Selling your Carlsbad home is a challenge. And you want to know that the REALTOR you hire will get the job done. Of course I am assuming that you have priced the home to sell, since we know that no matter how much marketing you do, an overpriced home will not sell.

Read: What’s Important to You as a Seller?

This is not so much about how to go about finding the right agent, but more about what will the listing agent do for you.

Read: What do You Want to Know About Your Agent?

Also: What Kind of Agent do You Want?

There are many strategies a listing agent can employ in order to help you find the right buyer for your home. The operative word here is CAN: some agents take the easy (or lazy) way and do the minimal work needed to get a home sold, or don't have a clue about Internet marketing where most of today's buyers are.

Gaining the maximum exposure in today market is critical since there is so much competition. Buyers are being picky and are not willing to pay more than what they perceive market value to be. So, to reiterate…PRICING is the most important thing you can do to sell your home. And of course your home will be free of clutter and personal items (i.e., staged), and repairs will have been taken care of. Assuming that is on target, then, what sorts of things might you expect the agent you are considering hiring to provide you with regarding to marketing and advertising?

• Standard offerings
  • listing in the MLS – accurate information, no typos hopefully, and lots of high quality photos
  • signage in the yard
  • attractive feature sheet in the house and in a brochure box (there is some debate about the brochure box)
  • An ad in the local newspaper, an open house or two (or perhaps one every weekend – hmm, is that what you really want, given we know few homes sell this way?) and broker caravan
• Other offerings
  • Single site webpage or blog (see 6547 Calle Valperizo for an example of a blog I am using for my newest listing)
  • Unique URL for YOUR home (see above)
  • Virtual tours – these are easy to do and pretty common, yet lots of agents DON’T use them…and buyers say they WANT to see them. Here’s an example.

• Written marketing plan – many agents do not have one and look at you like a deer in the headlights if you ask to see one. How do you know what they plan to do to target market YOUR home?
• Lots of photos – buyers tell us they WANT to see photos, lots of them. Some buyers will not even look at a listing that has no photos…and many don’t. Here is an example of a slide show of a recent listing of mine.
• On-line flyers and postings on multiple websites – here is a Vflyer for my latest listing. This gets posted on multiple sites. And there are dozens and dozens of real estate website where your listing should be (Trulia, Realtor.com, Zillow are just a few of the big name ones that get the most Internet traffic).

• Video – is there a video of the home, or better yet the community? Here is an example I did.
  

There’s more, but you get the idea. Don’t short change yourself. Selling your home is TOO important, if you are really serious about it.

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If I can provide more information about Carlsbad or surrounding communities, and the housing market in general, or otherwise assist you in your home search, please contact me by phone or text at (760) 840-1360 or email me at JDowler@remax.net.

The majority of buyers are using the Internet to search for homes, learn about the buying process, obtain neighborhood information, and much more. Unless you have been hiding under a rock you probably know this.

The Internet is an essential part of your arsenal as a seller, too. Any decent agent will have a strong Internet presence, and will use the Internet to market properties (makes sense, since that's where buyers are looking). If you do a Google search for that person you SHOULD find them all over the place - articles they have written, on blogs, homes they are marketing, directories they are part of, and much more. An agent website is a small piece of web marketing. (hey, just for fun, GOOGLE ME!!).

Do a Google search to me and you'll see what I mean.

If you do a search and find nothing, what does that tell you? How are they going to successfully market your home to today's Internet-savvy buyers when you can't find them on the 'Net either. Either they aren't using the Internet or they don't know how, nor recognize the essential role it plays in today's market.

You should also be able to find the address of a home they are listing and it, too, should pop up somewhere. If not, you have to wonder how buyers will find the home, other than driving by the sign.

So search the Internet first before making any decisions. And when talking with a REALTOR, find out what THEY are doing on the Internet.

  Start YOUR CARLSBAD HOMES SEARCH HERE (and other San Diego communities too)

Selling your home? Need to get an offer quickly? Feng Shui may be your answer.

Read this article on using Feng Shui to get your home in shape for those buyers. Kathryn Holt is a Feng Shui expert with 14 years experience - she contributes to my Fans of Coastal San Diego Blog but since this is so relevant to home buying and selling I wanted to make sure you saw it. And if you are not in the San Diego area, she may be able to help you find a Feng Shui expert to help...or you can do a google search.

You might also show this to your REALTOR (unless you are one)! Just a hint...

Have you had your home listed, only to find that after months of showings, open houses, or pehaps little activity, that your real estate contact has expired (you know that right?). Ouch. Now what do you do?

Perhaps you have decided to forget about selling for the time being. Great, if you can do that. But most folks who are selling need or want to for some reason, so some decision needs to be made.

How are you feeling about this? Angry? Disappointed? Irritated? Ticked off at your agent? Feeling like you have wasted months of time and gotten nowhere? Perhaps annoyed at yourself for expecting to get more money than was reasonable in your market?

It doesn't feel good to be rejected by the market, but that is exactly what has happened. So you need to decide how to proceed and get your home sold.

Staying angry won't get you anywhere (and the barage of calls you are likely getting from every agent in town, who DIDN'T have a buyer but is now calling to help you sell your home, doesn't help). So take stock of the problem, consider the possible reasons the home did NOT sell, and get ready to move ahead. What's done is done.

Here are some good possiblities:

• Price - yep, I know you don't want to hear that...most sellers don't...but it is the primary reason (and some say the ONLY reason) a home doesn't sell. Did you get any offers at all? Were you being a bit greedy because your neighbor said you could get more than the agent said?
• Condition - another issue that sellers don't like to hear, and perhaps your home is immaculate, but if not, the interior and/or exterior condition may have been an issue. Buyers are pretty fussy, especially in a buyer's market, and anything they can find to give them a reason to offer a lower price or NOT buy a home gives them ammunition. Be brutally honest - is your home REALLY in great condition or not? And if it is a fixer, does the price reflect that? I would also add the concept of STAGING here - was your home decluttered, and marketed to prospective buyers by being staged so they could envision living there?
• Exposure to the market - did your home get the exposure it needed? Today's market, in most areas, is loaded with competition, and maximum exposure is essential. Perhaps your agent did not do a good job of marketing, especially on the Internet (did you know that over 70% of buyers start looking for homes on the Internet?). Were the features and benefits of the home headlined in the advertising? Were the photos in the MLS appealing?
• Location - a critical issue in our business. And of course you cannot change where your house is. But you CAN make allowances by capitalizing on the conditon and making sure the price reflects the location. If you have a view of an industrial park, the RR tracks, noise from the freeway, etc. these are issues that may discourage a buyer. Pricing your home the same as a comparable property with a more desirable location WILL NOT invite offers. Why would it? How would YOU view this situation if you were the buyer?

So you now need to find a new agent who can (1) be honest with you about pricing (and you must listen), and (2) develop and implement a top-notch marketing plan to maximize your exposure. Oh, and perhaps your agent did not communicate with you much, or at all. Make sure that doesn't happen again.

Interview several real estate professionals and ask some tough questions. Share your thoughts on why the house did not sell and find out what the agents propose to do about those problems.

1. The agent who quotes the highest price is NOT the right one
2. An agent who does not have a written marketing plan is NOT the right one
3. And the agent who lists the most homes (but may only sell half of them) or who has the glitziest ads may NOT be the right one.

Good luck...and if I can answer any questions or share some more ideas, please let me know.

I'm curious - are you a demanding seller? It's not a big deal, I was just wondering if you consider yourself so.

I'm not asking if you are rude, overly fussy or particular, or unreasonable in your requests. Not at all. I assume you aren't because demanding people can be tough to work with in any business. And being overly demanding tends to not have the intended effect. And it tends to alienate others.

What I AM referring to is whether you are a seller who wants certain things done as part of selling your home. In this case these are things I feel ARE reasonable to demand. You should expect, and demand, them if you don't get these things.

• Honesty and the truth from your agent...about the price, likelihood of selling, condition, need for repairs, need for decluttering, etc.  What you DON'T want is someone who only tells you what you want to hear. You NEED to know the truth, as hard as it is to hear it. Admit it - don't you want honesty?
• Competency and knowedge - if the agent doesn't know what he or she is doing, doesn't understand marketing or advertising, doesn't know how to complete the paperwork, doesn't understand the disclosures, you are NOT getting what you are paying for. Demand it!
• Fiduciary duty to YOU - yes, your agent owes you a fiduciary duty of utmost care, integrity, honesty and loyalty in ALL dealings with you. Your interests are to be protected and watched over; confidentiality is to be preserved unless you give permission for information to be shared (of course YOU have a legal obligation to disclose material facts about the condition of your home - you can't hide them and you can't ask your agent to keep these a secret, as it's a violation)
• Accurate MLS listing - the information should be factually correct, without typos (those drive ME nuts and they do not convey a good impression of the listing nor the competency of the agent) , and remarks should favorably describe the home in a way that will encourage buyers to want to see it, not scare them away. But honesty is important too...no puffery, no deception. If your agent does NOT provide you with a copy of the MLS listing when it is first done, DEMAND IT. I recommend you provide your feedback, and make sure it represents your home is a positive, but honest manner.
• Great photos - I know I harp on this all the time, but the quality of MLS photos is deplorable. Really, it is. I imagine you have seen enough listings yourself, especially if you are also looking at homes for sale. The majority  of them are NOT flattering, are too dark or of poor quality, and limited in number (I find it intolerable that some agents do not take pictures at all - there is just no excuse). Buyers DEMAND to see photos of homes and they will pass by listings without them. So you you should DEMAND good quality photos too.
• Regular communication from your agent - this is one of the biggest complaints about agents, and the communication oftentimes is terrible. Certainly you don't need 5 calls a day, or even 1 call every day, but you deserve to have updates, feedback, and answers to questions in a timely manner. Be clear up front how often you would like to hear from your agent (if he or she does not bring the issue up) and how you would prefer that communication to occur (some folks prefer email, others want a call, some want some face to face contact).

If you are not getting these things, then you are NOT getting what you are paying for. There are great agents out there, and many not-so-great ones. Don't get undersold. Consumers deserve to be treated as valued clients, and you should feel that the money you are spending equates to the service you are getting.

So be a demanding seller, if you need to.

YOU GET A C-!!

Sellers, are you faced with mediocrity in your current listing situation? What a drag it is, huh?

Or are you afraid you will face it when you hire an unknown agent?

Unfortunately, mediocrity in the real estate biz is alive and well (or not well, I suppose). And it grinds me, as a agent, to have to admit that. But the truth hurts.

But as a seller you DO NOT have to put up with it. Read more on selling your home and mediocrity here.

I recently did a listing presentation for a couple who had been trying to sell their home on their own for almost a year, then decided to bring in an agent. They live out of the area and trying to handle the sale on their own was a hassle, even though they have been successful with other homes in the past. And in this market the limited advertising they did was not doing the trick. AND the house was really over-priced.

I dogged these people for 6 months, sending them market data and updates, suggestions for marketing the home, and more. So I was very pleased to be asked to come in to talk with them (as one of 3 agents they were interviewing, for 30 minutes each).

The presentation, though brief, went well and we had a good conversation. They had some great questions, too. The house has its challenges, as it needs some updating, but the bones are good and the floor plan offers a number of possibilities.

A few days later Mrs. Seller called me, as I requested, to let me know that they had decided on another agent (as it turns out, someone they have known for a number of years) but they had really liked me and my approach and style. There was no negative feedback - they only chose this person because of the relationship. They will keep me in mind if things do not work out.

I told them I really hoped the house sold for them, even though that would mean I would not be their listing agent.

Sure, I would have liked to have had the listing, but I was pleased to be part of the process, and the feedback I got was very positive. So I feel that I still won, in the end. I wish them luck!

• What they believe
• What they know
• How they work and how they play (perhaps)
• How they behave
• What they value
• Their temperament and personality
• Their likes and dislikes

So what the heck is Zillow? What is it for? And do I want to use it? Should I use it?

Good questions. And since many of you have heard about Zillow, and perhaps have even gone to their site, let me add my words of caution. I won't tell you NOT to use it since you will anyway. But as the educated consumers I know you are, I assume you will want to know if there are any issues to be concerned about. And I believe there are.

First, Zillow is a real estate website that provides consumers information about the estimated value of your home based on property information that have gleaned from various sources. That information is public but often hard to find. This estimate is called a Zestimate (read more about it). They wisely point out that this Zestimate is just a starting point for determining the value of your home. I suggest you CAREFULLY read all their cautions so you understand what you are getting, or not getting.

Zillow now also allows homeowners who are selling to list their homes (and agents can as well, to find leads), and buyers around the country can search for homes. Given the number of properties in their database, this functionality right now is pretty limited and may not be very helpful. But there will be some homes that may interest you, depending on where you look, just like any other site that lists homes. But I wouldn't rely on it as your sole source of homes in your search.

But there are some interesting features on Zillow, such as their mapping, and it appeals to consumers for that reason.

There has been much interest in Zillow because it is new and different (it is now over 1 year old) . Lots of homeowners (including buyers and sellers) have used it, as well as a huge number of agents checking out the information on the homes they list, and on their own properties.

So here are my concerns.

The estimates provided by Zillow seem to be wrong far more often than close to being right. This is based on anecdotal data from agents and owners around the country over many months. Yes, I suspect there are times it is close to reality, but so often it is not...and the differences are substantial (to the tune of low, or high, by as much as $100K for example). The problem is that property data and other information that Zillow has access to is just a PART of what determines value. 

• If you were planning to sell would you want to list your home at $100K more than than the actual value? Of course not - it would never sell. But the danger is that unrepresented sellers will use this information instead of getting a CMA (as Zillow recommends) from a real estate professional. No agent in their right mind would use this information and assume it is reliable.
• Or, as a buyer, if you used the Zestimate to determine what you should offer, you could be very low and never get the seller to agree. But I have seen this done and the buyers didn't get the house they wanted because the estimated value was so far off from the market value.
• It should be noted that the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, a Washington, D.C.-based non-profit that promotes equal access to credit and capital for underserved communities, filed an extensive complaint against the site because of the purported misleading data for consumers. The complaint has not yet been resolved.

So, please be cautious. Check it out if you wish. See what it says. And let me know what you think. But I urge you to not place so much emphasis on their information that you ignore other data that are out there including details from a knowledgeable agent who knows your market.

Whether you are selling, buying, or both (more likely in a relo), it is critical that you know the dates that are in your purchase contract. And you must make every effort to meet them.

We all know that sometimes events happen that prevent us from meeting our obligations, so extensions may be needed and agreed on in writing. Part of your agent's fiduciary responsibility is to help you keep on track and meet these deadline, and to answer your questions about what has to happen and when. If you will not be able to meet a deadline, you must ask about the possible consequences and find out what your options are.

While you are responsible for doing what you agree to do in a timely manner, your agent is there to help YOU. Contracts can be confusing, and keeping it all straight and knowing who is supposed to be doing what equally so. 

• Highlight the critical dates in the contract
• Put them on your calendar
• Set up reminders in your Palm, on your phone, or in Outlook

Do whatever you need to do to not let time tick away. Not everyone is always keen on being punctual, but your contractual obligations are one time when you don't want to be late for your date!