Cynthia Szoradi

Push to Talk

Sellers Resources

Here is an outline of the proven 10 Point Process that ensures your success in selling what may be your largest asset. A great new home at the right price.

1) Selecting the right realtor
In addition to having market-wide and transactional expertise, Cynthia and the Main Line Home Source are also committed to spending the marketing resources and the time that it takes to focus on your interests. Cynthia will help you get the highest price within your target time frame, and she will also help reduce all of the stresses associated with selling your home.

2) Containing your motivation to sell
You may have a diverse range of reasons to sell, and Cynthia will hold those reasons in confidence. It is key that you do not reveal the reasons to any third parties that could share your reasons with a prospective buy or their realtor. Simply, you do not want to give a buyer any advantages in negotiations, especially you wish to sell your home quickly.

3) Setting the listing price
You may have a feeling about what your home is worth based on anecdotal insights from friends and neighbors that have sold or bought homes. Cynthia will show you how a prospective buyer will ‘see’ the value of your home thorough the exact sales prices on a range of comparable homes that have sold over the past year. To personally get a feel for the market, Cynthia can also take you on showings of key comparable homes to get a sense of their appearance, interior flow, and specialty features. Tax Assessment rarely serve as a solid indication of value due to the fact that the calculations are not based on current market factors. An appraisal by a third party is always an option, but the cost may be a deterrent, and the funds may be better spent ‘tuning’ key elements that would make your home more attractive to a buyer. As Cynthia works with you on setting the listing price, she typically recommends finding the balance where you leave room for negotiations and also attract the most interest to build momentum.

4) Timing the listing
If you have already found a new home, need to move away from the reason, or have any other pressing reasons to sell, you may want to list your home as soon as possible. Rather than listing the property as is, you may want to still consider a ‘fast-track’ approach to ‘Making the best first impression’. If you have some flexibility, you should wait to complete the refinements, and also get feedback from Cynthia on seasonality trends and any and all market wide news that may influence the sellers. As an example, the value of homes in Newtown Square benefited in 2006 from the announcement that Episcopal High School was moving to the area. Sometimes it makes sense to time the listing along with regional news that increases the interest in the area.

5) Making the best first impression
Cynthia promotes a ‘Multi-Sensory’ strategy. She recommends ways to enhance the buyers’ experience via sight, sound, touch, and scent. She also has a deep network of specialized and cost-effective contractors available to help. The first visual impression is from the street, so Exterior Painting, Tree Pruning and Landscape Planting, Driveway ‘Top Coating’, Flower Boxes, and Exterior Lighting are just a few of the possible ways to build terrific Curb Appeal. Small details like wind chimes, loose paving repair, and even aromatic flowers on a front porch can go a long way to reach the buyers senses beyond the visual. On the inside, ‘Staging’ has become an art form. You can allow the buyers to envision themselves in your home by pulling out clutter, the majority of personalized family photographs, and anything quirky, trendy and unnecessary. Even though it is painful to ‘depersonalize’ your own home with more neutral colored walls and window treatments, the benefits will appear in the offers. Cynthia works with professional staging consultants, and she also has great contractors for work such as interior painting, squeaky floor repair, kitchen cabinet re-facing, and deep cleaning. Since smell is one of the senses that directly ties to memory, it is absolutely essential to remove any and all odor that could deter a buyer. Repair as many damaged elements as possible, so that when you fill out the ‘Sellers Disclosure’ you will not have a laundry list of elements that a buyer will see as a deterrent. Cynthia is absolutely adamant about the need for full disclosure not only from an ethical standpoint but also from a liability and negotiations standpoint. You do not want to have a weak position in negotiating after a buyer’s home inspection and certainly not a law suite after closing. Simply put your best foot forward honestly, and the investment or sweat equity will pay-off at closing. See More.

6) Marketing your assets
Marketing is a combination of art and science. Cynthia takes incredible pride in custom tailoring the marketing strategy and tactics which are necessary to sell your home. She works with top photographers, graphic designers, writers, and internet marketing specialists. She taps the deep RE/MAX data base and provides independent marketing research to find the most appropriate advertising placement opportunities. The plan breaks down the timing and placement for each tactic and includes samples of ALL outbound representation of your home. Cynthia invests in marketing resources that are way over and above the expenses of typical agents, because she believes in quality first and making a striking impact so that that the property ‘launch’ is a celebrated event among realtors and buyers.

The plan is a road map to success and it also includes key contingency plans in the advent that market factors shift during the listing period. The Marines pride themselves on success through rigorous planning, and success often comes from the strength of the contingency plan: improvise, adapt, and overcome. The marketing begins with the words and images that define your home. You need to promote the most desirable features of your home, based on what the target buyers are looking for. Carefully chosen descriptive language and artful photography serve as a tremendous draw to increase the volume of interested buyers.

Most Agents rely on the Multiple Listing ‘Trend’ Service, ‘For Sale’ sign/Open Houses, and Traditional Print Ads to sell homes for their clients. Cynthia uses all three tactics, plus a highly focused Internet Search Engine Marketing initiative and Social Networking to create the ‘Five Star Home Sales™” Strategy.

The Main Line Home Source Five Star Home Sales™

The Typical Tactics:
Exposure to Buyers through their Agents

Tactic: Multiple Listing ‘Trend’ Service

Exposure to General Market Buyers and Agents

Tactic: Traditional Print Ads

Exposure to General Market Buyers, Agents, and Neighborhood ‘Pass-Bys’

Tactic: Open Houses & ‘For Sale’ Signs

Cynthia’s Next Level Advantage:
Exposure Directly to independently Searching Buyers

Tactic: Internet Search Engine Marketing

Exposure to Prospective Buyers via Multiple Social Networks

Tactic: Word Of Mouth and ‘Internet-Referral’ Marketing

Buyers are increasingly taking the initiative to use the web to help search for specific aspects of properties. As an example, if your home includes a ‘eat-in kitchen’ or ‘turn around driveway’ Cynthia and her internet marketing team, get visibility through Search Engine Marketing to match their interest with your home. Cynthia incurs this cost and the entire cost of the Five Star Home Sales™ as part of her service to attract the highest number of qualified buyer to your home.

Patience is apparently still a virtue. In his New York Times™ Best Seller “Freakonomics”, celebrated accountant, Steven Levitt, revealed through extensive research, that Real Estate Agents across America leave listings for their personally owned properties on the market for 30 days longer than for their clients. Simply, the Agents take the quick sales commission rather than holding out even a few days or weeks for a better offer. The better offer can often mean tens of thousands of dollars for the seller.

Cynthia’s Marketing Plan takes into account your needs to ensure that the price and timing meet your overall goals.

7) Researching to drive Negotiations
One of the keys to home sale negotiations is learning as much as possible about the prospective buyer’s financial situation and timeline. Cynthia flushes out the information from the buying agent and independent research. Since selling is an emotional process, Cynthia works with each client to mitigate the stress. She helps put potential disappointing offers in perspective and typically recommends countering ‘low-balls’ at only a fraction of the asking price or not at all – to let buyers know that you are series about the value of the property. Cynthia also thoroughly reviews and explains the contract, making sure that it is complete to avoid any windows that could trigger an unfavorable second round of negotiations.

8) Timing the closing.
We all want to avoid the financial burden of a double mortgage, so try to schedule the purchase of a new home as close as possible with the sale of your current home. As a point of caution, do not get excited about the sale and move out before the closing in the event of complications such as the buyer’s loan falling through.

9) Preparing to Close
Cynthia works with each client to coordinate and check on all of the details. You do not want to leave any leverage for the buyer to open negotiations at the table, so it is key to maintain and deliver the property per the Agreement of Sale. As well, it may be tempting to agree to what seems like a reasonable request from a buyer to change the Closing Date, but it is best not to deviate from the contact in any way. The less variables that change, the better your chances are to successfully close the transaction. Cynthia encourages her clients to take the time between the completion of the inspection and the closing date to review the multi-point Moving Checklist. This way you ensure that you have a smooth transition out of your old home.

10) Closing
Cynthia is there through the whole process to make sure that you can confidently celebrate the sale of your home.