The Cleary Team - RE/MAX Realtor of Bergen County, NJ

Selling your home for Top Dollar

Number 1 Seller's Tip...

The absolute # 1 tip I can offer you to help you get the most money possible for your home is this. Make sure you get full MLS (Multiple Listing Service) coverage.

Don't look at any offers until you are sure your home is on the MLS computer. I will say this again. Don't look at any offers until you are sure your home is on the MLS computer. An army of Realtors at your disposal can't be beat. Any Realtor that tries to tell you to put your house on exclusive (only his/her company) for a couple of weeks, or suggests post-dating the listing or wants you to negotiate offers before it gets on MLS, does not have your best interests at heart.

Say goodbye to any Realtor that wants to list your house on a Friday and have a public open house the following Sunday. There is not enough time to get your home on the system. You are not hiring a Realtor to put a sign on the lawn, an ad in the paper, and hold an open house. You can do this yourself. You are hiring a Realtor to provide you with maximum exposure to the greatest number of qualified buyers for your home.

I do not care how good a Realtor's marketing plan is, it is worthless compared to the value of having your home on the MLS system.

Think of it this way:

Realtor = home on MLS = most Realtors = most buyers = most money.

There is a saying in real estate. The first offer is usually the best one. This is only true, if everyone knows it's for sale. Real estate surveys I have done showed the owner lost an average of $3000 when their house was sold by the same office/realtor. Keep in mind, this was an average. Others lost even more. The reason...the offer was written before any one else knew it was for sale.

When interviewing agents, ask them what the order of their marketing plan is. If submit to MLS is not the first thing they are going to do, you are talking to the wrong Agent. If you took away every selling tool I had, and said I could only have one of them back, I would choose the MLS service. This is not a commercial for MLS. It is just the best weapon Realtors and the public have for getting maximum exposure on property.. MLS is a strong selling tool,...use it... It will make a big difference to your bottom line.

About the Author of this article
Don Sutton has been selling Edmonton real estate, day in and day out, since 1975. 100% club, RRS. Over 1000 happy customers. Learned from the best and fully computerized.
Article reprinted courtesy of Total Real Estate Solutions.