More videos and information about Staging Your Home to Sell.

There are four essential elements for a real estate sale:

1. Location
2. Price
3. Condition
4. Exposure

1. Location - You can’t change your property’s location but there are things you can do to highlight the positives of your location. Are you close to schools, attractions, or a large employer? A professional real estate marketer will help put your home’s location in a positive light.

2. Price - Pricing your property correctly determines how many potential buyers will even see the listing. If your home is overpriced by even 5%, you will miss 70% of prospective buyers which drastically decreases the odds of selling your home. Accurate pricing is critical to a successful sale. An experienced real estate professional can help you pinpoint where your home should be priced and will help you make adjustments as market conditions change.

3. Condition - Having your home in the best condition possible will increase your odds of a sale. Experienced real estate professionals will tell you that “the good homes sell in any market.” Buyers will generally look at eight to ten homes or more in their price range and can easily determine the best value for their money. A home’s condition is a major factor in their decision making.

4. Exposure - Getting the maximum exposure for your home’s listing is also a critical part of a sale. If buyer’s don’t know about your home, they can’t buy it. Exposure is a primary factor that many people choose to use a professional Realtor(R). Having your home on the Multiple Listing Service as part of a Home Marketing Plan will help ensure that potential buyers can find your home.

For exposure to be effective, you also need the right price. If a grocery store was selling a gallon of milk for $10.00, it wouldn’t matter how many commercials, newspaper, or internet ads they ran, buyers would still go to the store where they could get it for $5.00 a gallon. The same holds true in real estate. Price your property for a sale, not to just be a “listing”.

For more information about preparing your home for sale, pricing, or our Success Marketing Plan, contact Kevin and Monica Ray of Access Realty at 406-207-1185.

In order to do that, your home must have more open space than usual to allow buyers to imagine their things in your space. Since you’re going to be packing for your move anyway, go ahead and get a start on it now. Box up out of season clothes to make closets seem more spacious. Remove family photos so buyers don’t feel the house is already taken. Give them opportunities to visually place their possessions by having less of your own spread around the house. Allow your house to still feel comfortable, but never crowded or cluttered.

If you need specific advice, we would be happy to help you prepare your home for sale. Please call Kevin and Monica Ray of Access Realty at 406-207-1185. Monica Ray is an Accredited Home Staging Specialist. We offer a free one-hour home staging consultation with our Home Market Analysis presentations.

The day has come and gone for Realtors(R) who use old-fashioned sales methods in real estate – putting a sign in the yard, putting the property in the Multiple-Listing Service (MLS), running an occasional newspaper ad, and sitting back waiting for the phone to ring.

This method might have worked at one time, but no more. Consider these facts:

• In every age group, newspaper readership is wayyyyy down. In the 30-45 age group, less than 35% of people read a newspaper! Even in the 45-55 age group, only slightly more than 45% of people read the newspaper.*
• Only 21% of traditional buyers found their agent through brochures, flyers, or mailers to their home. 92% of Internet buyers found their listing on a website and 63% of Internet buyers found their agent through a search engine!
• This trend will only continue – have you tried to get a teenager to read a book lately? They are probably too busy using their IM-ing (instant messaging for those of you who are not familiar) or watching YouTube videos!
• 77% of buyers use the internet in their search for a home, according to a 2005 study.

*2006 CAR(R) Economic Study

So when you are interviewing an agent to sell your property:

• Ask them about their marketing plan, including their “Internet” marketing plan,
• View their website, is it professional and does it stay updated?
• “Google” their name, does it come up on the first page or do you have to dig down to find it,
• “Google” the property address of one of their listings, does it come up?
• Request a list of websites where they advertise,
• Do they have a Blog? Blogs have great Search Engine Optimization (SEO) for both your agent and for your property.
• What is their system for lead tracking and follow up? Internet marketing brings a lot of leads, if they don’t have an efficient way to manage these, opportunities are lost.
• And finally, contact them through their website to see if they respond! My in-laws are trying really hard to sell their property in another state. They contacted several agents to discuss listing it and have been unable to get a call back! Look for an agent that responds to inquiries consistently.

If you want a pro-active, tech-savvy real estate team to help you sell your property, contact Kevin & Monica Ray today at 406-207-1185 or 406-822-SOLD (7653).

Did you know that sellers that do a “For Sale By Owner (FSBO)” earn 25 percent lower than sellers who use a Realtor(R)? So maximize your profits, and work with a qualified Realtor(R) on the sale of your home.
FSBOs Earn Less on Home Sale

Selling a Home

It’s a complex transaction that takes time, effort and expertise. It takes a real estate professional – your local REALTOR.

Here’s how a REALTOR can help you sell your home:

• A REALTOR knows the current real estate market and can help you set a realistic competitive price.

• A REALTOR is familiar with the local home loan market, knows if seller assistance is advisable and can help you decide the type of financing that’s best to expedite your sale.

• A REALTOR knows how to figure the approximate net proceeds from your sale, based on types of loans, your outstanding loan balance and closing costs.

• A REALTOR knows how to add sales appeal to your home at low or moderate cost.

• A REALTOR knows where to find prospective buyers. Most homebuyers prefer to work with a real estate agent and serious prospects are “qualified” as to their affordable price range before they are shown through your home.

• A REALTOR can tap an even larger market, if necessary, through referrals and marketing techniques.

• A REALTOR frees you from the problems associated with showing your home. The REALTOR handles all phone inquiries, makes appointments, does the actual showing and follows up. Your time is your own and your home is not exposed to anyone who has not been pre-qualified.

• A REALTOR is a skilled salesperson who knows how to merchandise your home effectively.

• A REALTOR maintains objectivity in responding to possible criticisms by the buyer and in presenting offers and counter-offers until an agreement is reached.

• A REALTOR knows how to help the buyer meet local financing requirements and go about obtaining a mortgage loan.

• A REALTOR can familiarize you with the closing procedures by explaining them all in advance. A REALTOR usually attends the closing with you.

REALTORS do more than you may think

As your agent, a REALTOR works for you and with you throughout the home selling process. It is the business of a REALTOR to help you sell your home with minimum delay, and to help you realize every dollar it’s worth.

Expect the commitment, integrity and professionalism that this implies. Also expect this agent to work hard on your behalf. Your REALTOR:

• knows the local housing market and can help you set a fair market price. Often a REALTOR can advise when seller financing might be in your best interest.

• is knowledgeable of current financing methods that allow prospects to become homeowners. As such, this real estate professional serves the buyer in order to better serve you.

• by listing your home in a Multiple Listing Service, can work with many other REALTORS to assure you a far wider range of prospective buyers.

• frees you from the time, effort and not-so-obvious details involving the sale of your home. With so many resources available, a REALTOR may be able to help you come out with the same amount of dollars or more than your could command by selling it yourself.

• does a lot of homework back at the office in order to sell your home. The home is listed, ads are placed, telephone inquiries are handled and appointments for showings are arranged with your convenience in mind.

• will initiate, carry out and follow through on every phase of the important and complex home selling transaction.

When showing your home

A REALTOR is a skilled sales person who knows how to merchandise your home. This professional maintains objectivity in responding to buyer objections and in presenting offers and counter-offers until and agreement is reached. Your REALTOR:

• will advise prospects of all aspects and conditions of your home, even faults that you don’t intend to correct. This protects you from later objections, and if a buyer likes everything else, one objection need not be a serious drawback. Your forthrightness will be appreciated.

• can offer you many suggestions, hints and tips on preparing your home so it looks its best when being shown to a buyer.

• is primarily interested in bringing together buyer and seller to negotiate an agreement satisfactory to both parties. Before the first showing and beyond the final sale, you’ll get the know-how and service you look for in a real estate professional who knows how to sell your home.

Make your home as light, airy and spacious as possible. Draw back drapes. Turn on a few extra lights. Keep pets out of the way. Soft background music can contribute to a relaxed mood, but a loud radio or TV, like pets, will tend to be distracting. Fresh bread or cookies baking in the oven help create a “homey” atmosphere.

Let your broker work for you. This real estate professional can answer questions on price, terms, possession, etc., and maintain objectivity in resolving to buyer objections.

Source: Realtor.com