Get Out of the House
Welcome back to #KTQuickTips – Where we give you our tips and tricks to buying and selling real estate. We’re your favorite Milton Real Estate Agents, The Kormendy Trott Team! In episode #23 we discussed “Home Owners that Stick Around for Showings”. If you think this is okay, then you need to keep reading. The most successful sales occur when a buyer falls in love with a house, which is impossible to happen when the current owner is hovering and breathing down their neck. People need to be able to walk around and speak freely. It’s extremely awkward when there are other people there, especially the owner. We’d like to tell you about one strange experience in particular… One day, while we were out showing a home to clients, we walked into an unfinished basement. As we stepped onto the cold concrete floor we heard a shuffle in the corner. We assumed it was a dog in a crate. However, to our surprise, after turning on the lights, we found three people sleeping on the concrete floor! This was a first for us and seemed very peculiar, not to mention the fact that there were three perfectly good bedrooms upstairs. Not only do you want to make sure that you’re not in the house, you also want to depersonalize the house by removing or replacing photos of friends and family. Consciously or not, it is challenging for somebody to envision themselves living in a home while looking at photos of the current home owner. If you know a friend or a family member that’s considering to make a move, do them a favor and share this with them.
Giving Back
Our recent Free Skate and Food Drive at the Milton Sports Centre was a success! Despite booking our event during the exact hours of the 2018 Milton Santa Claus Parade, we had a great turn out with over 100 people on the ice and countless generous people simply stopping by to donate. This was our first go at such an event and we felt that given the time of year, a food drive and free skate was appropriate. Not to mention, the local Salvation Army’s food bank was in need of food for the holidays! All-in-all it was a fantastic event and we’re looking forward to next year’s. A big thank you to everyone who joined us! Sincerely, The Kormendy Trott Team See what you missed!
Top 5 Questions to Ask Your Real Estate Agent
In #KTQuickTips E145 Milton Real Estate Agents, Adrian and Ariel of The Kormendy Trott Team discussed 5 Questions to ask a Realtor when interviewing. Check them out below… IS YOUR COMMISSION NEGOTIABLE? Consider how much they are charging relative to the services, market knowledge, skill and value they’re providing. If the numbers aren’t in-line, and they’re willing to reduce their commission at the drop of a dime, seriously consider how effective they will be when it comes time to negotiating the selling price of your home. If they’re not proving their ability to do so when negotiating their own income, it’s likely an indication for how hard they will work to squeeze every penny out of your sale. WHAT IS YOUR ONLINE MARKETING STRATEGY? Buyers are shopping online so you need to make sure you have a ton of online exposure. Social media websites are extremely effective at connecting with prospective buyers. Targeted advertising, high quality photos, great videos and other mediums are essential. You should check out your real estate agent’s social media pages – Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. See how active they are and how they are currently listing and promoting their active properties. HOW WILL YOU STAGE MY HOME? If they have no plan in place or a very poor plan, the result will be poor too. Properly staged homes sell for more money. Make sure they have a great plan to ensure your home look amazing. Also, make sure they’re providing things like furniture, accessories, and artwork where needed. Oftentimes it comes down to the smallest details. DO YOU WORK FULL-TIME OR PART-TIME? Real estate is a very fast-paced industry. You need to make sure you’re working with a full-time agent who will always be there to answer your questions and handle any inquiries from prospective buyers and buyer’s agents. If they can’t be there at all times, it will likely cost you thousands of dollars. DON’T FORGET TO ASK FOR REFERENCES. They’re going to provide you a list of glowing references, but take it a step further. Go and knock on doors of people’s homes that have sold with that agent in the past or that are currently listed for sale. Ask them for their opinion – You’ll get unbiased, candid feedback. Another great option is to go online to websites like Facebook and Google for unbiased, unedited reviews.