SK Sawyer re-establishes the craft and relationship approach to real estate brokerage.
In some ways, the marketing of a home has never been easier - the internet allows prospective buyers to conduct virtual tours at large quantities of listings from comfort of their cell phone. And the internet provides a transparency to transactions that never existed before. It supports third-party platforms like Zillow, Redfin, and Trulia, which can give buyers information that used to only reside on MLS and in town clerk file cabinets. But this flood of data, allowing even the most novice of buyers with the information required to do rudimentary "comparable" analysis (looking at similar homes in the neighborhood and seeing what they sold for is both), a blessing and a curse.
This is no more evident than in the the paint-by-numbers approach that I see all too often when most realtors assist a client who is tying to sell a home. If any of this sounds familiar, well...then you’ve been doing the paint-by-numbers approach:
Homeowner wants to sell their home in the next few months;
Homeowner finds a listing agent (often a friend or referral);
Together, they determine a listing price and figure out open house dates;
The listing is developed:
photos are taken (hopefully by a professional, after staging has been performed);
a brief description is drafted;
the property is placed on MLS; and
A lockbox is placed on the front door.
I think it was Dusty Springfield that captured this approach the best when they sang "Wishing and Hoping. And Thinking and Praying".
This isn't how a professional sells a house.
You shouldn't sell yours this way either.
As a developer, or when I sell for developer clients, nothing is left to chance in the sale process. Selling real estate to the public is a deliberate exercise that needs proper thought and attention.
First - take an objective look at the property. This is an art at times, but it boils down to one thing: impression. What impression is this property making on a potential buyer? And then we ask, "is this the impression we want to make?" If it isn't, well..we need to change that asap.
And here's where most realtor's will fail you in my view.
What’s so wrong about trying their best to accurately arrive at what your house might be able to sell for in any given condition, in any given market?
Well, what if your house has a few items that are hampering its resale prospects?
SK Sawyer tackles this problem by doing something different. We look at your house as a developer would -- in terms of what it could be. And we talk about what it might take to get it there. And what it might sell for if you did. If that one rotting exterior trim board was replaced, and the yard was lightly landscaped, and the bathroom got a new tile job and vanity, you might be able to increase your net sale proceeds by thousands of dollars or more. Or, you might be able to get a quicker sale.
Sometimes a house is priced appropriately, but it presents too many weekend projects for a future homeowner, and the offers just do not come in.
Why would someone do a small renovation if it doesn't get them more money in a sale? Well, if it helps you sell the property in one month rather than six months, it could save you $20,000 in property carrying costs once you factor in your mortgage, vacant home insurance, and property taxes.
It may turn out that your well cared for house is a gem that needs nothing other than moving clutter out of the way for the listing photos. Or it may be that your paver walkway needs freshening up, or a driveway seal-coated, or a deck power washed (or replaced).
In any event, isn't it better to have a broker who can also provide expert advice for the costs and potential returns on these types of pre-sale projects? And who can coordinate that work if you chose to go ahead with it?