Here’s a little rundown of some of the things that we typically talk about during the listing appointment.

• We Ask Questions

First, I want to understand your goals. Why are you selling? When do you need or want your money? Do you want to do repairs or sell the property as is? All of these factors, and more, will inform our pricing and marketing strategy. I’ve learned from experience that if I don’t understand your goals, then I can’t help you reach them.

• View and discuss the property

The second thing we’ll do is walk the property together so that I can see the product you may be asking me to sell. At this point, I like to hear about what improvements you’ve made, what improvements you’re planning, and whether you have any questions about repairs before going on the market.

• Our Marketing System

After seeing the home, we’ll sit back down and talk briefly about marketing. Frankly, real estate marketing is not the most entertaining topic in the world. But there is a method for doing it right, and maximizing your property value. There are also many ways to do it wrong, like using bad photos. And bad real estate marketing can cost you tens of thousands of dollars in value. So we’ll go over some of the basics of our marketings system, so you can see that we do this right, every time.

• Price and Net (the $)

In Step 4, we talk about why you really called me in the first place: The MONEY. We’ll talk about the best price for marketing your home and how to get you your money on the timeline that you want. We’ll also take it one step further and convert that price into a “net” number. The net is how much money you actually put in your pocket at the end of this process.

• Forms

If you don’t want to kick me out of your home after we talk about the money, then we’ll move on to Step 5 and go over the forms used in Texas to hire any real estate agent. Think of these as your employment agreement with your agent.

• Mutual Decision

After all that, we should be in a good position for Step 6, making a mutual decision together. Do we think we’ll enjoy working together? Are we in agreement about pricing? Do you believe I can negotiate effectively for you? Is the net number enough to make your plans work? And is now the right time for you to sell? If the answer is “YES” to all of these, then we’ll complete the forms and get started working together to get your home sold.

The Information about Brokerage Service (IABS) is a one-page disclosure required by the state of Texas. It informs the public (that’s you!) how to know if a real estate agent represents your best interest, or not.

The “Exclusive Right to Sell” Agreement is the standard listing agreement in the state of Texas. It’s what allows an agent to work on your behalf to get your home sold. It clearly lays out what the agent’s responsibilities are to you (things like fiduciary duties and confidentiality) as well as how that agent will be paid, and what price you want to market your home for. It also lays out what your jobs are in the transaction.

Think of it as the basic terms of employment for your agent.

How much money am I getting out of this house, anyway?

In real estate, we call that number your net.

Your “net” is the amount of money you’ll put in your pocket at the end of this whole process.

When you sit down to close with the title company, the title officer will present you a full accounting of credits and debits that ultimately equal your net.

Your net is calculated based on the following items:

Your Sales Price

Minus – Your mortgage balance

Minus – Real estate commissions

Minus – The cost of title insurance

Minus – Miscellaneous fees (which I estimate at $1,000)

Minus – Seller paid closing costs

When we sat down and decided to work together to sell your home, I walked you through an estimated net figure, based on your asking price.

When we discuss offers, we’ll review another estimated net, based on the terms of the offers.

And lastly, when you go to closing, you will receive a final net number, which will reflect the exact credits and debits for the transaction.

We use a company called Seller’s Shield to help you fill out your Seller’s Disclosure online. It also provides some guidance along the way about potential legal pitfalls. We have an account that allows you to use this service for free.

The Seller’s Disclosure notice is the document that most often gets referenced in lawsuits when a buyer sues a seller.

For example, if a buyer closes on a property, then immediately has a flooding issue, the first place they’ll look is the Seller’s Disclosure, to see if you disclosed past flooding issues. If you didn’t, and you knew about them, you may have a bad time in court.

So the idea is to fill out your Seller’s Disclosure as honestly and completely as possible. You don’t need to spend lots of extra time doing research, if you’re not sure, just check ‘unknown’. Seller’s Shield allows you to fill it out online, which cuts down on your need to print and scan paper stuff, and also offers you some helpful legal tips along the way.

They also offer additional legal protection through Seller’s Shield, but this is 100% optional. It is not required, and we haven’t looked into it myself yet enough to recommend it. But if you don’t want that coverage, just ignore the pages that prompt you to pay fees. Completing your seller’s disclosure is free.

Please reference this link to a PDF of a Blank Seller’s Disclosure, but the easiest and best method is to complete the disclosure via the email we will send from Seller’s Shield.

Your survey is what shows where your property sits on your lot, along with fence lines and utility easements. (Note, if you are in an attached condo in a large complex, you can ignore this entirely. Site condos (i.e. A/B units) still require them).

We should be able to provide the survey received when you guys bought the home, and we should be able to reuse it. 🙂

In order to re-use the survey, you’ll need to sign something called a T-47, attached here. On the T-47, you’ll identify any changes to the existing survey.

If the survey is not acceptable to the title company or the lender, or there is no existing survey, then either the buyer or seller will need to purchase a new one. Surveys usually run about $500-$1000 for residential homes on small and moderate lots. Prices vary for larger properties.

Who pays for a new survey will be identified in your contract with your buyer.

We like to have the survey and T-47 complete and available for interested buyers before going under contract, which prevents the buyer from terminating your contract based on the survey.

When listing your property it’s helpful to highlight several things for buyers.

Features: Include anything you think makes your property special, or any work you’ve done recently. Features might include “HVAC updated in 2019,” “upgraded kitchen design package from the builder,” “largest lot in the neighborhood,” and so forth.

The contract will define what items “convey,” or stay, with the house and what items the sellers will take with him when they move.

Non-Realty Items: We like to note for buyers what “non-realty items” you prefer to leave with the property. “Non-realty items” simply mean items that are contractually not real estate. These include refrigerator, washer, dryer, and any furniture items you’d like to leave behind, whether for free or for a fee. If you’d like to attach a fee to the items, let us know and we can note that. It’s often easiest and cleanest to just include the items for free.

Exclusions: These are anything that you do NOT want to stay with the property that is in the contract. We also like to note anything that is not technically in the contract but that might cause arguments with the buyer later. If in doubt, add it to the list and we’ll discuss. An example of an exclusion would be a light fixture, like a special chandelier, that you want to keep. See the list of improvements and accessories below from the contract for what typically stays/conveys with the house. The listed “Exclusions” WILL NOT stay with the house. If there is anything on this list you do not wish to leave, or anything you are afraid is a gray area, add it to the list below.

IMPROVEMENTS: The house, garage, and all other fixtures and improvements attached to the above-described real property, including without limitation, the following permanently installed and built-in items, if any: all equipment and appliances, valences, screens, shutters, awnings, wall-to wall carpeting, mirrors, ceiling fans, attic fans, mail boxes, television antennas, mounts and brackets for televisions and speakers, heating and air-conditioning units, security and fire detection equipment, wiring, plumbing and lighting fixtures, chandeliers, water softener system, kitchen equipment, garage door openers, cleaning equipment, shrubbery, landscaping, outdoor cooking equipment, and all other property owned by Seller and attached to the above described real property.

ACCESSORIES: The following described related accessories, if any: window air conditioning units, stove, fireplace screens, curtains and rods, blinds, window shades, draperies and rods, door keys, mailbox keys, above ground pool, swimming pool equipment and maintenance accessories, artificial fireplace logs, and controls for: (i) garage doors, (ii) entry gates, and (iii) other improvements and accessories.

EXCLUSIONS: The following improvements and accessories will be retained by Seller and must be removed prior to delivery of possession: (i.e. washer/dryer, refrigerator in kitchen and refrigerator in garage, etc)

This is one of our favorite parts of the process, so we’ll work with you closely on this. Every house and situation is a little different. But we do have a checklist and some general recommended guidelines for pre-market prep.

We can review videos or do a walk-through to make notes for staging and help prioritize and make a plan of items that will give the most bang for your buck when selling. After you guys make the first pass, we can walk through and give more specifics on paint colors being neutralized, furniture arrangement, things to remove to make the house look bigger, etc.

Start purging and doing the small cosmetic things that we all put off. The house should look sparse, well maintained, and super sparkling clean for photos!

There are several things we can do together to set us up for beautiful marketing and successful showings once we go “Active” on the market.

Here is a list of the things we suggest our clients do to prep their homes and some of the things we’ll be working on too. We will also decide if our team will bring any items for staging to the house for photos, the Open House, etc.

Seller Prep-Repairs and Improvements

• Landscaping (high priority)

• Professional cleaning (high priority)

• Paint (high priority)

• Remove window screens

• Window cleaning

• Replace any dead lightbulbs

• Review photo preparation checklist attached above.

• Pre-inspection

• Any odd repairs

• ECAD Energy Audit

https://austinenergy.com/ae/energy-efficiency/ecad-ordinance/ecad-for-residential-customers (not required for the transaction, it is a city of Austin requirement. But the fine is high enough for not doing it that it’s worth doing). $250

• Ensure that gas, electric, and water are on and remain on between now and closing. Both for showings, and to avoid problems during home inspection.

Additionally, we’ve shared a couple checklists from photographers to be used as a guideline for prepping your home for photos:

• Twist Tours Tips Before home photoshoot

• Virtuance Tips before home photoshoot

Please let us know if you need any contractors, cleaners and other recommendations!

Let’s face it. You guys know your home best. We’d love for you to let us know what made you pick this home, what you love about your home, and any details about updates, etc. Especially if there are fantastic things that are tough to see from the MLS photos (the BEST neighbors, 8,000 parks in walking distance, etc.)

Many times, new buyers will choose and love it for the same reasons you did. Here are some examples from clients we’ve worked with in the past.

You absolutely don’t NEED to, but it can sometimes be really nice. Here are a few things to think about. And then let’s talk about it!

1. What you don’t know can hurt you. Knowledge is power, and surprise is never a good thing. If you’re like us, you think you have a pretty good idea of the condition of your home. But let’s be honest. We don’t climb on the roof, look in the chimney, crawl around in the attic, etc. Do we know how old our water heater and HVAC are? If it’s an older home, do we know how the plumbing and electrical systems look? A pre-listing inspection can really give us lots of insight on the physical health of your home, so we know what we’re working with.

2. You DON’T have to fix everything. We DO need to disclose everything, so we work together to strategize on a plan of attack and what makes the most sense given the market, your competition, time frame for moving, etc.

There might be items that are major vs. minor that we choose to take into account when pricing and marketing the home. Older roofs, HVAC’s, and water heaters – on top of other repairs – coupled with a home that needs cosmetic updates can be viewed as “a money pit” in the eyes of a buyer. So we can check and see if insurance would cover a new roof, give a concession or include a multi-year home warranty to give buyers peace of mind, etc.

3. Disclosure is not an unpleasant surprise. The truth is, a buyer is going to do their own inspection and find out anyway, but it will be after they’ve already agreed upon a price and terms that they might not want to pay after the outcome of that inspection.

4. It can keep the deal together. If we wait until all terms have been negotiated, the buyer may freak out and ask for the moon and stars. Both parties are ready to get it done, and there is usually not much time to get our own people out for a quote. By being proactive, we can help avoid the stress of the unknown, decide what we want to address vs. disclose, and level the playing field a bit.

5. We want to make sure it’s an experienced, knowledgeable inspector. It’s rare, but we want to know we’re not just using a discounted rookie inspector that may scare more insecure/inexperienced buyers away. We work with some of the best inspectors in town, and our inspector will be available to consult with you during the home sale process and can assist with questions.

6. The home may be more insurable. We want to know if something (like a super old roof, etc.) could affect home insurance rates.

All parties want a purchase and sale process that is free of surprises and can close within a reasonable period of time. The pre-inspection eliminates much of the unknown, and the parties will enter a negotiation feeling more confident and empowered.

If a seller is unable or does not wish to take on repairs, the property can be priced accordingly. At the same time, if a seller has replaced a big ticket item, like a roof or HVAC, it might help the home sell faster as the buyer might be willing to make an offer and pay a higher price because of it. We can disclose everything, negotiate a shorter inspection period, or sell as-is. This could be better than all the back and forth trying to resolve repairs since everyone is aware of the issues and what will or will not be done.

Knowledge is power. Just as a buyer needs to do their due diligence, a seller can also do theirs to get ahead of any surprises, and make sure our deal isn’t derailed.

On Thursdays, we send out a weekly marketing update with a summary of showings, feedback, our competition, and a summary including any advice or recommendations.

It will include a summary of our marketing activities, the results of any ads/campaigns that we’ve been running on social media, similar new homes that have hit the market that buyers may be considering, and any adjustments that we may recommend based on feedback, etc.

VIEW THE SELLER CHECKLIST

VIEW THE SELLER WORKBOOK