Why Hire a Listing Agent?
–Your goal is to end the transaction with the most money in your pocket possible, right? Sometimes people get hung up on paying a commission without realizing the expertise of a good agent can bring a higher price for their home and save money on repairs etc – making the seller more money in the end.
–Less Stress. The things that push sellers over the edge are everyday occurrences for the agent – let the agent minimize your stress.
–The network. A good Listing Agent is connected in the Real Estate community and can do a lot of the legwork of selling your home before showings even begin.
–Less Days on Market. Doing all the right work BEFORE your home goes on the market, and pricing it correctly the first time, results in a quicker sale and less stress for the seller. A good Listing Agent knows how to get your property ready.
–Getting sued is scary. Just because you “didn’t know better” doesn’t mean you’re not responsible for handling all the details of your sale correctly. A Realtor will help make sure everything is done above board.
–The buyer will most likely have an agent that you’re expected to pay, so you’re going to be paying the Buyer’s Agent to work against your favor. If you’re paying for someone else to have a professional in their corner, why wouldn’t you have one too?
Why Sold By Starkey as your Listing Agent?
–Team Time and expertise of 5 professionals
–Expertise 10 years working full-time in Residential Real Estate; volume earning a seat on the Triangle Top Producers Council;
-Track Record Low Days On Market (DOM) (avg. of 16 days) & high List Price to Sales Price ratio (avg. of 99%). Why does it matter? D-O-M costs you M-O-N-E-Y.
-Leader in the Realtor Community NC Association of Realtors Board of Directors Member; Raleigh Regional Association of Realtors Board of Directors Member; Former Dean of RRAR Leadership Academy; Former President of NCR Young Professionals Network
-Happy Clients Check reviews from Realtor.com or Zillow; Realtor.com rated in the Top 5 agents in Fuquay-Varina (#1), Raleigh, Cary, Holly Springs, & Apex based on client experience.
-Service after the sale We’re ALWAYS your resource for all things home & real estate
-Community A portion of each closing goes to Cannonball Kids Cancer. Sold By Starkey actively supports various Triangle charitable organizations.
–Class Count on quick, polite, reliable customer service when we’re representing your property. The way an experience makes you feel matters.
What’s included in the Commission?
-Payment to both the Listing Agent and the Buyer’s Agent. This comes out of the proceeds of the home. There is no up-front expense to the seller.
–Pre-listing consultation We’ll talk as much as you want/need about the best strategy for getting your home sold for top dollar.
–Staging (Including Professional Staging if necessary)
–Desktop Appraisal to help value your home if it’s a tricky property
-Professional Measurements and home sketch. This means there are no surprises regarding square footage once you’re Under Contract
–Professional, high-quality photographs and Virtual Tour Not only do we absolutely insist in high-quality professional photos, we go to great lengths to help get your house perfectly “photo ready” first. In the day and age when over 90% of people start their house-hunt online, your photos are essentially the first showing… and you don’t get a do-over on a first impression. The photos MUST be perfect.
–Property Specific Web Address If you live at 123 Maple Ln, folks will go to www.123maple.com to see information about your home… no need for potential buyers to have to sift through other properties to learn about yours.
Listing in MLS, Zillow, Realtor.com, and other 3rd party vendors
–Wooden-post yard sign
-Stationary and Takeaway Marketing Materials in home
-Social Media Paid Advertising
–Open Houses as requested
-Access to preferred vendors for quicker turnaround
–Constant Communication! A survey from the National Association of Realtors revealed that consumer’s biggest problem with agents is lack of communication. They certainly didn’t survey Sold By Starkey clients because we keep everyone informed every step of the way.
What are the basic steps of the selling process?
–Agent Home Visit & Listing Paperwork This is where we’ll talk through getting your home photo-ready. We’ll also outline what you stand to make on your house at different sale prices after all expenses are paid. The buyer pays most of them, but in NC there are a few seller-paid costs.
–Measurements (and Desktop Appraisal, if necessary)
-Agent Walkthrough of Home To make sure the home looks perfect for photos and showings
–Professional Photographs
-Completion of Disclosures and Listing Worksheet
-Agent Enters Listing into MLS
-Confirmation of how showings will be handled
–Sign is delivered
–Showings Begin
Once we’re listed, what is expected of the Seller?
-Make your home available for showings as often as possible. Buyer’s often don’t resurface. DO NOT stay home for showings!
-Keep your house tidy & organized. During showings the home should feel more like a model home, and less like your own.
-Turn on all lights prior to showings.
-Remain reasonable during repair negotiations. Pretend you’re on the buying side – what is reasonable vs. excessive?
–Answer questions! If potential buyers bring me questions I can’t answer, please put forth your best effort to answer.
What comes with an offer?
-Purchase Price
-Due Diligence Date and Amount – Take your home off the market for Buyers inspections etc. They may walk away for any reason during this time, and you keep this amount.
-Earnest Money Amount – This money comes into play if they walk away AFTER the –Due Diligence Date
-Close Date
-Personal Property
-Closing Costs
-Warranty
-Specific Loan Criteria
So we have an offer; what’s next?
-Sold By Starkey will present you ALL offers that come in, as they come in
-If the offer is perfect, we accept – if it isn’t, we counter
-Counter offers an be exchanged back and forth until terms are mutually agreed upon
-Once an offer is signed, the contract is binding.
-If multiple offers are received, we accept the best offer OR call for “Highest and Best”, meaning each potential buyer can resubmit an offer, and we’ll choose or renegotiate the best one. We can only negotiate ONE offer at a time! This is where an Agent is incredibly valuable, because often the highest offer isn’t the best and an agent knows the variables in the current market that make some offers less risky than others.
-You may continue to allow showings if you’d like a backup offer. Your agent can advise you of when this is a sensible plan.
Offer Accepted!
-The buyer will have various inspections scheduled. In the contract, you agreed to make the house available for these.
-The buyer’s loan must clear.
-We will negotiate repairs based on inspection reports.
-“Material Facts” must be disclosed to future buyers… so you may as well fix them.
-The house will be appraised by an independent appraiser on behalf of the buyer’s lender. If the home doesn’t appraise for the contract price, we renegotiate.
–Closings sometimes get delayed. Remember, the closing date is an ideal date, and legally the buyer has 14 days following that date to get to closing.
–Courtesy Items: Remove nails and patch and paint nail holes; have septic tank pumped.
-Make sure your home is CLEAN CLEAN CLEAN when you move out. Would you want to move into someone else’s dirt? We recommend having a professional cleaning service do the job.
–Final walkthrough by the buyer
Closing & Referrals
-A week before closing you’ll receive an email outlining the last steps.
-The buyer gets to select the closing attorney.
-Were you happy with your Sold By Starkey agent? We certainly hope so! We pride ourselves on being 100% referral based so if you were pleased with your service, it would mean so much if you provided us a review. We’ll send you instructions as to where your reviews are most helpful following closing. Referrals are vital to our business – plus, we’ll work extra hard to take excellent care of your people!