Leavenworth Real Estate

Previewing Leavenworth Houses: The Life of a Leavenworth Real Estate Agent

I thought it would be fun to start a new series of posts I’m tentatively calling The Life of a Leavenworth Real Estate Agent. I realize that most folks don’t see a lot of the behind the scenes work that we do throughout the week, so here’s a peek.

Previewing Houses

We don’t make it every week, but Allyson and I try to go preview on a regular basis.  From comments that other agents have made, I think it’s clear that we tend to preview more homes than any other agents in the Leavenworth area.

What is previewing?

Previewing is touring a house without clients.  We are generally looking for three things.

• Location
• Condition
• Price

These are the same things our clients are looking for.  We are looking for all the things that are missing when you look at a home on the internet or the listing sheet.

• What are the neighbors like?
• How close to the road is it?
• How is the view? Which rooms can you see it from?
• Does the floor plan make sense?
• Are the rooms generously sized?
• How is the natural light?
• What’s missing in the photos? Train tracks? Power lines? Highway noise?

After we look at a house we have a two part discussion. The first is about price.

• Is the house priced well?
• What should the price be?
• How does it compare in price to similar homes for sale in Leavenworth?
• How does it compare to recently sold homes in Leavenworth?

If it is priced well, we ask ourselves if it will meet the needs of any of our current buyer clients. We may also decide to share it with those folks signed up to receive our Deal of the Week emails. 

Why Preview Houses?

Previewing is probably one of the most important things an agent can do. It’s how we become experts in the market. Surprisingly, most agents do very little of it.

We preview homes in Leavenworth to help our buyer clients use their time more efficiently. Most of our buyers are from western Washington and it is a two hour drive to Leavenworth.  Most home buyers would prefer to see homes that fit their needs and not wade through a long list of junk. Previewing helps us filter the list for our clients.

Do have a question about a home in Leavenworth that you have seen on the internet? There is a good chance we have been in the home and can answer questions you may have.

We also preview homes so that we can effectively price our listings.  Home prices should be based on recent comparable sales in the area. If we haven’t been in the homes that we are using as comparables, how do we really know how well they compare?

 

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 31st, 2011 at 7:35 am and is filed under Home Buyers, Home Sellers, Leavenworth Real estate market. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

1. Aaron Schreiner said at May 31st, 2011 at 11:09 am

   I think it’s a great that you and Allyson preview homes regularly. Most of my Leavenworth clients are from Western Washington and I know they appreciate it when their service providers make their commute to Leavenworth easier. Getting your “homework” done saves everyone time.

2. Cari McGee said at May 31st, 2011 at 11:17 am

   Excellent, Geordie and Allyson! It is so important to preview, and you’re right, few agents do it. When you consider your clientele, especially, it’s even more important that you’re able to separate the wheat from the chaff for them, so that no one’s time is wasted. When I have out-of-towners relocating, I absolutely preview, but I should make it a regular habit, as it IS how you become an expert in any given area.

3. Pricing Leavenworth Houses : The Life of a Leavenworth Real Estate Agent | Icicle Creek Real Estate said at July 21st, 2011 at 10:32 am

   [...] regularly previewing of Leavenworth homes for sale [...]

4. Our New Years Blog Resolutions | Icicle Creek Real Estate said at December 30th, 2011 at 4:29 pm

   [...] have done just a couple of posts in this series. From the comments we have received, people really learn quite a bit about how we spend our time in [...]

5. Pam Buda said at December 31st, 2011 at 4:29 pm

   HI Geordie,
   I like your series about the Life of a Real Estate Agent. I preview a lot of property throughout Sonoma County and it can take a lot of time and use a lot of gas because we are a huge diverse place stretching from the Pacific Coast through the redwoods and vineyards over to Napa County. We try to be efficient and to move quickly but I could easily spend nearly half the days of my week covering the various communities here from Petaluma to Santa Rosa, to Glen Ellen and Healdsburg, let alone the rugged north Sonoma Coast or Bodega Bay. But we work with a lot of out of area buyers as well who are looking for a certain experience, not necessarily a certain town. Thanks for your post! And good luck for your 8th year. I am going in to year six of blogging!

6. Amanda French said at January 11th, 2012 at 8:22 pm

   Absolutely love this idea!

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