I'm not a lazy agent that sticks a sign in your yard and hopes the phone will magically ring. I work my listings, marketing them with websites, internet ads, print ads, emails, phone calls and professionally designed and produced brochures, often incorporating floor plans, plats, maps and more.

In addition, I am an absolute expert at staging properties, a very important and often underrated facet of marketing.

Add to this, I am technologically proficient, including programming skills and multiple websites, (this one, for example), which will put your listing all over the internet.

More importantly, the caliber of of my work will be exceptional, including first class photography and premium printing materials. At the end of the day, when everything is a blur to buyer prospects, your home will still stand out with my marketing materials. The most professional looking brochures, coupled with expert staging, helps to get that important "second visit", the one that often brings an offer.

Lastly, if list your home with me, you can count on honest answers and opinions, intelligent thinking, and lots of hard work... I get results!

Preparing Homes Before Selling

Two principles override everything: Neat and clean. Many years ago I listed a house that eventually sold for about 10% less than what it was worth, all because the sellers were unwilling to make it neat and clean, even after repeated urging. Every time the house was shown there were dishes in the sink, clothes were piled all over, they never did get to the yard work, and the basement was a junkyard. The home should have sold in a month, instead it took almost a year. Meanwhile, the smart buyers (very smart), got immediate equity worth thousands more than they paid, without even lifting a finger, since the sellers cleaned it up simply by leaving!

Preparing Land Before Selling

Pictures on the right and below are the "before and after" of a building lot at Smith Mountain Lake. I resold this property for twice its purchase price just three months later (was listed less than a week). It pays to make your property look nice!

Nobody is going to part with their hard-earned money to buy a lot without taking a long hard look at it. If the property is overgrown with weeds, saplings, briar patches and fallen trees, it’s hard to walk around and see it... So will it sell?

The problem is even worse at the lake since buyers are often on vacation, wearing shorts, and the wife probably has sandals on. I’ve got a better chance of winning the lottery than convincing them to wade thru your waist deep weeds and briars. So clean it up. If you don’t have the time or money at least cut a pathway thru it.

What's It Worth

Curious what your lake property is worth? Call me and I'll work you up a free analysis. (What's in it for me? It's simple: One day you'll want to sell, be it a month or 10 years from now. When that time comes, the fact we met and talked beforehand increases the chance I get your listing. In the long run, it's not much time for me to invest given the potential rewards.)

Considering an Offer

Here is my best advice about selling your home: List it at a fair price and stand firm. The buyer's agent will almost always offer less than what you're asking. Just say "No". If the buyer prospects really like the home they'll come back to pay a fair price, if you make them. You like the house (after all, you bought it), so you know it's a great place. Don't give it away.  

Also, what are the terms? Is the buyer pre-approved with a lender? How many days until closing do you want versus how many they want, etcetera, and etcetera... our purchase contract is 7 pages and only 1 deals with the selling price. This is just a sampling of things to look out for....

Call me and we'll talk. Real estate is a service business and I take that maxim seriously. It would be my privilege to talk with you!

Sincerely,

Dave Gresham
Owner & Principal Broker
Smith Mountain Lake Realty, LLC
(540) 721-5050
E-mail