The
Keith Owens

Thinking About Selling Your Home?

For most people, their homes represent the largest financial purchase they’ve made. Ideally, that equals equity and a great source of savings as well. When it comes time to sell your home, you deserve an Agent whose # 1 goal is to protect and optimize that investment.

Most agents will simply visit your home with a pre-printed list of homes that have sold in your neighborhood and boil your investment down to dollars per square foot. We never give an opinion without first visiting with you and touring your house so that we can prepare an extensive Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) that takes your homes’ unique amenities into account.

A CMA is a comprehensive breakdown of homes with similar features that have recently Sold within your neighborhood, an evaluation of the time it takes to sell your home, Active Listings that may be competition and potential Net Proceeds. Particularly in a market where very few properties have Sold, or with Luxury/Unique Properties, decades of experience are more important than ever. With each CMA, we also evaluate any items that may need to be addressed to make your home more competitive, explain the sales process and provide a detailed Marketing Plan.

Our 360-degree approach is designed to educate the homeowner and reduce stress about the overall process of selling your home.

7 Steps To Sell Your Home

1) Pre Marketing
These are the necessary steps to prepare your home to put it on the market. This can include everything from pressure washing and trimming hedges to de-cluttering and repainting with neutral colors. Our Complimentary Market Analysis includes a Pre-Marketing checklist that is specific for your home and based on our tour of the entire property. Our approach to preparing your home for sale focuses on the highest value adding items, if necessary at all, whereas some agents may suggest thousands of dollars in upgrades.

We understand that most high dollar upgrades offer a declining return while simple updates like replacing fixtures, caulking and painting and landscaping offer the best return on your investment. We offer Preparation Checklists, Staging Videos and Custom Pre-Photography Checklists all designed to maximize your home’s appearance.

4) Print Marketing In addition to Nationwide and Global Internet Exposure, your Property receives monthly exposure in one of several magazines like Homes & Land, Bay Area Houston Magazine, Gulf Coast Mariner and The Houston Chronicle among others. We also send our clients copies of every Ad so they know exactly how and where their property is being advertised. 6) Contract and Negotiating As a Certified Negotiation Expert, our goal is to arrange the most ideal terms and optimal pricing for our Clients. We’ll evaluate potential advantages and disadvantages of each offer and identify the best options for you. From negotiating a purchase to navigating through Inspection Reports and Repair Requests, our professional and even-tempered approach makes even the most challenging situations less stressful

5) Target Marketing & Direct Agent Marketing Unlike a majority of other agents that simply place your home on the Internet and wait for showings, we proactively notify every local and Greater Houston Agent that your property is Just Listed! We also utilize Office Tours, Brokers Open Houses and Public Open Houses to expose your property to active, area agents as well as ready Buyers. Knowing that your neighbors are the biggest cheerleaders to get the best neighbors, we also send a Just Listed card letting them know that your home is new on the market. By utilizing a pro-active approach that reaches Buyers, Agents, Brokers, Neighbors and the general public, your home has the best potential to sell quickly and for top dollar.

Don’t Trust the “I’ll Sell Your Home in 30 Days, or Buy it” Gimmick!
As the # 1 Broker in the Greater Bay Area for Listings Sold, we don’t offer Gimmicks, we offer proven RESULTS! To get business, agents will often offer ploys or promotions to sell your house quick. Gimmicks like “we’ll sell your home or your money back”, or “sell your home in 30 days or we’ll buy it” come with terms and conditions that can cost you thousands of dollars. These agents often charge up-front fees, list your home under market value for a quick sale and/or may offer to buy your home for a fraction of the price through investors. These agents also don’t offer the amount of marketing necessary to sell your home in a competitive market. We sell more homes than any other Broker in the Greater Bay Area without Gimmicks!

Using A Realtor VS For Sale By Owner
A professional Realtor will earn you more money for your house and sell your house quicker. In fact, homes Sold using a Realtor sell for up to 20% more than homes sold by an Owner. There’s a reason that 89% of Owners turn to a Realtor to sell their home after they’ve tried doing it themselves. In addition, you’ll benefit from the following items, which are priceless:

i. Knowledge of the Market, Demand and the overall selling Process
ii. Safety - Only Background Checked Agents show your house. You don’t have to meet strangers at your house for showings.
iii. Time – Less time on the market, no time spent talking to potential buyers, showings and all the steps associated with closing. As you know, Time is Money!
iv. Presentation – Pre-Marketing, Staging Tips & Professional Photography.
v. Marketing – Our Global Internet Exposure opens your home to thousands of more Buyers!
vi. Negotiations – Terms & Conditions that most benefit the Seller.
vii. Navigating through Inspections, Repair Requests, Appraisals and Closing.

Has your Home has failed to Sell?
If you have had your home Listed with another Agent, or tried For Sale By Owner, and not had success, call us! After an initial visit, we’ll provide a thorough Comparable Market Analysis (CMA), detailed Marketing Plan and a list of any Pre-Marketing items to repair or change prior to marketing your home. Often, with the help of some minor repairs and staging, our professional pictures and extensive marketing will get the necessary traffic and offers you’ve been missing.

Selling Your Luxury Home
If you’re considering selling a Luxury Home, Knowledge, Experience, Marketing, Negotiation and Communication are more important than ever. Choosing an inexperienced agent can literally cost you tens of thousands of dollars in the sale of your home in addition to the months, if not years, spent on the market.

As a Certified Luxury Home Marketing Specialist (CLHMS)  and a Platinum Top Producing Agent with over 30 Years of Area Knowledge, The Owens Team has the experience and marketing necessary to successfully Sell your home at a price and timeframe that’s right for you!

The Owens Team Advantage
1. #1 Broker in the Greater Houston Area for Listings Sold
2. Platinum Top Producing Team
3. Over 35 Years of Area Knowledge
4. Continual access to a Team of Agents that focus on Your Needs!
5. Five Star Award Winner, Houston Business Journal – 2012 to Present
6. “One Stop Shop” access to Industry Leading Contacts for Lending, Insurance & Title needs.

Click here to find out more about our Distinctive Marketing Strategy, Education and Experience and Portfolio of Sold Luxury Homes!

1. What’s my Home Worth?
2. How long will it take to Sell my Home?
3. When is the best time to Sell my Home?
4. How much should I fix/update on my Home before I sell?
5. Should I have my Home Staged?
6. We Owe More on our Home than what it’s Worth, what can we do?

1) What’s my Home Worth?
Finding a potential value for a home is more than simply finding 3 homes that sold in the last 6 months. Each neighborhood and home is unique and can be greatly impacted by the market as well. The Owens Team personally visits your home so that we can prepare a Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) that takes your homes’ unique amenities into account while providing pricing strategies.

Our CMA costs you nothing while getting a partial market analysis can cost you thousands in the potential sales price. This is also why you can never trust an automated Home Value App or Pricing Tool. It’s always best to contact a local agent that is familiar with the Market.

2) How long will it take to Sell my Home?
The time it takes to sell a home greatly varies by neighborhood, location, market, time of year and price range. Lower priced homes can sell anywhere from a week to roughly 3 months and more in some instances.

 For higher priced homes (like $500,000 and up), while it can sell quickly, a homeowner can anticipate anywhere between 3-6 months and up. Our CMA will analyze the time on market for each home that Sold as well as any homes that are currently listed.

3) When is the best time to Sell my Home?
March through August are typically known as the best months to sell a home. However, the months of September through November can also be a good time with plenty of people looking to purchase a home to spend the Holidays, and capitalize on Homestead Exemption for property taxes.

 In fact, November is often one of our busiest months because Buyers want to be in a new home for the Holidays. While December through February are the slower months for home sales, keep in mind that people purchase homes based on their needs, not necessarily a calendar!

4) How much should I fix/update before I sell?
Buyers are increasingly looking for “move-in ready” homes nowadays. While putting money into your home just to sell it isn’t ideal, some investment may be necessary to attract more Buyers. At a minimum, we suggest fixing items related to maintenance, which gives Buyers the impression that the home is well kept overall.

 For example, replacing rotted wood, pressure washing, painting, caulking inside, landscaping and deep cleaning will have the greatest bang for your book.

Keep in mind that the market will also dictate if renovations, like Kitchen and Bath, are necessary to make sure your home sells for top dollar. Our CMA will also identify what items will gain the largest return on investment.

5) Should I have my Home Staged?


Homes that are Staged may derive up to a 6% higher sales price on average, so nearly every home can benefit from some type of staging. Staging can be as simple as following some simple steps like De-cluttering or “Pre-Packing”, repositioning furniture to maximize traffic flow, and painting with neutral colors to name a few.

As part of our CMA, The Owens Team also provides you with Pre-Marketing and Pre-Photography Checklists that will guide you through the basic steps of Staging that will both enhance the professional photography and help your home stand apart from the rest.

6) We Owe More on our Home than what it’s Worth, what can we do?
In the event that the Mortgage you owe on your home is more than the Net Proceeds from a potential sale, you have two options. If it is a small amount that you can cover, it’s possible to pay that figure at the time of closing. If it is a significant figure, it is possible to contact your Lender to see if you qualify for a “Short Sale”.

If the Lender agrees to forgive the debt, the difference between your proceeds and your mortgage payoff, then you can sell the home via a Short Sale. The Listing Agent must constantly communicate with the Lender throughout the sale to make sure the agreement is finalized. The Owens Team is a Short Sales and Foreclosure Representative so we are fully capable of handling your Short Sale.