Getting Started
A WELL-MAINTAINED HOME ATTRACTS MORE BUYERS! 
It’s important to remember that a well-maintained home is going to appeal to a wider range of potential home buyers. As the old adage goes, people judge books by their covers, and houses follow that same maxim. Just as you would have a car detailed before selling it, you can really affect your chances of selling your home by fixing things in and around the house.
CLEANLINESS IS KEY!
Keeping your home clean whilst trying to sell it also communicates to buyers that you keep it maintained and have not let it go. It’s a good idea to move furniture around and de-clutter as much as possible to create the illusion of more space in as many rooms as you can. Although the square footage of the home and each room will be available for the buyer, many will make a judgement call based on what they see, and large, spacious rooms are much more appealing.
TOUCH-UPS AND PAINT
Painting walls and patching holes can add a sense of solidarity to your home. Tacky, spotted paint jobs can communicate that you haven’t maintained your home, as do holes. Also look for any problems with window screens, electrical outlets that may be missing covers, and floor paneling that may be coming loose. If you have many different colors on your walls or are in need of a new paint job, we highly recommend painting the walls a light and neutral color. This minor updating can visually open up your space and have a huge impact on the reception your home will receive.
DON’T FORGET THE BASEMENT
Although the basement can often be an afterthought, many potential home buyers will want to see the condition of your laundry room, furnace area, or storage options. Even if your basement is unfinished, it is important to have every room in your home clean, tidy, and free of as much excess debris as possible.
BATHROOMS
For most home buyers, the bathroom is an intimate place that must be kept clean at all times. Dried-out grout and caulking and uncleaned sinks or bathtubs will turn a majority of buyers off. Scrub tile and keep the sink, bath, and toilet clean. As bathrooms can tend to be small, it also helps to paint the room with a light color or clear out unnecessarily fixtures to add a sense of spaciousness.
PETS
Owning pets in your home can be an itchy subject for a hand full of home buyers. Before showings, try to arrange for any pets to be moved to a temporary location away from the home as not to discourage buyers who happen to not share the same affinity for your furry family members.
ENTERING YOUR HOME
If your home is the cover of the book, your entryway is the first few pages. Create an atmosphere that speaks to buyers when they walk in. Play soft music in the background, put a mat down to show you value cleanliness. Also, make sure the doorbell works and the front area is well lit.
Do It Right The First Time
Homes are more likely to sell when priced at a fair market value. Although sometimes it can be difficult, putting your home at a realistic value will bring a faster sale and more showings.
Always remember that even a couple thousand dollars can make the difference in if a home buyer will see your house or pass over it.
COMMON PROBLEMS WITH OVERPRICING
Determining a price for your home can be one of the most significant decisions you make when selling your property. Still, we very often see sellers putting their homes on the market at prices not suitable for the property.
Not correctly pricing your home can cause your home to stay on the market longer, which research shows yields less interest and lower offers. Be assured that if your home has been on the market for a long time, any Realtor showing the home will be sure to mention this to their client, which will greatly diminish your negotiating power.
Another problem is that many modern home search engines are filtered by a price range. While you’ll never be missed for pricing too low, an additional thousand on your asking price can limit your exposure on real estate websites.
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Our 8 STEP Marketing Plan!
Depending upon the market trends, your home location, price point, and a variety of other pertinent factors, the sale of your home may take a single day or several months. Over the years we have found that establishing a solid launching point for your home’s marketing campaign leads to more showings and faster sales. If you choose to work with us, we will go over this marketing plan in detail, but below is a brief synopsis of what we do to get your home visible and ultimately sold.
Step 1: Preparation
Step one is the launching point for the entire eight step marketing program, and in that regard, probably the most important. We begin by preparing the listing paperwork and all pertinent documents, reviewing this marketing plan, taking professional photos of your home and placing signs in your yard.
STEP 2: Submit Paperwork and Home to MultiPLE Listing Service
The MLS is the nation’s premiere method for posting homes online to promote visibility and sales. Chances are, if you see a property online, it was pulled from the MLS.
When a 3B Realtor submits your property into the MLS, we are guaranteeing thousands of impressions by both potential home buyers and real estate professionals browsing your area.
STEP 3: Get Social, Go Viral!
Once your home is listed we immediately harness the power of Facebook, Instagram, Realtor.com, Trulia, Zillow, Listing Booster and many more programs to get your listing seen. With a huge majority of home buyers finding their future homes online these days, this method only continues to gain traction as a major player in marketing your home.
STEP 4: Review Initial Marketing Results
It’s always good practice to evaluate the results of any marketing plan in the beginning to gauge feedback and alter any future steps based on what’s found.
STEP 5: Tweak Prior Marketing
Using the data gathered from our results, we manipulate the next few marketing tactics if need be to better contour the plan to fit your home’s individual needs.
STEP 6: Reverse Prospecting
If needed, instead of matching potential buyers to your home, we try to match your house to the specifications of potential buyers. Sometimes when “soft marketing” has failed to generate a lot of results, switching to an aggressive marketing style can land additional leads for your home that were missed in the initial marketing plan.
STEP 7: Revisit Visual Marketing
If we already haven’t, we examine all visual marketing materials pertinent to your home sale. This includes filming additional virtual tours of your home, snapping extra professional photos and spreading them throughout our network to generate new interest.
STEP 8: Open House
An open house is a very important step in selling your home. If a picture is worth a thousand words, an open house is worth a million. We advise you on how to make your home welcoming to potential buyers, and how to maximize it’s sale potential – then, of course, we will host the event. To generate the most initial interest, we typically hold an open house the first Sunday after a property is listed, but we will customize your home schedule based upon you and your home’s specific needs.
