Seller's GUIDE
APARTMENT PRICING
A properly priced property is the first and most important step to ensuring a successful sale. There are various pricing schemes to make your property stand out among comparable spaces in the building or neighborhood.
We draw upon our knowledge and conduct extensive research into what properties are selling and how they compare to your space. It's quite often the case that the prices you are seeing online don't tell the entire story and Wyllie Real Estate takes pride in our pricing strategies and our ability to explain this to our clients.
Once pricing is established, Wyllie Real Estate creates a personalized marketing plan for your unique residence and implements a targeted promotional campaign to reach the widest possible pool of qualified buyers.
APARTMENT PREPARATION
Preparing your apartment for photography and the coming showings is an important aspect to the sale. In most cases this will simply mean de-cluttering and organizing, but sometimes small repairs and painting may need to take place.
- Wash all windows
- Vacuum/mop floors
- Consider fresh cut flowers, candles, or a fresh pot of coffee
- Turn on lights where natural light is not available
- Organize cabinets and exposed shelves
- Maintain a comfortable temperature
- Repair caulking and grout as necessary
- Replace the shower curtain, straighten towels, and cleans toilets/bathtubs
- Neatly hang clothing and organize closets
- Clean appliances and clear the counter tops
For apartments that are vacant or that have been previously listed by another brokerage, Wyllie Real Estate is able to cost effectively stage the space which helps the photographer as well as prospective buyers. Digitally staging properties is also a possibility depending on the apartment, but physically furnishing a unit often helps purchasers envision the scale of the home.
Showings AND OPEN HOUSES
Scheduling open houses and additional showings may sound burdensome but the goal is to get as many people to see the property as possible. Sunday open houses are still a mainstay in NYC property sales, but it is important to allow an additional open house to take place on a weeknight so that people who are out of town on the weekend can see the property within the first couple weeks of showings taking place.
OPEN HOUSE HOURS
Sunday Afternoon: 11:00am to 4:00pm
Tuesday-Wednesday-Thursday Evenings: 5:30pm to 8:00pm
*Open housing will generally be scheduled during the above time frames for 1.5-2hrs
As open houses give us a feel for interest and offers Wyllie Real Estate is available for scheduling additional showings outside of open house hours to allow for people on tight schedules, those seeing the property for a second time, or for when contractors need to make an assessment.
MARKETING
Digital Marketing All of our properties are marketed across local and national real estate databases and search engines in addition to contact with the 16,000+ New York City real estate agents/brokers through email campaigns showcasing new properties and open houses. This puts Wyllie Real Estate on an even playing field with the largest brokerages in Manhattan and Brooklyn.
Direct Mail It's often the case that buyers either already live in the neighborhood or have friends who do. Via our mail marketing team we are able to strategically put your property in front of people who have the ability and desire to purchase a particular property. Word of mouth is still a very powerful thing and Wyllie Real Estate's direct mailing program has consistently garnered offers from buyers that would not have otherwise seen the property.
Direct Email Wyllie Real Estate prides itself on marketing properties directly to potential buyers via email. Often times a property has a unique feature which a particular buyer pool would value; whether it's studio space, a separate entrance, or income requirements we manage to get your listing in front of them with the help of our extensive, proprietary email databases.
When it comes to marketing a multi-family property, Wyllie Real Estate has amassed over 8,000 building owner emails allowing us to get your property in front of thousands of fellow landlords the first day the listing goes live.
BIDDING AND NEGOTIATION
Offers are generally made orally in New York City and should be followed up in writing via email. When you have found the right property, a bid or offer will be placed through your Wyllie Real Estate agent. They will convey your offer to either the Seller's agent or to the Seller directly.
The negotiation period will have its peaks and valleys with the Buyer, Seller, and possible additional offers all jockeying for pole position. For a property garnering a lot of attention expect things to move along quickly as Wyllie Real Estate helps sellers examines the offers.
Everything is negotiable. However, the market and other offers will dictate what will realistically be accepted by the other party.
GOING INTO CONTRACT, board approval and INSPECTIONS
When the right buyer is found and an offer has been verbally accepted, it is time to move towards a binding contract. Buyers and sellers are generally expected to seek legal representation: a seller's attorney will draft a contract for the buyer's attorney to review.
Prior to signing a contract, the buyer will likely want to conduct a home inspection with a certified home inspector, an engineer, and/or a general contractor. Should any of these inspections turn up an issue, the seller may have to perform certain repairs or renegotiate the previously agreed upon price.
After the offer and inspection phases, the seller submits all pertinent information to their attorney so a contract of sale can be drawn up for that the buyer's attorney to review and negotiate the terms of the contract. Multiple copies of the contract will be signed by the seller and sent to the buyer's attorney to be countersigned at which time the contract will be considered fully executed.
After the contract of sale has been executed, the seller must wait for the following conditions to be met before the transaction can proceed to closing:
- A title search must be performed
- A buyer may apply for a loan
- If the property is a co-op, the buyer must submit their board package for review and a board interview will take place
The general timeline for various sales are as follows:
CASH SALES:
Co-op: 45 days
Condo: 30 days
Townhouse/Building: 30 days
SALES WITH FINANCING:
Co-op: 90 days
Condo: 70 days
Townhouse/Building: 60 days
*All time estimates are approximate
CLOSING
After the contract, inspection, loan approval, board package and interview phases the buyer and seller are ready to close. The closing date is dictated by the schedules of the attorneys for the seller, buyer, lender, and building.
People generally involved in a closing:
1) the buyer
2) the seller
3) all attorneys
4) the title closer
5) all brokers
6) the building's managing agent.
During the closing- the deed or stock certificate and all official documentation- will change hands from the seller to the buyer and the buyer will officially become the new property owner.
