Posted by Leslie Mann on Wed, Jan 25, 2012 @ 07:47 PM
There are plenty of articles about interviewing listing agents, but it's often tough to know what to ask a buyer's agent. One of our new clients had some great questions they asked a previous client of ours and I thought they might be helpful. By the way, we were thrilled by our client's answers about working with my husband Kyle! (also shown below)
1) How was your overall experience working with Kyle?
Awesome! It took my husband and I a long time to find a house that we liked and could settle on and Kyle was always patient and willing to keep working with us even when it seemed like we would never find something.
2) Did you feel that he was working for you?
Yes. He searched for more houses than we did. He would screen houses for us so we didn’t have to and only bring us to them if it met some of our criteria.
3) Did you feel any sales pressure from him?
Never! Quite the opposite to be honest with you. There were several times that we thought we “loved” a house and he reminded us that it was missing things that we were dead set on having - for me it was the dream kitchen and he knew I wouldn’t be happy if I didn’t have that. We once loved a house whose backyard was on the highway and made us see past the house and look at the neighborhood – you can’t move a house.
4) How knowledgeable is Kyle on the Metrowest area?
When we first started looking, we were focused on the Hudson/Marlborough area, then we changed our minds and looked in Westford/Chelmsford and then in Wayland/Sudbury/Weston where we settled – all along the way – Kyle knew the markets, what was appropriate for the neighborhoods in terms of prices, school systems, etc.
5) How knowledgeable is he in terms of the real estate process? Was he able to give accurate advice and was he knowledgeable about all the laws and documentation and the entire process?
Yes. This was the first home purchase for us and we knew nothing about it. He explained all the steps along the way, what we needed and answered any questions we had.
6) Was he able to communicate information to you in an accurate and timely manner?
We had a lot of problems with the seller and their realtor being unresponsive to emails/phone calls. All the while, Kyle was tracking down information for us, keeping us calm and helping get us the answers we needed.
7) Was he able to negotiate a good price with the seller?
We didn’t have much negotiation with the seller, just one go around, but we had planned on offering more than what we did thanks to Kyle’s suggestion. He knows the market and where homes are priced and what you can get them for.
8) Did he dedicate enough time to show you houses?
Kyle probably showed us over 50 houses along the way. He always made time for us and worked around our schedule whether it was a holiday, after work, weekend.
9) Did you work with the inspectors/lawyers/mortgage brokers he recommended and what was your experience with them?
We used the inspector Kyle had recommended and he was quite efficient and honest. He found a lot of items that we hadn’t seen with the naked eye. My father-in-law is a lawyer and he recommended someone for that closing so I can’t speak to his recommendations on a lawyer, but I am sure they are top-notch.
10) Anything else I should know about him?
We’ve recommended Kyle to a few sets of friends all who couldn’t speak more highly of him. I wouldn’t think about buying/selling a house with anyone else besides him. Even my family jokes that they can’t believe he stuck it out so long with my husband and I…we are potentially his most “high maintenance” couple, but at the end, we found the right house and we are happy there.
Readers, What other questions have you found helpful when considering working with a realtor on the purchase of a home? I'd love to hear from you!
Posted by Leslie Mann on Sat, Jan 07, 2012 @ 01:25 PM
Many thanks to Bill Miller, who was kind enough to share video footage of a young woman riding his horse behind our new home listing at Hearthstone Estate.
We had a little fun using this to show off the beautiful trails on the property.
Posted by Leslie Mann on Fri, Jan 06, 2012 @ 05:59 PM
I'm so excited that my article about Sherborn was published in the Wall Street Journal today. Kyle & I love living here and when I got the opportunity to write about this peaceful community I was pleased to jump at it.
I hope those considering moving to the Boston area will find the information about these lovely suburbs useful. In this article I highlighted Sherborn, Sudbury, and Bolton.
We also had the opportunity to feature our beautiful new home listing at 92 Bullard St in the story, along with two luxury homes listed for sale in Bolton & Sudbury.
I'd love to hear your feedback about the article. And of course if you have questions about Sherborn or surrounding Boston suburbs, don't hesitate to drop me a line.
Posted by Leslie Mann on Wed, Jan 04, 2012 @ 08:06 PM
If you've read my blog before you've probably heard me chiming in on the topic of home staging once or twice. I'm a big believer that staging homes will help buyers:
- Envision the best possibilities for the home
- Picture how their furniture will look in the house
- Fall in love with the beautiful decor!
To that end, I'm excited to share samples of some before & after pictures of our newly staged home listing in Sherborn, MA.
Posted by Leslie Mann on Mon, Dec 26, 2011 @ 05:00 PM
In our daily lives our homes naturally get cluttered with mail, the kids’ homework, and so forth. It’s important to get rid of this clutter before listing your house for sale. This helps create a sense of order and space. Clutter makes a home feel chaotic and closed in. Many times I’ve heard buyers comment that cluttered homes “need a lot of work”. Often the home doesn’t really have significant maintenance issues. It’s that buyers see disorder and it makes them uneasy. An organized, decluttered home makes buyers feel more open and relaxed.
Here’s a quick checklist for decluttering your house.
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Start boxing up kitchen items. Buyers often focus on kitchen cabinet space, so you’ll want this space to appear roomy. To do so, look through your kitchen cabinets and box up any item you don’t use on a regular basis.
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Recycle old electronics. If you have old computer gear, TVs, and other electronics taking up space in your home, call your local electronics store. Some places like Best Buy will recycle these items for free.
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Keep an eye out for hazardous waste day. There are many items taking up space in our garages that aren’t safe to throw in the trash. Check when your town is having a hazardous waste day so you can safely dispose of items such as old paint, pesticides, motor oil, etc.
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Clear off the bathroom counters. Your master bath should feel luxurious and spacious to buyers. To keep it looking its best, stow away personal care products under the counter or in a little basket in the closet. This way they’re easily accessible to you but are out of the way when buyers are touring your home.
Tip: If you’re having trouble figuring out what to keep and what to get rid of, invite a good friend over to help out. Often it’s easier for someone else to bring a fresh perspective to the situation. There are also plenty of home organizing professionals these days that can work with you to easily sort and organize each room.
[Photo courtesy of Luca Masters]
Posted by Leslie Mann on Tue, Nov 29, 2011 @ 11:49 AM
There are nearly 200,000 children in Massachusetts who are homeless.
This holiday season, Hallmark Sotheby's International Realty is holding a clothing & toy drive for Horizons for Homeless Children, a nonprofit organization dedicated to breaking the cycle of homelessness. The organization provides youngsters ages 0-6 with a safe, nurturing environment for educational play while their parents learn a new skill or attend a job interview.
Please stop by our office at 11 Grove St in Hopkinton to drop off a new item of clothing or a toy for a child in need. We're collecting the following new items for homeless children this holiday season:
Matching gift program! You can also mail a financial donation to our office, made out to Horizons for Homeless Children, c/o Hallmark Sotheby's International Realty, 11 Grove St, Hopkinton, MA 01748 by December 12, 2011, and we'll match your financial contribution, dollar for dollar.
Many thanks!!
Posted by Leslie Mann on Thu, Nov 17, 2011 @ 09:40 AM
I recently had the pleasure of meeting the director of an international graphic design association who enlightened me about the power of design. It's not just about creating an artifact like a logo or a brochure, he said. It's designing an experience. Think about Starbucks, he explained. Everything from the welcoming lights in the shop to the logo to the music you hear in the store is all designed to create an experience. And that Starbucks experience turned a commodity item into a luxury item.
So of course my thoughts quickly turn to designing an experience in real estate. That's why every element of a home marketing campaign needs to be well thought out and of exceptional quality. Will the online photos evoke an emotional response from potential buyers? What's the first thing they'll see when they drive up to the home? What supporting materials will help them feel comfortable in their buying decision? How does each element they interact with--the home video, the brochure, (and yes, the real estate agent) support the experience?
It's an interesting thought, and one that I think is very helpful to agents as they create strategic marketing campaigns for each home.
Posted by Leslie Mann on Mon, Oct 17, 2011 @ 04:47 PM
Everybody seems to love infographics these days so I thought it would be fun to create an infographic highlighting home values across Boston's MetroWest suburbs. True, most people know that homes in Wellesley cost a pretty penny, for example, but I was really interested to map the home values and show the big difference in prices as you head further away (or closer in) to Boston.
The infographic is based on average home sale prices of single family homes sold in each town between January 1-October 1, 2011. Of course the actual price of an individual home will vary depending on its amenities, condition, location, and other factors, but I thought this might be an interesting way to graphically represent home prices in our area.
[Source: Boston MA MLS data]
Posted by Leslie Mann on Sun, Oct 16, 2011 @ 09:13 AM
I'm excited that our home listing at 464 Marshall Street in Holliston was selected as a featured home in the Boston Globe Magazine column "On the Block" today. Writer Vanessa Parks highlighted three homes for sale in the Boston suburbs that have indoor pools - but that "won't break the bank".
For more information:
Learn more about living in Holliston.
Search for homes for sale in Holliston.
Posted by Leslie Mann on Mon, Sep 19, 2011 @ 08:17 PM
One of the most common questions I hear from home buyers is how to handle the pre-approval letter: "We're preapproved to $500,000, but since our offer is less than that, should we provide a letter for a lower amount?"
It's understandable that buyers will worry that a listing agent will assume they will pay a lot more for a house if they see a pre-approval letter for more than what the buyer is offer. Here's my take on this.
First, it's very uncommon for today's home buyers to spend up to the top of what they're approved for (and rightly so!)
Second, if you provide a preapproval letter for the amount of your opening bid, the listing agent will assume you aren't well qualified--and if there's another bidder they may be perceived as a safer choice.
[photo courtesy of Rob Grambau]