Meeting With A Seller - What To Cover!

Meeting With a Seller - What To Cover!

When getting together with a seller, of course, once you've both determined you are working together, there are several items that need to be covered to effectively prepare a property to be listed. I will outline a few areas that I covered in a recent meeting with a seller of a property here in San Francisco. This is not a all encompassing list. This is a summary of my meeting with this seller.

Preparation:

Getting a house ready for sale will require making it look as appealing as is possible. Areas covered: Staging. Garden Work, Clutter Removal

Marketing:

Today it is essential that a property is properly marketed. You'll want to take advantage of the viral impact of Internet marketing by making the property look great in photos. Areas covered: Hiring Professional Photographer, Marketing the House and the Nearby Attractions and Amenities. We also discussed open houses and showing the property.

Previous Paperwork:

In this case this property was listed and did not sell. There should be documents available from previous disclosure preparation that would be useful. As this property has a special approval from the city, there are documents associated with it that will be needed.

Preparation of New Disclosures:

As with all properties disclosures will need to be prepared for prospective buyers. Here in San Francisco a typical disclosure package can contain several hundred pages. Getting this right is very important.

Pricing Strategies:

List as Investment Properties, Additional Listing for Separate Units

Listing Agreement and Listing Date:

Other Items:

Much was discussed, including getting pre-listing inspections, having painters, gardeners, handymen, and other providers contacted to come and give estimates. Getting a property ready for listing requires some decisions about budgeting. It's always important to be considerate of a seller financial situation as you, together workout a plan to tackle repairs, inspection, improvements, etc.

Communication:

This is a very important area that needs to be covered. Today, we have phone, email and text. It is essential to determine what will be the best method of communicating for you and the seller. Some clients don't check email often. Some use the home phone for messages. Some are very text-centric. It's important to learn what works best for a client so the communication stays current.

You and a seller will be working closely for several months to come. Make sure to lay the foundation of this relationship properly so that there is complete agreement as to how the selling process will work. This begins with proper preparations.

Since I really love what I do, this appointment was a very gratifying one as we cover much territory in the hour and a half together. I will be reporting about this fantastic listing in a few weeks. Stay tuned.

Frank Castaldini - Leading San Francisco Realtor and Trusted Advisor - 415.846.1899