How-To be a Seller's Agent
On this page, we have assembled some training videos and tips that are helpful to prepare for your next listing. Please note that some of these steps or forms are specific to Texas, but the ideas and concepts are similar everywhere!
Listing Agent Tools You Need to Buy!
Every agent needs this in their car!!! Laser measure with backup tape measure: https://amzn.to/3JJpIVZ
Something going on with the temperature? Point this at the AC vent https://amzn.to/3MYXEhe
Is that outlet working? Use this tester https://amzn.to/3t3o1uu
Got a stinky listing? Ozone: Treat it: https://amzn.to/3vAdfzQ
How to Run a CMA
Check out this great Listing Presentation Training
LISTING AGREEMENT EXPLANATION
Listing Agreement.pptxHow to Prepare a Net Sheet - REQUIRED FOR ALL LISTINGS
Propy is another option
You'll need from the seller:
Copy of their most recent mortgage statement
You'll see the estimate of their payoff from the principal balance
You'll see whether or not they are escrowing with their payment for taxes and insurance. This will let you know if they're likely to get a net refund of their escrow account from their lender a few weeks after closing
If they don't have a survey, estimate about $600 for a new one to be purchased by the seller. It's better to estimate high and negotiate that to the buyer's side than to pretend it doesn't exist.
Ask them what their HOA resale fees are. This would be in their HOA docs that they received in the last closing.
How to Prepare Homes for Photos & Showings
Preparing homes for the listing involves several steps to ensure that your sellers can sell for top-dollar in the least amount of time!
Pre-packing - This is what we call it when the seller has a lot of clutter. We want to have them remove their prized collections (aka too much clutter and personalization) and allow the buyer to walk in the home and have the space to envision their belongings there. "Pre-packing" sounds a lot nicer than "Decluttering" and also includes removing the family photos, religious, political or other types of decorations that would detract from the home or possibly offend a buyer during a showing.
Staging - have a stager come in to tell them how to ideally place furniture in the home to show the optimized usage of the rooms in the photos. The stager will also tell them which things need to be touched up before the photos as well.
Pre-Inspection - it's often a great idea to get an inspection done BEFORE listing the home to allow the seller to have time to make necessary repairs that can often be done by a handyman at a lesser expense. It also gives the buyer some confidence when they see the inspection in Transaction Desk and the notes that all of these items have been already taken care of before they buy. It reduces surprises for everyone!
Prepare the Inside of the House - Before photos, have the house deep cleaned including the carpets. So many homes are a turn-off for buyers because the carpet is dingy and gross or smells. Clean the walls, baseboards, light fixtures and switch plates. Don't let your listing go for less than top dollar because it's dirty and leaves a bad impression.
SMELLY HOUSE? Use this ozone machine in each room for an hour or so https://amzn.to/3vAdfzQ
Prepare the Outside of the House - Before photos, make sure the yard is cleaned, the driveway and patios are power-washed and the trees are neatly trimmed. Also it helps to put some colorful flowers in pots and a doormat to make the entrance look welcoming for buyers and in photos.
Photos - This is a critical step!!!! Remember that most buyers see the homes online before ever stepping foot in the door. Without proper photos, your first impression to buyers might be "skip" or "swipe right". Don't cheap out and try to do the photos yourself with your phone. It's better to trust this to a photographer who has the right camera to produce the HD images AND set it up with the best lighting. (Oh and some other tips, make sure that fans are turned off and toilet seats/lids are down. Do your best to present the home in the best possible manner!)
Smells - If the seller is still living in the house make sure the seller is advised not to cook smelly foods and other things that will be a turnoff to some buyers. Walking into a house and getting hit in the face by the smell of fish or other seasonings can be a very bad first impression. Also, keep the dogs bathed so that they are not smelling up the house either. This is another reason to get the carpet cleaned too. It's also a good idea to have an essential oil diffuser in various places around the house with a few drops of a simple smell like vanilla. These are safer than candles burning and will run for hours. Oh, and don't forget to take the garbage out to the trash can!!!
Lights & Doors - have the seller leave all of the lights on and the doors open. This allows the home to be given the best first impression when they walk in. If the house is dark, they are hunting for light switches and they can't see how beautiful the rooms are. Make it easy. Also put a note in the showing instructions and a note on the inside of the door to agents to leave all of the lights on. It's habit for them to turn them off after showings.
Gather Documents - Gather all of the documents that you can up front to put into the MLS Transaction Desk to make your contract run smoother and close some of the loopholes for the buyer "outs" such as Seller's Disclosure, Survey & T-47, any inspection reports done on the property, listing instructions, and other information that is helpful for the buyer's agent to have when preparing the contract. Also, if you have a list of property upgrades that have been done, that is helpful too in marketing the property.
How to easily get a Seller's Disclosure prepared
The TEXAS Seller's Disclosure Notice of Property Condition (SDN) is required by sellers of previously occupied single family residences and is to be used in conjunction with a contract for the sale of real property entered into on or after September 1, 2019. It contains information required to be disclosed by Section 5.008 of the Texas Property Code regarding material facts and the physical condition of the property.
There are only 11 exceptions from the requirement to provide this disclosure -->
The SELLER can choose whether they want to use the minimum TREC form or the more extensive Texas Realtors version of the form.
Check out the information below about Sellers Shield to get the form filled out electronically by the seller to get a clean, readable copy as opposed to a handwritten form and they can also purchase additional protection.
NOTE: If you do not provide the SDN before the execution of the contract, the buyer will have an automatic FREE SEVEN-DAY termination period to get out of the contract upon receipt all the way up to the day of closing!
Don't put your seller at risk! Provide the notice before executing the contract and ensure that 7B on the contract is checked "Buyer has received the notice"
SDN EXEMPTIONS: Texas Property Code Sec. 5.008. (e) This section does not apply to a transfer:
(1) pursuant to a court order or foreclosure sale;
(2) by a trustee in bankruptcy;
(3) to a mortgagee by a mortgagor or successor in interest, or to a beneficiary of a deed of trust by a trustor or successor in interest;
(4) by a mortgagee or a beneficiary under a deed of trust who has acquired the real property at a sale conducted pursuant to a power of sale under a deed of trust or a sale pursuant to a court ordered foreclosure or has acquired the real property by a deed in lieu of foreclosure;
(5) by a fiduciary in the course of the administration of a decedent's estate, guardianship, conservatorship, or trust;
(6) from one co-owner to one or more other co-owners;
(7) made to a spouse or to a person or persons in the lineal line of consanguinity of one or more of the transferors;
(8) between spouses resulting from a decree of dissolution of marriage or a decree of legal separation or from a property settlement agreement incidental to such a decree;
(9) to or from any governmental entity;
(10) of a new residence of not more than one dwelling unit which has not previously been occupied for residential purposes; or
(11) of real property where the value of any dwelling does not exceed five percent of the value of the property.
If you're not aware, Sellers Shield partnered with eXp Texas two years ago to reduce risk in your business and simplify the listing process. Please take a moment to watch our short introduction video below, then click the link below to access your account and get started today!
Watch the full demo below!!!
Will Collins, Acct Manager: will.collins@sellersshield.com
General Customer Support: customersuccess@sellersshield.com
Home Sale Legal Protection™ Support: protect@sellersshield.com
How to input the listing into MLS
EXP COMPLIANCE: Within 48 hrs of the signed listing agreement, you must must enter the listing transaction into Skyslope
Before you begin entering directly into MLS, take the time to go through the Residential Data Input form also found in Zipforms to make sure you've got it filled out correctly.
Below is a great video about how to input a listing into the MLS. When you are ready to begin entering your listing into MLS, this video will walk you through the process.
Before you go live, make sure you have all of your photos ready to upload.
CAUTION: Watch for the Listing Date field at the end before you make it Active. If you start inputting the listing several days before it goes Active, it will insert a date and then your listing will debut with 4 Days on Market instead of 0. Not a great way to get started. If you miss it, you will have to contact your association's MLS Department to get them to fix it. They are the only ones who are able to make that change.
Check out the video >> about understanding the MLS status definitions (Active, Active Option, Kick Out, Pending, etc.). You are required to change the status immediately. For example, when you have an accepted contract, change the status to either Active Option if there is an option period, Active Contingent, Active Kick-Out, or Pending. Do not leave it sitting in Active status waiting for money to arrive at title.
How to Optimize Your Listing with Transaction Desk
Sharing Documents with Other Agents via Transaction Desk
The Transaction Desk is a major time-saving feature in MLS. You can store documents associated with a transaction and select who can view them. This allows you to share documents on your listing. Go to Matrix and select Input. Click on Manage Documents via Transaction Desk. Create a transaction, selecting both the appropriate listing type and your role. Here are the documents that are recommended for sharing via Transaction Desk to protect your seller:
Seller's Disclosures - preferably the Sellers Shield version
Any inspection reports or documents required for disclosure by the Seller's Disclosure
Survey AND notarized T-47 (if available)
A document that communicates updates, etc. that have been done on the home
A document that describes anything specific to the transaction that should be noted on the contract when agents are writing their offers
Copy of the Disclosure of Relationship with Residential Service Provider signed by you and the seller so it can be signed by the buyer's agent and buyer
One thing to note is that by default, the documents are set to "Private" meaning that only you can see them. You can set your document permissions in your Instanet transaction file. Click on the star icon to change the settings of your document:
a star without any fill color is “Private” – only the agent and any super users in that office can view
a green star is “MLS Agent View” – all MLS subscribers can view - CHOOSE THIS!!!!
a blue star is “Public” – portal clients can view
What does “Public” view mean? When you make a document in your listing public, buyers will have access to that document through their Matrix client portals. “Private” documents are only viewable by you and by registered Supra users in your office. “MLS Agent View” means that all MLS subscribers can view the documents, but the public cannot.
If documents are marked for “MLS View”, the agent on the other end will see a message “There are no documents to be viewed at this time”. If any documents are marked for “Public view”, the agent will be able to view.
To upload your document, click on the blue bar to find a document or drag and drop from the desktop. Once it’s loaded, you’ll notice a green star.
That means that the document is set for only MLS subscribers. Click on it once to toggle to change the setting to public view and click once again to change it to private. Keep clicking to toggle among the choices. Bear in mind that public view documents will show up in IDX feeds as well.
How to install the Supra Lockbox at your listing
Watch the tutorial videos for tips and actually how to open the box.
Hit the "Open Shackle" button
Type in your 4 digit passcode and select the reason for opening the shackle
Select "Add on a New Listing" and enter the MLS ID number
Tap on the "Begin" button
Push up on the black keybox to turn on the Supra iBox
The app will start communicating and you will hear familiar chirping
When your phone makes the jingle sound, you can press DOWN on the shackle at the top to lift it out of the Supra
Now you can put the shackle over the door handle and slide the Supra back up onto the shackle to lock it onto the door at your listing
NOTE: If there is not a good way to hang it on the door because it won't fit, you can find an alternate place to hang it near the front door area preferably in a spot that will not allow the keybox to be stolen from the property like a nearby lamp or pipe.
If you do put it somewhere besides the front door, be sure to make that note in the showing instructions in MLS and in Showingtime so people get those appointment instructions and agents aren't left lurking for the box. You will get a lot of calls from confused agents.
Showing Scheduler from Showingtime (formerly CSS)
You can spend a LOT of time scheduling showings if you do not have a showing service to handle that process that allows buyer's agents to schedule showings at times that are convenient for them, allows the seller to approve or decline appointments and allows for blocking out showing times for when the seller may have family in town or something that prevents them from being able to leave for the showings. A service like ShowingTime will also allow you to set parameters around when agents can show the home, how soon they can schedule before showing up and even collecting feedback after the appointment. It also allows you to send broadcast emails to agents who have already shown the property.
Do all listing use the Showingtime appointment scheduling service?
Most agents use Showingtime, but not all agents use it because there is a monthly fee for the listing to be enrolled in the service. It makes it much harder for agents to show the house and also for the listing agent who has to manage all of the showings themselves. Sometimes appointments are set up directly with the agent because the seller wants their agent present at all showings. You will see this more in high-end homes. Follow the agent's rules.
You should be able to add, pay for and manage your showing in the ShowingTime website, but what number do agents call for help with listings?
SAVE THIS NUMBER AS A CONTACT IN YOUR PHONE --> Showingtime (817)858-0055 You may need it while you're out and about.
Before the showing
Unless your listing is not set as "Go & Show" where you don't need to approve appointments, give timely responses to showing appointment requests. Approve or Decline
After Showings
FEEDBACK: Follow up with the showing buyer agents to get constructive feedback to share directly with the seller to help them with their sale related decisions.
Reviewing an Offer
Marketing Your Listing
4 Things You Need to Sell Every Listing
How to Get the Correct Price
Live Listing Roleplay
Back to Basics of Marketing Your Listings
eXp Marketing Center Resources
Add to tour listing to Facebook Marketplace
Using Canva to Create Images
20 Ways to Market Your Listings