We are a full service real estate brokerage company and offer our clients a breadth of knowledge and insight into selling their home. We are able to offer sellers 10%-25% savings on the commission because we are simply more efficient than our competitors. Below is our selling process.
Step 1: Home Visit
Our initial visit to the home is to assess the house/property and discuss the Seller’s unique needs and objectives.
Step 2: Pricing
We do a deep dive into comparable properties and market conditions. We prepare a Comparative Market Analysis which will compare your home to recent sales and active properties weighing updates, amenities, condition, layout, location, style, neighborhood, street, age and much more. All the variables will be factored in to come up with a recommended asking price and selling strategy. At the end of the day, the seller picks the asking price and we provide the market intelligence and strategic expertise to zero in on a price.
Step 3: Marketing Plan
We customize and tailor a marketing plan to best take advantage of your home's special features and qualities. With over 25 years of experience, we have shown and sold thousands of homes and possess a deep understanding of buyer needs and feedback.
1. Staging and Preparation to Sell: We prepare a list of staging suggestions for the home. This may range from decluttering to refinishing floors, painting, furniture rental, replacing mechanicals, renovating bathrooms, painting a kitchen etc. We present this to the Seller as a buffet plan and prioritize what should be completed. Timing and budget does not always allow for everything to be completed. We then provide a network of vendors to execute the plan: painters, donations/charities, junk haulers, dumpster companies, professional staging companies, handymen etc. in order to expedite the process and help the Sellers put their best foot forward.
2. Photography, Video and Floor Plans: Once the home is staged we meet the photographer on site and collaborate on how best to tell the story of the home. Photography is one of our most powerful tools to put the house in the best light. We have a fabulous list of photographers and videographers to shoot your home.
3. Brochures: We will create a four color brochure for the property highlighting the house and neighborhood's best features.
Where do buyers come from? 95% of home buyers look on the internet during their home buying search.(National Association of Realtors)
4. The internet is the “800 pound gorilla” and is where almost all Buyers are finding homes. The Multiple Listing Service is a direct conduit to all of the top websites and literally feeds to 1000s of both broker and agent websites. This enables us to instantly upload a property to over 21,000 agents and thousands of buyers casting the broadest net for Sellers. As Smart MLS members, all of the real estate companies have agreed to share information so your home will be on every significant website including our competitors. This is what is best for our customers and a very powerful tool. Below is a sample of the websites your home will be listed on.
Do Sellers and Buyers work with agents? 90% of Sellers work with an agent and 87% of Buyers work with an agent.(National Association of Realtors)
5. Buyer’s Agents are very important to the selling process and we want to put our best foot forward. We have built strong relationships over the past 25 years and have solid relationships with all of the top producing agents in Fairfield County, Westchester County and New York City.
6. Reverse Prospecting: The MLS enables us to reverse prospect and reach out to Buyer’s agents who have clients in a specific town and price point. We can reach out to these agents and see if your house is a fit for their clients.
7. Social Media: Facebook and Instagram are a powerful and efficient way to target both Agents and Buyers. Not only do we have an extensive network of social media friends/agents, we also advertise our listings on both Facebook and Instagram to capture Buyer’s directly and promote our properties. This is also a wonderful way to keep our listings front and center.
8. Open Houses: Both broker and public open houses enable us to present the house in the best light and control the narrative. More and more buyers are coming directly to the properties.
9. Signage: Technology has changed real estate, but signs still work! The calls and emails generated go right to the listing agent who is most qualified to field the calls.
10. Public Relations: We have built relationships with the newspapers and internet blogs over the years and many of our properties have been featured in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Norwalk Hour, Wilton Bulletin, Fairfield Citizen, Fairfield Patch, Good Morning Wilton, Westport News and The Connecticut Post. Depending on the home, we can often arrange for a home to be featured.
Step 3: Showings
We track every showing and follow up with the agent for feedback. We are available to be there for every showing. We also screen potential buyers and will confirm that they are qualified to purchase the home.
Step 4: Offer Negotiations
We have honed our negotiating skills over thousands of transactions. We will solicit offers and help the owner negotiate the most favorable terms of the deal. To begin with each Buyer is vetted and required to submit a pre-approval with their offer to verify their ability to purchase the property. In today's market Sellers need to have a strategy for multiple bids. This can be handled many different ways and our goal is to get the highest price with the best terms in the shortest period of time.
Step 5: Building Inspections
The building inspection can often be a stumbling block for the transaction. We have years of experience and have dealt with every possible issue that can come up from an inspection; radon, zoning, well, septic, roof, HVAC, buried oil tanks, water issues etc. We know how to resolve these issues and keep the transaction together.
Step 6: Contract
The contract is prepared by the Seller’s attorney. If you do not have a real estate attorney we can highly recommend a number of attorneys that are very competent.
Step 7: Title and Public Records Search
Occasionally, there will be an issue with the title search or the public records search. We work with the Seller and their attorney to resolve the matter. If there is an issue, it is typically an open building permit. We will help the owner navigate the process of closing the permit.
Step 8: Appraisal
With houses appreciating quickly it is important that the bank appraiser has all the facts. We will meet with the appraiser when they come through the house and make sure they have all of the most recent comparable sales.
Step 9: Moving
We have a list of vendors that can help expedite the moving process. The list includes movers, estate/tag sale organizers, charities and cleaners.
Step 10: Closing
We schedule and are present at the walk through and deal with any issues that may come up from the walk through in order to close on time.
