FOR SELLERS
Preparing Your Home for Sale

Preparing your home to show is not a matter of taste, but of strategy:

Regardless of current market conditions, it has been shown time and time again that a well-prepared home will sell for a higher price and in less time than unprepared properties.

Many items that may be done cost comparatively little, and yet may dramatically enhance market response and value. However, from basic cleaning to full staging, anything that appears likely to add significantly more value (in achieved sales price) than what it costs to perform is worth your consideration.

Remember that most buyers and agents have little imagination: If a property looks appealing, they respond well, and if it doesn’t, they simply walk away without even thinking of simple remedies.

“A study found that staged houses sold in half the time as unstaged homes and on average almost 5% more than the sales price for unstaged homes.” — The Week

Real Estate Online Marketing

Every broker will say that it has an online marketing strategy, but there are huge differences in both the comprehensiveness of such programs and the quality of presentation.

As buyers have increasingly gone on-line, we have worked hard to create the most distinctive and most comprehensive online marketing program in the business. Our listings are posted to hundreds, if not thousands, of real estate websites to seize the attention of buyers everywhere with homes presented in the most compelling way possible.

Carrie & Lisa pay to have every single one of their listings professionally photographed. This is of critical importance because photos will be how the vast majority of buyers and agents first see and evaluate your home – online as well as in advertising and print materials. If the photos don’t make the right impression, buyers won’t come to see your property in person – and if they don’t come, they’re not going to buy.

Carrie & Lisa pay for showcase or featured listing status on the most highly trafficked real estate websites in the world. This not only has advantages in quality of presentation but typically puts your home at the top of the search results, another critical advantage in reaching prospective buyers.

Carrie & Lisa pay to have their listings posted to the most prestigious local and national newspaper websites and the largest luxury home websites for additional local, national and international exposure: sites such as the New York Times and Wall Street Journal.

Wherever someone is looking, we want them to find your home, looking its best.

These are some of the major websites Carrie & Lisa post their listings to:
Sothebyshomes.com
Realtor.com (Showcase Listing)
San Francisco Chronicle (Featured Listing)
Trulia (Featured Listing)
Zillow (Featured Listing)
Yahoo (Featured Listing)
New York Times
Wall Street Journal (homes $1m+)
Luxury Real Estate (homes $1.5m+)
SF Open Homes
San Francisco Multiple Listing System
Craigslist
YouTube

Typically, as appropriate, Carrie & Lisa will also pay to have a custom property showcase website designed specifically for your home. With an extensive color photo gallery, detailed property description, floor plan, map and showing schedule, this site will be featured in all print and Internet marketing, as well as on the Sotheby’s sign posted on your property.This site will then be referenced in all marketing materials.

Over 80% of home buyers in the United States now begin their search on the Internet.

Over 40% buy a home they first see online.

Find a broker who does a great job executing a comprehensive online marketing plan.

What We Do For You

Print Material
• Classified Advertising
• Private Invitations
• Property Brochures
• Postcard Mailers
• Nob Hill Gazette
• Noe Valley Voice
• Wall Street Journal
• Professional Photography

Networking
• Top Agent Network (TAN)
• Our Personal and Professional Networks
• Your network of friends, family and associates
• Social Media

Events
• Open Houses
• Broker Tours
• Friends, Family, Colleague And Neighbor Receptions and Previews
• By Appointment Showings

Follow-up & Tracking
• Follow-up with agents who have shown your property
• Follow-up with agents who are showing competition
• Track potential buyers who have expressed interest
• Follow-up with you on a weekly basis to recap activity and stats