Part 2 - The Listing 

Continued from Part 1 - The Reno

Ok. So now that the house is in tip top shape its time to call the real estate agent and get this house on the market. Oh wait, I am the agent. So as I do with every property I have to run the numbers, to see what the actual value of the house is. It's funny when I talk to clients I always tell them not to get emotionally attached to a dollar figure to early because it can crush them if they don't get it. Easier said than done. We thought "Oh ya we can get $400K for this place, look at it is awesome". After seeing some real crappy houses listed around the $320-330K mark and selling for just under $400K we thought this was going to be a slam dunk. The actual value of the house in my mind was around the $360-380K mark give or take. So we decided to try the market with no presentations of offers and list and a Conservative $339,900 to generate some interest.

With the listing papers in hand my wife and I sat down and started drawing up the documents. Now I have been through this countless times, but this was a first for Theresa. So as we went along I explained everything just as I would to a regular client so she knew exactly what she was signing. After we got the final signatures we celebrated with a high five! To be perfectly honest with all of you it was quite and exciting time. This was also a first for me selling a personal residence.

 Now it was time to carry on like i would any listing. I have a specific marketing plan i use for all properties that has been very successful in the past so no need to deviate from the plan. I took the pictures, sorted out the bad from the good and posted everything to my site. 2 hours later i had painted the house in the perfect light, and we were ready to advertise to the masses. First thing in the morning we both went to the computer to see what it looked like, as if I didn't know, i put it there and with huge smiles and excitement in our voices, our house was "ON THE MARKET!" woowhoo.

Wow what a gamete of emotions you go through when selling a home. I was completely taken by surprise, I figured because I've been through this time and time again it wouldn't affect me. I was wrong. The excitement of seeing it on the internet, the nervousness as it hit the MLS market, the anticipation of waiting for the phone to ring, the anxiety of the open house, the sometimes gut wrenching nerves waiting for offer presentation day. And finally the offer.

 I can truly say I will go into a listing presentation differently next time. I have a much better appreciation of what my sellers are going through. I also think I have to change a few things, change some of my approach to the selling process, and definitely be sure i am on my game the next time I list a property. The cool thing is i believe this is going make me a better agent, and thats good for everybody.

Thanks for following along. I would be interested to know how some of you felt during the listing process. Also to know how your agent handled your listing.

 Now for Part 3 - The Offer.

Thanks,
Scott Ziegler