Seller's Plan of Action - 17 Steps to Listing

For the past several years, I have been passing on two documents, my Buyer's Plan of Action, and my Seller's Plan of Action. These documents had multiple purposes:

1. Explain a few unique actions I take for those customers/clients;
   
2. Discuss the selling process with shallow detail;
   
3. Give contact information of past clients for those seeking testimonials of my workmanship and competency.
   

Today, I think it would be useful to take those process steps and put them into a post, so both buyers and sellers have a place to see the process explained, before getting into it. Today, we will focus on the selling process, as if I were your listing agent for the sale of your property.

Let's jump right into it:

1. Review the Home Selling Process – We will provide you with detailed information covering the entire home selling process, answer any questions you may have about it, and guide you through every step along the way. You can read more detail about this initial process here;
2. Explanation of Agency - We will discuss buyer agency representation, buyer brokerage agreements, seller agency, designated agency, and dual agency;
3. Property Condition Disclosure and Contract Paperwork - We will review with you the proper paperwork required to put your home on the market, including all disclosures that are required (and the Inclusion/Exclusion Addendum that better protects you);
4. Staging and De-Cluttering - In my opinion, this step is the most important aspect of selling a home effectively. I say this because the way the home looks affects every  aspect of the sale from who comes to see the home, to how negotiations will ultimately go. Take advantage of my expertise in this area, and sell your home for more. I will educate you on how to rearrange, get rid of stuff, and do little work and fixes to maximize the sale price. You can read my more detailed thoughts here and here.
   
5. Photos – We will arrange the best possible day, likely sunny and bright, to come and take pictures with a high-quality, wide-angle-lens camera. We then take these photos and touch them up so they are brighter, Photoshop out anything that does not belong, and make sure they are perfect. More about this here;
6. Preparing The Push – A couple of days before we go live, we prepare our marketing strategy so when the day comes, we can push everything out together. This includes creating ‘Incoming’ listings on all major sites, designing and printing all material that will be in the home for buyers, preparing the mailing to the neighbors;
7. Putting the Home Live – Once we have the listings all complete, we put a keybox on the door, order the sign to be put up, place materials in the property including: all disclosures of the property; the tax card; the field card; a survey or map (if there is one); additional septic or other information from city hall; the printout of the property details; and a bound booklet with all of the above nicely presented with the pictures of the home;
8. Initial Marketing Push – Our goal is to have multiple offers by week 3, here is the general means to get there (More details here):
   1. Syndicate Push – Our listing is presented in multiple formats on the Internet, and we ensure it is pushed to the major networks including Trulia, Zillow, Realtor.com, Listingbook, and every other major real estate website there is. We do this through the MLS, and a unique site that formats the property so it can be easily pulled by some of these sites
   2. Social Network Push – The listing is then presented on our social networks, with over 2500 followers on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
   3. Video – We create a virtual tour of your property, to be placed on our YouTube channel. This will also get put onto our social networks.
   4. Direct Mail – We send a mailing to over 1500 of our network, advertising the time of our open house, and presenting the property as newly listed;
   5. Blog Post - Unlike any other Realtor we have encountered, we write a blog post that details aspects of the home that aren't captured on other sites which gets posted to our Listing Spotlight. This allows us to market this post, and get buyers the true story.
9. Broker Open House – We will have an immediate broker open house to present the property to all agents that are looking with clients in your location, as well as many of the big real estate players in town;
   
10. Public Open House 1 – We will host a public open house (usually day 14 on the market), with door-knockers on neighbor’s doors. This will take place on Sunday, and will be marketed on Zillow, Trulia, Listingbook (Featured Listing), Realtor.com, Raveis.com, and all social networks (with some paid ads);
11. We Receive Our First Offer – We will present all offers we receive to you however you would prefer;
    
12. Negotiation Strategy – I have become an expert negotiator. Each situation is different, so the tactics will vary, but our goal is to get you the best terms and highest price as quickly as possible;
    
13. Inspection Negotiation – If there are any requests from the buyer regarding inspection items, we will ensure that there is as little given up as possible at this point in time through our negotiations;
14. Contract Signing – Our list of professionals is at your disposal. If you need an attorney to write contracts, we can recommend many. Once the inspection is complete, you will sign contracts, get the deposit from the buyer, and move forward to close as quickly as possible;
    
15. Mortgage Contingency and Insurance – After inspections, it is important to stay on top of the other Realtor to ensure everything that needs to be done occurs. This includes reminding them to follow up with attorney to perform title search, reminding to order the appraisal, reminding to follow up with the mortgage broker, and reminding to get insurance for the property 2-3 weeks before closing. Make sure to order the moving truck and get ready to pack and go;
16. Closing the Sale – We will monitor and inform you of the progress of the sale, not limited to following up with buyer’s Realtor, the attorneys, the mortgage brokers involved, and anything else necessary to make sure we are on track to close;
17. Close! – We will be there to shake your hands once all the paperwork is signed, and the deal can close. Congrats!

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As you can see, there is a lot to the selling process, but the most important takeaway is that whoever represents you must be on top of each step. If you find that someone you are working with is dropping the ball anywhere here, feel free to reach out, to see if you have alternatives!

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