Our Marketing Plan
Effectively marketing your home takes more than a for sale sign in your front yard. It takes an experienced Real Estate Broker that knows how to combine traditional marketing with a strong online digital marketing plan. Over 90% of buyers are searching for their home online and if your home isn't maximizing online reach and making a great first impression combined with traditional marketing that still works you'll likely miss out on qualified buyers. Let us show you why we're the best, why we know marketing, and why we can sell your home!
Preparing your home
Before listing your home, we strongly encourage you to follow our preparing your home online guide. This guide covers several recommended steps you need to consider before listing your home. While some of these items are recommendations, and some of you may be selling your home in as-is condition, there are some additional items to consider for safety and security during the listing period. Our Real Estate Brokers would be happy to answer any further questions you might have.
List Price
Pricing your home is key to a successful sale. Overpricing will result in limited buyer activity, price reductions, and a longer time on the market. Once your home has had several price reductions, and it has been on the market longer than the average marketing, it begins to look like there are other problems with your home than the price. Underpricing your home will lead to a loss in net equity. Real Estate Brokers know and understand the local market, we're working in it every day. Let us help you establish a list price that will attract buyers, compete with comparable properties, and procure an offer in the shortest amount of time while returning the most equity.
Listing Agreement
Once we've established a price for your home, it's time to complete the listing agreement and set a list date. The Exclusive Sale and Listing Agreement is a standard contract between the real estate brokerage and the seller. This agreement allows the real estate brokerage to list, market, and find a ready, willing, and able buyer for your home. Your Real Estate Broker will sit down and go through the agreement with you along with completing the listing input sheet. The listing input sheet describes the features of your home. In addition, this is the time that'll you'll complete the seller's disclosure statement and if your home was built before 1978 disclose whether you have any knowledge of lead-based paint.
Showing Access
Whenever a Real Estate Broker or an agent from another brokerage has an interested buyer in your home, and they would like to schedule a showing, they will either schedule a time online or contact our office. We will reach out to you to see whether that time is convenient and confirm the showing. It's essential that your home is in show-ready condition at all times; it's not uncommon to get a request to show your home with very little notice. While you can always decline a showing request, it's in your best interest to accommodate the request if possible. For your security, we will place a digital lockbox on your home that requires a unique key to access, so you'll always know that a licensed Real Estate Broker is showing your home.
Professional Photography
As we've already mentioned, over 90% of buyers search for their next home online. It's imperative that your home not only captures the attention of a buyer as they're scrolling through the list of homes but stands out from the competition. A professional photographer photographs every home listed with our brokerage, this service is provided as part of the listing, and there's no additional fee for this service.
Multiple Listing Service (MLS)
The multiple listing service, also known as the MLS, is the initial step in marketing your home. Pacific Northwest Realty Group is a member of two MLS systems that cover the market area in Southwest Washington, the Northwest MLS (NWMLS) and the Regional MLS (RMLS). Your home will be placed in both systems doubling the exposure to potential buyers. We will use the listing input sheet we talked about earlier to make sure all the features of your home are listed along with a well-written description of your property. The MLS is also needed to syndicate your listing across numerous online websites.
Listing Syndication
Listing syndication is an integral part of listing your home in a digital world. For your home to be viewable by buyers on other online websites including Zillow, Trulia, REALTOR.com, and even other brokerage websites like Coldwell Banker, RE/MAX, and Century 21 you need to agree to and work with a brokerage that knows and understands listing syndication. Listing syndication takes the MLS data and pushes it, several times per hour, to third-party websites so that your listing is up-to-date at all times. We syndicate to hundreds of sites ensuring that your home is viewable by thousands of buyers from around the country and even the world.
For Sale Sign
Even in today's digital world, traditional advertising still works. Many buyers are looking for homes in a particular area and will drive around neighborhoods looking for homes. Our signage is visible, clean, and professional looking. Buyers can see our signs from a reasonable distance and will clearly mark your home as for sale.
Flyers
Another traditional advertising method that still works is flyers. Flyers allow the buyer to read about your home, see additional photos, and most importantly, provide information on how to contact someone for more information or to schedule a showing. Our flyers are professionally designed and in full color.
Real Estate Guides
Local print real estate guides are still valuable tools, especially for buyers relocating to the area. We advertise in the Cowlitz County Buyer's Guide, which is a monthly real estate guide distributed to over 400 locations throughout Southwest Washington. Our full-color full-page ads feature our listings, giving you even more exposure to potential buyers.
Social Media
If you're not utilizing social media to advertise, then you're missing out on a majority of qualified buyers. Pacific Northwest Realty Group is very active on social media including Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and more. We post our listings on social media to increase exposure, and we allocate a portion of our marketing budget to online advertising to increase our exposure even more on social media.
Broker to Broker
Pacific Northwest Realty Group cooperates with all licensed brokers and brokerages which means anyone from any office can show your home and has access to all the details. When you list your property with us, your home will appear on the market hot sheet alerting all the brokers in the area that your home is on the market. Also, brokers always monitor the MLS for their clients, and as new buyers enter the market, every broker will have access to a complete and accurate listing of your home.
Email Marketing
Buyers across the country are utilizing websites to search for their next home, and this includes saved searches. Saved searches allow the buyer to receive immediate notification whenever a new home hits the market that matches their criteria. We have thousands of registered users on our website alone, looking for local real estate. Keep in mind, saved searches only work provided every feature of your home is selected in the MLS. Listing accuracy is critical in the digital world, and we will work with you to make sure it's right the first time.
Purchase and Sale Agreement
We have an offer! Our marketing has worked, and now we have an offer from a qualified buyer ready to purchase your home. Negotiating terms that are favorable for all parties involved takes skill. Knowing when to push, when to pull back, and when to accept takes experience. We will go over the terms of the purchase and sale agreement with you and if necessary counter any terms so they're more favorable for you. The purchase and sale agreement and the addendums are all state-approved forms that are written to protect all parties involved.
Closing
Once we've worked through the terms and timelines of the purchase and sale agreement, it's time to schedule the closing. The assigned escrow company will prepare an estimated settlement statement, also known as a HUD-1, that'll break down all the costs associated with selling your home and provide you with estimated net proceeds from the sale. After all, parties have agreed to the prepared closing paperwork the escrow officer will arrange a time for both the buyer and seller to sign. Keep in mind, the day you sign is rarely the day your home closes, typically you will sign 1-3 days before the scheduled closing day. Once all parties have signed the necessary paperwork, the buyer's lender has conducted their final review of the signed paperwork, and the funds needed to close have been received by the escrow office the sale of your home will be recorded according to the local requirements. Once the recording has taken place, the buyer will receive keys to their new home, and you'll receive the net proceeds from the sale.
Are you ready to sell your home? Contact us today.