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Step 4: Disclosures
While the house is being staged the Agent should coordinate some of the other prep work for the marketing of the property. This work includes a pre-inspection if it is a house or ordering the Status Certificate from the property manager if it is a condo. While the Agent is doing this the Seller can fill out a ‘Seller Property Information Statement’, SPIS, form. This is a form that was generated by the industry in order to help bring better transparency to the home buying process. It is filled out by the current homeowner and discloses any issues that may exist and asks questions about the age and state of the property. These items show that there is nothing to hide and discloses all the deficiencies up front so that hopefully there is no need for a conditional offer. It also saves the Seller from going through problems after an agreement has been made and potentially saves them from a law suit.
Step 5: Floor Plans
Another thing that can be done while the staging occurs is to have professional floor plans drawn up. Floor Plans are technical measurements that show each aspect of the house, walls, doors, windows, radiators, etc… They should be made available both online and included in the feature sheets. The floor plans will allow people to understand the layout of the home before they see the home, remember where everything is after they see the home, and can be shown to other interested parties who could not physically see the house.
Once the house has been staged, the pre-inspection done, and the floor plans drawn up it is time for the fresh flowers and photographer.
Step 6: Professionally Photograph the Home
It is well worth an Agent’s money to bring in a professional photographer to capture a home at its very best. These photos form the foundation of the marketing for the property. I have had Buyers refuse to “waste their time” visiting a home because of poor quality grainy pictures that they see on line, even though the house had everything they want. I know that it sounds crazy, but the photographs really make that big a difference.
Photographs are used in many different ways, all of which are critical to the effective marketing of the property. They are used for Feature Sheets, Newspaper ads, MLS listings, personal agent websites, company websites, affiliated corporate sites, syndicated sites, custom property websites and various other sources necessary for marketing the home effectively. Sometimes they are even used as Christmas cards by the new purchasers, but that is a long story.
Point and shoot photography simply lowers the perceived value of the Home and all of the marketing. It also tells you that the Agent may not know where to wisely invest their marketing dollars. During your Agent interviews be sure to ask prospective Agents if they use professional photographers. If they scoff take note.
