The Listing Process

Selling a home is more than just listing your house in the Multiple Listing Service, and finding a buyer is just the beginning. At the Wethman Group, we pride ourselves on the high level of service we provide to our clients. We will guide you through the entire process from marketing your home to guiding you through home inspections, contract negotiations, closing and everything in between. We oversee all the details to ensure a smooth and successful real estate transaction for you. 
 
Marketing Your Home

We customize an individual marketing plan for each home we sell. The marketing plan created for your home is designed to get your home the maximum amount of exposure in the shortest period of time. Each step of the plan we create for you will utilize proven techniques that leverage opportunities to showcase your home to the key people that can either buy your home or can help us find the right audience, whether it be homebuyers, local real estate agents, or investors. We will:

1. Create a customized marketing plan.

2. Strategically price your home through detailed market analysis to ensure you get the most money for your home.

3. Advise you on how to prepare and stage your home so it appeals to the most buyers. The Wethman Group has an accredited staging professional on our team and we have close relationships with many of the area’s top most trusted vendors. We will help you prepare your home to sell quickly and painlessly utilizing all our resources.

4. Place For Sale signage (as allowed).

5. Utilize professional, full-color postcards and brochures, and distribute Just Listed marketing materials to your  neighbors, encouraging them to tell their family and friends about your home.

6. Create a comprehensive web presence, with your home listed in the Multiple Listing Service, a custom website, and dozens of other sites (including all major brokerage sites — even competitors!), such as realtor.com, trulia.com, zillow.com, Craig’s List, Yahoo! real estate, and others.

7. Guarantee a complete and accurate Multiple Listing Service entry, timed to optimize views. This means we will enter 30 professional quality photos immediately to ensure we capture the attention of all “first alert” autosearches. Directions will be clear, addresses and subdivisions entered correctly, and all “optional” fields, e.g., distance to metro, will be entered.

8. Targeted Marketing to active real estate agents that specialize in selling homes in your neighborhood, as well as buyers who are likely to be interested in your property. We have a database of over 2,000 past clients and prospective buyers who regularly read our monthly newsletter.

9. Hold an Open House to promote your home to prospective buyers. Many of today’s buyers start their search online WITHOUT AN AGENT, and therefore have no way of seeing your home unless we hold open houses. Houses sell from open houses, especially in urban, walkable neighborhoods — we’ve seen it!

10. Provide you with weekly feedback updates detailing our marketing efforts, including comments from prospective buyers and agents that have visited your home. With these updates, we will update our strategy.


Finding a Buyer for your Home

Buyer behavior has changed in recent years. In the past, agents were the driving factors in identifying properties. In today’s market, many buyers identify potential properties online and then contact their agent for more information on a property of interest. This is why it’s so important to us that we have the absolute best internet presence of your home possible. Beautiful photos of a well‐staged home on the most trafficked real estate websites will help lead buyers to your property.

For the more traditional buyer, we will hold open houses, make sure your home has curb appeal and visible signage. Your home will also be featured on our website and highly trafficked blogs. 


                                From NAR- 2013 Buyer trends




Frequently Asked Questions:

Are agents of the Wethman group full time?

Yes, we are all full time licensed agents.


What can I expect at an initial meeting with a member of the Wethman Group?

You will meet with a member of the Wethman team to discuss pricing and review/sign the listing agreement. (If we don't agree on a reasonable price, we may not be able to work together.) Determining the appropriate list price may involve reviewing data and even visiting other active listings in your area. We will discuss your selling costs (closing costs) and your "net" proceeds.

Try to have prepared and available any paperwork related to the home: title insurance, deed, loan information (account number, lender, lender contact info, condo/homeowners' association contact info, condo/HOA dues, and any info on pending special assessments.

Also helpful is any information about updates you have made to the property and when they were done. If any appliances, HVAC, plumbing, or mechanical systems (e.g., windows, doors) do not work completely and fully as intended, discuss with us. Better to list those items "as‐is" now than to give up a credit to the buyer later. Identify any items that do NOT convey (curtains, hardware, chandeliers, custom‐built pieces, etc.).


How often will we have open houses held at our home?

Open houses are typically held the first weekend the home is on the market and every four to five weeks after, depending on circumstances. We track activity and report to sellers we


How will  my home be shown  to  potential  buyers?

Unless otherwise discussed a lockbox will be placed on your property. Agents have an electronic key assigned to them with a private password that allows them to open the lock box and get the keys to your home even when you’re not home. The lockbox registers which agents access the property and when they visit.

You will get calls from agents who wish to have their buyers view the property. Most agents try to give at least a few hours' notice, but sometimes they will be right out front when they call. Try to be as accommodating as possible. Often if they can't get in when they want, they won't make an effort to come back.

When an agent tells you when they'll be there, make sure the home is as neat and clean as possible, turn on all the lights, and open the shades. When possible, leave the home when it is being shown. If you must leave your pet there, it's best to have them crated (dogs). Leave a sign if there are special instructions (e.g., don't lock bottom lock, turn off all lights when done, don't let cat out, etc.). If you must be in the home, sit quietly in one room or wait outside while the buyers look around with their agent. Refer any inquiries to your agent at the Wethman Group.

Each agent should leave a business card. You should email us the agent's contact information each time you find a card at home so that we can follow up. Often there are delays in the lockbox data registration so it's best to let us know right away to ensure timely follow up.


Where else besides the multiple listing service (MLS) will my property be advertised?

The multiple listing service is by far the best place to advertise your home, but each home is unique, and we have a number of premium placement options for our listings, including the following:

Realtor.com: Showcase Listing Enhacements

Being a Showcase Listing subscriber increases the number of people actually opening the detail page of a listing by 116%!  So, for every 100 un-enhanced listings viewed, Showcase

Listings get 216 views! Showcase Listing subscribers can also upload additional photos, which increases views another 195% more.

Realtor.com Showcase Listings also allow for entry of open house data. These Open House Alerts drive buyers through the door. Visitors to an open house who learned about it via an alert were twice as likely to be “high quality” as visitors from the newspaper or from yard signs, according to a recent agent poll

 

Top Agent Network

The Wethman Group is a member of the invitation-only group The Top Agent Network . Only the top 10% agents in market qualify for this membership and it offers an exclusive invitation only networking group. 



Zillow Premier Agent Program

Zillow is the largest online real estate network.

Our team is part of the exclusive, Premier Agent Program which increases visibility for our listings, and extends beyond millions of monthly active home shoppers, to placement on Yahoo! Real Estate and mobile apps.

This program gives our listings additional visibility compared to homes on the market.

Being a Premier Agent with Zillow means that we will have premium placement through Buyer’s Agent lists and showcase ads.  The program offers innovative and powerful features to help generate more traffic to your home, which will ultimately help sell your home faster and for more money!


Expanded Keller Williams Internet Presence

Keller Williams Listing Service provides us with the tools to simply spread your listing across hundreds of websites, including these primary real estate sources. This feature is key to ensure that your home will be featured in front of thousands of individuals to capture interest! 

 

How will offers, negotiations and inspections work?

Offers: As offers come in, we will review the terms with you and proceed accordingly (accept, counter, reject).We will carefully discuss and manage any buyer contingencies such as financing, appraisal, and inspections.

Post‐Ratification: Once the contract is ratified, the buyers will likely conduct a home inspection. Discusswith us how to prepare for the inspection. Basic to‐do items include making sure all the lights work, replacingthe furnace filter, making sure the electrical panel and other infrastructure items are accessible, tightening all doorknobs and railings, and making sure windows and doors all open and close correctly. Make sure all ofthe appliances work. Run the whirlpool tub if you have one and don't use it often. It's also helpful to leave alist of any updates to the home and when they were made. If possible, have the instruction manuals and any warranty information available. You should not be present for the home inspection.

If your home has a pool, hot tub, fireplace, well, or septic, there may be special inspections for those.There may also be a termite inspection. 

The buyer's lender will send an appraiser to the property. A member of our team will sometimes meet the appraiser to discuss comparable properties.


What happens at settlement?

Pre‐Settlement: The buyers will do one last walk‐through just before settlement to make sure anynegotiated repairs were completed, and also to make sure all appliances, plumbing, and HVAC are workingnormally.

The Wethman Group will help coordinate settlement at a time convenient for you. All owners need to be present or provide a power of attorney. You will be contacted by the settlement company to obtain your loan information so they can pay off the loan(s) on your behalf at settlement. You may need to provide wiring instructions if you want your proceeds to be electronically transferred. A day or two before settlement you'll receive a HUD‐1 form detailing your closing costs and net proceeds. Bring a picture ID. And congratulations!

We are confident we can sell your home in the time frame you need, at the maximum price possible, and with a minimum of hassle.

For additional information or to schedule a listing consultation today, contact us!