Understanding real value
In many cases, the square footage of a home isn’t the only indicator of value. Supply/demand, quality of construction, amenities, function, and site all affect value. Understanding how these factors can influence a property either positively or negatively is absolutely imperative in order to realize the highest and most probable price for your home. We are able to talk to sellers in an in-depth manner about these different components as well as how their home compares to other similar homes that have recently sold.
Understanding Your Market
Knowing the type of market you’re in is also important to realizing the highest price for your home. Our sellers are brought up to speed on things like: other comparable homes available for sale and how they compare, supply vs demand, when to change the price and when to leave it alone, and whether or not it’s the right time to be selling in the first place. We don’t believe in a “what fits for one fits for all approach” by telling every seller we come in contact with that now is the best time. We determine this by talking to them about their goals first and understanding what’s going on in their market.
Creative and detailed negotiating skills
What sets agents apart is the advice they provide. That’s worth saying again “what sets agents apart is the advice they provide”. Sometimes transactions are very black and white and involve no real elaborate or creative tweaking to the wording of contracts. But sometimes they’re not. We believe in boldly and aggressively representing our client’s interest. This involves more than simply filling in the blanks on a generic contract. We can recommend courses of action and phrases to insert into any offer that are both protective and positive. Understanding things like the market, your options and negotiating strategies, your contractual rights and responsibilities, and how your liability can change from one buyer to the next are all important in order to make the best decisions.
Advocacy for You Only
We believe that with two parties to a contract (buyer and seller) there should be two agents. The parties should never share the same agent. Dual Agency, where one agent represents both buyer and seller of the same transaction, is a totally legitimate way of doing business in Louisiana as well as 45 other states. But our opinion is that just because it’s legal, doesn’t mean it’s the best choice. If you were the plaintiff in a court case, would you use the same attorney as the defendant?
Best Seller Tips
- Interview your listing agent. There’s only one question you need to ask, “can you provide me with references”. That’s it. If you get this part right everything else falls into place.
- Start at a realistic price. The problem with starting too high is that you’ll likely miss your market. You may think “well, the buyer can make an offer”. But this doesn’t typically happen at an early stage in the listing period because the buyer assumes this early on the seller won’t take their price so what’s the point.
- Make it easy to show. Sometimes, agents don’t know that we’re going to be needing an appointment until right before the requested time. Buyers assume you’re always ready so try not to put any restrictions on showings. It will cost you showings for sure if you do.
- Stick to one agent even if it doesn’t sell. In most cases, but not all, it’s not the agent’s fault that the house didn’t sell. All we can do is try to get people there, we cannot make them buy. If they’re coming and not buying, they’re seeing something that prevents them from buying. If they’re not coming at all, maybe there’s an agent problem or possibly a market problem. Talk to your competition to tell.
- Never reject an offer. This is unfortunate but sometimes sellers get bad advice and reject an offer. The best advice is to never tell someone what you won’t do, tell them what you will do and give them some sort of a window rather than just shutting down communication. You’d be surprised how often it is that you may want that offer back on the table.
- Always be gone for the showing. Buyers can’t talk openly or critically about your home with you standing right there listening to them. Even if you walk outside, the buyer feels hurried and is not likely to stay that long taking in everything your house has to offer.
- Forget about what you cannot control. Price and condition are the two main things within your control. Forget about everything else.
- Don’t think that the smell of baked cookies will sell your home. A well-priced home in good condition that has a fair amount of people looking at it is going to sell. Relax…
“Upon obtaining a buyer, Chad displayed skill and tact in getting the buyer and myself to keep the deal alive, in getting cool heads to prevail, reminding us of the big picture and not letting little, petty issues sour the deal.”
What People Are Saying About Us
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9035 Bluebonnet Blvd, Suite 3
Baton Rouge, LA 70810
