Seller Tips - Brought to you by the Ellis Team 239-310-6500

 

Get Top Dollar - One of the best ways to get Top Dollar for a property is to create more interest. Imagine selling an item on E-Bay.  The Price you would sell the item for might be quite different if you had 10,000 people bidding versus just one or two. The same is true in real estate.  The best scenario is to have multiple offers from several qualified buyers.  Maximum exposure equals top dollar, and the best way to create maximum exposure is to have the best marketing.

 

Best Marketing - Quite simply, the best marketing is the marketing that works. It’s not enough to list a home on MLS and expect other agents to sell it.  If you rely on other agents who are working in the buyer’s best interest you will not reach top dollar.

 

Some agents promise to put their listings in Zillow, Realtor.com, Trulia, Homes.com and several others.  The truth is, this happens automatically on every listing in the MLS unless the listing agent opts out.  They’re not really doing anything, but it sounds great.

The Ellis Team has created a database of over 14,000 buyers  through our marketing, and it’s growing every day.  When we list a property we have several options.  Some listings qualify for our Luxury package which includes our luxury magazine, Wall Street Journal Online, Barron’s Global Mansions, and a network of top luxury professionals from all over the world.

 

The Ellis Team also targets ads all over the country.  We have artificial intelligence that shows us where buyers are coming from.  We study today’s migration and referral patterns for the Fort Myers area and custom design targeted online ads to people in those locations who are considering buying.  The old days of placing a sign out front and expecting somebody to buy it are gone.  Today’s technology requires an in-depth knowledge of data and intelligence combined with a marketing budget to reach the audience.  Remember, the best way to achieve Top Dollar is through maximum Exposure.  Our marketing does that!

Hire Experienced Agent - Experience matters more than ever.  What to say and when to say it matters. The agent helps with pricing, staging, and marketing decisions that will impact the seller greatly.  Thorough knowledge of contracts can be the difference between a sale and a lawsuit.  A good listing agent can read people and has a pretty keen instinct on how to avoid pitfalls in a transaction. Having the knowledge and experience to select the best offer can be the difference between a sale or cancelled contract.

 

Select Best Offer - There is an old saying that your best offer is always your first offer.  This is not necessarily true.  It depends on the market, and of course how good that first offer is.  If your goal is to attract maximum exposure, why would you accept an offer on a home that has been in the market only 2 hours?  We’ve seen homes go pending in 15 minutes and we wonder what that home might have sold for if the agent would have been patient and let the market work. 

 

Some sellers counter with Highest and Best.  Best isn’t always highest.  If you have a buyer getting 97% financing and bids $50,000 over asking price, what happens when the home appraises at asking price, or less?  That buyer is done unless they can put up the difference.  Many times they cannot or they wouldn't be making an offer for 97% financing in the first place in a hot market.

 

All offers are not created equal, and what is written on paper tells a story.  Experienced agents can sniff out problems just by reading the offer and by talking with the buyer agent.  Agents do not realize they’re buyer is being interviewed every time we have a conversation with their agent, and the answers given by their agent will determine which bid is strongest.  Customers are astounded at the information we can extract just from a simple conversation.

 

Knowledge is power.  Knowing which buyer is most likely to close along with bringing highest value to the seller is crucial. Put the Ellis Team’s knowledge and experience to work for you.  Selecting somebody else cam cost you thousands, a sale, or a lawsuit.  Experience matters.