Barbara Gwaltney

Home much home can I afford?  (calculate principle and interest only)

1. Without a professional, you may not sell as quickly. Your monthly carrying costs—mortgage, utilities, homeowner's insurance, gardener, trash removal, and routine maintenance—could end up costing you more than the commission.
2. You're gaining an objective negotiator who'll work to get you the best dollars and terms possible in your market and in a timely fashion.
3. You'll benefit from my knowledge of competent home inspectors, architects, contractors, designers, landscapers, all of whom you might want to hire to get your house ready to list.
4. Your home will be listed on the MLS and promoted through my advertising and marketing campaign, which includes newspaper and magazine ads, our company's real estate TV program, special newspaper inserts, brochures, my Web site and REALTOR.com. Such exposure would be costly to do on your own.
5. You're getting numerous open houses, possibly three over the course of a 60-day listing.

6. I'll run a direct-mail campaign with colored fliers mailed first class.

7. I'm part of a relocation network that refers potential buyers moving to the area, so I can help you reach qualified transferees, who are among the most motivated buyers.
8. You don't have to run home from work or stop other activities to show your house.

9. You're getting my services and creativity without sharing in my overhead—office lease, employee payroll, technology support, file management, telephone expenses.

As Your Real Estate Agent I will help you with the following:

• Set the price. Pricing your property is a balancing act. You want the highest price possible but don't want your home to sit on the market, which might raise questions about its salability. A salesperson knows what properties like yours have recently sold for. The salesperson can tell whether your home—with its particular location, features, and condition—can fetch more, or less, than similar listings. And a salesperson knows whether the market is heating up or cooling down.
• Be objective. Selling a well loved home can be an emotional experience. A salesperson can help keep you focused, provide valuable feedback on changes or repairs you should make to help the home sell, and act as a buffer during negotiations.
• Provide marketing muscle. Despite what a few owners would have you believe, homes don't sell themselves. A salesperson will market your home to the widest audience of potential buyers through brochures, ads, Web sites, and open houses. A salesperson will also put your property on the local multiple listing services. From there, it's likely to be dispatched to REALTOR.com, where it can be viewed nationally by relocating buyers.
• Qualify buyers. A salesperson can help determine whether buyers are serious by getting answers to important questions about buyers' motivation and purchasing power and by ensuring the buyers have pre-qualified for a mortgage.
• Finalize the deal. Selling a house is complicated. It involves disclosure forms, inspection reports, deeds, mortgage documents, and insurance policies. A knowledgeable salesperson will help you avoid delays and costly mistakes.

Understanding representation

It's important to understand what legal responsibilities your real estate salesperson has to you and to other parties in the transaction. Although laws vary by state, relationships generally fall into these categories:

• Seller's representative. A seller's representative (also known as a listing agent or seller's agent) is hired by and represents the best interests of the seller. The relationship usually is created by a listing contract.
• Buyer's representative. This type of licensee (also known as a buyer's agent) is hired by prospective buyers to represent them in a real estate transaction. The buyer's rep works in the buyers' best interest throughout the transaction. The buyers can pay the licensee directly through a negotiated fee, or the buyers' rep may be paid by the seller or by a commission split with the listing broker.
• Disclosed dual agent. Dual agency is a relationship in which the brokerage represents both the buyer and the seller in the same real estate transaction. Dual agents typically owe limited duties to each of the parties. Because of the potential for conflicts of interest in a dual-agency relationship, it's vital that all parties give their informed consent. In many states, this consent must be in writing. Disclosed dual agency, in which both the buyer and the seller consent to the brokerage representing both of them, is legal in most states.
• Designated agent. This is a brokerage practice that allows the managing broker to designate which licensee in the brokerage will act as a representative of the sellers and which will act as a representative of the buyers in a transaction in which the brokerage is representing both. Designated agency avoids the problem of dual agency. The designated agents give their respective clients full representation. The broker has the responsibility of supervising both licensees.
• Transaction broker. A transaction broker (also known as a facilitator) represents neither party and therefore isn't an agent, or fiduciary, in the transaction. Nonagency relationships vary considerably from state to state, both as to the duties owed to the consumer and the name used to describe those practicing it.

As Your Real Estate Agent I will utilize the following to help market and sell your home.

Technology:

·         Intense research to verify all the comparables to determine the fair market price of your home, with your input of course

·         Put a lock box on your home so other REALTORS can show your home to prospective buyers

·         Enter your home into the MRIS system, which is available to all 11,000 Real Estate Agents in Northern Virginia

·         Take professional photos of your home and make very informative and professional brochures about your home and community

·         A FOR SALE sign in your yard

·         Brochure Boxes (silent salesman)

·         800 long distance telephone number

·         Internet-broadcasting listing information to buyers world wide

·         Email-communicating with buyers world wide

·         24 hour pager/cell phone

·         In-house desktop publishing capabilities

 Advertising:

• Home Buyers Journal
• Loudoun Easterner
• Connection newspapers
• Washington Post newspaper
• 600 person client database
• Top 50 Agent exchange system in NVAR
• Broker’s Open (where necessary)
• Open House (where necessary)
• Affiliated referrals-Lenders, Appraisers, Attorneys, etc
• Re/Max referrals
• Other agent referrals
• Network marketing