This month, in our Arkansas eXp Book club, we are reading The Millionaire Real Estate Agent by Gary Keller. This is a book that’s loaded with information and our broker suggests that we have it taken apart and either have it spiral bound or punch holes and put it in a binder.
I will be doing this because it seems like this book will end up being a great resource for my real estate business. I eagerly look forward to each week’s readings. 🙂
Only 7% of home sales in 2021 were FSBO (for sale by owner). Of that 7%, many of these were sales between family members and people who knew each other. Meaning, even in an extremely low inventory market (aka HOT seller’s market), most sellers hired a real estate agent to do the legwork.
Instead of listing out all of the reasons why you *should not* sell your house without an agent. I’m going to educate you as to how the RIGHT fit agent can help you when it comes time to sell your home.
First, a great LOCAL agent knows the market. They’ve been inside many of the homes that have sold and are for sale. That gives them a leg up when it comes to the current market values of homes in your area so they can help you to price strategically and attract the most buyers. They know what buyers are looking for and what turns them off, therefore knowing what you can do as a seller, to create the most demand.
A lot of the “work” you’ll do when selling your home happens before it’s ever for sale. This is the “pre-market prep”. I guide my sellers through this process whether it’s staging recommendations, furniture placement, paint updates or small repairs that should be done prior to the home hitting the market. This takes the guess work out of it for sellers, because like I said, I’m familiar with what buyers want (as well as what would be considered red flags that we should fix).
I’ll also leave you with an important stat to keep in mind. According to NAR (National Association of REALTORS):
The moral of the story is this: A great agent will help you maximize the sale price of your home, putting more money in YOUR POCKET. That is done through their extensive market knowledge, pricing strategies, pre-market prep guidance and out of the box marketing tactics – all while navigating every step of the process for you so you don’t have to figure it out yourself.
My house hunting super power ⚡️
Spotting the hidden potential
You’ve seen the shows on HGTV where they buy the ugliest house ever and 30 minutes later it’s straight out of West Elm and you’re like “I think I could do this!”
What happens is, sometimes that potential is hard to spot.
When you’re looking at multiple homes, you start comparing the ones filled with oak cabinets, funky kitchen layouts and overgrown backyards to the ones that are updated and decorated with furniture from Crate & Barrel.
That can make it difficult to favor the ones that need the elbow grease and paint jobs, you know?
But the ones that look like they’re straight out of Instagram might have a higher price tag and cause you to sacrifice some of the features that were initially most important to you.
This is where I come in! I want to help you keep your top priorities in mind when looking at homes and work around what you might not love about a house!
So maybe you find a house in the perfect location. It has a great layout and the yard you’ve dreamed about, but inside you’re already making a list of all the changes you’d have to make.
What we can do is sit down and make a good ol’ pros and cons list of the changes vs the positive features and see what makes most sense.
Maybe just a few simple updates could give the space a makeover that you’d be really happy with.
A fresh coat of white paint, new rugs, swapping out the pendant lights and adding new cabinet hardware in the kitchen could make the space look entirely different and wouldn’t require taking the kitchen down to its studs or starting from scratch!
What is one home feature or design style you could not look past? I want to try and spot the hidden potential.
Agent Hopping Scenarios you need to know:
The home buying process will be so much smoother if you hire an agent who you trust to work alongside you rather than randomly contacting agents via signs, real estate websites and open houses you pop by.
Here are 3 ways you could be agent hopping without knowing it:
1. If you happen to be checking out houses online in your free time and come across a house that didn’t come through your home search – email YOUR AGENT. Ask them to find out information on this home or if it’s still available.
What you need to know: There is likely an agent listed next to that house online. That isn’t necessarily the listing agent of that home, but rather someone who is paying to have their contact information pop up there.
2. You just went to the farmer’s market on a Saturday morning, have a fresh cup of coffee in hand, driving with the windows down and pass an Open House Sign pointing right. You put your blinker on and follow the signs until you find the house that’s for sale.
There is an agent holding that house open for the day and you introduce yourself and start talking.
What you need to know: They aren’t necessarily the listing agent of this house. If they are, they are representing the sellers. Make sure you let them know you’re already working with an agent if they offer to send you another listing or show you a home. Give them your agent’s business card if you have it on hand and thank them for any information they shared.
If you’re interested in that house you walked through, call and let your agent know.
3. You get a postcard in the mail and OMG IT’S YOUR DREAM HOUSE!
There’s an agent’s picture and phone number on the postcard for you to call to get more information – YAY!
What you need to know: If you’ve been working with an agent already, make sure you contact them. The person’s information on the postcard is the listing agent’s but your agent can show you any house on the market.
YOU’RE NOT BOTHERING YOUR AGENT!
Have you ever asked yourself this?
Why do you want to buy a house? Or maybe for you, it’s a new house..
I want all of my home buyers to answer this question at the start of their journey because it’s something you can continuously come back to throughout the process to make sure you’re buying the house that’s right for your needs.
Here are a few examples that might help spark your why:
👨👦👦 👩👩👧👧 👨👨👧👦 👩👧👦👨👩👦
To raise your family
🖼 To have a space to make your Pinterest boards come to life and paint the walls whatever color you want
🐶 To have a yard for your dog to run around in
💵 To make a good financial investment
💰 To invest in a rental property that will provide you with some extra income
🌅 To buy a home for retirement
🌊 To have a place to get away and hear the ocean waves as you sip your coffee every morning
🛋 To finally design your space to look like it’s straight out of Studio McGee’s Dream Home Makeover and have those dreamy parties around the massive kitchen island
There are so many reasons for owning a home, but what is YOUR reason? Ready to buy? Give me a call!
School is BACK IN SESSION (soon) & I’m here to share not only your August Home to do list but also what else I have up my sleeve for the last month of Summer!
The kids are going back to school, but so is my blog!
Throughout the month of August I’ll be sharing all the home buying and selling basics – the things to know before getting started, your credit score breakdown, how to find an agent – all things real estate “school”! So grab your notebooks, sharpen your pencils, get ready for class to start and make sure to contact me with all your real estate questions!
HGTV makes selling your home look easy peezy, lemon squeezy. Now that we’re talking about lemons, pour yourself an ice cold glass of lemonade and let me reveal what your real estate agent does that HGTV doesn’t show you!
A good agent will:
With a background in digital marketing and a sincere desire to help you get top dollar on the sale of your home, the items above are things I excel in.
Request my free 5 page guide, Home Seller Bootcamp, created just for sellers who want to get a leg up on the competition before starting the selling process.
Did you know that June is National Homeownership Month? I feel so grateful to have been able to make the dream of homeownership a reality for so many great people.
Every step of the journey to homeownership is so special. From the first meeting where I walk new buyers through what to expect, to setting up their home search with their unique wants and needs (fenced in backyard for the pup – check), to writing an offer and anxiously waiting to hear if the sellers accepted and then of course the day the buyers actually get the keys and become homeowners – it gives me all the feels. I’m always so happy to be making the Hugs and Kisses Marshmallows that I make each buyer and give them at closing.
And then I thought about what happens AFTER closing day. Because that’s the part where you actually are living the dream of homeownership. I sat down one morning to brainstorm what I wanted to do to celebrate homeownership this month and I decided to run a Homeowner Challenge! Don’t worry – it doesn’t require demolition! But I decided to show up every day on my Instagram stories with a fun “Homeowner” to do! From simple Summer home maintenance tasks to fun activities to do this month at home. If you want in on the fun, make sure you’re following me over at Instagram and see what I have for you each day!
Can I ask you one favor? Can you comment below and tell me your favorite thing about your home or about homeownership? I’d love to collect everyone’s answers and share them on social media!
Here is my best advice for starting the home buying process in a competitive market?
These 2 things are CRUCIAL to locking in that new home:
1. PATIENCE – The market might be competitive but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible. I will help you get the keys to your new home but it’s going to take an extra dose of patience.
Trust in the process, trust in your agent and remind yourself of WHY you’re doing this in the first place!
2. GRATITUDE – Maybe you’re in the thick of house hunting with no luck right now. Or maybe you’re feeling discouraged because of all the hype the “crazy market” is getting.
Well I’m here to be your real estate bestie! We can get fries and sip milkshakes and talk about the complete A-Z blueprint to getting in that new house and what hurdles you’re most worried about.
But with that, I want you to remember your why and start your home search with gratitude. Be grateful you get to start your search for your dream home or your first home. It may feel like a sprint but at the end of the day it’s truly a journey and I want you to enjoy it!
HOMEOWNER CHECKLIST
To help you make your home as fresh as the feel of Summer, I’ve rounded up the top things to add to your list to get your home Summer ready!
☀️ Schedule Outdoor Projects
🐝 Plant Bee friendly flowers
🎨 Paint something a pop of color
💦 Power wash your deck and patio furniture
☕️ Make iced coffee at home and sip it on the deck
🚿 Service your sprinklers
🥶 Replace your air conditioner filter
🧽 Clean between your windows and screens
🍔 Clean your grill grates
🗒 Create a summer must do list
🍋 Make homemade lemonade or a fun summer cocktail
🧺 Corral summer necessities in a basket or bowl
🚪 Install screen doors
👗 Hang a clothesline for drying towels and swimsuits
💛 Lighten up decor – breezy curtains, light colors
🐞 Make or buy bug repellent jars for your backyard
🏡 CELEBRATE HOMEOWNERSHIP
I combined all 12 months of homeowner checklists into a double sided guide that you can print out and hang on your fridge! Click here for a copy.
Today, I’m diving into an important topic that could make a big difference
in the amount of money you net from your home sale.
The market is hot. There are more buyers who need houses than houses
for sale. That means your home is in demand and it’s not even listed yet!
What I’m seeing happen is a lot of sellers are thinking… Hmm maybe we
should just put a sign up in the front yard and see what happens.
Before you do that, hear me out!
The worst thing you can do as a seller in a hot market is to do it alone.
Before you head to the local hardware store for the “For Sale By Owner”
sign, finish reading this post!
I know you’re doing the math and figuring out how much selling your home
on your own could potentially save you… but I wanted to shed some light
on a few important things to consider before you decide to go that route.
If you’re looking to the internet to determine what price to list your
home at, you could be losing a lot of money.
Online home values aren’t always entirely accurate which means basing
your list price on that could leave a lot of money on the table.
Contracts and Negotiations can feel like a foreign language if you’re
not a real estate professional. Not understanding how to navigate these or
have someone work in your best interest could result in sticky situations
and money lost.
Demand – when you’re in a hot market, one of the greatest benefits to
the seller is that they’re typically in the driver’s seat. When there are more
buyers than listings for sale, your house can spark a bidding war when it
hits the market. However, without an agent helping you prep your home for
the market, price it strategically, market it with modern methods and really
get it out there, you’re missing out on that demand. You might have a
buyer or two but that isn’t going to drive the price up like it would if you
had someone working for you.
My best advice of all is before you make the decision to go it alone, do
some research and find an agent who has good reviews, comes highly
recommended and who you can learn something about before reaching
out. What does their experience look like? What are their clients saying?
Then schedule a consultation with them to see how they can help you net
the most money possible from your home sale.
If you think you’d like to try selling your home alone, be sure to download my guide, Secrets For Selling Your Home Alone.
So you’ve had your house/property on the market for six months, maybe a year. There was some interest maybe even an offer or two but not what you had hoped for when you listed it. Now what do you do?
Should you relist for another six months or a year with the same agent? I don’t think so. Let me tell you why. Houses can be listed, priced correctly, and shown and still not sell. This has nothing to do with the factors above. It’s all about marketing. If a house is marketed properly, widely, it’s a good bet a buyer will be found.
Putting a sign in the front of a house and entering it into the MLS (which usually feeds out to realtor.com, Zillow, etc.) is not enough for some homes that are more unique or considered luxury listings. It’s possible that a local buyer isn’t in the cards. Without additional marketing, these beautiful homes will go unsold and expire.
When you have me list your home, I come with over 15 years experience as a digital and social media marketing consultant. In addition to the standard marketing, I will also use everything I learned over my marketing career to gain you the best exposure for your home.
We’ve lived all over the world so my personal contacts are not just in the local Twin Lakes area but they are worldwide! If you are looking to sell your home in Yellville, Mountain Home, Flippin, Gassville, Lead Hill, Harrison, Saint Joe or anywhere in the North Central Arkansas area, I’d love to be the one to put a sold sign on your lawn and a big, huge smile on your face when your home is listed and sold the first time.
Give me a call, send me a text, send me an email and say, “Lauri, sell my house!” I’m looking forward to hearing from you.