Chicago Area Real Estate Expert
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  • REAL ESTATE FOR SELLERS
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FOR SELLERS | REAL ESTATE

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GET A FREE HOME EVALUATION |
CHICAGO AREA REAL ESTATE EXPERT
REGINA ZAK TOMAS

The Internet has been a great problem–solver for home sellers. They can start to consider a home sale much earlier, spend more time on research, and gather more information to see how their home might be positioned in the current market.
However, did you know that there is a great deal of suspect and inaccurate information on the Web in regard to real estate and particularly home values? Some of it comes from court tax records, which are notoriously inaccurate value statistics. Other value estimates on the Web come simply from gathering listing price data. It’s not an accurate value until a buyer and seller agree on a number, so listing numbers are just a guess.
If you’ll fill in some home information in the form on this page, I’ll:
* Develop a market report of similar homes to yours in your neighborhood that has sold recently.
* Send you that report with details and photos of the homes, as well as the prices at which they were listed and finally sold.
* Give you my interpretation of the current market for homes like yours, near yours, and in your home’s price range.
 
 

HOW REGINA ZAK TOMAS MARKETING YOUR HOME ONLINE


Let’s cut through the hype you may be seeing as regards Internet marketing of Chicago real estate. Sure, every agent worth its salt has a website. And, my website is better than most in presenting my seller listings to showcase them to their greatest potential. And, I'm really good at all of that SEO, Search Engine Optimization, stuff. That’s the stuff I do on my site to get as high in search engine results as possible to get the most in search engine visitor traffic. However, hyping up this SEO and site traffic is really ignoring the reality of the Internet and any single website’s visibility; unless you’re Yahoo or Google. There is no single real estate website that’s likely to enjoy more than a single-digit percentage of searches performed by buyers looking for local properties. That’s because there are hundreds or thousands of real estate sites and they’re all fighting for searchers, but these searchers are also using a half dozen search engines or other resources to locate real estate in our area. Why tell you this? I want you to learn about the power of “syndication,” and why I spend significant resources, time and effort in syndicating your listing information to a great many real estate websites much larger and more heavily visited than any local real estate websites. I have systems in place to have your listing on dozens of websites, including Yahoo, Trulia, Zillow, and others, and within days of your listing going live. So, although I'm getting great search engine exposure, I'm not relying on it to be my only resource to sell your home through online marketing. Each of those sites to which I syndicate your listing will have links back to the original and complete listing at my website. It’s there that I shine in marketing your Chicago real estate property once I’ve attracted visitors from these other sites.
• I take a full and expert suite of professional quality images of your home. These images will showcase your property and are critical to Internet marketing. Surveys prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that buyers value high-quality images more than any other feature of real estate listings.
• Virtual tours when appropriate are created for your property. Some properties are better marketed with still photographs, others with a slide show of stills, and some with a video and voice–over. I’ll work with you to produce the very best marketing approach for your property.
• Thorough professionally written text descriptions and very thorough information fields to bring every facet of your property to the prospective buyer.
• Once a buyer gets to my site from these many conduits, I don’t just let them look and leave. I offer showings and other special information about the market and your property in exchange for their contact information. If I can get into direct contact with them, it’s going to increase my chances of selling your property to them.
• I have valuable information on home maintenance, remodeling, refinancing, and other related topics. Much of this information can be found on my website. I think you’ll find that a relationship with a real estate agent whom you trust is a great asset. If I can be of assistance now or in the future, please give me a call. Access My Progressive Property Marketing Plan! My Marketing Plan I get a great deal of our listing business from referrals by our satisfied sellers, so don’t hesitate, let me get started in helping you today!

 
 
Sellers in the Chicago Area real estate markets have enough to worry about in readying their home for market and planning their move to a new home. I will take over a huge number of tasks and details to make sure that your real estate property is properly evaluated, priced, marketed, negotiated and carried to closing.
There are so many things to do to move to a successful sale, and I am here to advise, assist, and assure success. Let’s highlight the major services required in an overview:
 
 
CMA, Comparative Market Analysis
I help my clients to value their property through a thorough CMA, Comparative Market Analysis reports using current listing price data and past sold comparable property sales.
 
 
CHICAGO AREA REAL ESTATE EXPERT | PROPERTY EVALUATION:
One service that I believe is extremely important in Chicago area real estate markets is helping my listing clients to objectively evaluate their homes for marketability. Some brokerages do a once–over to get the information to put into the various information fields in the listing . However, I go much more into the detail of the features, characteristics and condition of your home.

I will want to postpone some photos until we’ve worked with you to do a thorough inspection of your home with a whole lot of details in mind. Every buyer who sees your home will be comparing it to the competition in your area and price range. How your home compares is critical to how soon you sell it and at what price. I'm going to work with you in several areas of concern:

• Interior features & characteristics – While the number of bedrooms and baths are not something you’ll be changing to compete better with other homes, you do need to objectively compare them in order to end up with a listing price that will get your property sold. Some things I can consider for improvements, others I just need to know how your home compares to other homes buyers will be seeing. Other features/characteristics:
• Floor plan
• Built date and obsolescence
• Floors & walls condition, paint, etc.
• Kitchen features
• Room sizes
• Lighting, skylights, windows
• Exterior – That “curb appeal” thing really does mean something. When a prospective buyer first drives up in front of your home, they’re going to get a first impression that is very important. I help you to look at things like landscaping, exterior paint and condition. Here is an area in which small expenditures can yield big results. It’s a fact that some buyers will ask to leave without ever stepping across the threshold if they get a bad first curb appeal impression.
• Condition – Minor repairs can also make a major difference. Many buyers assume that a need for minor repairs indicates a general lack of fundamental maintenance over time. They’ll discount their offer, if they make one, thinking they’ll have a lot of work to do to bring the home to a good condition. So, I'm honest with you about things that I see and buyers will see and consider in their evaluation. From cracked window panes to scarred walls or doors, we’ll let you know what we believe is important and make suggestions.

I'm here to make sure that your home enters the market in the very best competitive position possible. A thorough and objective evaluation is an important step.
 
 
Search Assistance to Understand the Market
It’s important that I help you to search the listings on our site to learn about currently listed similar homes in your area. Only by knowing the competition can you make improvements and set a competitive listing price.
 
 
CHICAGO AREA REAL ESTATE EXPERT | PROPER LIST PRICING:
What would an upward or lower price adjustment look like based on the current market CMA? Well, let’s look at an example. Let’s say that the CMA of previously and recently sold similar homes shows that the listing price should be around $235,000. However, those sales were between one month and three months old. Our current market listing CMA shows that similar homes in the neighborhood are listed at $249,000 or thereabouts. I and you may decide that the market is improving and justifies raising the listing price of your home to $245,000 so that it’s still competitive but a better deal for you. Of course, this can work the other way as well.

A proper list price that reflects current and realistic market conditions is critical to getting your Chicago area real estate property sold quickly. I don’t want you to underprice, but it’s worse to overprice in any market. Buyers discount value by DOM, Days On Market. The longer a home stays on the market, the greater they’ll discount their offers. So, a realistic list price is how I make sure your property sells without languishing on the market.

How do I come up with a suggested list price that reflects your home’s competitive position? It’s a combination of services and experience, and I'm going to be very careful and detailed in my analysis and market evaluations to make sure that you don’t leave money on the table or sit around wondering why you aren’t getting offers.

My evaluation of how your property compares to the current competition is the first step. Then we may suggest some worthwhile corrections you can make to improve that position. Once I know what your home will look like when listed, I’ll go into our thorough CMA, Comparative Market Analysis, process.
 
 
A Marketing Plan that Works
Chicago Real Estate Expert Regina Zak Tomas have perfected a marketing plan for every type of property in the Chicago area real estate markets. Some things work better in some areas and price ranges than others. I’ll show you a specific plan for your property. 
Thorough and Objective Home Evaluation:
I consider it my obligation to help you to thoroughly and objectively evaluate your home’s condition and features to properly assess how it competes in the current market.
 
 
CHICAGO AREA REAL ESTATE EXPERT | PROPERTY EVALUATION
One service that I believe is extremely important in Chicago area real estate markets is helping my listing clients to objectively evaluate their homes for marketability. Some brokerages do a once–over to get the information to put into the various information fields in the listing . However, I go much more into the detail of the features, characteristics and condition of your home.

I will want to postpone some photos until we’ve worked with you to do a thorough inspection of your home with a whole lot of details in mind. Every buyer who sees your home will be comparing it to the competition in your area and price range. How your home compares is critical to how soon you sell it and at what price. I'm going to work with you in several areas of concern:

• Interior features & characteristics – While the number of bedrooms and baths are not something you’ll be changing to compete better with other homes, you do need to objectively compare them in order to end up with a listing price that will get your property sold. Some things I can consider for improvements, others I just need to know how your home compares to other homes buyers will be seeing. Other features/characteristics:
• Floor plan
• Built date and obsolescence
• Floors & walls condition, paint, etc.
• Kitchen features
• Room sizes
• Lighting, skylights, windows

• Exterior – That “curb appeal” thing really does mean something. When a prospective buyer first drives up in front of your home, they’re going to get a first impression that is very important. I help you to look at things like landscaping, exterior paint and condition. Here is an area in which small expenditures can yield big results. It’s a fact that some buyers will ask to leave without ever stepping across the threshold if they get a bad first curb appeal impression.

• Condition – Minor repairs can also make a major difference. Many buyers assume that a need for minor repairs indicates a general lack of fundamental maintenance over time. They’ll discount their offer, if they make one, thinking they’ll have a lot of work to do to bring the home to a good condition. So, I'm honest with you about things that I see and buyers will see and consider in their evaluation. From cracked window panes to scarred walls or doors, we’ll let you know what we believe is important and make suggestions.

I'm here to make sure that your home enters the market in the very best competitive position possible. A thorough and objective evaluation is an important step.
 
 
Market Updates ​
Markets don’t just change monthly, they change daily in many instances. As new listings come on the market and others sell, the supply/demand ratio changes and your price may need to be adjusted. I provide you with regular market updates to keep you in the loop.
 
 
MARKET UPDATES | CHICAGO AREA REAL ESTATE EXPERT
Do you know how many comparable properties to your home came on the market this week? How about how many were sold or taken off the market? Markets are constantly changing, and it’s my job to monitor these changes and keep my listing clients informed. Changes in the competition don’t always require a price adjustment, but they may. Sometimes they just cause us to make changes in our marketing approach, putting emphasis on features that are no longer available in currently listed comps.
Whether I'm suggesting a price adjustment up or down or not, I'm always concerned with my seller clients’ peace of mind that their real estate property is properly priced and positioned in the market. Use the form on this page to tell me about your property and I’ll do a preliminary CMA for you with recently sold comps in your area. I’ll need more data to do the best job, but you can begin to see how the process works.
 
 
Price Negotiations
I do the marketing and property valuation process well, and that means you’ll be seeing a buyer with a contract soon. I am with you every step of the way in the contract price negotiations and will work to get you the top price possible with the fewest concessions.
 
 
REGINA ZAK TOMAS | PRICE NEGOTIATIONS
I love helping Chicago area real estate buyers to find the perfect property. But I love even more the ways in which I can help them to buy it at the very best price with the very best terms. Sometimes negotiations aren’t all price. A great contract can involve other seller concessions that create the right deal for my buyer clients.

Real estate market data – How can you be expected to make price offer decisions in a vacuum? I spend a great amount of time and effort in collecting market data to help my buyers in their price negotiations. This data involves not only sold property prices by neighborhood, but also current listing pricing to determine the competitive nature of the market.

This data is very thorough, and it’s called a Comparative (or Competitive) Market Analysis. There are two parts, the comparison of the property you’re considering to similar properties recently sold in the nearby area. This gives me a firm grip on what has happened in the near past, but by nature, it is “past” data, thus possibly not accurate for the market as it is when you’re in negotiations. I then do another CMA process on the currently listed properties most like the one under consideration and in the same neighborhood or nearby. This gives me a current market snapshot so that I can adjust my valuation model and my offer to reflect the current market situation.

Thorough knowledge of your situation – Only through constant communication I can advise you properly in pricing negotiations. By understanding your motivations and financial capabilities, I can help you craft a price negotiation strategy with the highest probability of success.

Seller motivation research – While it’s not always legally possible to determine why someone is selling, there are things I can glean from their listing and price activity that will allow me to help you to negotiate from a position of strength.

It’s not all money – There are a lot of ways to negotiate a real estate deal, and they don’t always involve money. Perhaps the seller doesn’t have a lot of ability to work with you on price, but they can make other concessions that could result in a deal. I help you to take the best approach.

It’s not over till it’s over – Many real estate price negotiations involve multiple counter offers and a lot of back–and–forth. I'm with you with each counter offer to adjust your negotiation strategy accordingly. Because I can’t know the seller’s financial limitations in many deals, some buyers are elated when they cut a major low-priced deal on a home, but then after inspections, they hit a brick wall in negotiations with the seller related to repairs. The negotiation to purchase a home isn’t over with the price on the contract, and it’s best to know that a real deal at the front end could result in less flexibility after inspections in the repairs discussion.

The thing to remember is that I'm right there with our Chicago area real estate buyers throughout the negotiation process with the latest information and experienced advice.
 
 
Inspections & Repair Negotiations
The negotiations rarely end with the price, however. Once the buyer completes their inspection and document examination processes, they often object to things discovered and request corrective action that involves an expense to the seller. I'm here to work with you every step of the way and help you to keep the deal alive without “giving up the farm.”The negotiations rarely end with the price, however. Once the buyer completes their inspection and document examination processes, they often object to things discovered and request corrective action that involves an expense to the seller. I'm here to work with you every step of the way and help you to keep the deal alive without “giving up the farm.”
 
 
REPAIR NEGOTIATIONS AND INSPECTIONS | CHICAGO AREA REAL ESTATE EXPERT
While my sellers tend to become less stressed as soon as all of the purchase contract signatures are in place, I am with them and ready for the next negotiation phase. Property inspections can frequently result in buyer requirements for corrections by the seller. Whether you’re prepared for these or they come as a surprise, I'm here to help you to deal with them, as repair disputes are the most frequent reason for contract failures before closing.

Part of my job is to help you to avoid too many “surprises” related to condition and repair negotiations after inspections. I'll do my best to give you information about what I see that buyers may want corrected, but there are definitely things that nobody can anticipate until the inspectors have submitted their reports. So, there’s one other thing I try to do in order to prepare you and leave some negotiation room for you.

I want you to always be thinking ahead to inspections and repair demands from the first offer. Always be thinking of what may be coming in the way of inspections and repair negotiations, especially when the initial purchase contract price negotiations are in play. No matter how urgent your need to sell, if you go too far in price concessions at the beginning, you may have no room left when inspections are done and condition corrections are requested by the buyer.

As the buyer is normally paying for and ordering inspections, my job for my sellers is to make sure that they happen on time and that I receive the inspection reports by deadline due dates. I then meet with my sellers and go over the reports and any buyer objections/requirements to develop a counter strategy. If there are no objections or they’re minor in nature and cost, you may opt to agree to corrections. However, if they’re more extensive and were not anticipated, my job is to help you to reply in a way that saves you money and keeps the buyer in the transaction.

Depending on the desires of the buyer and their selection of inspectors, there could be as few as a single inspector hired to do a thorough inspection of the home and all equipment supporting the home. However, there may also be other inspectors hired with a more focused goal, possibly a heating and air conditioning contractor, a well inspector, septic inspector, etc. Each of these inspections will have deadlines for completion and submission of reports and buyer requests for corrections.

I have my own list of inspectors and contractors, and can call in experts to provide cost estimates and help my sellers to make decisions within the deadline times. Unless you have multiple offers, a buyer in the hand is worth something. My job is to get them to the closing table and your satisfaction with your net proceeds from the sale.
 
 
Contract to Closing Process
There are more than 50 tasks, objectives and deliveries involved in taking a seller side transaction from contract through a successful closing. I'm on top of all of them to make sure you leave the closing table with a check to move on with life.
 
 
CONTRACT TO CLOSING | CHICAGO AREA REAL ESTATE EXPERT
My seller clients really appreciate my services in listing, marketing and getting a buyer signed on the dotted line on a purchase contract. However, neither they nor we can rest just because a contract is inked. There are more than 50 tasks and deadline deliveries on my normal residential seller side real estate transaction checklist. And, I take our responsibilities seriously in the processing of all documents and meeting of all deadlines.

The process of taking a signed purchase contract through to closing involves a great many details, deliveries and document submissions. I coordinate all of this for my sellers, making sure that all phases of the closing process move along smoothly.

• Title – I work closely with the title company and attorneys to make sure that all documents and deliveries are processed in a timely manner. I work with my sellers to examine all of their title and recorded documents to uncover all material defects and items of importance. Though this is normally of more concern to the buyer, sellers must respond to their objections, so it’s important to know what’s in all recorded documents. Example: while there are normally few items in a title binder that can be corrected as they’re recorded and pass with the property, sometimes there are requirements or exceptions that weren’t expected but must be addressed. With the more careful lending environment, more “quit-claim” deeds are being required as one example. Perhaps you have a previous divorce and the lender wants better protection against claims and will require a quitclaim deed from your former spouse.

• Inspections, Survey & Appraisal – My job is to coordinate access for inspectors and the appraiser, and to accept deliveries of reports as well as any objections or correction requirements from the buyers. I take this job seriously and will be with my sellers every step of the way. Every instance of delivery of an inspection and/or buyer objections requires a response in most cases, and there are deadlines. I stay on top of these deadlines, make sure reports are delivered to you on time or extensions are put into place, and that you respond within required timelines. Failure to do so could obligate you to repairs or other corrections or kill the deal.

• Repair Negotiations – If the buyer submits requirements for corrective actions to items on reports, I work with my sellers to determine the cost of those requirements and the appropriate response necessary to keep the deal going in a way beneficial to my seller clients. Should you agree to make certain repairs, there will be deadlines associated with completion, and possibly requirements for the buyer’s inspector to return and re-inspect for completion and repair quality. I keep all of this on track for you and can recommend contractors I know do quality work at fair prices.

• Lender Document Coordination – One of the leading causes of delayed closings is some problem with funding due to lender last minute requirements or other document demands. I am monitoring all document flows to make sure this doesn’t happen for my sellers. As the seller, you aren’t getting a mortgage, but you need to be very concerned with the buyer’s ability to do so and their lender’s process and ability to meet deadlines and fund at closing. Mortgage problems kill a lot of deals, so we’re going to be involved in the buyer’s process to protect you, our seller client.
 
 

CHICAGO REAL ESTATE EXPERT

THE BEST REAL ESTATE AGENT

MY SOLD PROPERTIES

FOR BUYERS HOME INFORMATION

REAL ESTATE FOR SELLERS

SELLING A HOME

Don’t hesitate to give me a call or email me for any information you might need for your real estate.

Chicagoland Brokers, Inc
Regina Zak Tomas
5151 N Harlem Ave, Chicago IL 60656
Phone: (773) 520-1522     
Fax. (773) 751-5516

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  • CHICAGO REAL ESTATE EXPERT
  • THE BEST REAL ESTATE AGENT
  • MY SOLD PROPERTIES
  • FOR BUYERS
  • REAL ESTATE FOR SELLERS
  • SELLING A HOME