Birmingham Neighborhoods

Today we take a look at a few neighborhoods of interest on the south side of Birmingham proper and in the Birmingham Suburb of Homewood and Hoover.

Ross Bridge is an award winning development with a number of independent subdivisions. It is very popular and one of the fastest selling neighborhoods in the state.

Homewood on the other hand is the most walk-able municipality in the state according to walkscrore.com and thus for these 2 areas you will find additional links below all intended to make your own investigation somewhat easier by utilizing the links presented below.

Southside in Birmingham AL

View All (13) Southside Homes for Sale

1526 19th St S
Southside
$249,900
Courtesy of:
Realtysouth-mb-cahaba Rd

1603 14th Ave S
Southside
$233,000
Courtesy of:
Boothby Realty, Inc.

1505 12th St S
Southside
$199,000
Courtesy of:
Realtysouth-mb-cahaba Rd

For More Info: Homes for Sale in Southside Birmingham

Edgewood in Homewood AL

View All (45) Edgewood Homes for Sale

134 Glenwood Dr W
Edgewood
$735,000
Courtesy of:
The Sheridan Network.com, Inc.

1512 Melrose Pl
Edgewood
$584,900
Courtesy of:
Era King - Birmingham

116 Ridge Rd
Edgewood
$579,800
Courtesy of:
Tinsley Realty Company

For More Info: Homes for Sale in Edgewood

Ross Bridge in Hoover AL

View All (71) Ross Bridge Homes for Sale

2940 Grand Ave
Ross Bridge Grand Avenue
$700,000
Courtesy of:
Daniel Homes, Llc

2423 Glasscott Point
Ross Bridge Glasscott
$695,000
Courtesy of:
Daniel Homes, Llc

2411 Glasscott Point
Ross Bridge Glasscott
$689,900
Courtesy of:
Daniel Homes, Llc

4041 Butler Springs Pl
Ross Bridge Butler Springs
$659,900
Courtesy of:
Daniel Homes, Llc

3931 Butler Springs Way
Ross Bridge Butler Springs
$619,900
Courtesy of:
Ingram & Associates

3985 Butler Springs Way
Ross Bridge Butler Springs
$599,900
Courtesy of:
Crawford Realty Of Alabama

For More Info: Homes for Sale in Ross Bridge

Condos for Sale in Homewood AL

View All (50) Homewood Condos for Sale

100 Hallman Hill E
Hallman Hill
$496,000
Courtesy of:
Realtysouth-mb-crestline

350 Hallman Hill E
Hallman Hill
$484,000
Courtesy of:
Daniel Homes, Llc

350 Hallman Hill E
Hallman Hill
$474,000
Courtesy of:
Daniel Homes, Llc

100 Hallman Hill E
Hallman Hill
$359,000
Courtesy of:
Daniel Homes, Llc

2058 Lancaster Rd
Hollywood Villas
$349,780
Courtesy of:
Era King - Birmingham

Mls# 438494
Hollywood Villas
$339,900
Courtesy of:
Era King - Birmingham

For More Info: Condos for Sale in Homewood AL

Hollywood in Homewood AL

View All (25) Homewood Condos for Sale

Mls# 439549
Hollywood
$1,395,000
Courtesy of:
Realtysouth-otm-acton Rd

301 Yorkshire Dr
Hollywood
$897,780
Courtesy of:
Era King - Birmingham

121 Devon Dr
Hollywood
$759,500
Courtesy of:
Realtysouth-mb-cahaba Rd

For More Info:  Homes for Sale in Hollywood Homewood AL

So Much Detail – What to do?

These blog pages are just packed-full of information for Huntsville home sellers, detailing why you should give @Homes Realty serious consideration when listing your home for sale.

We also provide one of the few ‘public’ mechanisms in the Huntsville area to Search Recently Sold Homes in your very own neighborhood. The precise information that is often sought-after by potential home sellers. What better way to get a ‘feel’ for your home’s current market-value, than to search for homes that have recently sold in your neighborhood?

In fact there is so much detailed information on this seller-focused-website, that it is difficult for the average Internet user to read through it all. Nevertheless there is precisely so much information here, because we bring so many advantages to our clients, which are frankly beyond the typical real estate agency’s capacity.

A Summary Presentation

So why not take the summary below out for spin and utilize the links to drill-down into more details when you desire, no need to drill-down into detail until it interests you, yet you’ll get a great overview of what we bring to the table when marketing your home for sale.

Why not schedule your own personal consultation today!

Contact us for your own free and no-obligation home value consultation.

- Elizabeth

Perhaps your home is already getting regular and maybe even weekly showings? If so you likely have it staged properly,  priced competitively, and have an operational marketing system that is exposing your home to the masses and driving your foot traffic.

If this doesn’t represent your current experience or you are just beginning to interview potential listing agents, then understanding the most effective marketing targets of a successful home selling system may be just what the doctor ordered.

Effective Advertising / Marketing Targets

One measure of advertising effectiveness is the number of impressions or public views of your advertisement. However in selling high dollar real estate it is important that your marketing effort targets a specific demographic; financially qualified home shoppers.

So where are home buyers to be found and how can we reach them with your home’s detailed information? Well according to a 2009 nationwide survey of home buyers the following Prezi illustrates where home buyers found the home they actually purchased, so step through the presentation for an overview.

Our Consumer First Listing Service

As can be gleaned from the Prezi above, 85% of home buyers can be targeted with the top 3 marketing categories: the Internet, Buyer Agents, and effective Yard Signage. Thus when evaluating potential listing agents you can use these 3 major categories to distinguish and filter your hiring options.

Internet Marketing

While @Homes Realty stands above the average agent in all of these categories our Internet capability is beyond doubt the best in the area. The most buyer frequented local real estate site is the public MLS website; ValleyMls.com and it is an excellent site with approximately ~125-150k visitors a month. The good news is no matter which listing agent you choose, your home will be advertised on this website as well as syndicated across the Internet to a large number of other national sites.

The 2nd most buyer frequented local real estate website is our own www.athomeshuntsville.com with approximately ~30-35k visitors a month. Not only will your home be advertised on this and other websites we utilize, but it will be featured in a way that will generate many more buyer impressions than the average listing. For more detailed information please browse this Internet Marketing Page.

Marketing to Buyer Agents

This category of marketing is likely the most important of all, because 90-95% of all real estate transaction involve a Realtor®, thus our relationship with fellow agents is an extremely valuable asset that while worked effectively is treated with much care. For more information on how we manage marketing your home to the Buyer Agent community browse this Realtor Information Page.

Yard Signs are Old School?

Well this may be true regarding the average yard sign deployed by many of the larger agencies in town, but nothing could be further from the truth here at @Homes Realty. We have been national leaders in bringing new technology to this old familiar face and I was recently interviewed by Realtor Magazine regarding our use of QR codes.

Our advertising presence on your property is designed to reach out and grab drive-buyers, in addition to QR codes a URL specific to your homes address is provided and we also provide a FREE mobile phone App that can be download right from the signage. (how cool!) For more detail on this unique strategy browse this Future of Yard Signage Page.

I would certainly welcome an opportunity to interview for your listing business and share additional details about our home selling program just drop me an email or give me call 256-425-1659 and we will set things up.

- Elizabeth

Whether selling your home For Sale by Owner (FSBO),  already listed with a local Realtor®, or interviewing agents for your listing business, the broader community of real estate buyer agents is most likely the community that will actually sell your home. Thus your or your Realtor’s working relationship with this community is a very important ingredient in successfully selling your home.

One of our most precious relationships here at @Homes Realty is with our fellow real estate agents, not only locally but nationwide. Why? Because this community is one of the key strategic components contributing to our successful home selling program to the benefit of our clients.

Realtors – A Major Marketing Target

According to a nationwide survey of home buyers in 2009, 36% responded that they first found the home they actually purchased from a Realtor®.Thus this is an important group in marketing and selling your home.

This is why we participate within local Board committees from time to time as they are formed, and why we are active within the local Certified Residential Specialist  (CRS) group here in Huntsville, because these relationships are important not only to us but to you, as our client! …plus the real story is, I truly love my job and enjoy fully participating.

We are also active on the National Scene, like within the largest online real estate network in the world, Active Rain, where we recently ranked in participation and thus traffic 1st in Huntsville and Madison County, and also 2nd within the entire State of Alabama. …and yes you will find us on Facebook and other social networks building and maintaining both local and national Realtor® relationships.

Moreover we have also received some very influential national recognition among our peers. In 2010, Better Homes and Gardens selected our company as one of the Top 25 Next Generation Real Estate Brokerages in the nation and has featured us on their website. Another 2010 national recognition which we are especially proud of, was being named as a  Top 10 Innovator of Year Finalist by Inman News. While we did not win the national title of, ‘Innovator of the Year’, just being named as a  Top 10 Finalist was …enough said!

Why is this important to you as a home seller?

Answer:  “Local Realtors Won’t Shy Away From Showing Your Home” and “National Buyer Referrals” …National buyer referrals are more important for areas such as Huntsville, where a steady stream of relocating home buyers are heading to our town from across the country for employment opportunities.

@Homes Realty – Do’s and Don’ts of Realtor Marketing

There are a number of things we do to effectively market your home to other Realtors® and there are some things we don’t or won’t do within this effort. What follows in not an exhaustive list but it should effectively communicate our approach.

What we Will Do:

1) List Your Home on the MLS Syndication Network

This will advertise your home to all local Realtors via private MLS websites. This will also distribute your Home’s for sale information across the public Internet where your listing will be available on a multitude of websites including Realtor.com, Trulia, Zillow, HotPads, etc, and on-and-on …

2) Aggressively Follow-up on all MLS Reverse Prospect Leads

Reverse prospect leads are generated internally within the MLS and they indicate that another Realtor’s client has expressed interest in your home by either searching its explicit parameters, tagging it as a favorite, etc. We will promptly contact our fellow agent to verify if your home does indeed meet their client’s requirements, if so the objective of this marketing contact will be to hopefully schedule a showing of your home.

3) Strategically Feature Your Home on the Internal MLS Hot-Sheet

The Hot-Sheet internal to the private MLS is actively followed by many …many agents,  and especially by buyer agents that are actively working with qualified home buyers. Homes that get hot listed are new listings, price changes, and any major status changes like pending, withdrawn, etc. We will have limited exposure to this valuable marketing mechanism and will use it strategically throughout the selling process.

4) Promptly Follow-up with the Realtors Showing Your Home

With technology today we are notified almost immediately when your home is shown by another Realtor®, even if your home is unoccupied. As a common practice we make contact with the buyers agent who has shown the property and get feedback from their clients. We will share this with you on a regular basis and engage the buyers agent in potential contract negotiation if appropriate interest is expressed.

5) Strategically Use Realtor® Email Marketing Appropriately

We do use automated constant contact email marketing to contact fellow agents where appropriate, such a planned Realtor® Open House, price and status changes when a previous reverse prospect lead has been worked, etc.

What we Will-Not Do:

1) Spam Fellow Realtors with Unneeded/Unwanted Email

Yes believe it or not this happens more than you might think even with our common private MLS linkage. Sadly I have often times found myself deleting these non-significant emails without reading them. This is not the behavior we are looking for when we make such contact thus we don’t practice this activity because continued good relationships with fellow agents benefits both you and us.

2) Abuse the MLS Featured Hot-Sheet Beyond it’s Intent

A few weeks ago I saw a home I had been following closely pop-up on the hot-sheet, when I examined it I found a $100 price reduction. Not $5000 and no not $500 but an actual $100 reduction on a $498k home. This example makes my point …we won’t do this because our relationships are more important than the few advertising impressions to fellow agents this will bring.

3) List Your Home for Less than 3% for the Buyer’s Agent

Given my own 20 years of real estate experience, I personally understand the time, effort, miles, and money buyers agents have invested in their clients. This is sacred territory in my book, thus we do not take listings where this standard buyers agent commission is not offered. Mind you, I am not talking about the ultra-luxury niche where such reduced commissions are common place. …If this were to become our common practice we would expect buyers agent to shy off of showing our listings and your home  …again its about relationships.

4) List Your Home at a Self-Service Flat-Rate

While of course we do at times make concessions with our listing commission, as the vast majority of agents do from time to time. However there are a number of good reasons why we don’t participate in the Self-service flat-rate listing niche. One of course is that whatever happens good, bad, or indifferent sticks to us and our reputation, and sadly the news is often times more negative than positive. Moreover this is another potential shy away candidate so its relationship, relationship, relationship.

5) List Your Home If We Can Not Agree Upon a Pricing Strategy

Regrettably I do turn down listing business, in all honesty, more than I would like, but it is …what it is!  Don’t worry there are plenty of agents out there that will take your listing regardless of pricing, they know your home is not likely to sell,  but they will get free advertising with your listing, yard sign in your yard, and other home owners in your neighborhood may perhaps open up other listing opportunities for them. The bottom line is …we only take listings where we have confidence that we will have a reasonable opportunity to sell your home, thus a win-win for the both of us.

This is a long summary, however I would certainly welcome an opportunity to interview for your listing business and share additional details about our home selling program just drop me an email or give me call 256-425-1659 and we will set things up.

- Elizabeth

Ok, I am going to go ahead and do it!  …I am going to bring up and discuss one of the hottest debated topics amongst industry insiders for years. Yes the debate has long been decided, but I want to add a new spin, a new perspective, in hopes of explaining my own choice of tactics in the matter.

Long Decided Industry-Insider Debate

The debate I am talking about is the primary purpose of Real Estate office and agent websites. The long decided answer is, “The primary purpose of any real estate website should be to generate leads.”

I am perfectly on-board with this more than correct answer, after all we are running a business. However, the larger and still on-going debate is about the best tactics to deploy in accomplishing this goal and especially when it comes to Buyer Oriented Content such as property search and listing detail content.

There are a number of different lead generation tactics deployed on property search content:

Require Registration to Search
Require Registration to View Listings
Require Registration to View Some Details
Don’t Require Registration to View Details

Yes buyer registration and when to deploy it is an issue that every Real Estate website owner is and has wrestled with to this day.

Home Sellers is Your Agent’s Website Buyer-Friendly?

Given that Listing Syndication has virtually evened the playing field amongst real estate agents in distributing your listing details across the Internet; the local web presence, buyer traffic statistics, search engine placements, and hyper-local web content of your local agent’s website is now one distinguishing factor you should consider when selecting a listing agent.

Home sellers, when interviewing prospective listing agents ask them for information on their website traffic, search engine placements, and buyer content and how their website will increase exposure of your home to buyers. Visit the respective local websites of your short list candidates and do so, emulating a Buyer’s perspective and generate some buyer based Google searches for your town, popular neighborhoods, and home addresses of nearby homes for sale, etc.

If every time you search for properties, click for additional listing detail, home values, market statistics, etc. and are you confronted with the inevitable FORM to fill out:  You know as well as I do; that most buyers are then gone and likely never to return.

Buyers won’t make an offer on your home because of who the listing agent is, heck they don’t even search for Re/Max, Keller Williams, Century 21, or any franchise office for that matter, these are seller search keywords  not buyers, they Search For Homes, specifically their home!

The Best of Both Worlds – Is it Even Possible?

The ideal situation for any Realtor® would be to have a killer buyer-friendly website that generates plentiful amounts of buyer traffic and leads, while ranking so high in search engine results across thousands of buyer keywords, that your buyer-friendly website turns into a marketing machine for your selling clients.

However I will be the first to admit that, this is an IDEAL situation and a lofty goal for any agent at a minimum.  Moreover depending on your  local market,  website budget, and internal office/team technical skills, may not even be achievable for many.

OMG, I can’t tell you how many times local colleagues and friends have told me, “I like your website but its too buyer focused and your missing a lot of listing business”. What do I say, “You’re right I have been missing a lot of listing business”.

However, all the while for the past 2 1/2 years we have been working very hard to get to the ideal situation described above. If you are reading this page, then you are now on our, recently launched, website totally dedicated to real estate sellers. It’s optimized around seller keywords and its local content totally dedicated to seller interests. This was the plan all along and while it is still a work in progress we are getting close, very close, and you now know the rest of the story.

- Elizabeth

Sellers first let me clarify my title. There is of course, such a thing as Aggressive Internet marketing. However, here’s the catch, what is often presented as an Aggressive Marketing Plan may not be the case. Let me provide you a transparent example of exactly what I’m saying.

Internet Marketing of Your Home is Important!

It doesn’t matter what part of the country you are from or where you search the real estate Internet, I know you’ve seen all the variations on the claim:  ‘With my Aggressive Marketing Plan, I’ll  sell your Home faster‘ …for top dollar, …in 90days or its free,  …heck I will sell your home in 120days or I’ll buy it …and on and on.

Inevitably when you’re presented the advertised Aggressive Marketing Plan during your interview of potential agents, Internet Marketing will be a very large portion of it, as it should be!

After all, over 90% of all eventual home buyers use the Internet to search and examine properties, and according to the National Association of Realtors® approximately 36% of current home buyers actually first find the home they purchase on the Internet and not from their agent.

Listing Syndication – The Dirty Little Secret

Listing syndication is an important Real Estate Marketing technique and service that will greatly expand the Internet exposure for your Home, and you definitely want to hire a Realtor® that utilizes this capability.

But here is the RUB …our Local Realtor® Association provides syndication options for all associated Realtors® equally. All I, or any Realtor® for that matter, have to do is list your Home and choose the appropriate syndication networks and poof your home will be distributed across 100′s of Internet websites to provide exposure to potential buyers: Realtor.com, ValleyMls, Remax, Keller Williams, Crye-Leike, Exit Realty, Century 21, ERA, Trulia, Zillow, …and on, and on, and on  …your listing will be everywhere!

This is a good thing for sure and exactly what you want as a seller, isn’t technology grand!  Nevertheless what I am saying here is, this in no way demonstrates Aggressive Internet Marketing and should not be used as a differential in determining the Internet Marketing Capability of agents competing for your business.

Hyper-Local Buyer Friendly Websites Rule!

Buyers are primarily interested in property search and listing details when they begin their internet queries.

However as their Home Search begins to narrow they become extremely interested in additional information such as nearby neighborhood characteristics, a local’s perspective, home sales and price statistics, restaurants, entertainment options, etc. This drives them to local websites where such information is available.

Sellers, understanding ‘buyers’ and what internet features makes them tick and return to a particular local website over-and-over again is one of the attributes we bring to the table in marketing your home and effectively reaching your target audience.

Our buyer friendly website with its 1000′s of listings and over 400 hyper-local blog pages of Neighborhoods,  Market Reports, and various Local Happenings dominates Google search results for all the buyer friendly search keywords.  Take it out for a spin by clicking the image above.

Sellers – You Want Your Home ‘Featured’ on our Buyer Website

With unique visitors north of 18,000 a month and visits over 40,000 a month, you will want your home and neighborhood featured on our websites. Click on the image to the right to look at a snap shot of recent buyer traffic statistics.  ->

Did I say featured neighborhood? Yes I did, if your neighborhood is not already featured it will be along with your home. Why do we do this? Because neighborhood and subdivision information is a primary search target of potential home buyers when they are finalizing their location decision and this is exactly when you want your home presented. The featured neighborhood articles attract Google searchers and then links them into your and other neighborhood listings.

What Does Being ‘Featured’ Mean and How Does it Help?

Having your home featured on our buyer friendly website provides additional exposure for your home in a number of important  ways:

First off almost every page of our website randomly highlights 1 or 2 different featured homes each time the page is loaded. From the home page, search result sidebar, to every blog page side bar and with 542,631  page views just last month this is a lot of advertising impressions to say the least.

Secondly when buyers execute searches with specific criteria any featured home that falls into this criteria, is filtered to the top of the search results list increasing impressions even further.

Thirdly our buyer blog feed is also syndicated and your featured home and neighborhood posts, get exerted and distributed within various social networks like Facebook, Twitter, etc. Moreover our feed is also followed by hyper-local news aggregators like Outside.in, which in turn feed local content onto major news websites, thus it is not uncommon to have local area readers visit our site from the likes of Cnn.com, Msnbc, etc.

Fourthly let’s not forget about Realtors®, they are a very important component of getting your home sold and while we contact all local agents having clients with search criteria matching your home in real-time, we also distribute your home’s details through the largest real estate agent network in the world, Active Rain.  This is important especially for the Huntsville area as we have a steady stream of relocations occurring.

Want to learn more about our Home Selling System?  Simply email me or give me a call 256-425-1659 because we are happy to share.

- Elizabeth

We love breaking new technical ground, in fact it defines us, and especially when it comes to the marketing side of our business. Sure all these newfangled things take some of us old timers a bit back and sometimes it takes awhile, but when I start to implement our prototype concepts and discover what’s missing and wrong with my own two hands, I truly begin to see the possibilities, I must say – I get it!

Quick Response Codes (QR Codes) – Take 2

Just a few months ago we launched a new yard sign rider that utilized QR codes and single property websites to provide quick access for potential drive-by buyers to detailed information about the home and additional contact options.

We were one of the first companies in the country to do this and have received queries from several other Realtors® from all across the country. We were even interviewed and highlighted in a recent Realtor Magazine Article regarding our approach, sub-titled as  ‘A Coded Opportunity‘.  Nevertheless we made some mistakes in our first attempt and roll-out which we have now resolved.

Mobile Phones – The New Internet Browsers

Gen-X home buyers purchase 6 out of 10 homes on the market and Gen-X’ers, as I write this post, are between 28-45 years old! Combine this with the next youngest demographic Gen-Y, and these real estate consumers will buy and sell just about every home on the market for the balance of our Boomer lifetimes.  So we are not playing around here this demographic is completely for real and deserving of your attention when marketing your home for sale!

Here is the catch, Gen-X’ers along with Gen-Y think desktops are for office work and laptops are cumbersome, oh my! Yes with the new advent of smart phones like the Iphone, Android, Palm, and of course my own old stand-by the Blackberry more and more Internet browsers are these small screen devices. This is especially true when discussing virtual-sign-calls from drive-by buyers out in the field. Take it a bit further and why not provide a Free Mobile Phone App that can be downloaded directly from the Yard Sign.

Thus within our now launched 1st round of QR Code Improvements we have customized our website to detect the particular device requesting information on a particular listing and have optimized the output to display very effectively on hand-helds, laptops, or wide screen desktop computers.

Welcome to the world of the ‘Electronic Home Flyer’ provided in a proper format and best of all the Flyer Bin is never empty. 

- Elizabeth

I’ve been a full time Realtor for nearly 12 years. I’ve been through good markets, GREAT markets, slow markets and BAD markets. One thing always remains constant. …Never drop the ball when you have an offer!

Case in point: Last year, I had QUALIFIED buyers that wanted to purchase a home in one of our upscale communities. This home had depreciated and I could back up that fact with my market statistics. We wrote the offer, low, but a starting point. When I say low, I am saying we were WELL within current market price points, but it was low according to what the sellers were asking.

I called the listing agent who presented our offer. I waited for the call, as I was sure we would get a counter. Imagine the shock when the sellers simply declined. DECLINED. “Please submit a better offer”. Excuse me? Just simply counter back and we’ll keep the ball in the air until all parties are satisfied. If we just drop it, we will NEVER come to an agreement.

It was this agent’s FIRM belief that her sellers should not counter a “lower than asking price offer”. What year are we in? Did the upper end market not just crash? My buyers were not showing their best hand upfront, and why should they? We had a 30 month supply in this price range. The sellers took this agent’s advice and refused to counter, ever!

Fast forward to today: My buyers have now built their dream home across the street from this very home. …For less than they were willing to purchase that home for. The declined offer home has not yet sold and is now on agent number 2, with a $61,500 price reduction. My buyers offered them more than they are now willing to sell for. Pride got in the way.

It is of my opinion to counter each and every offer, no matter what the starting price may be. Leave your emotions at the door. This is business. Consider it a tennis game…as long as the ball is in play, the game is still on. You drop the ball, game over!

The first agent should have educated their clients…after all, isn’t that what we are paid to do?

- Elizabeth

Ha …Do I have your attention now? Yes, this is a very real and common theme offering from lots of different Real Estate Agents from all over the country.

So what’s going on here? Will they really sell your home within 90 days or else then sell it for FREE?

Answer: Of course not, as this is a recipe for going out of business, not surviving, and certainly not for growing a business. So what exactly is the catch? Is this just a Real Estate Marketing gimmick to motivate sellers for a listing appointment?

A Look at the Fine Print

In the marketing world this is known as, ‘A Teaser’ and is a perfectly ethical attempt at grabbing your attention within the vast media outlets of today. I used it myself, when I chose the title of this marketing post. Ethical, that is, as long as a mention of the fine print restrictions* accompany the offer.

These restrictions most always include one or more of the following*:

- An agreed upon listing price between seller and listing agent
- A 3% commission is still payable to the buyer’s agency
- A small fixed admin / marketing fee is still due the listing agency
- The home is under a certain price threshold and not a foreclosure
- Etc., Etc.

Transparency is the Key

Most Real Estate Agents across the country are independent business people and have full control of the commission and/or charges they request for their services. Do they make allowances for discounts when the circumstances (i.e., restrictions) warrant it? Most certainly, it happens all the time!

Taking a look at the short list of restrictions listed above, would we be willing to offer a similar commission system? Answer: Why of course, just take a close look at item #1: ‘An agreed upon listing price between seller and listing agent’.

We would be foolish to pass on a listing that is priced properly, while at the same time just as foolish to enter into such a deal when the listing would be clearly overpriced. It’s not really all that complicated when the fine print is transparent to all involved, although we likely wouldn’t call it: ‘Sell it for Free‘ when in reality it would be: ‘Sell it at a Discount‘.

If you have some special circumstances ask me about our flexible commission plans: email me or simply call me directly at 256-425-1659.

- Elizabeth

Every industry has its Icons; the individuals that have blazed a trail for others to follow and the Real Estate industry is no different. Russell Shaw of Phoenix, AZ is one of these Icons, he is a mega producer in every sense of the word.

Consistently ranked as the #1 producing agent in Arizona and in the top 25 nationally he is like the old E.F. Hutton commercial; “When Russell Shaw speaks industry insiders listen!”

A Giver not a Taker

Probably his most famous (as apposed to most valuable) contribution to Real Estate Marketing is his:

No Hassle Listing® – Home Marketing System

If anyone has given back to an industry its Russell and when asked about what he enjoys most about his profession he answered:

Making my fellow agents more successful. Helping them to navigate the real obstacles and also to recognize those obstacles that exist just because someone created them.

As a tribute to his creativity his listing marketing system has been utilized and tweaked by other agents all over the country.  Does Russell mind that his content, ideas, and methods are being used by so many others? No its a form of flattery. When asked his permission he plainly stated:

Please feel free to use anything there you might like, other than the name, “No Hassle Listing®”.

The Heart of a Hassle-Free Listing Experience

At the very heart of Russell’s system are some very basic ‘consumer first’ principles and that is why we like it so much. Simplicity and putting the customer first are at the heart of our principles at @Homes Realty.

1. Sell the Property Yourself  and Pay no Commission
2. Cancel the Listing at Anytime
3. No Advanced Fees of Any Kind
4. No Pressure Presentation

What is so interesting about these core principles is that I have always managed my listing business utilizing these same basic principles. I have just never advertised them, obviously to my own loss.

Hassle-Free is not Stress-Free

I wish I could commit to you that selling your home won’t have a moment of stress, but I can’t, nevertheless I am committed to making it as stress free as possible.

Hassle and Stress are 2 entirely different things and the negotiation and closing phase of any home sale can be a bit stressful at times, even when you are getting your asking price, its  just the nature of the beast.

We Aren’t The #1 Agency in Town …At Least Not Yet

Unlike Russell, we don’t sell more homes than any other agency / team in the area and can’t make this claim. Nonetheless it isn’t that we are not proud of our performance!

This morning, I pulled an Market Penetration Report and compared our production with that of competitors, we were listed 44th out of 209. However when I used roster numbers and compared our production on a per-agent basis in an apples-to-apples fashion; we came out ahead of the top 10 offices in town.

However while statistics are useful to the extent that you know the exact context they are pulled. They are also a funny thing and can change daily and if one becomes too bound to them from a marketing perspective, instead of you driving the statistics – the statistics end up driving drive you, and this would not be a good thing.

We Can Sell Your Home Faster than the Average Agent

Like Russell we can sell your home faster than the average agent, but I am not sure how helpful this comparison is, given the huge divergence of the 2 sets being compared. The easiest way to explain this is by example. On any given day I can pull the median average selling time for 1000 agents, and 499 of them are faster than average.

There are many factors that will effect how quickly your specific home may sell in the current market. Your price range, listing price, condition of your home, curb appeal, etc, all play a role in how quickly your home will sell.

Your choice of Realtor® will also play a significant role in how fast your home will sell.  Our marketing plans and effort are 2nd to none and we lead the pack when it comes to Internet marketing the major media outlet in today’s real estate world and to borrow one of Russell’s now famous quotes from the top of his web page:

I’m not bragging, I’m applying for a job!

Want to learn more about our Home Selling System?  Simply email me or give me a call 256-425-1659 because we are happy to share.

- Elizabeth