Dave Ratti
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Your Steps to Selling Successfully

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Step 4: Market Your Property

If you bought a car, you could purchase a given model with selected features from any dealer. Since the car comes from one assembly plant, it's going to be the same whether purchased from dealer "A" or dealer "B".

Homes are different. Each is unique, the marketplace is always in flux, interest rates constantly change and new buyers search for homes each day. With such fluidity, it requires a knowledgeable Real Estate Agent to craft marketing plans specifically for individual homes and market conditions.

Selling can entail a variety of marketing strategies. Once listed, it's likely that the home will be quickly entered into the local MLS (Multiple Listing Service).   Agents routinely market by mail with new-listing announcements and regular newsletters. Open houses, broker access to the home via the use of a lock box and networking with both local and out-of-town brokers are also common.

Much of a agent's work will be quiet and unseen -- yet important. The quiet telephone calls, the work with contacts, the follow-ups with open-house visitors, conversations with ad respondents, the web postings and other outreach efforts are all part of the process required to sell homes.

Dave Ratti's Team base their marketing efforts on previous transactions and ongoing research. For instance, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), 37 percent of all buyers check the Internet. NAR numbers also show that most households move within 10 miles of their current location while 20 percent move at least 50 miles. This means much local marketing would pay dividends.

How to market your home.
If you look at a typical transaction you can see that there are five general areas where Dave Ratti's Team can assist in the home-selling process.

  • Preparation: Before being placed on the market, homes must be in "show" condition. Dave can explain what repairs and upgrades are required for individual homes which are most likely to produce the best results.
     
  • Pricing: Brokers do more than price homes for sale, they also construct sale terms designed to speed the selling process. It may be, for example, that a home priced at $150,000 with a 2 percent seller credit to the buyer at closing will be far more attractive to purchasers than a home priced at $147,000. Why? That 2 percent credit is worth $3,000 to the purchaser at closing -- the time when buyers are most likely strapped for cash.
     
  • Marketing: Dave Ratti and his team will execute strategies and programs to get the home sold. This always includes placement on our local MLS, as well as related marketing, advertising and networking.
     
  • Negotiation: Dave Ratti assists owners in the bargaining process, offering advice and counsel as offers are received and by working closely with legal counsel, tax specialists and inspectors as required.  Only 20+ years in Real Estate can offer this immense advantage.
     
  • Closing: Once a contract for the purchase of a home has been accepted, a series of inspections and checks are typically required to satisfy buyers and lenders. Dave's team can help owners complete the transaction process by assisting with the many requirements found in a typical sale agreement.

How to hold an open house.
In the case of a typical open house, a Real Estate Agent typically advertises that the home will be open for a given period (2-5 p.m. on Sunday). During the open period, the Agent hosts the home while the owners leave for a few hours.

At the open house, the Agent will provide literature, maintain a visitor log and answer questions. By interacting with visitors, the Agent will seek feedback regarding the home and opportunities to follow up with prospective purchasers.
 

How do you show your home online?
The Internet is an important factor in real estate marketing and will likely become more important in the future.

The Internet has two important roles in the real estate selling process. First, it is a "place" to view real estate. Dave Ratti and Weymouth Realty lists it's homes on DaveRatti.com and WeymouthRealty.com, and in addition the MLS and Internet sites countrywide.  Most importantly, you can sign up for ESP - which is our Enhanced Sellers Program, of which one feature allows Buyers to be e-mailed you new Listing directly.