Listing and Marketing Your Home
Once your home is priced and prepared, the focus shifts to putting it in front of as many potential buyers as possible and making every showing count. Here's what that work looks like when you list with me.
What Your Listing Agent Does
MLS Entry
Your home is entered in the Multiple Listing Service, where agents throughout the region search for homes for their buyers. Accuracy matters: square footage, room sizes, school district, HOA details, and features all affect who finds your listing and whether it meets their search.
Professional Photography
Most buyers see your home online before anywhere else. Professional photos, taken after the house is cleaned and staged, present it at its best. Depending on the property, a video tour, aerial images, or a floor plan can add even more.
A Compelling Description
The listing description highlights features, updates, and location benefits in clear, specific language. In keeping with fair housing law, it describes the property, not the kind of person who should live there.
Online Syndication
From the MLS, listings typically feed out to major real estate websites and to brokerage sites, including mine, where buyers can find your home through property search.
Signs and Open Houses
A yard sign reaches neighbors and anyone driving through. Open houses can draw buyers who aren't yet working with an agent and give neighbors a reason to tell friends about your home. We'll decide together whether open houses fit your home and your comfort level.
Showing Scheduling and Feedback
Showing requests usually come through a scheduling service, and you approve times that work for you. A secure lockbox gives licensed agents access without you having to be home. After showings, I follow up with agents for feedback and pass it along to you.
Regular Price and Progress Reviews
I keep an eye on showing activity, online interest, feedback, and new competing listings. If the market is telling us something, we'll talk about it promptly, whether the answer is a change in price, presentation, or marketing.
Preparing for Showings
Showings can come with little notice, so a quick daily routine helps:
- Make beds, clear counters, and put dishes away.
- Empty trash cans and tidy pet areas.
- Open blinds and turn on lights.
- Set the thermostat to a comfortable temperature -- especially important in a North Texas summer.
- Leave during showings so buyers can talk freely and take their time.
Keep Pets and Valuables Secure
Pets. Take pets with you or crate them safely, and note them in the showing instructions so agents know what to expect. An open door can be an escape route, and not every visitor is comfortable around unfamiliar animals.
Valuables. Before the first showing, put away or lock up:
- Jewelry, cash, and small electronics
- Prescription medications
- Firearms and ammunition
- Mail, checkbooks, and documents with personal or financial information
- Spare keys and extra garage remotes
If you have security cameras, let me know so they can be noted in the showing instructions. Consider turning off audio recording; recording other people's private conversations can raise legal concerns, and buyers should feel free to talk openly.
When offers start coming in, see reviewing and negotiating offers for how we'll compare them.
Put Your Home in Front of Buyers
Ready to see a marketing plan built around your property? Contact Tarus or call (972) 333-3104, and I'll walk you through each step before your home goes live.