Miranda Price & Brandy Farris (719) 888-9299 Office www.farrisprice.com
Dear Homeowner, Thank you for taking the first step in researching whether you should use a Realtor to help you sell your home. As you will see on the following pages, not only is using a Realtor the safest, easiest choice, but can also bring you MORE money! Are you doubting these claims? To make it easy, we have compiled the top reasons you should work with a Realtor and some statistics about For Sale By Owner- FSBO vs. Selling with a Realtor for you to look at analyze for yourself. We have also included a full page of information on the dangers facing you, and Realtors when meeting strangers in your home. Finally, we are including a list of stats about the market, showing you why right now is the best time to sell. When you choose to list with us, you will be sure to sell quickly during this phenomenal Seller s Market. Markets change, sometimes quickly and drastically. Please don t let this optimal window pass you by! Thank you, Miranda Price of Farris Price Managing Broker/Owner
Top Reasons to Use a Realtor to Sell Your Home Reason #1: We can sell homes for more money. Per a 2015 study by the National Association of REALTORS (NAR), houses that are sold by an agent sell for an average of $249,000, while houses sold without an agent sell for an average of $220,000. That is a difference of $39,000! In fact, most sellers net more money in their pocket, even after they pay the agent s commission.! Keep in mind, that doesn't mean that every agent is going to sell your home for more money; But, the numbers do show that agents do sell homes for more. Reason #2: The whole process is easier when you hire a Realtor. Let me give you a concrete example. I talked to a Title Company Manager who handles For-Sale-by-Owner Closings and Realtor Closings. He told me that when a For-Sale-by-Owner sells their home it takes about 45 days for the two parties to sign off on the sale contract. He said that sometimes they don't even sign it until they sit down for the closing. When a property is sold by a Realtor, the sale contract is usually signed in 45 hours. What is even more important- is you can just sit back, pack your home, and let me do the work. I will tell you when there is a task you need to handleeverything else, I will take care of for you. You will not mistakenly miss a deadline, rendering the deal void. Why does this matter to you? Using an agent will protect your interests if a buyer changes their mind. For example, we make sure we receive their earnest money within a few days of offer acceptance, to ensure they have skin the in the game and we have a negotiation tool to ensure they don t just walk away based on a feeling. Now, this isn't to say that you can't successfully sell your house yourself. You probably can. But, unless you have sold a lot of homes yourself, then you probably are not aware of the many ins and outs of the contract- did you know that a real
estate contract gives a buyer a MINIMUM of 12 ways to get out of the contract? To protect yourself from these outs, it s a good idea to have a knowledgeable Realtor protecting your interests. Reason #3: A good Realtor can save you 80-100 hours of your time. That is because we handle all the work for you. You will not need to screen every person who wants to come see your home. You will not need to be present at every showing- and it s safer for you if you aren t! Please see below for safety statistics. We are experts at financing, loan conditions, home inspections, surveys, title work, termite inspections, appraisals, negotiating, etc. Some people have estimated that there are 189-213 different things that an agent does to sell a home. Of course, that list is shorter or longer, depending on the property. I don t know which items will exactly apply to your home; But, I do know from personal experience that selling a home does take a lot of time.. Reason #4: We solve problems. That is the most important thing a Realtor can do. After all, it's one thing to have a buyer that wants to buy your house. But, just because they decide at that moment to buy a house doesn't mean they will. As I mentioned above, there is a minimum of 12 outs for a buyer to get out of buying your home. It is my job to anticipate these issues, help you work through them as they arise, and protect you at all times. Here is a story that illustrates this perfectly. A seller put her home on the market. The perfect buyer came along and made a full price offer for the home. The seller and the buyer signed a contract and the buyer started working on financing. The buyer ran into a problem with the financing and cancelled the contract. Later, the seller told the story to an agent. It turns out that the problem the buyer had was completely solvable. But, the seller didn't know how to solve it. Thus, the buyer couldn't obtain financing to buy the home and the house didn t close. Unfortunately, the seller had to put the home back on the market. It took another 5 months to sell. The seller had to pay an additional 5 months worth of mortgage payments, property tax payments, and homeowner's insurance premiums.
In addition, she had to maintain the lawn, pay the electric bill, and maintain the property. If we add up all of those expenses, we can easily say that the lost sale cost her $9,575. This reminds me of the old story of the importance of "Knowing Where to Tap." Have you ever heard the story? I'll retell it for you: "A huge steamship boiler system was not working properly. The steamship captain hired a top boiler expert to fix it. After hearing about the problem the expert asked a few questions and inspected the boiler room. He looked at the pipes that twisted and turned every which way, listened to the boiler and all of the machinery. He thought for a minute, reached into his tools, and grabbed a small hammer. He gently tapped one valve and "Voila" the problem was fixed. He sent a bill for $1,000 to the owner of the steamship. When the owner saw the $1,000 invoice he was mad as a hornet's nest! He called the expert and confronted him about the bill. "You were only there for 15 minutes! How dare you charge me $1,000!", he said. The expert heard him out and told him that he would send over a new bill. The owner received another bill the next day. The bill was itemized as follows: Tapping the valve: $.50. Knowing where to tap: $995.50 Total: $1,000.00. Specialized Knowledge is one of the most valuable resources in the world. Fortunately, for you, I have specialized knowledge. I know how to sell homes for more money. I know precisely where to "tap the valve" and to solve any problems that come up. In fact, you will usually make money when you hire us to sell your house.
I know that sounds crazy. The fact that I can sell your home for more money is usually enough to pay my commission. Here is how you make money hiring me. I save you countless hours chasing down surveys, handling inspections, etc. I also handle all the communications with the other side, saving you stress. I ensure all deadlines are met in a timely manner, I do it all- and only come to you with updates or things you need to handle. Please read on for more information about safety and current market conditions making NOW the best time EVER to sell your home for top dollar!
Selling Your Home Is Dangerous, As Shown By The Statistics Below: 13 Realtors were murdered in 2012, the last year for which statistics were available. 470 Realtors were attacked in 2012. 153 agents were raped in 2012. The most common time for an attack? Thursday Afternoon! You would think most attacks would be at night. Unfortunately, that isn t true. Most attacks on Realtors were during daylight hours. Most of the Realtor s that were attacked were female. Most of the victims were alone. A common guise to get the Realtor alone was wanting to see a home for sale. Most of the attackers planned out the attack! Several used fake names. Over half of the attackers used a gun. What are you going to do when someone is sticking a gun in your face? The most common reason for an attack was robbery. Many of the attacks started out as robbery but ended in murder. Do you remember the Movie, 'Home Alone?' Do you think the thieves would have tried to rob the home if an adult had been there? You and I both know the answer is "No." We all know the statistics above. But, the vast majority of those crimes wouldn't have happened... if the person showing the home had someone else with them. I am not telling you this to scare you. Realtors must understand the risks associated with their business. They are the ones who are the most likely to be robbed, assaulted, or murdered. But, For-Sale-by-Owners are not always aware of the risk. I want to make sure that you and your family are safe, whether you hire a Realtor or not. When you put your home up for sale, you are inviting complete strangers into it. You are usually more than willing to invite them in because you want to sell your home. Some may take advantage of you. Most won't. But, it's better to be safe than sorry. You don't have to put yourself, or your family in danger.
Why is now the best time to sell your home? #1 We are at an all-time low for number of listings Since metrics have been tracked, going back decades, there has never been such a small amount of homes available for sale compared to the population size. This means that the Greater Denver and Pikes Peak areas are officially in a Seller s Market as there is little competition in selling and buyers are still buying! While it is currently in a dip, as you can see from the charts below, the numbers are beginning to increase. When the number of listings increase, a market will begin to change from a seller s market to a buyer s market- resulting in longer times on the market, more competition, and lower offer prices.
#2 We are still setting records for sale volume While the inventory is down the buyers are still buying! Many listings are boasting selling within mere hours in the desired areas, and many times to multiple competing offers. This is bringing the sellers high dollar offers and the luxury of choosing which offer has terms that are best for them. Denver was even recently named the #1 market in the Country, boasting 50% gains for the last 10 years.
#3 Homes under $500,000 are selling the fastest and for record amounts in record times If you have a home under the half million mark- now is definitely the time to sell. This is the price range where the buyers are buying so quickly, if in a normal market, they would all be sold within a couple months. If you are in this range, and are thinking of upgrading your home, then you are poised to sell fast, and still have the luxury of choosing a home in a market that is still more of a buyers market. Even with the higher priced homes skewing results, the total Colorado Springs market can boast average days on market of less than 30 days!
#4 Mortgage rates are at historic lows- but they are going up! While the rates are currently around all-time lows, making your borrowing power stronger and higher, there is no guarantee they will stay this low. With elections coming up, based on historic performance, the market will surely fluctuate in the upcoming months. If the market fluctuates drastically, all borrowers will be effected negatively.
What does all this mean for you? Now is definitely the time to take action. If you are considering selling your home anytime in the future, we would love the opportunity to earn your business. Who are we? Farris Price is a locally owned, innovative Real Estate Company, chaired by a partnership of two women who share decades of experience and friendship between them. They have seen the market at its worst, and now are seeing it at its best. We work with a variety of agents all over Colorado. These agents have all been thoroughly vetted to ensure that we only work with the best of the best of the agents. Ones that we know will uphold our stringent client care standards and have years of experience to serve you best. We would love the time to prepare a Comparative Market Analysis for your home, educate you about expectations, and counsel you as to the best course of action. We pride ourselves on putting our client s needs before the dollar, and we will never advise you to do something that could have a foreseeable negative outcome. We work for you, and we never forget that. We are prepared to do whatever you need, to secure the home of your dreams. Here is just a sampling of testimonials from some of our past clients: Miranda has helped me buy two houses and she's great to work with. She knows exactly what she's doing and is there for you through the whole buying process. My last transaction was selling my house to buy another and every time I got over stressed she did a great job of calming me down and making me feel really good about how things are going. I'm still moving up in life. I do plan to buy and sell again, and Miranda will be my realtor when that time comes. I wouldn't even consider using another. She's not just a great realtor, she's a really good person and I always looked forward to talking with her and seeing her. Scott C. 2 time buyer, 1 time seller with Miranda Price Miranda helped me purchase my first home in 2009 and she made the first time home buying process as stress free as possible. She listened to what I was looking for and my price point, and when properties would hit the market, she knew instantly if I'd like them or not. It was not about the sale for her, as we passed on some more expensive homes, still within my price point, and found "the one". We were on the same page. When I outgrew that house and it was time to sell, she again walked me through that process, explaining the mountain of paperwork and helped me decide on a selling price, and when offers came in, helped distinguish what was reasonable. She is very hard working, communicating at all times of day, well beyond what normal business hours and days would be expected. She knows the area well, has vision and operates with
integrity and loyalty. She truly enjoys her job and her clients. I'm currently deployed, and in search of my next home. She has been my eyes in this process, travelling all over the springs to take video of potential properties for me, explaining the surrounding area, and giving me her best guidance about the way forward. Needless to say, I find her to be of sound judgment and character, and she's trustworthy. Plus, she's an overall good person! From thousands of miles away she is taking care of me and taking the stress out of the house buying process...which is great because, being on deployment, I have enough of that already! And, true to form, she found me a house where I wanted with the amenities I wanted, so I when I return to the U.S. it'll be to my NEW HOME. I highly recommend Miranda for any real estate needs you may have! Kimberly P. 2 Time Buyer, 1 Time Seller with Miranda Price These clients, and many more are the reason we do what we do. We would love an opportunity to earn your business. You can visit our website at www.farrisprice.com to learn more about our Colorado Springs team now. While this site is exclusive to Colorado Springs, we have a wide team of agents we work with across the state. If you are interested in speaking with a lender to see what you would qualify for, please visit: http://farrisprice.com/fine/real/estate/homeloans To request a Current Market Analysis of your home anywhere in the state, please visit: http://farrisprice.com/fine/real/estate/marketeval If you would like to speak to us directly, please call our office number: 719-888- 9299 or Miranda s cell is 719-641-8430. You can also email Miranda at miranda@farrisprice.com Thank you very much for your time and we look forward to working with you in the future. Sincerely, Miranda Price of Farris Price Managing Broker/Owner (719) 888-9299 Office (719) 641-8430 Direct