For Sellers

I don’t take listings I don’t believe in. I market and sell with a quiet passion that comes from believing in the product, and if I don’t believe in it, I’d rather not sell it. Listings must be attractive, accurately priced and easily shown in order to generate the buzz that will lead to good offers. Or they must be cheap.

Since I work a lot with buyers, I know what they are looking for and how to balance amenities, renovations and repairs when it comes to price. I can coach you on improvements that are necessary and tell you which ones not to bother with. I can also guide you on flow and simple rearrangement of furniture and decor to help ensure that buyers don’t feel claustrophobic and that they appreciate your space to the maximum.

I have a passion for attractive urban landscapes and architecturally-interesting buildings. I believe in bright spaces with big windows and interior materials that are hard-wearing and grow more attractive as they wear rather than less so. This Japanese wabi-sabi idea cuts down on wasteful renovations which must be torn out and replaced again in a few years. I am better at selling “old” properties than some people, because I value the materials that these places are made of, oftentimes more than new construction.

In terms of logistics, I want to make things easy on my sellers and their potential buyers. I have my iPhone with me at all times and am good at quickly responding to emails and answering my phone!! If for any reason I am not available (which is rare), I make sure that a close colleague is up to speed and can seamlessly provide good service.

I like graphic design and presentation so take pride in making sure the photos of my listings are outstanding, the handouts look well put-together, the write-up is good, and open houses are smooth.

I get along well with most REALTORS® and understand that cooperation and respect are the conditions necessary for successful deals. I don’t make them scramble to get documents I haven’t prepared properly, I don’t make them beg for showings or ask them to “prove” to me that their buyers are qualified, I don’t make them play endless telephone tag, and I’m not rude to them in the negotiation phase.

I check and double-check contracts and property information to make sure nothing’s off. I’m pretty good at tracking down hard-to-find information that could make or break a sale, by phoning hard-to-reach people such as property managers, the original developer, remediation companies, warranty companies, strata presidents — whoever has the information my sellers need in order to get their property sold.

My style when showing a property is to let it breathe a little, to let people take in the space without endless chatter, and then to casually talk to them about as many details as they seem interested in. I don’t send automated emails to REALTORS® requesting feedback, and then another automated email back thanking them for their “valuable feedback”; I follow up by phone when I sense interest from a buyer or an agent. I stay in close contact with my sellers through this whole process by email or phone.

I want the overall experience of the transaction to feel good and I enjoy living through the excitement, anxiety and celebration with my clients. My clients and I are like a small team working together through an intense process, and together we can achieve great results.

Here is a checklist of the services I provide:

  • advising you on changes or repairs you should make to your property before putting it on the market (and letting you know which ones not to worry about)
  • discussing current market conditions with you, preparing statistics and graphs of your specific property type and neigbourhood for the last 4 years, identifying current competition and relevent recent sales
  • helping you determine an accurate and strategic list price
  • gathering as much detail as possible on the property from you, the strata property manager and other sources in order to be able to provide full information to interested buyers
  • arranging and overseeing a professional photo shoot
  • printing professional colour brochures of the property
  • putting the property on the MLS of the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver and making full use of the MLS software to promote open houses, update REALTOR® notes, monitor the exposure of the listing and ensure accuracy
  • strategic timing of the first showings and open houses
  • sending postcards to building neighbours announcing the listing
  • announcing the listing to the 900+ REALTORS® of the Royal Pacific Realty group
  • advertising the property on realtor.ca (formerly mls.ca), realtylink.org, royalpacific.ca and 1300+ MLS Reciprocity-enabled websites
  • featuring the property on westendrealty.ca and vintageapartments.ca (if applicable)
  • driving traffic to the listing through social media platforms Twitter, Facebook and Google+
  • personally calling or emailing REALTORS® and buyers who I think would have a special interest in the property
  • gathering all strata/coop/leasehold documents, sorting them, determining which documents are missing and ordering those documents plus the Form B and recent financials from the property management company, as well as the title search and full strata plan from Land Titles. Preparing all documents as organized PDF files making it easy on the buyer and the buyer’s agent.
  • being available and responsive by phone and email 7 days a week, and being available for showings 7 days a week, accommodating last-minute requests whenever possible
  • sending you prompt updates and feedback
  • facilitating offer presentation, and coordinating multiple offers
  • advising you on offer subjects and terms, helping you think strategically about how to respond or proceed, and negotiating with the buyer/buyer’s agent on your behalf
  • facilitating the buyer’s property inspection and bank appraisal
  • staying in contact with the buyer’s agent and helping to make the deal become firm
  • confirming subject removal and receipt of the deposit
  • ensuring that the brokerages and law firms or notaries have the complete documents they need
  • celebrating a successful Completion with you!

I market and sell property based on an agreement that in the event of a successful sale, my brokerage will receive 7% on the first $100,000 and 2.5% on the balance of the sale price. 46.5% of this fee will be paid to the buyer’s agent.

If you think we might be a good fit, give me a call or send me a message so we can arrange a consultation.