Coldwell Banker Countryside, Realtors

• Over 10 years of real estate marketing experience, and over 18 years property management experience.

• Virtual Tours, Complete Internet Marketing of all property listings which is the best way to market your property to not only local cliental, but potential buyers all over the world.

• Going the extra mile to find you the perfect property, or buyer for your property, No listing or client is too big or too small that they do not get our complete attention!

Introduction
There is a wide variety of marketing alternatives available to sell your home. The most important and most effective is the MLS. When we meet to discuss the sale of your home we will discuss the alternatives and let you make the final decision on how you want to market your home.

Multiple Listing Service (MLS)
Most homes are bought and sold through real estate agents. The place the real estate agent get information about property for sale is through the local Multiple Listing Service. The MLS is the real agent's computerized database of all listed properties. It's where agents find homes to show buyers. It's also where they find sales comps which help a seller determine the sale price of their home and also helps a buyer determine what a fair offer price is for a home for sale. Agents can access property information from their home or office computer 24 hours a day. The MLS is the single most important and most effective marketing tool available. The vast majority of sales, some say 80% of sales, are a result of exposure to real estate agents through the MLS.

Professional Signage (where permissible)
Since buyers often drive around looking for signs, a visible sign is important. Our company uses professional signs. We also use information boxes filled with brochures so that buyers driving past your home can stop their car and grab a flyer. We install or remove signs within 24 hours.

Internet Exposure- Virtual Tours
Many of today's tech-savvy buyers view homes on the web before starting their search. We give your home maximum exposure on our web site at CBCountryside.com  which is ranked in the top 5 on all major search engines for real estate throughout the Smith Mountain Lake area, plus 5 additional sites: Escapetothelake.com (my personal site), SmithMountainLakeVirginia.com,  SMLVirginia.com, SmithMNTLakeVA.com, & SmithMNTLakeVirginia.com as well as other major sites such as Homeseeker.com, Realtor.com, Yahoo.com and others. We can post pictures of your home on our website or we can, through the latest software, provide a virtual tour of your home over the internet. Potential buyers can view your home inside and out, online. The web is increasing in importance in marketing real estate. Feel free to call or email us any Internet questions. bpaxton@escapetothelake.com - (540)721-3323.

E-mail Marketing
A unique method of exposing your home is email marketing. When your home is listed, we send an e-mail message to our clients as well as other agents. Within the e-mail there is a link to our website where they can view photos and info about your home.

Showing Your Property
It is extremely important to make your home easily available for showing to agents and buyers. The easier it is to show the more people will see it and the faster it will sell. If you are not home regularly or the house is vacant we like to use an electronic lockbox so that agents can easily access the property. A lockbox is a secure way of providing entry to your home. Only licensed Realtors have access to the electronic keypad and the electronic lockbox records the identity of each visiting agent. If you are not comfortable using a lockbox we will make other arrangements to show your home.

Follow-up on Showings
We ask our clients to call us if they have any information that may be helpful. We will contact agents who have shown your home to get any meaningful feedback, which we will share with you. Be aware however that it is difficult to get feedback from most agents.

Open House
Many think an open house is a good way to attract buyers. Most buyers who come to an open house are not qualified and probably can’t afford your home. Many are just looking or passing an afternoon. There may be times when an open house does make sense. For instance if there are a lot of requests to see your home it may be better to have an open house and tell everyone when the house will be available for showing.

Photographs
We will take a color photos of your home immediately to be used in advertising, brochures, the internet and on the MLS. Thanks to digital photography your pictures will be available immediately rather than in days. It would be a good idea to have your house ready both inside and out. For instance, make sure there are no cars in the driveway and the garage is closed and the yard manicured.

Custom Color Photo Brochure
All properties listed with me will have a custom color brochure. I feature both exterior and interior shots as well as vital information buyers want to know. I want a buyer to receive a nice color information sheet so that he or she will remember your property. I also print our web site addresses on the flyer so that the buyer can log on from their computer to see additional photos and information about your property listed with Coldwell Banker Countryside, Realtors.

Print Advertising
There are many available newspapers and periodicals available to advertise your property. The Local newspapers offer a weekend photo display ads and classified ads. Most local community newspapers offer real estate advertising. Another periodical is the real estate publication "Home Search" and "Real Estate Showcase". These free magazines are located on newspaper racks in convenience stores and markets. Properties and open houses can be advertised here with photos. When we meet to discuss listing your home, we will review the various print advertising options available.

Marketing Intangibles
Is your agent cooperative and helpful to other agents? Does your agent respond quickly to phone or email inquiries about your property? Can you communicate easily and quickly with your agent? Is he or she easy to reach? Does your agent screen himself behind voicemail or assistants? These intangibles can make the difference between an easy sale or a stressful sale.

Final Thoughts
Real estate marketing and sales is not that difficult. Price the property correctly, expose it to agents and qualified buyers, make it easy to view the property, and hire a competent professional agent to handle all of the contracts and negotiations. That's it. Sometimes Realtors make it seem much more complicated than it is. When you hire me to represent you, I bring my professional business experience to the table. I have worked through many of the pitfalls that can derail a smooth sale. You can be sure I will be diligent and forceful in representing your interests. Thank you for considering me to sell your home. I look forward to a long-lasting relationship with you.