Jim Rake

How much is "enough" when marketing a home? What does it take to adequately showcase a property that's listed?

Simply put, that's a question best left up to the homeowner. Or, is it? Do homeowners know the market? Do they know what it takes to get their home "under contract"? Well, as many Realtors can attest, there are plenty of homeowners who think they know what's required to get their home sold. But, what's to be done, how it's to be done, and the importance of integrating the different marketing methods to successfully showcase a listing, is best left in the hands of the professional, the Realtor.

As the Listing Agent, Realtors are bound, according to Article 1 of their Code of Ethics, "to protect and promote the interests of the client." In other words, the agent is ethically obligated to use their best efforts to accomplish the client's objective. For most home sellers, this means a sale of the property in the least amount of time, for the best price and terms. And, believe it or not, marketing a home consists of more than simply putting a sign in the yard and waiting by the phone for calls from prospective buyers. There are a number of steps to take when marketing a home, some more important than others. Let's begin by looking at the essential steps first.

What's Necessary

1. Multiple Listing Service (MLS) - Job Number 1

Most home buyers use a Realtor to find and purchase a home. Realtors use the MLS to find homes. While there continue to be more and more "open source" alternatives to the MLS for locating homes for sale, the MLS, unlike the other platforms, is required to keep the accurate status of homes listed. According to Article XII of the Metropolitan Regional Information Systems (MRIS) Rules and Regulations guidelines which govern the MLS, a property's status must be updated within forty-eight hours of a change. Frequently, other home listing sites like Realtor.com, Zillow, Trulia and others, will list a home as being actively "For Sale", yet, in reality, the property is already sold, and the status of the property not updated for days, or, in many cases, weeks. Yes, weeks!

Inputting listings into the MLS isn't as seamless as one might imagine. Well, it is a simple process, but how accurate, how extensive, and how many pictures are posted are entirely up to the agent. If listing agents aren't making the most of the MLS platform in advertising their listing, then they should be. Agents should take the time to get complete home details from their sellers. Buyer's agents are depending upon the MLS for accurate information. And, yes, more information and pictures ARE better.

2. Listing Syndication

Ubiquity - the state of being everywhere at once. Yes, you want your home to be everywhere on the web. Today, that's where many prospective buyers first see the home they're considering purchasing. Of course, most home sellers want their home listed everywhere possible. Do you think sellers want their property seen more than the competition? Sure they do.

Our area MLS provider, MRIS, provides a listing syndication option available to Brokers. This option, ListHub, provides brokers the ability to distribute their listings to other real estate property sites like Trulia, Zillow, Yahoo Real Estate, and many others. Another similar property listing syndication service provider is Postlets. And Postlets, unlike ListHub, is free.

3. Video and Pictures.

Let prospective buyers preview what they're getting! If a picture is worth a thousand words, you think a video is worth...maybe, ten thousand? Well, that depends on the viewer, and more importantly, the quality of the video. What is required for quality pictures and video?

For quality pictures, you can find excellent digital cameras with plenty of megapixels for less than $250, that will meet your needs. Using software designed to blend or "stitch" the pictures together, you can produce a virtual tour that effectively showcases and highlights the home's best features. While still photos give the home viewer a good idea of what's inside the home, using software that provides panoramic views and tells a story of the home at the same time, completes the picture. Real Estate Shows is an inexpensive tool that accomplishes this task. Visual Tour costs a bit more, and does a little more. Using video, the production is even better.

Another program that offers a few more thrills, and also uses video for its productions, is AgentCasts. Whether using video or still pictures, they provide a menu of services and costs that'll meet your needs, and provide a quality finished product.

Something as simple as the Flip Video or Kodak Zi6, costing less than $175, might be tempting to use for filming the home video, but don't sell yourself, and your client, short. While it's not necessary to spend thousands to get quality video, spend a few hundred more than a Flip and utilize the enhanced capability of a better camera to showcase your property in the best light.

For software programs, Microsoft's Windows Movie Maker, included in most Windows packages, is a simple but powerful video editing package for creating movies, or short videos.

If you've never used it, don't worry. As they say, "even a 6th grader can do it"! Just go to YouTube.com and you'll find instructional videos on how to use Movie Maker. You'll find a number of "how to" videos with very good instructions on how to use the program.

There's lots to do in marketing a home for sale. Using the MLS, and plenty of photos of the property, or, even better, video, are important first steps in showcasing the home for interested agents and home buyers. But, the devils in the details. Great pictures, video, and a detailed listing may draw buyers in, but the finer points of the listing that comprise the marketing strategy developed with your seller(s) are just as important to success. Its those details we'll examine when we complete the marketing discussion.

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I can't say I enjoy food as much as many of my friends. But, I do enjoy an enjoyable night of dining.

This weekend I was treated to a couple of evenings of dining at two of the area's finest establishments. And, while I enjoy good barbeque, or a visit to Chipolte with my sons, on Friday, I had another opportunity to spend the evening at one of Fredericksburg's finest restaurants, Claiborne's. It may be the best in fine dining to be had in the area.

Located in one of the orginal Old Town Fredericksburg's train station buildings, the restaurant's rooms allow for small parties as well as larger groups numbering more than fifty. Whether your dining pleasure is filet mignon, chicken, fish, or something a bit more exotic, the menu won't disappoint you. Neither will the service. The wait staff is polite, punctual, and knowledgeable. While Friday night's was a treat, Saturday night's outing may have been better. It was certainly a different setting.

The Inn at Kelly's Ford, is a site that should be a "mandatory formation" for visitors to the Commonwealth. It's simply an exceptional example of what the state has to offer; a joy for the palette, and the eyes.

In Remington, Virginia, the Inn is situated on the historical site of the Kelly´s Ford Civil War Battlefield, on 150 acres, which is part of a larger 500-acre estate. As its website claims, there truly is a "casual elegance" that's unmistakable upon arrival at the facility.

While the occasion for Saturday's visit was a wedding, I'd been there a couple of times previously. The setting and view from the dining area is truly picturesque. In the middle of the Commonwealth's horse country, the countryside's rolling hills, and green pastures, provide the ideal setting for a quiet evening of exquisite dining.

Similar to Claiborne's, the menu at the Inn is full of dinner delights. The Entree list includes:

While the cost of the entree selections is a bit more than one might expect at your routine "in town" restaurant, the Inn is anything but the usual, and you won't find anything quite like it in the city. Additionally, the menu features are some you won't soon forget. Not only are the dishes delicious, but their presentation is very impressive as well.

The Fredericksburg and Stafford, Viriginia region has much to offer. Whether on vacation, or an area homeowner enjoying a night out, Claiborne's and the Inn at Kelly's Ford are two fine dining choices you'll enjoy immensely.

Before making your reservation, make sure your night out is one during which you can relax and enjoy the atmosphere and appreciate the experience. Each of the establishments leaves you wanting to remain a bit longer, to enjoy the experience even more. In these cases, it's an urge worth indulging.

To Continue Reading this Article, Click Here: Twice As Much Pleasure

In an e-mail I received last week, another agent reminded me of the public's perception of the real estate profession; not good.

Earlier this week, a local Broker relayed the story of her most recent marketing appointment. It took place in a home situated in a local neighborhood, The Glens, in Stafford, VA.

Its developer, Augustine Homes, has a reputation for outstanding craftmanship and a quality product. Homes in their subdivisions aren't cheap. Their neighborhoods and accomodations are anything but sparse. As a matter of fact, they're some of the most expensive homes in the area. And, their subdivisions are the kind you and I wouldn't mind living in. Homes in the Glens hover around $1,000,000 +.

But, back to the Broker's story. Evidently, the marketing appointment wasn't simply to discuss the remarketing of the home, but also the failures of the agent who previously listed the property. According to the Broker, the previous agent hadn't bothered to make brochures or any other hard copy take away items for prospective buyers. No video of the home either. Other than the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) exposure, no other internet listing presence. But, the agent did put a sign in the yard.

And we wonder why the public's image of real estate professionals is so low? But, before we begin to smear agents with a broad brush, this poor display of real estate practice isn't the norm, but the exception.

Here, we have a million dollar listing, and next to no marketing. One has to wonder why. If it wasn't the desire of the homeowner, and according to the broker, it wasn't, then why would an agent not do a better job of show casing the property? Did not they not realize the contractural agreement they entered into with the homeowner bound them ethically to use their best efforts to accomplish their client's objective...in other words, to market and sell the home?

While there is no perfect method of marketing a home, there are some basic practices that serve as a foundation for providing a homeowner the services necessary to sell their home. "Best effort" encompasses not only the scope of the effort, but, just as importantly, the quality.

When it comes to listing or marketing a property, what methods do the job effectively? How much marketing is enough? That will be the subject of an article later this month.

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We recently witnessed a first in North Stafford; a ribbon cutting ceremony inaugurating Germanna Community College's (GCC) fourth location. With Governor Tim Kaine doing the honors, the GCC Stafford Center in Aquia Park was unveiled. Occupying almost 5,000 square feet of building space, the "campus" is one of the featured attractions of the ongoing Aquia Park development.

The initial semester begins just over a month from now, on August 20th. To begin with, classes in algebra, accounting, management, and Spanish will be offered. In addition, they'll be courses in art history sociology and religion. Plans are to accomodate more than 1,000 students in the first semester.

While the new campus is simply the beginning of a larger plan to establish a free-standing GCC campus in North Stafford, expansion will have to wait until land is donated or secured for the larger facility. For Stafford area residents and homeowners, the new campus is a welcome site. Not only does it help with the region's economic development, but, for those ready to step into community college life, it provides the option of little or no commute to and from school.

Attendees can enjoy the luxury of the new location, and realize they're in "on the ground floor". They'll be able to take advantage of the small classroom sizes and helpful teacher/student ratios while they last. Because, after all, this is Northern Virginia, and new people and places don't stay hidden for too long.

To Continue Reading this Article, Click Here: Campus Life Comes to Stafford

Have you ever seen that old Maxwell House commerical? It's early morning, and there's a couple sitting on their back deck, enjoying each other's company while enjoying a cup of coffee. Haven't we all enjoyed similar moments? A cool morning or evening on the deck, with our favorite beverage, enjoying the relative peace and quiet, and beauty that surrounds us.

The deck is one feature many home buyers are looking for when shopping for a home. One of the attractions of the Stafford and Fredericksburg area, and Virginia as a whole, is the temperate climate. Outside of a couple of Winter months, our climate is quite comfortable. So, spending time outside, on the deck, just makes sense, whether its lighting up the barbeque or simply another occasion, relaxing with friends. For many home buyers, if the home they purchase doesn't have a deck, they'll build one before too long. But, sometimes, in making plans for the deck addition, homeowners forget the most important consideration of all - obtaining the required permit from the county.

Whether adding an room or a deck to a home, Stafford and Spotsylvania counties require a buidling permit. Each of the counties provide clear guidance as to what their permit requirements are on their county's website.

With the advent of these online resources, homeowners know exactly what they need in order to have their decks built properly. But, as the above "Deck Details Policy" indicates, before beginning with the deck work, ensure the contractor you've hired is properly licensed. The Virginia Board for Contractors web site is a good place to begin your search for a licensed contractor. In order to obtain a permit, the contract MUST be properly licensed.

Whether adding a deck or another room onto your home, you'll need a permit, and the contractor needs to follow the appropriate building code requirements. Licensed contractors are well aware of these requirements. Without these, you'll not only find it impossible to get these parts of the home insured, but you'll also face difficulties when it comes time to sell.

Homeowners sometimes fail to report home improvements to the county's assessor to avoid increases in their home's assessed value, and, what they are taxed. But, they'll have to face the music when they decide to sell. As part of the property diclosure process, this improvement, and the lack of permit, which are material facts, will need to be disclosed. A good buyer's agent will do their best to require the seller to produce the permit before they'll agree to sign for the house.

So, while you may look forward to those morning or evenings, enjoying a little "down time" on the deck, do yourself a favor, and make sure that deck is permitted first.

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