Pre Listing Guide. Once you send in your paperwork we can get you up on the MLS in 1 2 business days. Please sign, scan and or fax it back

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1 Pre Listing Guide 1 Next Steps: Go to docs/ If you have any legal questions please contact attorney Kirk Langefeld at or kirk@hglegal.com. He supports many of our clients in the sale of their homes. Listing Checklist Download and fill out property profile paperwork Digitally fill out and sign the listing agreement Download and fill out disclosure paperwork (2nd download see below for what is required) Download disclosure pamphlets (3rd download different from paperwork in step 2) Take pictures (or hire a photographer) If you are taking them then pictures to pictures@bergproperties.com. If you want them in a certain order then please rename the picture to be the order number. First picture rename to be 1 (1.jpg for instance). Second picture rename to be 2 (2.jpg for instance) All pictures are automatically resized by the MLS to be 640x480 so please send low to medium resolution photos. Send property profile and pictures to Berg Properties Once you send in your paperwork we can get you up on the MLS in 1 2 business days. Please sign, scan and or fax it back sales@bergproperties.com or fax to On the paperwork you can set the begin date that your listing will go live (could be tomorrow or a couple of weeks out)

2 2 Pre List Guide Table of Contents 1. Other Services...Page 2 2. Frequently Asked Questions about Listing Paperwork.Page 2 3. Where To Find Sales Contracts...Page 4 (but you probably will not need them find out why) 4. Make it Easy for Buyers to Choose Your Home...Page 4 5. Market to Maximum Effect..Page 7 6. Implement a Pricing Strategy that Works in Today s Market.Page This Pricing Trap Will Kill Your Market Time and Chances to Sell...Page For Sale By Owner Warning.. Page 13 Other Services Yard Signs We will put the order in for the sign soon after you order unless you give us instructions to do otherwise. You can send an to support@mlstown.com with other instructions if you wish. Appointment Setting If you ordered this service, we will activate it once the listing goes live as we need an mls number to enter it in the system. Lock Box We ship these out within a few days of receiving your order. It generally takes 2 3 days for them to arrive.

3 3 Support Our support staff works Monday through Friday and is not available on the weekends except to handle offers. You can request changes to your listing or open houses via at: Frequently Asked Questions 1. Required versus not required feilds on paperwork: If the information is required it will have an asterik next to the field. If the information is not required do not stress over filling it out. You are only trying to communicate things that buyer s find benefit in. As an example, most buyers will not exclude properties based on what amperage your electric service is (200 amp, 100 amp, etc.) 2. What is my pin#? You can find this info on your tax records or county assessors website. Exclusions and exceptions: If you have an item attached to your home that you want to take with you and is not to be included in the sale of your home, (for instance and chandelier), check off the Exclusions box on your paperwork (we can list the item on your listing as well but it is not necessary at this point). Also, once you start negotiating and accepting an offer, make sure it is discussed up front and include it on the contract (typically first page under the exclusions). Exceptions are people who may have seen your home already before listing it on the MLS. You can list them as an exception, meaning you don t want to pay a commission for a buyer who has already seen your home. However it is important you have their full name, approximate date of showing and let that buyer know you are listing it and do not want to pay a commission if they do decide to purchase your home. Let the potential buyer know you won t have to pay a commission as long as they do not bring a realtor in on the deal (if they need help, they can always contact their attorney). 2. What is my school district? If you are in the City of Chicago it is Fee Simple versus home owner If you live in a single family home that is not part of a condo association or home owners association then you should select Fee

4 Simple. If you are part of a home owners association and pay monthly/annual fees, then you would be Fee Simple with home owners I have a condo why am I filling out something that says Attached Single Family, Attached Single Family is the right paperwork for all condos or townhomes. 5. Why do I need to send in disclosures We ask for disclosures to keep on file. We also need to sign them and its typically the first thing an agent requests when they are thinking about making an offer. 6. What do I need to disclose: When in doubt disclose what you know about your property. You only have to disclose what you know. As an example if you have not tested for lead paint and have no knowlege that there is lead paint, you still need to disclose that you have no knowledge. Please direct questions to Kirk Langefeld at or kirk@hglegal.com. You can find disclosures here docs/ What disclosures are needed? Sellers Disclosure: Required for all single family homes, condos, townhomes, and multi units less than 5 units units in the building. Radon: Required for all single family homes, townhomes, and multi units with less than 5 units in the building. Required for condos on the first 3 floors of the building. Lead: Required for all single family homes, condos, townhomes, and multi units built before Mold : Not required but sometimes requested Where To Find Sales Contracts You can find sales contract and a lot of good information on the sales process at However it is unlikely you will need a sales contract. Most buyers agents will write up the contract on a standard boiler plate board approved real estate contract (same ones on our site).

5 5 The only time you would need one is if the buyer is not represented by an agent, if buyer needs help filling it out, they should consult with their lawyer. Make It Easy for Buyers to Choose Your Home How do you make it easy for buyers to purchase your home? You want your home to be in move in condition, free of distractions, and something that most buyers could easily see themselves living in. First, you should strive for is getting your home in move in condition. This will help set you apart from the distressed properties many of which need work. Fix things like leaky faucets, cracks in walls, creaking floor boards, etc. These are repairs that do not cost a ton of money but can make a big difference on buyer s impressions. Buyers that find little problems expect that bigger problems are lurking just around the corner. Second you need to address the fact that many home buyers have trouble visualizing themselves in homes. This is especially true if there is: no furniture, too much furniture, crazy paint on the walls, funky room layouts, too many items that reflect a personal religious, political or artistic preference and any one of a multitude of other issues. Suffice it to say that you may not be the best judge to decide what goes and what stays. Or even what layouts may help maximize your chances of selling. The activity I am talking about is called staging. Almost everyone does some staging or tries to. Sellers try and present their home in the best light by getting rid of some of the clutter, cleaning and painting their walls a neutral color etc. but the best results usually come from a home stager. This is a 3 rd party professional that has been trained in the craft of getting homes in model home condition. Staging does not involve major renovations. Stagers remove items that distract buyers and add the items in the right places to emphasize the positive and de emphasizing the negative attributes of a home. The best staging will result in buyers wanting to buy the home fully furnished. By the way renovating a home generally does not pay for itself. In this market you may get 60 70% of your money back depending on the type of renovation.

6 6 Staging has pay back. This is a very accepted practice on the east and west coasts. A big investor client of mine based in the Midwest does it to great effect. How do I know it is working? They regularly get buyers trying to buy the home furnished with the staging furniture intact but even more importantly their homes sell quickly. Real Estate Staging Association (RESA ) the member run Trade Organization for Professional Stagers has conducted several studies on the effectiveness of Real Estate Staging and the results are phenomenal. During January 2007 and February 2008 Professional Stagers from all across North America participated in the studies of both vacant and occupied homes. The RESA study found that vacant homes that were un staged and marketed through the normal methods by listing Real Estate Agents were on the market on average 120 days with out selling. Those exact same homes were then professional staged, re marked through those some methods and sold on average in 26 days. The RESA study also found that occupied homes that were un staged and marketed through the normal methods by listing Real Estate Agents were on the market on average of 102 days without selling. Those same homes were professionally staged, re marketed through those same methods and sold on average in 45 days. RESA also conducted a study of homes that were never previously on the market and the results were astonishing. Vacant homes sold on average in 40 days after staging and occupied homes sold on average in 38 days after staging. Coldwell Banker also did a study with similar results. Here are some pictures taken of a home before and after staging. Let me come clean and say that there were tenants living in the home prior to staging and note that the after shots were taken with a slightly wider angle lens. Before After

7 7 Market to Maximum Effect By Far and Away the Most Important Part of Your Marketing (Aside from Price) are you pictures. Pictures are super critical. Most buyers will make a decision on whether or not they want to see your home based entirely on the pictures. You might think How hard can it be to take pictures of interior rooms. You don t have to worry about people smiling or blinking their eyes. True but most point and click cameras have a narrow field of view and are not very good for taking pictures of interior rooms. Bedrooms and bathrooms can be especially difficult. Buyers have a hard time visualizing a interior space when all they are able to see is a couch and a wall. This simple camera trick will make your rooms look 15 20% bigger and brighter. You really should use a digital SLR camera (like a Nikon D40) to take your pictures. These cameras have high quality interchangeable lenses and even the standard lens that come with these cameras will be far better than a point and click camera. If you do not have a digital SLR or cannot borrow one then consider getting professional pictures taken. For $150 we can send a professional photographer out to take the pics for you. They have the equipment needed to get the best shots possible of your home. Of course they do this for a living so they can usually get better angles and views than

8 the average home seller. 8 All pictures below were taken from the same position while attached to a tripod. This was taken with a Sony Cybershot. The narrow field of view is typical for point and click digital cameras. I took the photo without flash. This photo was taken with a Nikon D40 (SLR) and a standard lens (18 55mm) without flash. You can see how much brighter and the picture is. Additionally you are getting a lot more information about the character of the room. This photo was taken with a Nikon D40 (SLR) and a wide angle lens (10 20mm) without flash. Now we really get a feel for the room. If you were buying a home which would you want to see?

9 9 Another big issue is rooms looking too dark (which also looks cold and uninviting). This will lead to fewer showings unless addressed. Usually this is not due to the camera used but technique. You want as much natural light as possible so take your pictures during a sunny day. Turn on your interior lights as well. I am not a big fan of using a flash. But be careful. If you have light streaming through the windows and take your shot facing those same windows, you may get a very dark picture. Why? The camera will automatically take a light reading from the windows. The result is that the view out the window will be nice but the room will be dark. In order to take a shot like this you need to have the camera take a light reading based on the room not the windows. You do this by pointing the camera away from the window (at a wall or ceiling near by), taking a light reading and then pointing the camera back in the direction of the window to take the picture. With my camera (a Nikon D40) I can press the button half way down and it will focus and take a light reading. So point the camera in the direction of the window (but pointed at a nearby wall, ceiling or floor) I press the button half way down and then while still holding the button half way down I move the camera back toward the window and press the button the rest of the way. The picture turns out 10 times better. Using this method the windows and outside view may be washed out a bit but the picture of the room will be nice and bright. You might also want to experiment with taking a picture with the night setting on. On my camera this will use the flash and also have a longer exposure time and many times results in better pictures than a basic setting. I took the third picture below combing the night setting and the focus technique and the pic turned out great. Keep your hand steady or use a tripod or the picture will be blurry!

10 10 This was taken with the Nikon D40 and just pointing the camera at the window with no technique. This was taken with the Nikon D40 by taking a light reading away from the windows and then pointing the camera back at the window for the shot. This was taken with the Nikon D40 in night mode. I again took a light reading then back at the window for the shot. Buyers Will Not Buy What They Cannot See Keep your home in show condition at all times as much as possible to allow for agents who will ask to show your home at the last minute. Some buyers will come into town for only a day or so to select a home so be as flexible as possible in allowing showings. Remember last minute showings are not necessarily an agents fault. Many buyers (especially first time home buyers and buyers with no kids) are not aware of the fact that

11 you have to turn your life upside down just so they can tour your home for 15 minutes. And it is not uncommon for a buyer to call late in the day on Friday for an appointment on Saturday or even the same day as they are trying to see the home. Using a lock box can definitely help. In fact real estate trainer and speaker Walter Sanford states on his website that having a lock box increases showings by as much as 30%. I don t know if I believe that but being able to show your home when you cannot be there should result in more potential showings. You cannot sell your home if buyers can t see it. When you miss an opportunity to show you may not get another chance with that buyer. What Home Advertising Will Help Accelerate Your Home Sale and Which Advertising Is a Waste of your Time and Money First of all most of your advertising is already taken care of. By virtue of you reading this report I assume that you are already listed on the mls (or soon to be) and will also be listed on all the top real estate websites. This will be equal to or better than the exposure of most traditional real estate agents. Where else you should advertise? In some of the markets we post to craigslist for you. Regardless of whether we are posting or not you should be posting your own ad to craigslist once a week. It is by far the best vehicle for exposure outside the major real estate websites and I have had sellers get their buyer from a craigslist advertisement. Plus it is free! I also suggest that you send an to all of your friends, family, church group, clubs where you have membership, your school friends, parents at your kid s school, and any other addresses you have of people who know you. You never know who might stumble across a buyer that would be perfect for your home. Your should have a link to where they can get more information about your home like your Realtor.com listing or to a personal website if you created one yourself. I would also post the fact you are selling and details of your home to Facebook if you have an account there (or create an account, find people you know and get the word out). Ask your friends to like your post so that it gets shown to all of their friends in their news feeds. Social media can be a great way to get the word out. If you have any suggestions of other ways to market a home that you have found successful please let us know. I can tell you that I am very down on almost all print media advertising for trying to sell a home. If you are placing ads in major newspapers you are probably wasting your time and 11

12 money. The internet is too strong of a medium for print to compete with. 12 ForSaleByOwner.com, Owners.com, and other FSBO websites are questionable at best. I have had no clients tell me they have had success from these but I have had clients tell me they posted and got no activity from listing there. Let us know your experience. You could try pay per click but you will be competing with all the agents who can sell any one of hundreds of homes and so I think you will have a tough time. If you do decide to try this route I recommend using Google Adwords and using geo targeted terms (add the location to the ad title. But I have to advise you it will likely be costly. I have seen very few of these types of ads for a single house unless the home is on the very high end. This leads me to believe that you would have a tough time making that kind of advertising pay. You might try making a You Tube video with the title being your address. You Tube videos can get good ranking in the search engines. If someone drives by your home and then goes to the internet to find out more information, they will likely try typing your address into Google. The downside I see is that shooting a good video is not necessarily easy and your home address will probably already show up in the search engines as part of the web exposure your listing will get on Trulia, and other sites. I guess what I am saying is that you are likely duplicating efforts. Implement a Pricing Strategy that Works in Today s Market In order to compete in today s market your home needs to be a good buy. Not just to compete with the distressed properties but to compete with everyone else out there. Overpriced listings sit on the market. Real estate agents and buyers forget about them. Even if a buyer were willing to pay more for your home than similar homes in the area, you will not be able to sell if a bank s appraisal comes in to low (unless it is a cash deal because then there is no bank appraisal). If the buyer cannot get a loan at the current sale price you will either have to drop your price in order to get the contract to go through, get the buyer to try a different lender (unlikely to happen and likely to result in similar issues) or lose the contract. My recommendation is to price the home aggressively from the start. The days of pricing high and dropping the price from there are over. I recommend setting your price at 5 7% percent above the lowest recent sale price on a

13 nearby comparable homes. Sign up to receive free active and sold comps from us. You can then use this information to set your price. Send an to to get free comps sent to you. Buyers and their agents focus on the new listings. If you bring your home on the market priced too high, but it's otherwise a nice house in good condition and in a good location, a price reduction early in the marketing period is likely to attract the attention of agents and buyers who still have the listing fresh in their minds. Don't rely on what your neighbors are asking for their homes. If they aren't selling, they are probably overpriced for the market. Rely on sales of comparable properties that closed after you put your home on the market. Ideally, you want to reduce the price before your competition does. Depending on your local market, you may need to lower the price more than once, particularly if you waited months to make a price adjustment. If you are planning to buy then make up for your lower sales price when you go to buy. Once you sell you will be able to take advantage of the buyer s market with abundant inventory and low prices. I do not recommend offering extra realtor incentives (bonuses) to get your home sold. I have see little to no evidence this works. In most markets the commission is the same for 80 90% of the homes on the Chicago mls are offering 2.5%.. You might get away with offering a little less (2%) but you also risk losing some brokers. Many sellers question why not offer a low commission. Aren t most Realtors struggling? Shouldn t they be willing to work for less. Try stepping back and looking at this from the agents view point. If there are 30 properties that fit the buyer s profile and 29 are offering a 3% commission and you are offering a 1% or even a 2% commission who s property will the agent show first? It is unethical for an agent not to show you property based solely on his commission but it is also very difficult to get the proof needed to lodge a successful complaint. This Pricing Trap Will Kill Your Market Time and Chances to Sell If your home has any of these attributes you will likely have to get more aggressive on your price compared to similar homes. If you don t then you will likely have a lot of trouble selling. You may not have any trouble living with these issues but most buyers do. Homes with these attributes are harder to sell and lead to lower sales prices 1. Homes next to the train tracks 13

14 2. Homes next to electrical wire towers or cell phone towers (especially in suburbs) 3. Homes with no parking 4. Homes with no garage in suburbs 5. Single family homes with 2 bedrooms much are harder to sell than 3 bedroom homes 6. Condos with no or a lousy view (especially high rises in the city) 7. Bedrooms with no windows are tough sells especially for a city condo 8. Homes on a busy street 9. Single family homes next to apartment buildings are a tougher sell 10. Homes on same block as a fire station (noise) 11. Homes near a hospital emergency room (noise) If your home has one or more of these, take that into consideration when reviewing comps and setting your price. 14 For Sale By Owner Warning Technically you are not "For Sale by Owner". You are listed through Berg Properties, we are acting as your listing agent, and you are offering a cooperating commission to a buyer s agent (also called a "selling agent"). You should be aware of two key points: 1. Yard signs (please ignore this if you ordered a sign from us) with the term "For Sale By Owner" are not a smart choice for advertising your home because some real estate agents will get confused by them and may decide not to show your home. Some agents may question whether you are actually still on the MLS and offering a commission if they see a FSBO sign. It is best to use one of our signs. They look more professional and let Realtor s know that you are offering a commission. The signs will have an 800# and extension # that will ring directly to your phone line. To order a Berg Properties sign please click on here. If you choose not to use our sign... you can use your own "For Sale" or "Home For Sale" sign as long as it does not include the words "For Sale By Owner". You should include your MLS# on the sign so Realtors know you are listed. 2. Advertisements for your property with the language "for sale by owner" are technically a violation of MLS rules and could result in fines and/or removal of a property from the MLS.

15 15 That being said the mls has never enforced this rule and are unlikely to do so. My best advice is just not use the terms "for sale by owner", "by owner" or "FSBO" in an ad. Instead just say "for showings or more information call...(your name and number). You may want to include your MLS# to help reduce the calls from agents trying to get you to list with them. You can list your home for sale at websites like forsalebyowner.com or craigslist. Just do not use the term for sale by owner in the content of the ad