Photo Credit: CoWomen
Chris Karas, President and Founder of The Karas Group, Co-Founder and Owner of Launch Real Estate, has distinguished himself among real estate professionals in Arizona as a talented and ethical agent whose expertise is matched only by his incredible sensitivity to the unique needs of his clients.
Assembling a team of likeminded agents to form The Karas Group, has allowed Chris to focus on providing a full service and highly responsive approach for his clients. His professional, educated and organized method yields not only a strong return on investment, but a pleasant experience for his clients. This process has resulted in just shy of a billion dollars in completed transactions and has ranked him in the top 0.1% of successful realtors nationwide. Haute Residence sat down with Karas Group member Marissa Kline to discuss the best practices for finding a realtor to sell your home.
What is the best way to find a realtor to sell your home? Are there specific sites to search for a great realtor?
When you’re searching for the best realtor to sell your home, you want someone who is a neighborhood specialist; someone who knows your neighborhood even better than you do. Drive around your neighborhood and see which agents have the most listing. Then do your research on them - check out their website, Instagram, Facebook, Zillow, ect. Read the reviews from past clients and see if this would be an agent you’d be interested interviewing. Double check their sales records and ask them, “what sets them apart from every other agent in your neighborhood.” Any agent can give you ‘smoke and mirrors’ but you’re looking for the real thing!
Photo Credit: CoWomen
What traits or characteristics should a person look for when trying to find a great realtor to sell their home?
Knowledge and drive! You want to find an agent that is incredibly knowledgable about the real estate market in your area and driven enough to think outside of the box for marketing strategies. Real estate is hairy business, and sometimes putting a deal together is more complicated than you would think. This is why you only want to hire the best agent to represent you. It’s also important to find an agent that you will enjoy enjoy working with. Selling your home doesn’t happen over night, so you want to make sure that the realtor you hire is the right personality match for you.
What marketing techniques or platforms do you recommend doing to get you home the maximum exposure?
I don’t think there is just one platform that will guarantee your home sells quick. In my opinion, it’s best to diversify your marketing strategy. Spend the extra money to make sure the home photographs well, because in a digital world, the online presence is a buyers first showing. By the time a buyer actually visits the property for the first time, they would have already felt a connection to the property based off the pictures and/or video. Social media is great for spreading the word about the property or targeting a specific area/demographic. It is also a great tool to generate interest for a special event like a broker open or open house. Use any and all avenues to spotlight the home.
Is there a time of year you recommend to sell your home compared to others?
The Phoenix/ Paradise Valley market may be different than others, but our best time to list your home is during the Spring season. That is the time of year where the most buyers are out house hunting, but as a seller, that is also the time where you have the most competition. If you’re going to list your home in the Spring, you want to make sure your list price is an appropriate reflection of the current market. Be aggressive and put your best foot forward from day one. Make sure the photos are pristine, staging is impeccable, price is competitive and your home is “show ready” at all times. That is the only way to maximize showings of your property to find a buyer in the Spring. Otherwise, you might have to wait out the slow and hot AZ Summer months.
Are there common mistakes home owners make before listing their home?
A common mistake I see many sellers make before listing their home, is failing to declutter. You may love your treasured knit-knacks and love displaying your children Elementary school art on the wall, but it is important to create a clean and welcoming environment so the buyers can envision their own lives in that house. Buyers want to feel like they are walking into their next home, not walking into your home. I recommend my clients aggressively declutter before listing. Your home is going to sell and you’re going to have to pack up everything eventually, so why not get a head start. If a seller is open to have the home professionally staged, that is always a great option.
