Sellers Field Guide

In her years as a real estate professional, Debbie Finch has earned the admiration and respect of both he colleagues and clients. Her dedication to her business and community is unwavering. She is an active member of the National, Washington and Snohomish County Association of Realtors. Debbies dedication to the advancement and growth of her profession is most evident by her having earned the prestigious designation of Certified Residential Specialist, a level of education and knowledge of which less than 1% of all real estate professionals achieve. Debbie has consistently remained in the top percentile of sales in her office and serves as a mentor to new agents. She is aware, involved and devoted to the well-being of what she loves mostthe neighborhood. Aside from her knowledge of the many neighborhoods she works in, her contributions of time to her own North Everett community, participation in Windermeres annual Service Day along with numerous projects throughout the year with the Windermere Foundation are only some of the many ways in which Debbie gives back to her community. More importantly to you, Debbie respectfully guides her clients. Educates them. Protects them. Thats her commitment.

Debbie Finch Windermere Real Estate/M2, LLC (425) 346-9490 dfinch@windermere.com

A home is not a mere transient shelter; its essence lies in its permanence, in its capacity of accretion and solidification, in its quality of representing, in its details, and in the personalities of the people who live in it.
-H.L. Mencken, 1926

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The Challenge
As Paige Rense once said, Everyone has...in some quiet corner of his mind, an ideal home waiting to become a reality. When selling your home, it needs to resonate with the ideal home people carry in their minds. Thats not always easy. Selling your home can be a complicated, timeconsuming and demanding effort. It can also be emotionally and financially draining, requiring tough choices to be made. Selling your home is made even more difficult by the complexity of the real esate market. Its far too vast, complicated and full of pitfalls for most people to negotiate by themselves. Thats where a real estate professional such as myself proves valuable. I know how to sell homes quickly and at the highest value. My average of listing to sales price is within 4% and they usually sell sooner than the average time on the market. using tried and true methods, I will help you prepare your home for sale by focusing on the things that matter most to Buyers. Thats what this guide is all about.

Debbie Finch / Windermere Real Estate / M2, LLC

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My Philosophy
Just as selecting a physician, attorney or an accountant is a decision you shouldnt take lightly, the same holds true for selecting your real estate professional. While knowledge is crucial, hard work, unsurpassed service, attention to detail and caring is what sets real estate professionals apart. Putting the service of my clients first and foremost, is not a decisionits my nature. While I watched other real estate professionals spend 80% of their time trying to find new clients, I soon found I had plenty of work because my reputation for superior service attracted clients to me. Today, referrals are the core of my business and I strive to create lifetime clients in each relationship. At the core of this relationship, I pledge to do everything I can to guide you wisely and ask that you rely on me for direction and insight in the weeks and months ahead. My focus is to give you my entire body of knowledge to comfortably sell your home with as little stress as possible. It is my promise to be your advocate and I truly love being of service to my clients. As the saying goes: love what you do, and everything else will follow. I have found that to be true.

Debbie Finch / Windermere Real Estate / M2, LLC

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My Role and Responsibilities

What does Washington State law say about my role and responsibilities and in regards to your interests? As your Listing Agent, I will represent you and your interests in the sale of your home, and I have the legal responsibility to exercise reasonable skill and care in the performance of my brokers duties. These duties can be summarized as follows:

I must act in the best interest of you (the Seller) and I am responsible for honest and fair dealings. I must follow the lawful instructions of the person I represent I must act in confidentiality. Any discussions, facts or information that should not be revealed to othersbut does not include responsibility of fairness and honesty in dealings with all partiesI must keep in strict confidence. I must disclose all facts known to me which can materially and adversely affect the consideration to be paid for the property. These include but are not limited to: relationships between myself and other parties, existence of other offers, status of earnest money, Buyers financial condition, propertys true worth, commission split with other brokers, and legal effect of important contract provisions. On behalf of the broker, I must have a precise accounting and reporting of where any monies placed in my hands are kept. I must act with reasonable skill and care. This includes arriving at a reasonable listing price and advising you of such. (Ultimately, you are the decision-maker in this extremely important part of selling your home.)

Other Expectations:
In addition to my legal responsibilities and the philosophy that I conveyed on page 3, expect that I will:

Debbie Finch / Windermere Real Estate / M2, LLC

Commit my focus, time, expertise and experience to get your home sold. Incur all my marketing, advertising, communications, automobile, phone and administrative expenses on your behalf. Work as your real estate advocate. I will use my best skills, efforts and resources so that your home sells at the highest possible price in a reasonable amount of time.

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The Dual Agency Question

In some cases and with some agents (which the law and the listing contract permit), the Listing and/or Selling Agent can also act as a dual Agent and represent both the Buyer and the Seller involved in the transaction. This is a potentially challenging situation because it is difficult to afford both parties full client services. I believe strongly in my relationship with clients. Ethically, I do not believe I can represent both parties in a transaction, and for this reason, I have chosen not to practice Dual Agency. Consequently, if a Buyer contacts me and does not have an agent, I wll either: Prepare a Purchase & Sale Agreement for yourepresenting you as your sole and exclusive agent. In this situation, I will pay for the Buyer to have an attorney review documents so that they have representation. Or, Refer that Buyer to one of a number of agents with whom I have on-going working relationships. This allows me to continue to represent your interest while allowing the Buyer to negotiate with you on the purchase of the home, and still feel they have full representation.

My Expectations
Like any relationship, open and honest communication is paramount. All that I ask of you is that you clearly communicate with me, especially if your plans change. I ask that you:

Inform me, prior to me placing your home on the market, if you have a prospective Buyer so we can incorporate that Buyer into our listing agreement. Seriously consider all the recommendations and improvements to ready your home for sale. Work with me until we sell your home.

Debbie Finch / Windermere Real Estate / M2, LLC

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The Process of Selling A Home

Every real estate transaction has to pass through a series of stages. Ive put together this diagram to help illustrate the process and let you know what to expect along the way.

Debbie Finch / Windermere Real Estate / M2, LLC

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Merchandising
How do you obtain the most amount of money for your home in the least amount of time? Merchandising. Its critical to the home selling process, and includes all facets of preparation for sale, as well as the property presentation, and on-site sales tools. Coordinating the preparation of your home for sale is an important part of the service I offer. Preparing your home for sale involves four steps which should be completed prior to going on the market. These are:

Pre-Market Staging Consultation Pre-Market Building Inspection Deciding what to repair or improve Preparing to move out or preparing to live in a merchandised home.

Debbie Finch / Windermere Real Estate / M2, LLC

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Pre-Market Professional Staging

As your Advocate, I believe a professional showcase consultation is absolutely essential to bring you the highest possible sales price. I own a professional design company called Arranging Nature. We provide professional showcase assistance for preparing your home for sale. After all, how we live in a home, and how we show it to sell it for top price are different things. Consider some important facts about the selling process:

Most Buyers make the buying decision based on emotion, then justify that decision with logical, rational criteria. A Buyer must mentally move into your home from the moment they come up the driveway. Anything you can do to help them make this mental leap will increase the likelihood of an offer. As a Seller you need to focus on selling the housenot the beautiful things that have made this house your home. Staging your home; merchandising the space so that it will appeal to the most number of Buyers is an art form. Effective staging does increase the sales price! Selecting what to keep, what to pack, and what to move can be a daunting task, but it is a very important part of the selling process.

Debbie Finch / Windermere Real Estate / M2, LLC

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Pre-Market Building Inspection

In todays market, you can be assured of three important things:

The Buyer for your home will probably have an agent who represents the Buyer exclusively. The Buyers Agent will recommend that the Buyer have a complete Building Inspection. Negotiations with the Buyer will not be complete until this inspection is completed. And, you will be at the mercy of whichever inspector the Buyer and Buyers Agent select.

As your Advocate, I suggest that you take the guess work and considerable risk out of the process with a Pre-Market Inspection by a licensed inspector. Therefore, I strongly recommend you consider this as a very important part of the merchandising process. Benefits of the Pre-Market Building Inspection:

Debbie Finch / Windermere Real Estate / M2, LLC

It puts you in the drivers seat! Before your home even goes on the market you will know what items need to be addressed and you can say what you will repair or replace, and you can disclose exactly what you are willing to do for the Buyer in the beginning of the process. While I cannot guarantee this will happen for you, many of my Sellers have had their Buyers either waive their inspection and accept the results of the inspection provided by the Sellers inspector, OR they have conducted another inspection, but used the Sellers inspection. All of my Sellers who completed the Pre-Market Inspection felt assured that there would be no surprises after they negotiated a contract with their Buyer. Even when the Buyer has selected another inspector, the Sellers inspector has gone-to-bat with the Buyers inspector over issues, and the transaction closed happily for all parties! The cost to you for the inspection will average between $300-$500. For maybe one-tenth-of-one-percent of your ultimate sales prices, you can determine if there will be issues regarding the your property which might later cause headaches or potentially cause a lucrative sale to fail.

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Getting Ready to Move

As mentioned before, an important step in preparing your home for sale includes preparing your home so that the Buyer can mentally move into your space and make it their own. It is important for you to begin to change your view of your home. As you walk through your home, ask these questions to begin seeing your home as a Buyer would:

Does this room feel comfortable and inviting? Does this room feel spacious or does it feel small and cramped? What does the furniture do to enhance the feeling and size of this room? What do the accent pieces and wall decorations do to enhance the feeling and size of this room? Does this feel like my home...or...does it feel like a space a Buyer can make their own?

Most importantly, remember to prepare your house to become the new home of your Buyer!

Debbie Finch / Windermere Real Estate / M2, LLC

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Deciding What To Repair Or Improve

Once you have gathered the list of all recommendations to prepare your home for sale, its then time for you to decide: What am I willing to do to prepare my home for sale? Use the following criteria to make this decision:

What must be corrected to meet the requirements of a lender? What should we do that will increase our sales price, especially things that will double the value of your home in the buyers mind? The objective here is to do those things that bring you the most return for the dollar and time expended. What should we do to improve the vision of our homein the eyes of the Buyer? What should we do to sell our home? What will allow the Buyer to mentally move into the house and make it theirs? Can we afford to do all of these things? What can we afford to do? This is a time and dollar question. What is a realistic timetable for completing these items? Do we need to hire others to complete some of this work?

Debbie Finch / Windermere Real Estate / M2, LLC

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MarketingMy Two Tiered Approach

Marketing and promotion are more than just a sign in the yard and an ad in the paper. Its also about leveraging relationships and connecting with as many people as possible. You never know where your Buyer may come from. I believe that a two-tiered active marketing approach (geared to individual target markets with in these groups) is the most effective way to market properties to ultimately obtain the highest price for your home. This means that I design customized marketing plans that focus on two main groups: 1. The retail group with is the end-user (Buyer) by designing advertising and signage which attracts the Buyer directly to your home. 2. The wholesale group which includes active agents in the Northwest Multiple Listing Association. This group accounts for over 90% of the sales which occur in King and Snohomish counties. Under my plan, I also expand our potential Buyer pool by targeting:

Debbie Finch / Windermere Real Estate / M2, LLC

Neighbors. How can we target the neighbors for people they know who may want to move into your neighborhood? Your Friends and Relatives. How can we notify your friends and relatives about your Buyer groups? They may know of someone who would be perfect for you home. Internet Marketing. How can we design Internet advertising to attract the right Buyer groups? Print Advertising. How can we specifically design advertising to target specific Buyer Groups? My Sphere of Influence. This includes: 14,000+ Agents in the Northwest Multiple Listing Association 75 Premier PropertiesHigh End Producing Windermere Real Estate Agents 250 Personal Sphere of Influence

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(Marketing continued)
I am committed to providing continuing, targeted exposure for my Sellers. I find that this provides the broadest marketing exposure for my Sellers to both agents and Buyers in our marketplace. Further, because I take all of the ad and sign calls, I create that all important first impression in the minds of both Buyer and agent. By taking calls myself, I get the pulse of the market so we can evolve our strategy as necessary. I use the following advertising channels to generate sales leads: Internet Marketing through debbiefinch.com, Windermere.com, Trulia, Craigslist, Yahoo, Google, Zillow, NWMLS (Includes a Photo Gallery for the display of multiple photos, and virtual tours when appropriate.) The Listing in NWMLS is designed to attract the right Buyer groups and highlight important features of your home. Newsprint and Magazine Advertising designed to target your specific Buyer groups. Examples include the Everett Herald-Net, Seattle Times and The Real Estate Book. My Client Base. I tap into my valued relationships, people who help me in my business to source qualified Buyers for your home. Advertising Materials Outside Your Home designed to have potential Buyers call me for additional information and a private showing of your home. Advertising to my Valued Suppliers AND the Top 100 agents I Work With designed to let all of the people I do business with know about your home. These are people I work with on a consistent basis who have agreed to help me find Buyers for my Sellers and who know that my properties are always Priced Right and In Top Show Condition. I also include the following on-site materials:

FullColor Flyers/Brochures for your home as a take home for the Buyer so that they will remember your home more than others. Buyers Agent Offer Instructions and Disclosures: These materials are provided specifically for agents and gives them information to share with their Buyer including: Seller Disclosure information (as mandated by Washington State Law), PreMarket Building Inspection, Preliminary Title, and Escrow information.

Debbie Finch / Windermere Real Estate / M2, LLC

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Pricing
The truth is, realtors have Buyers waiting. Thats right, most agents are working with Buyers who have seen what is currently on the market and are waiting for something new to be listed. Most activity will take place in the first 2 -3 weeks of a listing. The excitement of a new property on the market creates urgency for oth Buyers and agents to see it as quickly as possible. In many instances the home will receive its highest and best offers during this time. After that initial period, the only people to look at it will be new Buyers in the marketplace. Thats why its so important to be in the right price range from the beginning and not test the market with unrealistic prices. Most of the time, that strategy just works against you. As your Advocate, one of my most important tasks is to help you determine an asking price that will: Bring you the highest possible price in todays market for your specific property. Allow you to determine whether selling your home now will meet your needs. Be realistic to determine what a Buyer will truly and honestly be willing to pay you for your home in todays market. Allow you to sell your home within your time frame.

Principles of Evaluation and Definition of Terms

In common usage, such words as Price, Value and Cost are often synonymous with one another. However, in real estate, these words have specific, and quiet distinct meanings. Heres how we use and define them. Cost. The amount actually paid for a property plus any capital improvements made since the purchase. Price. The state amount an owner is willing to accept for the property at a given time. Value. The amount a Buyer is willing to pay given a certain set of circumstances in a given time period. Market Value. The amount that will bring a sale between a willing Buyer and a willing Seller. It is based on the history of similar properties recently SOLD in the area. Regression and Progression The effect that the surrounding home sizes have on the value of the subject property. Regression is the decrease in value when surrounded by smaller homes. Progression is the increase when surrounded by larger homes. Substitution. The actual value of an amenity. Value is determined not by the cost invested in a property, but by the value derived from it.

Debbie Finch / Windermere Real Estate / M2, LLC

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Resources
Over the years, Ive established professional relationship with Snohomish Countys most respected real estate professionals. The following people are top in their industry and they have my highest recommendation.
Lenders: Bill Steward Windermere Mortgage 425-353-2585 bsteward@windermere.com Title: Commonwealth Title Lizzie Eide 206-271-0095 Escrow: Commonwealth Escrow Lori Barnes 425-646-6238 Inspectors: Coastline Home Inspection Rob Renfro 425-357-0956 True North Home Inspection Keven Swartz 360-863-8816 A Team Home Inspection Paul Luczyk 425-290-9964
Debbie Finch / Windermere Real Estate / M2, LLC

Windermere Real Estate / M2, LLC Office Staff: David Maider - Designated Broker 425-338-0600 Cindy Stach - Office Manager 425-338-0600

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Lets Start...
So, I hope this guide has given you valuable information on selling your home. This process can be an emotional roller coaster ride, but with the right real estate professional at your side, it can be interesting and exciting. As I said before, I will work as your Advocate in every aspect of this process. I look forward to meeting with you and answering any questions you may have. Feel free to call me whenever you want. Im at your service. Thats what I do. Debbie Finch 425-338-0600 office 425-346-9490 cell

A house is built of logs and stones, of tiles and posts and piers; A home is build of loving deeds that stand a thousand years. - Victor Hugo

Debbie Finch / Windermere Real Estate / M2, LLC