What is it that we do for the Sellers who we represent?

• We tour your home and we make suggestions of things you can do to make your home more attractive to Buyers. A nail hole may not be so glaring when there is artwork or photographs on the wall and furniture in the room, but when the home is vacant, those small holes can look like Mt. Vesuvius. A large chair blocking the view of the fireplace doesn’t let the Buyer know that there is a fireplace. We can have glowing comments about the home on our listing sheet, but if there are weeds everywhere in the yard and the fascia needs painting, agents might call from the driveway and tell you they aren’t going to be able to show your home after all. How we show a home when selling it is different than how live in it. Because we make suggestions does not mean that we don’t like your home. It means that we come at it with marketing in mind, and with the sole objective of getting the best price we can for you.

We prepare Seller’s Book for our Sellers, containing all the forms you will see during the sale and escrow, and with pages explaining the process, so that you feel fully in control of the process. We review with you how a home is sold in today’s market, which may be very different than when you last sold a home or when you purchased your home. If we are in a market with multiple offers, we explain how that can work, so that you are prepared and there are no surprises.

We help you price your home. It is a natural phenomenon of mankind to think that our home is a castle and worth a lot more than the market dictates. And the market doesn’t care how much the Seller needs for his new home either. Pricing homes is certainly not a science, but we base our evaluations on the comparatives and on our professional experience. Pricing right is so important. If your home sits on the market for a long time, you will not reach your list price. The best marketing time is the period immediately after your home goes on the market. (By the way, it is true that your first offer is usually the best!)

• We put together a book of information about your home, including maps, plat maps, school information, utilities, deed restrictions and a lot of other information that can help a buyer make a decision. That book is left at the house and is available to anyone who looks at the house.

• We place ten photos with your listing on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS). Good descriptive photos are by far the best advertising for your home. Potential Buyers from all over the country as well as locally search the MLS looking for homes.

• A sign and a keysafe are essential to the sale of your home. (Yes, there are a few cases where a keysafe is not appropriate). Our keysafes allow us to know via the Internet who is going in and out of your home, which provides you with greater security..

• We network our listings within our office and at our sales meetings on a regular basis (and many homes are sold this way). We also have the ability through our agent website to network throughout the company.

• We are committed to staying in touch with you a minimum of once a week to keep you informed of what is happening with your home and reporting on what we are doing to market it.

• Your home will be advertised in the special Long Realty color pull-out section of the weekend newspapers  (two-week lead time required) and in the Long Realty Home book, where it will remain as long as it is on the market.

• When your home goes into escrow, we send you a letter with a reminder of those things you are responsible for doing prior to closing.

• We attend the home inspection so that we can hear first-hand if there are problems and we can see them for ourselves, which enables us to better report on conditions to you. If there are repairs to be made, we can assist you both with getting bids for work and in having the work done.

• We stay in touch with the Selling Agent on a regular basis and monitor the progress of the escrow at all times. We will also keep you informed of what is happening during the escrow period.

• We set up a time for you to sign papers prior to closing and, in the event of a simultaneous closing with the purchase of another home (in-state or out-of-state), we will coordinate both closings. We will be at the Title Company with you for closing and will make sure the keys get to the Selling agent as soon as recordation has taken place.