When you’re selling your home, there are lots of factors that go into selling your property at the highest possible price. As a realtor with lots of experience, Stirling knows and understands what goes into making your home as attractive of an asset as it can be:
Comparative Market Analysis
This is a crucial first step in the partnership between you (the seller), and the realtor. Comparing your home to other similar properties that have recently sold or are currently on the market helps you figure out exactly how to sell your home at the best price you can, whether that is pricing your home at fair market value, creating a situation to encourage competing offers, or another strategy altogether. All the marketing in the world won't help your property sell if it's overpriced. An overpriced home may end up costing you significantly more in the long run due to price reductions than a house priced properly in the beginning.
Home Staging/Styling
Home staging/styling is an extremely helpful tool to help you sell your home fast and at top dollar. It makes things so much easier for prospective homebuyers to envision what the space might look like if they lived there. Whether your budget calls for styling (rearranging the space and what is already there), or staging (bringing in furniture, accent pieces, artwork, etc. to give your home a makeover), you’ll get more out financially than you put into it. According to the Real Estate Staging Association, putting in 1% of the sale price into staging gives about 75% of sellers an ROI of anywhere between 5% to 15% over asking price!
Professional Photography
Most people will see your property for the first time online; if your photos look they were taken on someone’s phone rather than by a professional, you’ll be hard-pressed to get anyone in the door. People are far more likely to view a home from a seller that took the time and effort to showcase the home with high-quality photos taken by professionals.
Signage
Open houses can’t happen without letting people know! There are times when custom signage is needed, or sign riders, to highlight certain aspects of homes, along with directional signage to guide potential home buyers towards the property. Whether your property is at the end of a one-way street, or you live a few blocks from a main road and you want to attract as many viewers as possible, signage can be a helpful first step to getting people in the door!
Local Knowledge
A local real estate agent (especially one with as much experience as Stirling) knows the Calgary market very well; what prices homes sell at, what things can drive your value up, other clients of theirs, or clients of other realtors, that they know of that might be interested in your property. A realtor like Stirling has their ear to the ground when it comes to things like when are good times to sell, if interest rates are hiking or dropping, etc.
Networking
Networking has become one of the most important tools to help you sell your home, ESPECIALLY over the past few years since the outbreak of COVID-19. Connecting with other realtors, buyers and investors through the real estate network is something Stirling can help you with, and there are also lots of social media groups that Stirling and his team uses to market listings around on, as well as multiple social media platforms (Instagram, Facebook and Youtube primarily), substantially increasing potential viewership of your property!
Negotiation Skills
Home negotiation can be extremely stressful, with offers and counter offers that can be anywhere from a few thousand dollars in price difference to a few million dollars; using an experienced realtor who’s been negotiating deals (like Stirling) usually leads to a higher selling point.
Handling Paperwork
The amount of forms, reviews, checklists and signatures required to do every real estate deal is extremely complicated and risky if you don’t use someone like Stirling who understands every aspect of the process. It’s worth the potential legal action that can come with trying to do the deal by yourself; let a realtor help you out!
Time Management
It’s easier said than done; trying to line up a sale and purchase in a timeline that works for you can be very scary. Or selling your house before buying, not knowing where you and your family might end up next. A realtor will do everything they can to make sure the timeline that works best for you is followed. That’s not even including all the paperwork, negotiating, networking and everything else that goes into selling your home!
Stirling uses all these steps and more to make his clients happy. He knows the value of customer satisfaction, and he will work tirelessly to bring you the best offer he can, so you come back as clients, and so you can tell other people about the great work he’s doing, and help him grow his business to better serve more people in Calgary!
