Sell Your Home

Your home is a major investment and you should entrust the sale only to a highly professional, educated agent that is energetic and in tune with your personal goals.

Location and market conditions are a given and cannot be controlled. You do, however, control “condition” and price!

But how do you impact the market to secure the highest price? MAXIMUM MARKET EXPOSURE. Price, condition, and timing are extremely important, but maximum exposure is critical to achieving the highest and best price.

At Sandy Gard & Associates, we utilize our 20+ years of real estate and banking experience to provide insight and expertise into marketing your home by …

1. Assisting with pricing your home accurately.
2. Assisting with conditioning your home for the market.
3. Implementing a marketing plan that will maximize exposure for your home.
4. Provide expertise in negotiating a final sale price and follow-thru on closing details.

We work with you from start to finish assisting in a pleasant, profitable transaction for you. Our goal is to provide such a pleasing transaction, that you will refer us to your friends, family and associates!!

Impacting the Market

Pricing and condition are extremely important in achieving your desired results. To totally impact the market to achieve the highest and best price, timing and MAXIMUM EXPOSURE are critical.

We design an extensive marketing plan for our clients that canvasses the local and national markets.

LOCAL MARKET:

1. Print

Print media is an excellent way to reach local buyers who are ready to buy. We advertise regularly in the following publications:

. The Homefinder

. The Real Estate Book

. The News-Gazette

2. Realtors

A national survey says that 66% of buyers come from “agent contacts”, so we market heavily through the Multiple Listing Service. This service has over 400 Realtors working day and night. One or more of them could have a buyer for your home.

NATIONAL MARKET:

4. Internet

A national survey recently said that 7 out of 10 buyers will use the internet to find their next home. We use the following sites to attract buyers to your home:

www.SandyGard.com

~ Take a moment to view my Featured Homes page .

www.Realtor.com with prominent “Featured Home” placement

Proper Pricing

There's a fine line between getting the highest price for your home and over-pricing. Over-pricing not only costs time, but also money, while causing frustration.

A Comparable Market Analysis will evaluate active, pending, sold, and expired listings that are similar to your home and also reflect current market conditions. This will give you an accurate price range for your home and determine the market value.

When priced accurately from the beginning, a home gets maximum activity, it attracts buyers who can afford the home, the buyers recognize the value, and you receive the highest offers.

Points to remember:

1. A new listing receives the most activity between the 2 nd and 5 th weeks it's on the market.

2. Buyers are well educated on the market and know immediately if a home is over-priced.

3. The longer the home is on the market the more negotiating will be required to settle on a price.

4. If the home is over-priced, the buyers that can afford to buy your home will never see it because it's out of their price range.

5. Your home must appraise for the buyers financing to be approved.

Conditioning Your Home to Market

~ With buyers, first impressions count. A small investment in time and money will give your home an edge over other listings in the area. Here are some suggestions that will help you get top market value:

BUMP UP CURB APPEAL

. Mow the lawn, rake any leaves, shovel any snow

. Keep shrubs clean and trimmed

. Pick up any litter outside

. Touch up exterior paint

. Remove excess lawn furniture, hoses, sprinklers, etc. from deck or patio.

. 1st impressions start at the front door – touch up any paint, add some flowers, sweep the porch

SOME EASY FIXES

. Replace burned out lights

. Tighten door knobs

. Clean and repair windows

. Touch up chipped paint

. Repair seals on tub and basin

. Repair cracked plaster/drywall

. Make sure doorbell is working

. Fix leaky faucets

KEEP IT SPIC AND SPAN

. Polish door hardware

. Shampoo carpets

. Clean and freshen bathrooms

. Clean fridge and stove

. Clear stairs and halls

. Store excess furniture (to make rooms look bigger) or boxes (to make closets look bigger)

THE BUYING ATMOSPHERE

. Keep entrance free of clutter

. Add charm with flowers

. Try to be absent during showings

. Turn on all lights

. Open drapes/blinds during daylight

. Keep kitchen smelling fresh by sending a lemon down the disposal

. Play soft music in the background

. Turn off television

. Keep all pets out of the way

MAJOR CHANGES OR REPAIRS

. Call me before making major changes or repairs. Some changes are not cost effective.

Receiving Offers

We help you to start negotiating an offer during the listing process. During the listing process, when you make repairs that we recommend and choose an appropriate list price as per our CMA, you are already eliminating many of the concerns and problems that could occur when you receive an offer. We also share the “Residential Sales Contract” at the time of the listing so that you can review and become familiar with the language of the contract prior to receiving offers.

It may be wise to hire a licensed inspector prior to putting your home on the market. Why wait til after you have settled on a sale price to find out the furnace has a cracked heat exchanger and needs to be replaced. You have already negotiated a final sale price, but now have to buy a new furnace as well!

Some buyers like to make lower offers “just to see what price the seller will accept.” This is where our years of experience are beneficial to you in negotiating an appropriate price. Determining whether the buyer is “qualified” is crucial to developing a strategy to respond to a lower offer. For example, it is important to secure proper documentation of a buyer's pre-approval or pre-qualification when an offer is presented. There may be other circumstances to take into consideration as well. Only years of experience can be a proper guide to securing an appropriate sale price.

The Power of Negotiating

~ We have negotiated hundreds of contracts in our 25 years of experience and know how to work for you. In addition to negotiating the price, other factors such as buyer's financing, closing date, and personal property need to be considered. We will explain your options and share our years of expertise to assist you in making a wise decision. It is our job to be your voice during negotiations, and to help you through working out an acceptable offer.

The Closing

Closing day has arrived, and you have all your belongings moved out, repairs (if any) have been completed, all utilities have been transferred, and the home is prepared for the buyer to move in. We have coordinated the closing with you, your attorney, the buyers, the buyer's agent and the buyer's attorney. We meet at either the title company or the buyer's lender, final documents are signed and you have funds to deposit or transfer to your new home purchase.

The process is complete and you start you new lifestyle in your new home. We have enjoyed working with you during this memorable time. My goal is to provide such a pleasant experience that you will highly recommend us to your friends, family and associates.