Roanoke Valley Real Estate Careers

How Does a Home Seller Conquer Clutter in Roanoke?

Looking to improve your real estate career? I'm here to help you make a smart decision when it comes to growing your business, improving your bottom line, and choosing a place to work in real estate sales. If you'd like to learn more about working with Damon Gettier and Associates, contact me at (540) 314-1199 or Damon@DamonGettier.com.

How do we get a seller to conquer clutter?

What we did recently is had our photographer and one of our assistants go into a $300,000 house, photograph it as is, declutter it, and then re-photograph it the same day. We did that because I don’t like before/after photos - the lighting is different, the house is different, the camera’s different, even the location is different. Our true before and after photos could amply demonstrate that.

We tell sellers all the time that the first thing people do when they decide to sell a car is detail it. The logic is no different with selling a house. If your house is filled to the brim (and most are), then the next potential buyer is going to be discouraged from buying it. That’s why you need to make the house look spacious. It has to feel warm, inviting, and show people there is plenty of room in there to live in and be happy. If it’s cluttered, you’re never going to get that feeling.

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Box up all the things you don’t
need and store them elsewhere.

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Therefore, box up everything that you don’t need and ship it out. If it’s spring or summer, get rid of all your winter clothes. If the kids have toys they don’t play with anymore, they go too. If you can’t afford to rent a storage unit or a pod to store it all, that’s fine. Just use your garage or basement. If it has to be the basement, stack your boxes very neatly from floor-to-ceiling so that it takes up the least amount of footprint possible. If you do that, you’re house will appear much more spacious and inviting, and sell faster and for more money.

If you have any questions about staging, decluttering, or joining Roanoke’s #1 team, please reach out to us. We’d be happy to talk to you.

Gifts Show Your Clients How Much You Value Them

Giving gifts is a great way to show clients how much you value them. I wanted to share some of my favorite ideas with you today. Clients appreciate anything of value that you give as a gift with heartfelt sincerity.

We always send a handwritten card to every single client. It’s been a game-changer for us. We also send a handwritten card to every agent we deal with now, and we’ve also started giving a gift card to every agent. The way we see it, we worked a deal with them, and our goal in life is to work a deal with every agent and have everybody come out of it happy. We give every client a gift card as well.

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We want to give clients a gift that
provides value and stays with them.

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The other thing we do for our clients is give them a Cutco knife. We made an investment of about $20,000 into Cutco last year, and we give one to each client because we value the relationship, and we want to give them something in return that provides value, and stays with them. Some give a gift basket, for example, but that just doesn’t stay with you.

Likewise, a gift card to a restaurant doesn’t last. Right now, if someone buys or sells a house with us, we’re giving them a cruise. They're spending a lot of money, and it gives them a chance at a vacation after the big transaction. Some can afford vacations and some can’t so we like to give that opportunity to everyone.

If you’re looking for more ideas for gifts, please feel free to give me a call. I’d love to help.

The Effect of Tech on the Roanoke Market

Did you know that tech trends have an influence on real estate? Some of them may surprise you.

Virtual reality headsets play a part in real estate now with 3D videos that can be used for home tours. You can use the headset to virtually walk through a house! I’ve got friends across the country who are testing this now with clients. It looks like it might be a game changer for showings.

Drone technology has also taken over the world in the last couple years. Now you have to have a pilot license for drones, but there are companies around Roanoke that use drone videos. This will change the way you see a property.

One of the most intriguing trends we’re seeing is smart homes. Personally I have the Nest thermostat, and I can control my house and my office temperatures from my phone. Video cameras have become much more popular in homes as well, which give you a real-time view of what’s happening during a showing or open house. You can also hear what you’re saying, so we need to be careful about what we do and say in a house.

If you want to learn more about how technology is changing real estate or have any real estate questions, don’t hesitate to call or email us today!