SELLER TIPS
A guaranteed and written - MARKETING PLAN!

I recognize that you have nearly 5,700 agents to choose from in the Boise area, so what makes me any different?


1) PRODUCTION! You can measure the success of an agent by their results. I have closed over 250 transactions for both buyers and sellers.


2) REPUTATION! I have been selling real estate in the Boise area for nearly 15 years and haven't burned a bridge yet. As a matter of fact, most of my business is via referrals from satisfied clients. I have a number of clients that I have helped on three - five transactions so far and one on their eighth!


3) PROFESSIONALISM! Even though almost everyone thinks they are a professional, the best way to judge this is by what your peers think of you. My peers voted me to be on their Board of Directors for the past 3 years for the Ada County Association of Realtors; then again to be their State Director for another 3 years. I am also on the Chair of the New Technology Committee for the second time. I received the 2002 Distinguished Service Award for the Ada County Association of Realtors in 2002. I was also the Chair of the Realtor Outreach Committee Community Give Back Golf Tournament benefiting the Idaho Youth Ranchand Co-Chair when Boise Valley Habitat For Humanity was the beneficiary!


4) MARKETING! My five years at Boise State University tought me the importance of marketing. Many sellers think their home is so wonderful, it would sell itself; however if that were true, wouldn't all homes have the same selling ratio? I have a written plan that I customize for each homeowner!


5) LOCAL INVOLVEMENT and LEADERSHIP! I have always been very actively involved in my community even back as far as high school: President of two Ski Clubs in High School; President of Delta Epsilon Chi at BSU; President of the Morrison Knudsen (MK) Employee Volunteer Program (Now Washington Group International); on the Board of Directors for Ada County Association of Realtors for 2000 - 2003 and was one of the Board of Trustees for the Boise Valley Chapter of Habitat for Humanity.


6) 100% COMMITMENT TO SELLING YOUR HOME! I take my job very seriously. As a matter of fact, I incorporated my business dba Idaho New Homes, Inc. I have four employees including a full time "Buyers Agent" that works with the buyer leads so that I can concentrate on selling homes like yours! I also have a Client Care Administrator, Sabrina Gallagher, that handles the showings, receiving feedback, scheduling inspections, appraisals, making flyers, entering data on the MLS, and advertising.


Feel free to call me and interview me to make sure that my professionalism and experience is what you have been looking for!



Considerations if you are Planning to Sell

It is important for you and your agent to understand the reasons that are motivating you to sell your current home. You might ask yourself, "Why am I selling my home and what do I expect to accomplish?" If you have a growing family and you need more space you may be under less pressure to get your house ready to sell than if you were, let's say, moving to a new city due to career opportunity.

Explore your short and long term goals and decide how selling your house fits into those goals. We will help you identify all of the variables within your individual goals and how best to achieve them in our local real estate market here in the Treasure Valley.

My team will apply all of our local knowledge to your particular needs and goals and then help you set a realistic time frame for the process. This will help you to establish a time management path for selling your home and finding your new Dream Home.

If you are planning on possibly moving out of the area, I can tap into the RE/MAX International or the Certified Residential Specialists (CRS) networks to help you find the right agent in another community without any additional expense/cost to you!



Pricing Your Property

Your next objective is to consult with us, your real estate agent team, to determine the best possible selling price of your home. We will help you determine the state of our local market, the condition of your home, and show you sales of comparable homes in your neighborhood within the past six months.

I look at three separate factors: 1) The similar homes for sale in your area; 2) Similar homes that have successfully sold in the past six months; and 3) The number and style of homes for sale within roughly 20% of the potential list price of your home. Then I look at "absorbtion rates" to determine realistically how long it will take to absorb the amount of current inventory of homes similar to yours based on historical facts..

Keep in mind that we will look at the average list/sale price ratios to determine how much people are typically negotiating off list prices so that we don't over price your home. If your home stays on the market too long because it was overpriced, potential buyers may think that something is wrong with it and you may end up selling it for less than what you could have gotten had you started out with your asking price based on a fair market analysis..

There is no cost or obligation for me to perform my computerized market analysis on your behalf!



Prepare Your Home

How your home looks will have an immense impact on how quickly it sells and whether or not you get full market value for it.

First impressions are very important and you only get to make one. We will help you to make a great first impression because We are out there interacting in the marketplace every day, so We can assist you in approaching your home from the buyer's standpoint. What needs to be changed to make a good first impression? This may mean that all you do is prune the trees and shrubs. On the other hand, it may mean that you completely repaint the house, inside and out. Do a "curb to door" check. Give the potential buyers a clear path to enter the home. The fewer obstacles between the buyer and the true appeal of your home the better. Keep in mind that over time we become accustomed to our surroundings. What's normal for you may be detrimental to the buyer.

Make your home look as spacious as possible. Organize your closets and kitchen cabinets, and if you have things stored in the attic or basement, make sure they are presentable. If you are showing during the day, pull back your curtains and drapes to show how bright and cheery your home is. If you are showing at night, turn on all of the lights to create a warm and welcoming environment for the prospective buyers. A home that is marked with your personality and style will be much easier to sell.



Marketing Plan

Now that your home is ready, it’s time to put it up the For Sale Sign and market it to the world on the internet. We will establish a marketing plan, or strategy and we will then work our plan. We will expose your home to the most potential buyers possible by using our marketing plan bringing the most qualified buyers, to your doorstep. There are many different ways to get the word out there that your home is for sale. A yard sign, professional color laser printed flyers, virtual tours and direct marketing are just a few of the many techniques I use.


My objective is to create quality showing for your home, not just quantity showings! That is why I place full color flyers with the price and ammenities listed in front of your home with a complete unique URL (website address specific to your home). I want people to preview it before they get your hopes up! We follow up with every showing to get feedback for you. We revise our marketing plan to keep generating new interest and activity. Most importantly, we let you know what is (or isn't happening with your home)!



Receiving Offer

When a buyer decides to buy your home, a written offer will be presented. That is where my services really come into play. I will review the offer to make sure it is in your best intest and that your bases are covered! I look at all the contingencies that can legally let the buyer out of the contract to insure that you are protected. I review the costs/benefits of the offer to see if it is worth accepting; preparing a counter offer, or just flat rejecting and waiting for a better offer.






Negotiating

Most offers to purchase your home will require some level of negotiation to come to a win-win agreement. We are well versed on the legalities of the real estate contract used here in our area and will handle the responsibility of protecting you and your best interest throughout these negotiations. In addition, we have a thorough understanding of the contract itself, including what each contract clause means to you and our buyer, what you will net from the sale of your home, and what areas in the contract lend themselves easiest to negotiation. We will review the written offer with you to make sure that you thoroughly understand what the buyers are offering and what they are asking in return.

Some of the items that you may have to negotiate are:
• The price
• Financing
• Closing costs
• Repairs that need to be done
• Appliances and fixtures
• Landscaping
• Painting
• Occupancy time frame

To really gain some insight into why potential buyers are pursuing the purchase of your home and how they might proceed in the negotiations, it is also important to know as much about the buyer as possible, especially their motivation for buying. Once both parties have reached a point where the deal is acceptable, We will be certain that you have a legally executable contract.



Vendors

Once you have accepted an offer to sell your home, we will inform you of all the procedures involved in order to proceed successfully to closing, as well as each parties responsibilities for completing those procedures. For instance, the property may need to be formally appraised, surveyed, inspected or repaired. Depending on the specifics reached during the negotiations, you may pay for all, some, or none of these items. I have closed homes with over 50 separate local builders, so I know of many tradesman that can do repairs less expensively than what you might expect to pay.

We will then coordinate with all the parties and keep you informed as to the results of the various procedures. If each procedure returns acceptable results as defined by the contract, then the sale may continue. If there are problems with the property the terms set forth in the contract will dictate your next step. Depending on the contract, you or the buyer may decide to walk away, open a new round of negotiations, or close. We will of course be there to advise you throughout this process and will help you coordinate any actions you must take to keep the sale moving forward.

I have closed over 300 transactions, so there are not too many issues I haven't already learned to deal with. Odds are, I have already learned how to address the most complex issues that might arise! Regardless, we will be there with you every step of the way.



Pre-Closing

Roughly a week before the closing, Melissa Erickson, my transaction coordinator, will contact the title company and lender that will be closing the transaction to make sure that all of the necessary forms and documents have been prepared and are going to be available for you to sign on the appropriate date. .

We will also contact each party to the transaction to be certain that they have taken each action necessary for closing, so that the entire closing can proceed on the date and time planned. Experience has taught us to look at the calendar and back track dates to make sure that we can stay in compliance! For example, if the contract says we need to close by the 28th, will we need to sign by the 26th to get data back to the lender in time to fund on the 28th?

We will prepare you in advance for the process of the closing, advising you of any documents you must bring to the closing, how much time to block off for the transaction, and any other information that is pertinent to the closing meeting including what you should expect to net out the sale!



Closing

"Closing" refers to the meeting where ownership of the property is legally transferred to the buyer. I will be present during the closing to help explain the process and forms to you and make sure everything goes as planned. By being present during the closing, I can mediate any last minute issues that may arise. .

Be sure to read all the documents and ask any questions you may have. It is important that you understand every document you are signing. If you like, let me know and I will get you at least the "generic" blank forms to review even before we have final numbers!



Post-Close

Now that, everything has gone smoothly and you will be closing and moving from your home in the time frame that you had anticipated. We will help you create a checklist of all the things you will need to do to turn the property over to the new owners. You will need to make sure that all of the local services (i.e. electricity, gas, lawn care, cable, etc.) have been cancelled or, if the new owner is going to retain some of the services, the name on the account should be changed. The property and anything assigned to the buyer according to the contract should be prepared appropriately for the new owners. This will make the transition as smooth and effortless as possible.



Find Your Dream Home
What Is Your Homes Value?
Need help moving?

Jim Paulson
Realtor / CRS, EPRO, GRI, Broker

Progressive Realty Corporation

Located Virtually Everywhere!
Boise, Idaho 83709
Direct: 208 573-0471
Cell: 208-573-0471
Fax: 877-Go.Own.It
EMAIL