen before the closing.

If a buyer or seller agrees to a contingency or modification of the offer, and then reneges, expect that to happen throughout the transaction, if it ever comes to fruition.

On the other hand, when the other party tends to be reasonable, they will most likely be reasonable throughout the transaction. So your gut isn't always telling you that there is something to be concerned about.

Your agent (that would be me) knows how to negotiate and counteract those  seemingly little items that tend to pop up, and that could very well amount to much more than they initially appear. So count on your professional agent to guide you in the right direction and handle the bumps along the way.