MONDAY MOMENTS WITH MICHELLE – The Listing Appointment

Welcome to Episode 7!

 

Today, I am going to go over the next step in the Seller process: The Market Evaluation/Listing Appointment. Because all agents work differently, I will walk you through how I would typically guide the Seller through it. This is just a general outline and some steps may have been added or omitted.

 

When I arrive for the appointment, before sitting down to talk numbers and strategies, I usually like to have the homeowner(s) give me a tour of their home and property and have them tell me a bit about it. This gives me a sense of what they feel the key points of their home are. It also gives me an insight as to how I am going to better price and market their home.

 

Many sellers are also quite keen on learning how to make their home look fantastic for the listing pictures and the future showings. They want guidance. For the most part, I quit simply tell them, “clean and declutter”. The less clutter there is in a home, the easier a potential buyer can picture their belongings there. I also recommend that sellers remove any family pictures from tables and walls. The main reason for this is that buyers want to picture themselves and their future in the home. Removing any sense of the existing family dynamic in the home allows them to do this. The other reason for removing pictures is that it preserves some of the seller’s privacy. These are just two basic things that I recommend to stage your home for listing. I will expand on STAGING later on.

 

After the tour, I then sit down with the sellers for the next steps. The first thing the sellers usually want to talk about is how much I think the listing price should be. Days before the appointment, I do extensive market research and prepare a CMA (Comparative Market Evaluation). In a nutshell, a CMA is a snapshot of the current market. It is a compilation of similar homes in the same general area that are currently listed, have recently sold or have recently expired. This gives me a guideline as to how to price the home so that the seller gets the best price in a reasonable amount of time on the market. Bear in mind, no two properties are alike. Sellers generally have a strong emotional connection to their home and often feel that it should be listed for much more money than the rest. This is understandable but logically, their home is worth what the market is willing to pay. A well-priced home will sell within a reasonable amount of time whereas an over-priced listing will stagnate on the market and consumers will gradually lose interest. I usually coach the seller that if, in a pre-agreed amount of time, if their listing has not had any action, we will take the next step and reduce the listing price.

 

Once the asking price has been decided on, I then move on to the paperwork. There are quite a few documents that need to be explained to the sellers and subsequently initialled or signed, or both. All are required and necessary to activate a seller’s listing. I like to be thorough and explain every part of the documentation so that the sellers are fully informed and can ask questions right then and there. I like to think that this eliminates the doubt or fear of the whole daunting process. These documents take time to sign and discuss so I recommend that the sellers set aside at least an hour

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Here are the key documents in the order I like to present them to the sellers:

 

PRIVACY NOTICE AND CONSENT: This document outlines how your personal information is collected, used and disclosed. Both Buyers and Sellers are required to sign this consent form before moving forward. Personal information means any identifiable info about you including your name, address, phone number and includes information about your property.

 

PROPERTY DISCLOSURE STATEMENT: This document contains an extensive list of questions designed to protect the seller by establishing that all relevant information about your property has been provided to the buyer. All questions must be answered to the best of your knowledge and ability. Buyers rely on this information in order to consider whether or not to purchase your home. You, as the seller, are legally responsible for the accuracy of the information. The buyer must still make their own inquiries.

 

FINTRAC: Before I proceed with the listing agreement, I need to know if the person or persons on the TITLE are indeed the people that are going to be signing the contract. I am required by the BC Financial Services Agency to view pieces of legal identification and to ask key questions of the sellers. This is to fulfill my FINTRAC requirement. FINTRAC is a federal agency specifically geared towards anti-terrorism and anti-money laundering. As REALTORS®, we have an obligation to report transactions we feel may be suspicious in nature.

 

MULTIPLE LISTING CONTRACT: This document is the contract between yourselves (the Seller) and the listing brokerage (ie. Royal LePage Kelowna). It states the legal name(s) of the Seller(s), the time frame for the listing (minimum 90 days), the address of the property and the legal description of the property. It states the asking price of the property. The multiple listing contract also specifies the amount of remuneration (commission) that the Seller will pay to the listing brokerage when the home sells. The contract also outlines the duties of the agent, the Seller and the brokerage. It states the services included with the contract such as marketing, communication, reviewing and negotiating offer, etc. It is signed by both the Sellers and the Listing Agent.

 

DATA INPUT FORM: This form does not require signatures but it is used to record room sizes, type of ownership, type of property, description of property…I will discuss many of these check boxes with the seller to ensure the accuracy and integrity of the MLS® listing on sites like Realtor.ca, royallepage.ca, etc.

 

Feel free to reach out to me regarding this content or to suggest subjects you would like to learn about.

 

Oh, by the way! I am NEVER too busy for your Referrals, either!

 

Definitely call me if you want exceptional real estate service!

 

Have a great week! I look forward to next Monday when I take a stab at STAGING. This is the art of making your home and your listing photos stand out in marketing and advertising mediums.