Selling Your House Fast

How can I help you to sell your home?

I work for you as a full-service Realtor. I help you understand what your home is worth and help negotiate the most money for your home. Just a few of the services we provide while helping you sell your home:

• Provide you with detailed information of your home
• and its value based on a comparative market analysis.
• Input all information about your house into MLS with a thorough description of its selling points and load up to 6 digital pictures.
• Create a professional marketing brochure and distribute to other Realtors in the area.
• Add your listing to various other websites for easy access to buyers (Realtor.com, AZNativeProperties.com, CraigsList.org)
• Put a sign and information tube on your property.
• Personally check on the house if vacant to insure security.
• Contact all Realtors that show the house to get feed back from their buyers.
• Contact you weekly (at least) to provide you with any updates.
• Have a virtual tour made of the home for better visibility to buyers.
• I will negotiate on your behalf and with your full knowledge, understanding and consent of strategy.
• Once we have a contract, I will attend all inspections on your behalf.
• Hold Open houses with your consent.

DISCLAIMER: The above services are provided for all listings when appropriate. Some services are not necessary and will be negotiated with you at time of signing a listing contract.

What are the types of listing contracts?

There are two types of Listing Contracts in Arizona, Exclusive Right to Sell and Exclusive Agency. Giving a Realtor the Exclusive Right to Sell means the listing agent has the exclusive right to list and market your home, although other agents can sell your home on behalf of the buyer. An Exclusive Agency allows an agent to list and sell your house just like the Exclusive Right to Sell, the only difference is that you can also find a buyer. If you find a buyer the listing agent will not get any commission. Most Realtors do not take Exclusive Agency listing.

How will I market your home?

The most productive form of advertising a home is directing the marketing toward other agents, since other agents actually have buyers. Listing agents do this by distributing brochures about your house to agents in the area. They can also send e-mails to agents and networking in the community.

Your contract will specify whether or not the house will be listed in the local MLS (multiple listing service) database. It is definitely in your best interest to have the house listed because your sales force will increase dramatically by however many Realtors have memberships to MLS, which is most of them.

An agent may advertise your home in classified ads or specialty magazines but this rarely sells your home. Most advertising finds more buyers for the agent and rarely sells the house.

Open Houses rarely sell a home. If an Open House is done when the house is first put on the market, it tells everyone in your neighborhood that the house is for sale and invites them over to look. The main reason an agent holds a house open is to generate more clients for them. If you really want an Open House, most agents will do them, but don’t expect your house to sell that weekend.

What is the Arizona Regional Multiple Listing Service (ARMLS)?

ARMLS is a database of all homes listed by Arizona Realtors. Most Arizona Realtors are members of this service.

Information about your home will be entered into the ARMLS database such as; square footage, price, number of bedrooms and bathrooms, and so on. Realtors search for homes in the ARMLS database and for their clients. Agents will pay special attention to homes that are new on the market because they may have shown their client everything else and now are just looking at the new listing. That’s why when your home first goes on the market you will get a lot of lookers. The main advantage to having your house in ARMLS is you have expanded your potential buyers tenfold by giving all Realtors accessibility.

How should you preparing to sell your home?

The first rule of selling a house is to remove your emotions. This is now a business deal and you have to treat it like a marketable commodity and not the place where you raised your kids or spent your 30th birthday.

Walk around the house like a Home Inspector would and check everything mechanical you see. Here’s check list you can use:

Plumbing

• Do all sinks drain, stoppers work and are fixtures shiny?
• Is the water pressure good at all faucets?
• Are there any leaks under the sinks?

Walls & Ceilings

• Are the walls clean? Sometimes just washing walls by the doors and around corners can make
• a big difference.
• Are there any water stains from previous leaks?
• Does the paint look fresh? Paint can be one of your best investments. It is not very expensive and often you can do it yourself. Choose an off white so the rooms appear bigger and brighter.

Flooring

• How does the carpet look? Unless the carpet appears worn or is definitely outdated, you probably
• shouldn’t replace it. Just hire a good carpet cleaner. If you do choose to replace it, pick something inexpensive in a light neutral color.
• Any broken tiles? Replace broken floor tiles if possible. Don’t spend too much money. You’re not
• fixing it up for yourself. You simply want to make the best first impression on people coming in.

Doors & Windows

• Do the doors and windows open easily? If not, WD40 often helps. Make sure there are no cracked or broken window panes. If there are, replace them before you begin showing your home. Do knobs and locks work? Are the door knobs clean?

Odors

• If you smoke or have animals, there could be odors in your house that you don’t notice. Once the walls are washed or painted and the carpets are cleaned, don’t smoke in the house and maybe leave any animals outside if you can. At the very least, get air-fresheners or use the powder fresheners that can be sprinkled on the carpet.

Landscaping

• Make sure the grass is watered so it’s as green as possible. Keep the grass cut and trimmed. If there are dead bushes, pull them out or replace them. Remember, the exterior gives the first impression and you only have one chance to make a good first impression. Planting some extra bushes or flowers might spruce things up a bit. Do not put in trees. They are expensive and you will not get any return on your investment.
• Make sure the back yard is clean. If you have dogs, make sure to pick up after them daily. Swing sets and children’s toys should be removed or at the very least organized.
• Pool and spas should be clean and maintained.

Exterior

• Take a good look at your house from a distance. Does the paint look old and faded? Painting is often a very good investment and really cleans up the appearance of the home which could add to the price of the offers you receive.

Front Door & Entry

• The front door should be especially nice since it’s the first thing you see when coming into the house. You might want to paint it and polish the door knob so it looks extra nice.
• Remove any cutesy door plaques with the family name. Buyers will not look at the home as theirs with your name on it. Buy a new welcome mat for the front door. Old worn out ones aren’t as inviting.
• Make sure the locks work easily and the keys fit well. It’s annoying when the Realtor can’t get the key in the lock or the lock to turn. Also, make sure ONE key works all the locks to get in the front door.

Keep the House Clean

• Keep the kitchen sink clear of dirty dishes.
• Make all the beds every day.
• Take the trash out regularly so there are no odors.
• Keep the bathrooms wiped up and the mirrors clean.
• Make sure there is no excessive dust.
• Vacuum and sweep floors regularly.

Lighting

• When you know someone is coming over, turn on all the lights in the house, even in the china cabinet.
• Open all drapes and blinds for more light, this makes the house feel homey and bright.