Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Why should we list our home for sale with you?
A: You should hire us for the same reason that thousands of sellers have used us over and over again for 24 years. They know that they can depend on us to get them the most money, in the shortest amount of time, with the fewest hassles. Our HASSLE FREE HOME SELLING SYSTEM offers benefits that the ordinary agent does not. Our program offers flexible commissions to put more money in your pocket, a cancel anytime policy, and the right to sell your home yourself and pay us nothing.
Additionally, our average time to sell a home is over 2 times as fast as an ordinary agent. Every year we help well over 100 clients buy and sell. The average agent handles around four sales a year. When hiring anyone to perform a job for you, experience should weigh heavily in that decision. Who really wants to be the surgeon’s first patient?
Let’s examine one of our program benefits; we allow you to cancel the listing at anytime. Most agents will not give the consumer this right. You might ask yourself why agents need to "lock you up" for six to twelve months. Why would they be afraid to give you the right to cancel? Our philosophy is that we would rather strive to earn your business every day. We are confident that we can provide a superior level of service and care. If we don’t, we don’t deserve your business. It is that simple.
Q: Why do you sell so many homes?
A: Due to our extensive direct mail & Internet exposure, more buyers and sellers are familiar with us than any other
agent in Champaign County and East Central Illinois.. Additionally, experience, product knowledge, doing the little things right, effective marketing programs, and our skilled team all add up to positive results. Every field has people who, through their drive and passion, manage to excel.
Q: If we list with you, will my home be on the internet?
A: Absolutely! All of our brochures and direct mail will prominently feature our website address.. Our promotions drive thousands of buyers to view homes on our website. Your home will also be prominently featured on Realtor.com, the number one real estate website in the world, as well as on Homes.com and Trulia.com. To increase buyer interest in our properties we’ve secured a featured homes position. Per Realtor.com, our listings are viewed twenty times as often as a regular listing on Realtor.com. According to the National Association of Realtors®"Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers", over 80% of home buyers used the internet when starting their home search process.
Q: If we list with you, will we be on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS)?
A: Again, absolutely! Any agent who does not place your home on MLS is doing you a huge disservice. With over 500 agents in the Champaign county area, it is important to tap in to that agent base of buyers. Also, if you are not on MLS you cannot appear on Realtor.com, the number one real estate site on the internet.
Q: Why should I use a team vs. a single agent?
A: Because times have changed. No one agent can be everywhere at the same time. Let’s suppose an agent has a relocation buyer in town. For three or four days they have to be with just that one buyer, a dream scenario for the agent, but not so for you. They are unavailable to show your home, they are unavailable to get feedback on showings, they are unavailable to negotiate contracts or inspection reports, and so on. Also, most agents are either great at people skills or great at paperwork. Rarely will they excel at both.
Q: Tell me about your marketing plan.
A: The exposure your home gets while listed with us is second to none. No other agent in East Central Illinois advertises their website quite like we do or as effectively. Additionally, our signs throughout our area connect us with buyers in all price ranges and areas. Our ads and signs also reference our website, resulting in additional contact. Here buyers can view our "featured homes" in addition to shopping the broader market. Our presence on Realtor.com insures maximum property exposure to buyers throughout the country. Even small details, such as multiple digital photos of homes, increase the attention we attract to our homes. Another important link is our marketing to the agent community. Remember there are over 500 agents that we want to think of us first when preparing to show properties to their buyers.
Q: How often will you advertise our property?
A: We don't just list homes; we market them. We will make sure your home is marketed to potential buyers around the clock, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. We will customize a marketing plan to reach the types of buyers most likely to purchase your home. We know how to maximize the power of the Internet for our clients, while also using traditional methods including flyers, brochures, yard signs, direct mail and print advertisements..
Q: Why do your homes sell so fast? Do you price them too low?
A: Absolutely not. Listings sell at full price or above or just below full price. We make it our business to know the market, so we can ensure we get the highest possible price for our sellers. Our homes typically sell faster than the average agent because of the effective marketing we do. We accomplish this by first doing a supply/demand analysis in the immediate area for any home we consider marketing. All agents have access to the same market information. It is the evaluation of what that information means to the marketing of a home that matters. X-rays mean nothing until they are evaluated by a competent doctor. Similarly, knowing what the market is doing in any area affects both the marketing time and value. Factors like area, demand, condition, pricing, accessibility, and agent choice all affect a home’s time on market.
Q: Are there things we should do to our home to help ensure the maximum price?
A: Yes. There is a benefit to making sure your home looks its best prior to offering it for sale. There are also small
remodeling jobs that will pay off at resale. We can advise you about specific improvements that will increase your home's marketability and value.
Q: How long does it take to get my home on the market?
A: Once we have a signed listing agreement and a spare key, we can have your home on the market within 24 hours.
Q: Shouldn’t I pick an "area specialist" to sell my home?
A: There are agents who focus primarily on one geographic area or neighborhood. But buyers come from all over the country, not just from that small neighborhood. So an area specialist usually really means "listing agent" in the area. Many years ago the real estate business was successfully composed of lots of small "boutique" offices - where companies did specialize in a certain area or part of town. But computers, the Internet, and cell phones have changed that aspect of the real estate business. Now the important points in selecting an agent are experience, track record, and marketing skills
Q: Are all Keller Williams® agents part of Scott Bechtel & The Bechtel Group Hassle Free Home Selling Program?
A: No! Keller Williams® Realty is the brokerage firm we work for. Approximately 75,000+ agents work for Keller
Williams. To receive the benefits of our experience and program, you need to contact Scott Bechtel & The Bechtel Group at 217-239-7202.
Q: Once I have reviewed your Hassle Free Home Selling System then what?
A: Contact our office by email or phone, and we will set up an appointment to have one of our listing
specialists meet with you. We will tour the home, go over recent market activity in your area to educate you
on values, and make recommendations for maximizing your profit and increasing your speed of sale.
Q: Will you be present at all showings?
A: At open houses, a member of our team will be there. For showings, potential buyers will bring their own agents to see your home. Most buyers prefer only their own agents be present when evaluating a prospective new home.
Q: What if another agent tells us they can get us more for the house?
A: Some agents will quote a higher listing price just to get your business, but an overpriced house will not sell. If you choose to work with us, we will conduct a comparative market analysis prior to recommending an asking price for your home. We will explain how we arrived at the price, but ultimately the decision is up to you. We will offer our professional opinion on how the market will value your home.
Q: Do we have any responsibilities during the marketing of our home?
A: Your primary job during the sale of your home is to keep it neat and clean for showings and open houses. A large part of a home's appeal involves staging, which is everything from furniture placement to home fragrance. We will advise you on how to stage your home well, giving you easy tips and quick fixes to maximize your home's appeal.
Q: I heard that there are limited service agents who charge less.
Why shouldn’t I hire the cheapest agent?
A: Sellers don’t need an agent just to sell their house. They need an agent to market their house for more! If your property would sell for the same price no matter who sells it – it probably would be in your best interest to sell the home yourself.. In that case, why pay any agent? The fact of the matter is we can sell your home for more. We have the track record we do because we are experts at pricing the property (using a specific supply-demand analysis prior to even looking for “comps") and experts at creating the greatest amount of exposure for your property.
Even at contract presentation, we do not follow the pack. We do not permit other agents to pressure you into a rash
decision. The contract will be presented to you by us alone. This specific action (especially when there are multiple offers) gets significantly more dollars for our sellers. It is very difficult for a seller not to transmit emotions and reactions to another agent. That can cost a seller money.
Q: I heard that there are limited service agents who charge less.
Why shouldn’t I hire the cheapest agent? (cont.)
Sadly, there are many agents who need the deal (sometimes more than you do). The weakest negotiator in any transaction is the one who has to have the deal. We are in the fortunate position of having enough clients that any one deal won’t make us or break us. Therefore the negotiations are really about getting you the most money for your home. Period. If the offer doesn’t make sense, you can count on us to tell you so. In addition to these points above, with our HASSLE FREE HOME SELLING SYSTEM and the variable commission, our fees in many cases are even less than the limited service broker.
Q: What happens once we get an offer?
A: We will help you consider each offer and negotiate the best deal for you. Once you've accepted an offer, we will guide you through the entire closing process and ensure everything proceeds smoothly.
