Whether you are buying or selling your home, I cannot emphasize enough how important it is that you research the Realtor you choose to help you. For most people, the home they buy or sell is the single largest asset they own. Choosing the right real estate agent should not be taken lightly.

Not all real estate agents are the same. We all have different ways we practice our business. That is why I strongly recommend you interview at least three agents before deciding who you wish to hire to help you buy or sell your home. When we buy a car, we often test drive more than one car. Real estate should be no different. Find the right Realtor that has the business model that is best suited to meet your needs.

One of the things that I pride myself on is having a business model that is not your typical Realtor business model. I don’t base my success on how many homes I have sold in a given period of time. Nor do I base my success on how many real estate awards I have won. In fact, I can honestly say that based on the way I operate my business, I will never win any of the awards that Realtors win in our market place.  I spend far too much time with my individual clients to do the type of volume required to win any such awards.

As Realtors we wear two very different hats. One is where we help sellers sell their home. The other is where we help buyers find their new home. The roles we play, and how we help differs greatly.

How I help Winnipeg Home Sellers

When I am hired to help someone sell their home I believe I have three responsibilities. First is to help my clients get their homes ready for market. Secondly is to help educate home sellers on the market to ensure the right selling price is chosen. And lastly, is to have a comprehensive marketing plan to ensure the home is seen by as many buyers as possible.

• Home Preparation

As previously mentioned, chances are your home is your single largest asset. Making sure your home looks its best is vitally important in determining how much your home will sell for. This step is sadly overlooked when many sell their home. A properly prepared home will sell for thousands of dollars more without tons of time or money invested. Most importantly, it will ensure your home stands out from your competition

This is step that I like to roll up my sleeves and get involved with. This is also how I believe I very much differentiate myself as a Realtor. I am in the real estate trenches on a daily basis. I know what appeals to buyers and what doesn’t. This is why I take a very active role in helping my clients make sure their homes stand out.

Along with the clients that hire me, we spend a week or two fixing up their home. This can be painting, decluttering, installing baseboards or anything else that is needed to get your home ready. A great portion of my time is spent with my home sellers painting, caulking, or a hundred other jobs I do to ensure my clients sell their home for the highest possible dollar.

After we have “spruced up” the home, many homes can use a little staging. I carry a wide variety of household goods to help stage your home. From art work to lamps to bedding to you name it. I have two storage lockers full of items that can go in the homes I sell if they require it.

I cannot emphasize enough how critical this step is. I also believe strongly that the agent you hire should take an active role in helping you make sure your home looks its best.

• Pricing your home

Ensuring your home is priced properly is also an important step in selling your home for the highest possible dollar. I am constantly studying the market. Looking at market trends. Paying attention to interest rates and how they may effect selling your home. My role here is to make sure I provide you with as much information as possible so that you can choose just the right price to list your home at.

I will perform a comprehensive market evaluation. This will show you what similar homes to yours are currently for sale and what homes similar to yours have recently sold for.

• Marketing Your Home

This is another very critical step to ensure your home sells in a timely fashion and for the highest possible dollar. Often this is also a step that people don’t pay attention to when hiring a Realtor to sell their home. The marketing plan is what will determine how many potential buyers see your home, and of course that also means how many buyers will come view your home.

The right marketing plan must include much more than just putting up a for sale sign and placing your home on the MLS. This however is the entire marketing plan for many agents. When interviewing agents it is very critical they give you a detailed plan of how they intend to market your home.

I leave no stone unturned when marketing a home. Each and every day I have a home listed I find different ways to expose your home to all potential buyers. In excess of 93% of home buyers now get their information about homes for sale online first. It is critical your home has comprehensive online presence. I create individual web sites for each and every home I list. www.youraddress.com This allows me to upload fifty or sixty pictures of your home for buyers to look at. Exposing your home through social media and all other online avenues. Advertising your home through a wide variety of mediums is also very critical.

All three of these steps take a great deal of time to implement. This is why I never take more than 5 listings at any given time. While many agents will carry 10, 20 or even up to 30 listings at one time; there is no way, based on my marketing plan I have the time to do that. In order to focus on ensuring your home looks its best and gets as much exposure as possible I simply can’t take more than five listings at one time. There are only 24 hours in a day.

The upside to that is that I can confidently say that I will ensure your home sells and sells for the highest possible dollar. As previously mentioned, I will never win a real estate award. Real estate awards are based on the volume of business a Realtor does. My business model is not set up for volume. The one thing I do take pride in however is being able to say that I have sold every home I have listed since 2004. While many agents have several homes they list expire every month, I have sold every home I have listed for 12 years running now.

How I help Winnipeg Home Buyers

When it comes to helping buyers I feel my one and only job is to make sure they make an informed buying decision. My goal is to educate the buyers I work with. I do this in two ways:

• Educate buyers on the market

Buying a home is a huge economic decision. Making the wrong buying decision can have negative economic consequences for you and your family for years to come. I believe one of my roles is to ensure the buyers I work with understand the market place and the value of the homes they are considering.

One of the things I do for buyers is a market evaluation on every home that they might be interested in. A market evaluation looks at similar homes and what they have recently sold for. What better way to learn the value of homes than to see market evaluations on homes that pique your interest. This allows the clients I work with to get a great sense of the value of homes and ensure they make the right economic decisions.

• Educate Buyers on the condition of homes

One of the things I take great pride in is having a great working knowledge of the structure and mechanics of a home. I have spent hundreds and hundreds of hours learning about homes. Educating myself on all the components of a home. When I show my clients homes, I go through the entire home. Dissecting each part of it.

I go through the heating, electrical, and plumbing systems. I look at the windows, the roof and of course the overall structural integrity of a home. I can let my clients know the condition of each component, how much life they have left and of course the cost to replace anything that needs to be replaced. When I show a home to my clients I feel quite confident they know what they are purchasing.

I don’t comment of any cosmetic attributes of a house. That is a personal choice. You don’t need a Realtor to tell you how wonderful the wall colours are. I do however feel it is my responsibility to inform you as much as possible about the overall condition of a home.

My goal is to ensure my clients make a great investment and know exactly what they are buying.

I hope that gives you a little bit of an insight into how I operate my business. As I previously said, I really think it is important you interview a few agents before you decide who will help you buy or sell your home. I ask that you consider that I am one of the agents you interview.

If you have any questions or would like to interview me I can be reached at (204) 999-6493 or by email at cseier@mts.net

Thanks

Carl