The Pros and Cons of a Pocket Listing

As a method of selling your home, a pocket listing offers both advantages and disadvantages that I want to discuss today.

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What is a pocket listing? What does that mean for you as a seller? A pocket listing is a listing that the seller has agreed to sell but has not made the choice to officially list it for sale yet. You won’t find these types of listings on the regular MLS or on the Internet. The seller, though, has visited with a real estate agent and told them that they’d be interested in selling the house if the agent can find them a buyer. There are both advantages and disadvantages to selling your house this way. One advantage is that you can maintain your privacy throughout the sale. Another advantage is that because the home doesn’t spend a lot of time on the market, you only have to deal with a small pool of buyers and avoid a surplus of showings. These factors generally make this selling method the most stress-free. Do we use pocket listings? Absolutely. We help many clients sell their house before it even goes on the market. We do that through something called an “off-market property list.” As soon as someone tells us they’re interested in selling their house, they’ll go onto our off-market property list and we try to match that house with home buyers we’re working with who we think might be interested.

Pocket listings can be a very valuable tool to get your home sold.

One very clear disadvantage to pocket listings is the limited amount of exposure they offer. Because it’s not a regular listing, a pocket listing won’t get the benefits of a full marketing package. A related disadvantage is the house will also probably have less foot traffic. If fewer people (and agents) know that your home is for sale, there will naturally be less activity surrounding it. Depending on your circumstance, pocket listings can be a valuable tool in helping you get your house sold. If you have any questions about this or any other topic, feel free to reach out to us. We’re here to help!

How to Survive Living in Your Home While It's on the Market

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Timing your move perfectly is a very tough thing to do. Since many people have to live in their home until they sell, we want to offer some tips on how to make the process go as smooth as possible.

The first thing I would encourage people to do is start packing things up now. A lot of people want to hang on to things and pack everything up at the last second, but this only makes the selling process a bit more complicated than it needs to be.

Next, I recommend storing, selling, throwing away, or donating things you are not using anymore. If there is stuff you're not using anymore or that you're planning on selling, think about giving it away to a local charity, throwing it out, or selling it. There's simply no reason to hold on to it if you're done with it!

The next thing you need to do is get the house looking squeaky clean. It's amazing how big of a difference having a clean house will make when you're selling. It sounds crazy, but having a clean house can literally make a $5,000-$10,000 difference.

While the home is on the market, you need to be sure to maintain the privacy and security of the home. Since you're going to be showing the home to strangers, you need to ensure your valuables are secure and put away.

Lastly, involve your kids in the process. We've found that families who include their kids in the process are a lot less stressed. Sometimes you can make cleaning up the home before a showing a game or a competition. This won't work for every kid, but there are ways to get your whole family involved in the moving process.

If you do it all right, you might not even have to show your home that much before it sells! If you have any questions or if you would like our help, don't hesitate to give me a call or shoot me an email. I would love to hear from you!

Tips for Selling Your Home in the Fall

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Today, we'll discuss tips for selling your home this fall. There are a few things you can do to set yourself up for success.

As we go into the fall, you will be competing against more homes due to increased inventory. You will probably also see houses sitting on the market for a bit longer. That doesn't have to be you.

First, make sure you stage the house. We can help you stage your home so that when it goes on the market, it competes favorably with all the other homes on the market. Make sure your landscaping is clean and neat, the home is decluttered, and the home looks inviting and spacious.

If there are issues in the home, we want to resolve any of those issues that would turn buyers away. We want the house to show as well as it possibly can.

Second, you have to price your home well. The number one thing you could do to damage your home sale is overprice your home. If you overprice your house, it will sit on the market longer. Price it realistically in light of what homes are going for in the current market.

Finally, you want to make sure your home gets great exposure. A lot of that rests on the real estate agent's shoulders. We put a lot of money into marketing in order to get your home fantastic exposure. We even track which forms of media in marketing get the best results with buyers. That way, we can maximize your home's exposure. We want your house to be the one that everyone's talking about.

If you have any questions, give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you!