THINKING ABOUT SELLING?

Picking the right real estate agent is a very important factor in selling your home.  If the only task an agent needed to do to sell your home was to put it in the Multiple Listing Service, then 100% of listings put on the MLS would be sold.  There’s a reason why different agents achieve different results.
Being a real estate professional is a job that involves sales skills, industry expertise, marketing, and most importantly customer service.  We make an honest effort to exceed our clients expectations in all of those categories.  Our aim is to create a life-long consumer relationship with all of our clients. There are four major groups of concentration that which Marina Bay Realty Group utilizes to sell your property and leave you with a pleasant experience. Please click on any of the four categories below for detailed information on the services we provide:

Listing Cancellation Guarantee
A lot of agencies will tell you everything you want to hear in order to get your business.  They make a lot of promises, then once the listing agreement starts you don’t receive the level of service you expected.  Now you’re stuck in their contract for the next 3-6 months.  Marina Bay Realty Group does something that most agencies never would.  We GUARANTEE our services.  We will agree to terminate any listing contract prior to the expiration date if you feel like we’re not doing a good job.  With this offer on the table, you can rest assured that we will do everything we can to exceed all of your expectations.
 

MARKETING

The main focus of our marketing campaign is to give your property the maximum amount of exposure. We want to get your property in front of every single buyer that is in the market for your type of property. Making your house look great in advertisements definitely helps, but the main focus should always be exposure.

PRIMARY METHODS

Almost 90% of today’s homebuyers use the internet to search for information on homes. Knowing this fact, we put our primary efforts into online advertising and internet marketing. To give your property the maximum amount of exposure, we will post your home on some of the most popular websites for home searching. A lot of time and effort is put into making sure your listing has beautiful photos and virtual tours that immerse buyers into the beauty of your home. Websites where your home will be seen are:

  • Realtor.com
  • Move.com
  • Trulia.com
  • Zillow.com
  • MLSListings.com
  • HGTV’s FrontDoor.com
  • Homes.com
  • MarinaBayRealtyGroup.com (featured)
  • Boston.com
  • HouseHuntersHandbook.com
  • Hotpads.com
  • Cyberhomes.com
  • ListingBook.com
  • HomeFind.com
  • The Boston Courant
  • Realestate.com
  • Yahoo! Homes
  • MLSHomeFinder.com
  • HomeFinder.com
  • MARealtor.com
  • MassachusettsRealEstate.com
  • RealEstateBook.com
  • DistinctiveHomes.com
  • MassLive.com
  • CPCOpenHouses.com
  • MapRealty.com
  • Realtors Property Resource
  • CLRsearch.com
  • BigCityApartments.com
  • SuburbanRealEstateNews.com
In addition (and perhaps the most important), we will put your property into the Multiple Listing Service (MLS). This is an internet networking tool that connects to approximately 30,000 licensed real estate professionals in Massachusetts alone. Information about your property is included in the regional database featuring everything on the market in real-time. Every real estate agent across the state uses this source on a daily basis. In turn, all of the buyer clients of those real estate agents will be notified as soon as your property is for sale. Secondary Methods Even though our focus is utilizing the internet to its maximum potential, we do not ignore other methods of marketing outside of the web. There’s still that small percentage of buyers that don’t use the internet that we’d like to expose your home to. These methods include:
 

  • Professional lawn sign that tells everybody driving by that your home is for sale
  • Newspaper advertisements such as the Patriot Ledger, Boston Globe, and other local papers
  • Direct mail
  • Open houses
  • Professional print advertising and flyers
  • Local home books and real estate magazines
  • Window display at our brand new sales office

ANALYSIS

We consistently follow the national, regional, and local real estate trends because it’s something we take pride in. We consider it an integral part of our jobs. Hiring a real estate agent who studies where the market is going can give you a major advantage when buying and selling properties. There are two ways we utilize data to benefit our sellers.  To establish the correct market value of their property, and to help them find the correct time to sell.
Comparative Market Analysis
The comparative market analysis (CMA) is what we use to determine the true market value of your property in today’s market condition and timing. To produce a CMA, we look at the current real estate market, examining everything that’s currently active, pending, expired, and sold.
We put a lot time into our CMA’s because a properly priced home is practically sold.  Price trumps all other factors including marketing approaches, market competitiveness, and sales skills. Sellers of listings that have expired usually blame the previous agent’s approach to marketing.  While marketing increases exposure, it cannot change the market value of the home. Supply and Demand is what really determines market value, and unfortunately no one has control over that.
On-the-button pricing is usually better than starting high and decreasing later. When your house is a new listing, it can really stand out in value. Buyers know that well priced houses sell fast. If it’s priced correctly it will lead to high traffic, high competition, and very good offers.  Buyers always ask how long the house has been on the market. When it gets over 2 months, they wonder what’s wrong with the property that no one else has bought it yet.  Instead of looking for positives they immediately start looking for negatives on the showing.  This will also bring in much lower offers because the buyers will think that the listing isn’t going anywhere.
Do not fall for other agent’s promises to sell your home above market value. Here’s the ugly truth: Some agents will do that on purpose and it’s called “buying the listing’s. They’re more interested in having their “FOR SALE” sign out front to increase their company’s exposure and attract buyers to sell other homes to.  Your quality of life will be interrupted consistently with showings, and you will receive no offers or very low ones.  We are more interested in a “SOLD” sign out front.
 

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Local and Regional Real Estate Trends
We consistently watch the market for all of our sellers.  The reason is so we can notify them of any recent trends that could have an effect on the value of their homes.  Many factors can influence the value assessment of your house either positively or negatively in the future.  Here are the statistics that we monitor on a monthly, quarterly, and annual basis:
Days On Market (DOM) Averages:This is where we take an average of days that properties have been on the market before they go under agreement (sale pending).  The average DOM is generally higher in a buyer’s market because inventory takes longer to sell.  In contrast, the DOM is lower in a seller’s market.
Average List Price to Sale Price Ratio:The average percentage of the homes asking prices versus the sale prices.  This number will show you what buyers and sellers normally agree to in the current market.  A house that asked for $100,000 and sold for $95,000 will have a ratio of 95%.  We can’t heavily rely on this statistic as well as the average DOM because it will be very different depending on whether the home is priced at, above, or below the true market value.
Median Sale Price:This is a great indicator of actual prices.  We like to calculate the median instead of the average because the average can get skewed by extremely low and extremely high home sale prices. Especially when looking at smaller markets.
Absorption Rate: The absorption rate is a statistic that measures current supply and demand.  It will calculate how many months it takes for the available inventory to be purchased.  We find this out by taking the current active listings and dividing it by the average units sold per month.  For the average number of units sold we go back 12 months so it takes into consideration the seasonal highs and lows of real estate sales.

EXPERIENCE

Utilizing our experience is one of the most important assets you are hiring us for.  Most home owners go through only a few real estate transactions in their lifetime.  We are actively involved in sales transactions every day.  By using our knowledge of the buying and selling process, you can avoid all the mistakes that could cost you thousands of dollars.  Here are just a few examples of functions that we execute on your behalf:

  • Presenting your property without opening you up to future liability
  • Making sure all advertisements conform to fair housing standards
  • Answering buyer questions without putting you in a weaker negotiating position
  • Using expert negotiation tactics to help you get the most money for your house
  • Helping you determine the strengths and weaknesses of every offer that is submitted
  • Modifying terms in the offer so they’re more favorable to you
  • Talking to the buyer’s loan officer to find out how strong their financing is (If this is not done properly, you could wait up to two months for a loan to come through that didn’t have a chance from the beginning) You could lose valuable time that your house was kept off the market
  • Making sure the buyer is putting the right amount of earnest money down so they can’t back out at the last minute and leave you in a tough situation
  • Handling objections and buyer demands after the home inspection
  • Creating the appropriate plan if you are trying to sell your property and buy another one at the same time
  • Helping you decide what to improve before listing your property for sale

 

SERVICE

When you hire a company, the customer service is what you really remember. When you have an experience that went above and beyond your expectations, you immediately become an advocate for that company. For this reason, we hold ourselves to a level of service and communication that goes above and beyond most real estate agents. We want you to be so delighted with Marina Bay Realty Grop that you would recommend us anytime you talk with someone about real estate.
One of the most common complaints that most people have had with their previous real estate agents is a lack of communication. Since we know this is a major problem, we try to exceed any expectations you have for us. We will always get back to you within 24 hours to answer any questions or concerns you may have. We will also keep you consistently updated on showings, feedback, and the progress of current transactions.

  • Arranging all showings for prospective buyers
  • Notifying any current tenants of future showings
  • Presenting the house to buyers using experienced sales skills
  • Acting as escrow agent for the buyer’s earnest money deposits
  • Drafting the purchase and sale agreement
  • Recommending the right attorney to represent you when needed
  • Properly filing all lead paint disclosure forms. If lead paint disclosures are not done correctly it can result in a civil penalty of up to $10,000
  • Walking through the property with the appraiser to make sure there are no issues
  • Arranging the smoke certification inspection with the fire department and coaching you on what needs to be done beforehand so it does not fail
  • Retrieving your final bills from the town’s water and sewer commission for the closing
  • There are a very small percentage of home owners who try to sell on their own. Even if they are successful they still have to perform all of the above tasks on their own and without experience

PREPARING YOUR HOME FOR SALE

The primary aim of pre-listing recommendations is to economically increase the warmth and desirability of the home, and to remove potential objections that buyers might have. The reason we recommend “economical” repairs is because the more money you spend, the higher the risk. Most major renovations like re-doing an entire kitchen or bathroom typically won’t recoup the investment after the sale. It might help you sell faster, but most of the time it is not worth your time and money. Keep in mind that the following recommendations are meant to bring your home up to expected consumer standards and make it competitive in the current marketplace. They’re not meant to achieve a higher sale price. We like to put these recommendations into 3 categories:

  • Increasing Curb Appeal: If a home has a poor and neglected exterior, a large percentage of buyers will drive by without even going inside. If they do go in they will already assume the entire house has been neglected and look for negatives instead of positives. Items we like to assess are siding quality, paint quality, paint colors, and landscaping
  • Interior Enhancements: The major items we assess are cleanliness, paint colors, flooring, counter tops, and fixtures. A buyer’s first impression of the interior is one of the most important aspects of selling a home. It’s very rare that a buyer will “warm up” to a house. If they don’t like it on first impression, they’ll never like it. An important task that sellers can also do is to remove all clutter. If there are too many belongings in a house, buyers won’t be able to “move-in” mentally with all of their stuff. Removing or re-arranging furniture that prohibits flow throughout the home, clearing counter tops of useless items, and putting away all knick knacks are some examples. It’s just a head start on packing that also helps the sale.
  • Repairing Defects: Before putting a house on the market, the seller should always do their own inspection. That does not mean you should spend $400 to have a professional inspector look at it. It means to do a thorough visual inspection on your own. Do you see anything that could come up during the buyer’s home inspection? Chances are that if it could, it will. If the inspector gives your potential buyer a laundry list of problems with the house, it can do two things. It can lead to requests of money off the agreed price, or it can give the buyer second thoughts on buying the house altogether. A lot of the time you can fix these items yourself at a cheaper cost than the discount that the buyer will ask for. Items to think about are the roof, siding, plumbing, heating, electrical, paint, flooring, fixtures, appliances, and cleanliness.

 

FOR SALE BY OWNER, WHAT’S THE ADVANTAGE?

Thinking about trying to sell your property without the help of a real estate agent? Before you do, make sure you weigh all the positives and negatives before you try to tackle this complicated process on your own. If successful, you do save yourself real estate commissions on your closing costs, but that shouldn’t be the only thing you’re thinking about.
Most buyers who search for FSBO’s are trying to get a break on the price. They think that since you don’t have to pay a commission to a real estate agent, they can definitely negotiate that much off of the asking price. Buyers are also scared to purchase a home without representation from an agent. They have to pay for an attorney to write an offer, find their own financing, find their own home inspector, handle all the details of the transaction on their own. Some wonder if the seller is hiding defects on the property. Almost 90% of buyers these days use a real estate, so if you refuse to work with them, you’ve already eliminated most of your market.
Don’t think that agent commissions are something you simply have to pay to sell your home. You’re also receiving a service that is a lot more intricate than you think.
Here are a few of the tasks that agents do for their sellers that you would otherwise have to do on your own:

  • Arranging all showings for prospective buyers
  • Notifying any current tenants of future showings
  • Presenting your property without opening you up to future liability
  • Presenting the house to buyers using experienced sales skills
  • Making sure all advertisements conform to fair housing standards
  • Answering buyer questions without putting you in a weaker negotiating position
  • Using expert negotiation tactics to help you get the most money for your house
  • Helping you determine the strengths and weaknesses of every offer that is submitted
  • Modifying terms in the offer so they’re more favorable to you
  • Talking to the buyer’s loan officer to find out how strong their financing is. If this is not done properly, you could wait up to two months for a loan to come through that didn’t have a chance from the beginning. You could lose valuable time that your house was kept off the market.
  • Making sure the buyer is putting the right amount of earnest money down so they can’t back out at the last minute and leave you in a tough situation
  • Handling objections and buyer demands after the home inspection
  • Acting as escrow agent for the buyer’s earnest money deposits
  • Drafting the purchase and sale agreement
  • Recommending the right attorney to represent you when needed
  • Properly filing all lead paint disclosure forms. If lead paint disclosures are not done correctly it can result in a civil penalty of up to $10,000
  • Walking through the property with the appraiser to make sure there are no issues
  • Arranging the smoke certification inspection with the fire department and coaching you on what needs to be done beforehand so it does not fail
  • Retrieving your final bills from the town’s water and sewer commission for the closing
  • Creating the appropriate plan if you are trying to sell your property and buy another one at the same time
  • Helping you decide what to improve before listing your property for sale (For more information read “Preparing Your Home for Sale” in the articles section.)

Is it worth your time to try to sell your property on your own? That’s up to you to decide, but just make sure you weigh all the pros and cons beforehand.