Step 1: Discovery & Goals Meeting
Before we design a customized marketing plan for your home, the first step is to meet learn about one another and explore the idea of partnering to sell your home. Choosing your listing agent is a big decision, and we want you to feel comfortable and confident in your decision to move forward together.
In our initial meeting, we will:
- Uncover your goals for the sole of your home.
- Discuss what to expect in the home-selling process.
- Answer any questions you might have.
- Provide you an opportunity to interview our team and ensure we are the right partner for you.
- Walk through your home together and review possible improvements and staging.
- Begin pricing and marketing strategy discussions.
Step 2: Preparing Your Home
Making a resounding first impression is critical when marketing a home for sale. That's why, on we've agreed to move forward together, our next step is to rebrand your home to resonate with the broadest possible buyer pool. To accomplish this, we will him a professional stager to provide a thorough review and consultation about how to maximize appeal. She will prepare a detailed list of how to use your existing furniture and accessories, what to store, where to declutter, and where new contemporary furnishings might add a bit of extra wow factor.
This is also on ideal moment to review and discuss any cosmetic changes that earn big-dollar returns for minimal investment A coat of paint or swapping out light fixtures, for example, can change the entire look of a room. Of course, curb appeal is also critical, so we'll want to look at your home from every angle. I like to say our goal here is to make your home look so great you won't want to move!
If upfront costs for staging and improvements are a concern, we'd love to talk to you more about Compass Concierge.
This industry-exclusive Compass program covers the costs of all staging and updates with no hidden fees and no interest charged — ever. This can be an indispensable tool in selling your home quickly and for the best possible price without the financial stress of preparations.
Once we've got your home looking its absolute best it's time for us to bring in a professional photographer to capture stunning images the home that will be the cornerstone of our marketing efforts.
Another exclusive Compass program, Compass Coming Soon, allows us to launch a sneak peek of your home prior to the full listing launch. This gives us a heod start on building marketing buzz while still getting the property ready.
Step 3: Marketing Your Property
Now that your home is market-ready, it's time to start the marketing and advertising process. Based on our target audience and your home's unique features, we will execute a customized, multi-pronged marketing strategy for the listing that's designed to accomplish your specific goals. This robust approach often includes a mixture of the following:
- Network Marketing: Tapping into our sphere of brokers, potential buyers and investors is a key tactic for creating excitement and driving more interest than if your home is solely listed online.
- An MLS listing which includes a direct feed to all the sites buyers use, including Zillow, Redfin, Trulia, Realtoccom and more.
- A listing on the award-winning Compass.com which reaches buyers and agents from coast-to-coast
- Open houses events to draw potential buyers to view your home in person.
- Social media marketing using impactful visuals to reach buyers on Facebook, Instagram and more.
We will provide you a thorough update on your listing every week until we go under contract. This report will include the number of showings, any feedback received from showings, current market information and trends, as well as marketing efforts for that week and their impressions, where possible. This report will allow us to hone in on what's working, what's not and where to make changes.
Step 4: Offers & Negotiations
Once we receive an offer (or offers!), it is our job to qualify every single potential buyer to ensure they have a high probability of making it to closing. This extra effort is why our sellers consistently close with their first buyer under contract rather than seeing their initial contract fall apart.
We do the following to qualify each potential buyer.
- Meticulously review the contract itself. We want to see that it's error-free, complete, with reasonable dates and deadlines. A clean contract often means a smooth transaction, and it's essential to start off on the right foot Speak directly to the buyer's lender to see if there are any red flags that may prevent the buyer from closing. We take into consideration whether the lender is local or not (local lenders are often easier to reach), and confirm the buyer has the necessary funds to close.
- Reach out to the buyer's agent to learn more about the buyer and their journey thus far. Have they been under contract before? Have they backed out of a deal? Are they motivated and eager to get into a home?
If you receive multiple offers on the home, we will prepare a report for us to review together. During this process, we will compare the terms of the offers and the strengths and weakness of the buyers. The goal is to get you to closing, successfully, with the first buyer you go under contract with.
Step 5: Offer Accepted!
Congratulations, you have accepted a buyer's offer!
It's so exciting to be past the stage of showings. While you can take a deep breath knowing you have a contract on the home, there is still work to do. We have contingencies in the contract to work through, namely inspections and appraisals, but we're here to keep track of all dates and deadlines and walk you through every action item.
A buyer will typically perform a general inspection, a radon test and a sewer inspection. Unless we negotiated an as-is transaction where the buyer cannot request repairs, the buyer will likely ask that you repair or replace certain items in the home or provide a credit for them to address specific concerns.
Again, we're here to help you review your options and weigh the pros and cons of how you might want to respond.
Another significant contingency is the appraisal. The purpose of a professional appraisal is to ensure that they buyer (and their lender) are paying fair market value for the property. With that in mind, our team will prepare a report for the appraiser to give you the highest likelihood of a smooth and successful appraisal, including recent comparable sales, competing offers, and info on any upgrades you've made to the home.
Throughout the entire transaction, we will check in with the buyer's lender to ensure things are progressing smoothly with their final loan approval. We will provide consistent and clear communication to you with transaction updates as we work towards closing.
