AVOID THE TOP TEN LARGEST SELLING MISTAKES

www.judyballard.com – Judy Ballard Cobb County GA Luxury Real Estate Specialist

Serious about selling your home? Read about these common mistakes that home sellers make:

1. PRICING TOO HIGH: It is no secret, price is everything. Overpricing does more to discourage buyers than any other single factor. When you overprice, you put your home in competition with homes that may be newer, larger or have more amenities than yours. You help your competition sell their home. This leads to long days on the market, and costs you, the seller, money in the long rum. Make sure you get your pricing advice from a professional agent who knows the market.

2. POOR CONDITION: A home that is in ill repair, or otherwise poor condition, does not excite buyers. A home like this is looked at by buyers as a work project and money pit. Having your home in good repair and great showing condition will significantly improve your chances for a sale at top dollar value. Having your home inspected by a termite and dry rot inspector will also have a positive impact on buyers.

3. POOR CURB APPEAL: Most buyers today want to drive by. If your home is an attractive drive-by it will gain more attention and certainly more showings. Doing the little things to help your homes curb appeal will make a huge difference.

4. DREARY DARK HOMES DO NOT SELL:  Buyers like updated light and bright homes. Dark carpets pant, and curtains are often buyer turn-offs. Go though your home and remove clutter; touch up and update paint, counter tops, and carpets. Open your home up and make sure the sun shines in. Offensive odors from pets and smoking are also huge turn-offs to most buyers. Rid your home of offensive smells by burning scented candles and create a pleasant aroma. The most important rooms to concentrate on are the living room, family room, kitchen and master bedroom. Your entire home’s atmosphere is set off by these rooms

5. DO NOT OVER-IMPROVE. Get your home in good showing condition, but don’t over do it. Huge projects such as complete remodels of kitchens, adding decks, and expanding room sizes may not pay back your investment. Before you jump into a huge improvement project, get some good advice.

6. BE FINANCEABLE: Bad roofs, exterior paint, or structural problems may make your home un-financeable. The wider the scope of financing that your home can qualify for, the higher the overall market value. Remember- government programs like VA and FHA will be the pickiest.

7. GET GOOD ADVICE AND GOOD MARKET EXPOSURE: Hiring a professional agent will help you get your home priced right, and also will get you started in with the best fix ups. A strong agent will get your home exposed to the largest number of potential buyers. Paying the agent fee is often the least expensive part of selling your home. Trying to sell your home yourself can be costly. Most “for sale by owner” homes close for less than comparable homes listed with an agent, and you have no representation.

8. DON’T BE PRESENT DUING SHOWINGS: When your home is being shown, go for a drive or a walk. Take yourself, your family, and pets and let the agent and their clients have freedom they need. An agent can always do their best job showing your home when you are not underfoot. Buyers are more at ease and much more likely to spend their time looking at your home features and benefits.

9. LET YOUR AGENT DO THE NEGOTIATING: If there is ever a good reason to have a veteran agent working for you, it is during the negotiation of your home sale. A good negotiator can mean thousands of dollars to you, and will protect your interests. Don’t let your emotions run wild during negotiations. Try to separate your emotions from your business side. Remain cool and calm during this time.

10. ACT FAST WITH OFFERS: When you do get an offer on your home, act quickly and decisively. Letting offers sit around without acting can be a huge mistake. Things can change quickly in the mind of a prospective buyer. Acting quickly while the excitement and interest level are at a high point can be very important. Typically, a buyer’s motivation level decreases with time. Buyer’s remorse can even set in. Acting in a timely manner is essential.

JUDY BALLARD TEAM THE TOP TEAM IN THE ATLANTA MARKET!!

www.judyballard.com – Judy Ballard Cobb County GA Luxury Real Estate Specialist

 Important Points to Remember When Showing Your Home

• Keep house clean and tidy.

• Keep the Temperature at a comfortable setting.

• Turn on all lights for every showing before prospective buyers arrive.

• Open all drapes and blinds.

• Turn on soft music.  Turn off TV.

• Arrange for pets and children to be out of the house.

• Do not try to “sell” the house with words.  By this time you have prepared the house for sale…let it sell itself.  Buyers buy on   emotion-theirs not yours.

• “Depersonalize” the house as much as possible.  Take down any extra family pictures that are hanging on the walls or displayed on the shelves.  They will often distract the buyer’s attention from what is most important….The house.

• Most importantly, please leave the home during all showings.  It is uncomfortable and difficult for buyers to view the home when owners are present.  Oftentimes, they will rush through the home and not give it the proper attention your home deserves.  It is also hard for the buyer to “picture themselves” living in the home when the sellers are present.

Marietta Georgia’s Top Selling Real Estate Team…The Judy Ballard Team!!

www.judyballard.com – Judy Ballard Cobb County GA Luxury Real Estate Specialist

FOR THE SELLER… Our Pledge of Service 

We will provide the most professional services available in the industry today to sell your property for the highest possible price, in the least amount of time, using our focused resources we assure a smooth and pleasant transaction…

VERY FULL SERVICE Listing will benefit from: 

• Full-color promotional brochure showing 8-10 photographs of property, with curbside holders for drive by convenience with 48 hours.
• Post sign with easily recognizable image of Judy Ballard.
• FAX-ON-DEMAND information services for agent convenience.
• Continuous media exposure for listed property until sold.
• Virtual Tours on the Internet for ALL properties.
• Display-type property ads run in local papers regularly.
• Website with REALTOR.COM links for continuous updating listings & providing maximum market exposure.
• Links to numerous other useful sites on:  www.judyballard.com.
• Direct telephone access to Judy most anytime of the day or evenings until 10:00pm.
• Copies of current ads regularly sent for your review.
• Competent recommendations on appropriate responses to written offer.
• Processing from ratification on the contract, through the removal of contingencies and ultimately through final settlement.
• A wealth of time tested experience available to eliminate or resolve “deal-breaker” issues along the way to settlement.
• 20 years of honest and fair dealings with both buyers and sellers (and their agents); the surest way to a successful transaction.

Judy Ballard’s Top Seller Cobb County Real Estate Team utilizes the services of Buyer agents.

www.judyballard.com – Judy Ballard Cobb County GA Luxury Real Estate Specialist

Judy is quoted as saying “By having 5 buyer specialists on our team, it allows us to work with many more buyers than an individual agent can work with.  We have a data base of buyers ready to go from previous listings we have had.  Buyers follow listings.  By having a large number of listings in the upper price range, we are obviousily going to get a large percentage of the buyers in the market place calling  us.  By having buyer specialists on the team to respond immediatley to these buyer calls, we are selling 60% of our listings in house.  It is really a win win for everyone – the buyer the seller and us.”

MYTHS

www.judyballard.com – Judy Ballard Cobb County GA Luxury Real Estate Specialist

 

Myth #1 

The Judy Ballard Real Estate Team sells a lot of real estate.  Perhaps they are too busy to pay attention to my listing. 

Truth  

The Judy Ballard Team is very busy dong all of the right    things that will get the best results for you!  Just as superior restaurants are busy at dinner time and superior doctors have a heavy patient load, the Judy Ballard Real Estate Team’s success in marketing homes gets us many more homes to sell.  Like good  doctors and restaurants, we have set up a top –flight administrative Team to assist with the routine ( but critically important) details necessary to get the job done therefore, freeing us to devote the time and attention required to sell your property successfully.  We, at Judy Ballard Real Estate Team, have built our business one satisfied client at a time.  Our goal for you is to another satisfied customer who spreads the word about how well you were served. 

Myth #2 

You should select the agent who says they can get  you the highest price. 

Truth 

No!…..Always select a Realtor based on their credentials.   Market Value is a separate issue.  Overpricing a home to get the listing is the oldest scam in real estate:  schmooze the seller and compliment the home to get the listing, then ask for a price reduction a few days later. Correct pricing is the most crucial part of marketing. With 2 out of 3 listings taken in the Atlanta market not selling during the initial listing period, correct pricing is critical.

Myth #3

 All agents can accomplish the same thing. 

Truth 

If all agents were the same, why are some agents only selling 5 homes a year while we are selling over 100 homes a year.  It is very simple. Marketing is what makes the phone ring.  With 6 buyer agents available, we are able to work with many more buyers than an individual agent  ever could.  With a greater number of listings in the upper price ranges than even entire companies have, we have a better chance of getting the buyers in this same price range to call us first.  The goal of the buyer agents is to sell our listing first.  It is very unlikely that we would ever need to show properties outside of our own inventory.  So NO all agents cannot accomplish the same thing—which is selling your home.  We have sold many homes that were first listed with other companies who were  unsuccessful in selling the home. 

Myth #4 

Brokers who “discount” commissions can do an adequate job of selling your home. 

Truth 

You get what you pay for.  Your home is in competition with all of the other homes on the market for the best and most qualified buyers.  There are generally more home on the market that there are buyers.  That is why such a high percentage of the homes that go on the market do not sell.  You need an aggressive, proactive Realtor to get your home sold and for the highest net price to you. Promotional costs such as photos, brochure, ads, MLS fees, printing, direct mail,  signage, etc. are vital to getting the results you want, but they are all expensive.  The Judy Ballard Team invests heavily into the marketing of your home.  Will a discount broker offer a complete marketing campaign?  Hardly.  Most of the “discretionary” expenses are the first to be eliminated when the brokerage fee is negotiated downward, although most of the time without the knowledge of the seller.  These discretionary investments are some for the most important for getting the desired results.  Don’t be penny wise and pound foolish! Additionally, does a discount broker have a staff to personally attend to your specific needs?  Does he/she have the expertise to guide you through challenges that may develop during the closing process?  We think not!  And remember, you only pay a commission when your   property sells successfully.  You own nothing if we do not get results (which is highly unlikely).

Myth #5

 The Judy Ballard Team sells only new homes. 

Truth 

By far the majority of the homes we sell are our resales.  We do have two new home subdivisions which we currently market.  This amounts to approximately 15% of our total listings.  The advantage we have in marketing these subdivisions is that we gain access to many prospects who come through the new subdivisions but end up and do not buy there.  We are then able to convert these leads to buyers for our resale inventory.  This creates a win win situation for us, the buyers and of course the sellers of all of our listings. 

Judy Ballard, Inc. Marketing Strategies & Results

www.judyballard.com – Judy Ballard Cobb County GA Luxury Real Estate Specialist

At Judy Ballard, Inc., we go beyond the call of duty to market your home, sell it quickly, and make sure you are delighted with your experience.

Quick Facts about our company’s marketing strategies and results:

• We spend over $30,000 a month on marketing our listings, and our sales figures reflect the return on our investment. Our average number of days on the market is 45.5, while our competition’s is 83.5. We market your home aggressively and sell it quickly so you can realize your vision and get on with your life.
• Our average list to sell price ratio is 97%, which is much higher than industry average. This means that listing with us will probably net you 1-2% more.
• We have purchased a 40% market share of the Cobb County hits to Realtor.com, and www.judyballard.com produces over 350 buyer responses per week. We provide virtual tours of all homes on our Web site, and at least 80% of our buyers contact us after seeing one of these listings.
• We market with billboards, our Ballard Team PT Cruiser, print ads, our Web site, listings on various Internet sites, and custom yard signs. Picture ads appear weekly in the Atlanta-Journal Constitution and the Saturday Cobb Home Finder. These myriad marketing channels reach a wide buyer base and result in the quick sale of your home.
• Our in-house designer provides a complimentary design service to help you prepare your home for the market and project the best image possible. Additionally, we provide two-sided color brochures and color marketing packets for agents and prospective buyers, to showcase your home and facilitate a quick sale.