Resources: Successful Selling

If you are thinking about selling your home, there are many points to take into account, especially when it comes to choosing the people you partner with. Here are some of the factors that we think you should consider carefully:

Our Digital World
Thanks to the Internet, we are more connected and better informed than ever before. How we communicate with each other has changed. How we get our news and information has changed. And how we buy and sell real estate has changed. Current listings, virtual tours, photos and floor plans are all available on a single web page; everyone benefits from the power of instant information. So how do you best position yourself to take advantage of today's rapidly changing environment?

More than ever, successful real estate transactions rely on full and open digital information. Most realtors have websites but not all websites are created equal, and many agents have yet to master the communications and marketing tools of the Internet. Many still rely on blurry cell-phone-camera photographs and patchy property information, and many others are not vigilant in responding to agent and buyer inquiries.

My-Bermuda-House understands how to deploy Internet technology and is pioneering the delivery of innovative product and marketing solutions. We know how to blend traditional media with direct online advertising to market your property with optimal effect.

Choose the Right Agency
Your property is quite possibly the most valuable asset you own, so it's important that you find an agent you can trust and in whom you have confidence. You are not just hiring a Realtor to put a sign on the lawn, an ad in the paper, and hold an open house. You need an experienced professional to structure a thoughtful, integrated, multimedia sales campaign to maximize the exposure of your property to qualified buyers.

Today, more than 85% of property searches begin online, so it's critical that you partner with forward-thinking professionals who understand online strategies, can deliver great content and who possess the customer service ethos to back it up.

Pricing
When it comes time to sell, you want to be sure that you get a fair price for your home. Setting the right price can be tricky: size, condition, amenities, location and prevailing market conditions all influence fair market value. Nevertheless, listing at the proper price is critical to a successful sales strategy - no amount of advertising or promotion will overcome improper pricing. The trick of course is to figure out the right price before your home goes on the market.

My-Bermuda-House can help you to accurately estimate fair market value by using recent sales data to prepare a Comparative Market Analysis (CMA). Our CMA can give you up-to-date information on the real estate marketplace and show you meaningful comparisons between your home and other properties, allowing you to assess the value of your property based on the sale price of comparable properties across the island.

In some instances, you may prefer to commission a formal appraisal of your property. My-Bermuda-House can assist you here as well. We have partnered with an independent, qualified and experienced property appraiser, who will conduct a formal valuation of your property for a reasonable fee.

Property Marketing
The best advice we can offer for successful selling is to make sure your property gets full market coverage. Having a web savvy agent is very important. The real estate agent who just runs ads in the newspaper is yesterday's man.

My-Bermuda-House is Bermuda's first genuinely "online" real estate agency, dedicated to providing a quality service to sell your Bermuda property through a diversified sales strategy encompassing traditional and Internet media. At My-Bermuda-House, we understand that excellent presentation and maximum exposure are the real keys to providing a first class marketing service to our clients.

Each new listing is directly marketed to our more than 17,000 registered members. Properties are presented in a compelling manner, with virtual tours, digital galleries, floor plans, maps, printable brochures and text descriptions that communicate the features and advantages of your home. Prospective buyers are able to view your property online, submit questions, request viewing appointments and submit offers - all protected by our dedicated secure server.

My-Bermuda-House also offers expertise in traditional realtor skill sets -valuations, working with prospective buyers, arranging open houses, negotiating offers, and co-ordinating with other industry professionals. As your realtor, My-Bermuda-House is with you every step of the way.

Product Choice
At a restaurant, not everyone wants to eat the same thing. So too with real estate. You want a real estate agent who can offer choices and solutions tailored to your needs. Take a look around and you will see that My-Bermuda-House offers more choice and flexibility than anyone else. Our product options broadly fall into two categories:

  • Listing Plans: For a hassle-free experience, retain MBH as your sales agent on a sole or open listing basis. We will create your online listing, market your property, screen prospects, show your property to qualified buyers, liaise with the attorneys on the sales contract, and work to ensure all sales conditions are met.

  • For Sale By Owner Plans (FSBO): If you prefer to sell your property yourself, My-Bermuda-House provides you with tools to create your own online listing. You get the benefit of our powerful online distribution engine to broadcast your listing to the market but all questions and viewing requests come directly to you. You show the property and negotiate the sale in conjunction with your lawyer. For about the same price as a one time newspaper advertisement, you get a full online listing on our website for an entire month with access to our more than 17,000 registered members.

Partnership
Selling your home requires a team effort. You have a role to play in terms of preparing your home for sale and making it available for showings. Your realtor has a part to play in marketing the property, advising you on how to position your home to best advantage and providing you with advice and guidance throughout the sales process. We have developed strong relationships with diverse professional service providers to assist you in making repairs or improvements to your home, valuing your property, staking the property boundaries and undertaking structural or engineering surveys, as required.

At My-Bermuda-House, our realtors are more than just sales people. We offer tailored solutions designed to fit individual needs. If you want to sell your home yourself, we provide the best available sales platform to market your home. If you want to engage our professional services, we offer innovative and attractively-priced solutions backed by the highest level of personal service. And we complement our services with a wide array of professional partners to streamline and simplify the complexities of selling real estate. Whatever your requirements, My-Bermuda-House can deliver a comprehensive solution.