Step 4 in Selling Your
Northern Virginia or
Washington, D.C. Home:

Ready, Set, Go!

Summary:
Once we've determined your goals, home condition, and sales price, I'll have enough information to tailor a marketing strategy for your specific home. The following are the basic tools available to us, but the final decision on which ones I'll actually use will rest with you.

Detail:

1. Multiple Listing Service – Your home will appear in this area’s multiple listing service, the database used by all real estate agents (not just Long & Foster’s) to see what properties are on the market. Any agent licensed in this area will be able to see your home and pertinent information online to determine if it's a potential match for their buyers. I will also create and place full-color brochures in your home for prospective buyers to take with them after their visit. My business cards will also be there so that the prospective buyer’s agent can keep my contact information close at hand.
     
2. On the Internet -- More than 70 percent of homes buyers these days start their home search on the Internet. Your home will appear on several websites, including my own, Long & Foster’s, Realtor.com, and local newspapers like The Washington Post, The Washington City Paper, and others as appropriate to your location. The online listings will not only give potential buyers full color photos of your home to view, but also the details they need to understand what your home has to offer.
      
3. Staging Your Home -- To help make your home show as well as possible, we'll take a look at things like de-cluttering your home, conducting a "pet check," setting the mood, etc.  We want the home to show well, which means not only that it be clean and well maintained, but that potential home buyers can see themselves and their belongings in your home.  We will make sure the potential buyer can focus on the positive features of your home first and foremost rather than your personal belongings or decorating style.
    
4. Agent-to-Agent Contact -- Many home sellers are surprised to learn that approximately 56 percent of all buyers come from contacts between agents/brokers and their network of contacts.  I'll conduct a private showing for the agents in my offices, for Virginia properties that means over 50 agents and for Washington, D.C. properties that means over 100 agents.  This is addition to agents outside Long & Foster with whom I've worked on previous sales.  Special agents-only open houses for agents-only advertising are also part of the mix.
    
5. "For Sale" Sign -- I normally recommend putting a “for sale” sign outside your home.  It lets everyone passing by know that they could be living in your home.  Often times, neighbors are great resources for spreading the word to their friends and family that there’s a home for sale in their neighborhood and they should take a look at it.  My signs have both my name and website address so that potential buyers can go online and learn the details of your home.  I also put a box of flyers on the sign with color pictures and information about your home so that passersby can see why your home might be a good match for them.
    
6. Open House -- Public open houses can also be a valuable way to get more exposure for your home.  It will allow us to reach people we might not otherwise be able to reach, e.g., neighbors and those potential buyers who don't yet have an agent.  Open houses are also a good way for us to see in real time how your home is received by the buying public.