Here's a recent success story from my team member, Zach Whalen:

“I recently sold a house for $115,000 over asking in the Valley. Here’s how my team and I did it:

This client was very important to me, as she was my older sister. Having gone through a difficult stage in her life, she was ready to sell this home and embark on a new journey with her young son. 

#1: My team leader, Tristan Ritchie, and I headed out to the home to do our initial walk-through of the property. Most agents would say, “Let’s just list it how it is. It’s a hot market. We know it will sell.” However, we always want our clients to get the most amount of money for their homes. After all, a home is one of the largest investments you’ll make in your life. We completed a room-by-room analysis and estimated her home’s value at $300,000. Next, we broke down what improvements could be made to boost the value of her home. 

#2: Taking the analysis seriously, our client ended up spending about $4,000 to finish the countertops in the kitchen, add trim on the main floor, complete paint touch-ups, and thoroughly clean. Our ultimate goal was to ensure that the main level would be immaculate for showings, and present the unfinished basement as a space with plenty of potential. 

#3: Once the work was completed, our professional stager utilized our warehouse of furniture to create a warm and welcoming environment that we knew would impress potential buyers. Our team never sells an empty home. We do our best to create spaces that allow buyers to envision themselves living there and increase the value of the property overall. This part of our selling package is invaluable and completely free to our clients!

#4: Following staging, our team went to complete another walk-through. We estimated the post-improvements/staging value to be roughly $330,000-$340,000. Our seller’s investment of $4,000, minimal work, and effective staging increased the value of her home by approximately $30,000!!

#5: Next, our photographer came in to capture the space. Our professionals use effective angles, a high-quality camera, and advanced editing software to ensure that the photos are of the best quality to use in all of our listing and marketing materials. Our brokerage marketing staff creates a unique plan for each listing to ensure that the most amount of potential buyers will view the property.

#6: Before we list a property, we sit down with our clients to discuss a pricing strategy that suits their needs. The three strategies are; under-pricing, market value pricing, and over-pricing. My sister was pressed for time, as she had already found another home and was anxious to begin the next stage in her life. With the time crunch in mind, she chose an under-pricing strategy to drive up interest and ensure that we received an offer quickly. We listed the home slightly under market value and executed all of our pre-planned marketing strategies.

#7: After four days on market, we received a total of nine offers. Three were above what we were expecting - but one was the clear winner. The offer presentation was emotional, especially when the winning bid came up. My sister was so excited that she broke down in tears, knowing that the additional money would allow her and her son to live comfortably in this next stage of her life.”

This was an incredible moment for me to witness as a team leader. I couldn’t be happier to have such a diligent and hard-working agent on my team. Zach is a phenomenal agent and an even better person! I wish all of the luck to his sister and their son moving forward!