Not sure why I hadn’t asked before, but about a week ago I asked some past clients to provide testimonials and ratings on FB, Realtor.com, Zillow, etc and boy did they respond! Over the next month I’ll be posting some of them here along with a bit of commentary.
Take the testimonial below as just one example. As a Realtor I pride myself in not only taking care of a client during the deal, but also afterwords. There’s a reason I say choosing FreedomRE is an #unreal experience. My clients are clients for life, and I hope that when you’re ready you reach out and can experience the difference.
We couldn’t have asked for a better experience! Our property sold quickly at full asking price. I highly recommend Mark to anyone buying or selling a home!
Looking to sell quickly and at a good price? Let’s chat!
Price your house right. – You mean Zillow doesn’t know everything?
List in peak market time. – If you can. If not, I wouldn’t consider this a deal breaker. Just be ready for it to potenially take longer.
Double check your listing information.
Stage those weird areas that don’t have an obvious use.
Leave during your showings and make sure you take your pets with you. – So awkward when the seller sticks around. Get out! I would also add “take any valuables and medications” as well.
Be prepared to walk away from an offer.
Tell everyone you know that your house is for sale.
Looking to sell a home in the Greater Lansing area? Well, you’re in the right place! 🙂
Please fill out this entire survey to help me help you sell your home! * Details can be found below the form.
Ok, so you want to know why I’m asking for all this information? It’s simple really. I want to know everything I can so that I can help you sell for the most money in the shortest amount of time possible. Here’s a breakdown of why I’m asking for each thing:
Legal Names: This is what will go on the contracts (so I need everyone’s name).
Email Addresses: This will be where any correspondence goes as well as anything that needs to be e-signed (so I need everyone’s address).
Phone Numbers: In a pinch I may need to call or text. I also like to know who’s calling or texting me 🙂
Birthdays: Who doesn’t want to have their special day remembered? No year required if you prefer not to supply that 🙂
Address, bedrooms, baths, etc: Hopefully it’s obvious why I need this information 🙂
Approximate Price Range: NP if you have no idea. Regardless of what you put in here I will still pull comps to see if now is the right time for you.
Annual Property Taxes, Mortgage Balance, Mortgage Interest Rate: These are all so I can help give you an idea of how much you will walk away with after the sale!
How did you hear about me: Your cousin Vinny, a past client of mine, saw my Facebook ad?
Today I happened to be browsing the MLS, like I do on a nearly daily basis, and came across a home listed for more than $700,000! “Wow!” I thought. “I need to check this place out”. So I clicked through to take a look. The first picture was beautiful. Obviously not taken recently – given the lush green grass and all 🙂 Then I clicked through to the next and was greeted with a blurry mess. “Surely this can’t be right” I figured and moved on to the next. A few in, there’s one with the camera flash reflecting back off the window. As I moved on almost half of the photos were grainy or blurry. And this was on a $700,000+ house!
Ok I thought. The agent must be a newbie or a discounter. That would explain not being able to afford or being willing to have a professional photographer do the images, right? Wrong again. I won’t name names, but let’s just say this agent has more than the means to have the photos done right 😉
So, why am I writing about this? Because I truly believe that the details make all the difference. Once I got over the hump in getting my RE practice humming I hired a professional photographer for the first time, and let me just say they are worth their weight in gold! Now, every client that lists with me gets professional photos (apologies to my clients when I was just starting out).
So, when it comes time to list your home you can either hire the agent that takes the photos themselves or has their “assistant” do it, or someone – like me! 🙂 – that will see to it that the details are tended to weather your house lists for $100k or $700k+.You or someone you know looking to buy or sell?
Prelisting
The prelisting period is when we are getting your home ready to be put on the market, and there are a number of important pieces involved.
Home evaluation
Comps and Pricing
Repairs / Cleanup
Staging / Lighting
Photos
Listing Agreement
Listing
The listing period happens the days around the actual day your home is listed in the MLS and includes…
Sign and Keybox
ShowingTime setup
Listing validation
Showings
Now that your home is officially listed it’s time to get some showings!
Accept requests via ShowingTime
Try to be as flexible as possible
Be sure valuables and medicines are removed or locked up
Turn lights on!
Vacuum
Remove pets
Remove odors – cooking, pets, teenagers 🙂
Feedback will be requested on all showings and forwarded as soon as received
Offer
Any offer I receive will be discussed with you as soon as possible!
I will contact all other showing agents to try and drum up multiple offers
Accept / Reject / Counter
Inspections
Appraisal
Closing
Showings by me
It is my goal to bring the best buyer to you, no matter if me or another agent is working with them. For anyone that I show your home to I will require a proof of funds (pre-approval letter or bank statement). This is a protection to you and I.
Open houses
You are the client so I will work with you as desired, but my general policy based on personal experience and that of other agents in our office is that open houses are usually not a good use of anyone’s time. Truly motivated buyers will be working with an agent, or contact me directly for a viewing. I would rather not spend either of our valuable family time sitting at an open house.You or someone you know looking to buy or sell?
Different parts of this form will be filled out depending on if the home was build prior to 1978 or not. If it was, you will need to provide any information you have about the known presence of lead based paint (LBP) in the home. If it was built after, then you will just be certifying that they home was built after 1978.
Please contact me with any questions on the specifics.You or someone you know looking to buy or sell?
This form needs to be filled out by you without any input from me. After you have completed the form, please return the original copy to me and I will scan it and add it to dotloop for reference. When we close, you will need to certify that nothing has changed or if something has, make note of that.
This form is basically saying that I am the agent you are working with and who my broker is. It is also saying that it is possible the buyer of your home may be working with another agent that works for my broker (i.e. another agent at Keller Williams). If it is another agent in our office this form covers that situation. If I am also representing the buyer with a formal buyer representation agreement we would just need to sign a Dual Agency Agreement stating that I represent both you and them.
Please contact me with any questions on the specifics.You or someone you know looking to buy or sell?
This information is used by the title company to do a preliminary title search, and when it comes time to close (to ensure you are released from your mortgage obligation).
If you have a home equity line of credit in addition to your mortgage, please ensure that you fill in the loan information for that too.
The tricky part on this form is that you need to fill in all the information before you sign. Don’t worry though. I know there’s a high likelihood that I will have to send it back to you for resigning 🙂
Please contact me with any questions on the specifics.You or someone you know looking to buy or sell?
