Closing a sale on a home isn’t an isolated success – it’s the result of a complex, involved process, each step of which can be traced all the way back to the pre-listing consultation.
It is during the pre-listing consultation that agents and clients develop an understanding of each other’s needs and workstyles. During the consultation, agents present their capabilities and prospective strategies to achieve the client’s goals. Both agent and client collaborate by evaluating opportunities, setting goals, and discussing possible strategies to meet them.
Here are some of our top tips and best practices for making the most of a pre-listing consultation:
Property Walk Through
By this point, you have made the decision to contract with this agent to represent you and market your property. You have verified through various resources that your agent has the experience and credibility to bring your property to market and execute the deal ethically and flawlessly. Your agent is now ready to get the ball rolling with an evaluation of your property.
Successful real estate agents keep their finger on the pulse of what buyers are looking for and what makes a property more marketable. During the property walk through, your agent will be looking for areas that may need small repairs, tidying up, staging, or maybe a fresh coat of paint to give the best first impression. These are mostly time investments and usually require very little financial contribution to prepare a home for the market.
Your agent will know the critical areas and items to focus on to highlight the best features of your home. It should come as no surprise that curb appeal and first impressions of the interior will need special attention. They will create a list of must-haves and nice-to-haves to help prioritize your time and effort in sprucing up your place for potential buyers.
Marketing Strategy
Next, you will discuss the marketability and marketing strategies your agent recommends for your property and the specific timing for implementation of each strategy. Since 63 percent of homebuyers bought their homes sight unseen in 2020, marketing tactics will likely include professional photos, video home tours, and even ariel drone footage. All marketing assets will go live on various real estate marketplace platforms selected by your agent.
While open houses and home tours face certain challenges due to COVID restrictions, they are still an effective marketing tool used by agents. Every open house is closely monitored and adheres to special protocols to ensure the health and safety of shoppers, agents, and homeowners. If this is part of the marketing strategy for your home, make sure to discuss the process and protections your agent will be deploying.
Timelines
Timing is everything, and there is only so much time in a day. Agreeing on realistic timelines for all preparations will help keep things moving. The plan and timeline you create should always have contingencies. Things are certain to come up but don’t panic! It is easy to flex the plan if need.
As with any working relationship, communication is key. You should have frequent sync-ups with your agent to stay in the loop on the progress or identify any delays that might require adjusting the timeline. A good agent understands how critical communication is to clients’ peace of mind and are usually pretty vigilante at checking in. Don’t hesitate to reach out if communication is not as frequent as you need.
A Solid Foundation
Pre-listing consultations lay the groundwork for a good working relationship between agent and client, and the successful sale of your property. Make sure any potential agent you might hire offers this service. 360 Real Estate Service includes pre-listing consultations as part of marketing your property. If you are considering putting your home on the market, please connect with us for more tips like this one or to discuss how we might assist you on your real estate journey.
