To start the process, we can come to your house, you can come to the office, or we can do everything by telephone or even email. If you are simply curious about the value of your property and only want a CMA, we can generally accommodate your request the same day.

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Other Services
We will help you establish the right price for your property to optimize your market position based on the existing properties on the market. Sometimes only a couple of thousand dollars higher or lower can mean the difference in the number of showings that your property will receive. If you would like, we can provide you with an Estimated Sellers Proceeds report. This report will give you a fairly accurate assessment of the costs you will incur, as well as what you can expect to net from the sale. We can make suggestions to make your property more attractive to potential buyers. If you want more information on this subject we have a videotape available, produced by our parent company GMAC, that we can loan you.

To all of our sellers we offer a written Satisfaction Guarantee, giving you the opportunity to cancel your listing contract if you are not satisfied with our service. We are the only agents who offer this. Of course, we will also answer any questions that you may have about selling, marketing, or about us.

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Listing Appointment
This appointment generally takes place once you have decided to sell and when you have made the decision to hire us. Frequently, many of the basics have already been verbally agreed on either by a previous appointment or by telephone. We will provide all of the necessary paperwork, including contracts and disclosures required by California law. We will tour your house with you to obtain any additional details we will require and to familiarize ourselves with your property. We will finalize details regarding signs, a lockbox, showing instructions, etc. If lighting permits we will take photographs for use in our marketing of your property.

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Marketing Plan
Every part of our marketing plan can be personalized to meet the needs of each seller. A Jennings Realty sign in your front yard that includes a brochure box and our name/telephone number. A Supra electronic key box to be placed on or near your front door, which allows other agents access to your house when you‘re away. This device records information on all agents who have used the box. This not only provides security for you but also allows us to follow-up with the agents to find out what their buyers thought of your property. We can also keep track of the number of agents who have entered so that we will all know the number of showings that your property is receiving.

Your house will be added to the Mountain Communities MLS, to Chris Net MLS, to Realtor.com, to Jennings Realty Private Listing Service, to our website PineMountainClubliving.com), and to several other sites. We also do some print advertising. A full color brochure will be designed for use in the box outside your house and for a board outside of our office. We will arrange a "caravan" of all local realtors to view your house. Color brochures will be passed out. Sometimes we serve a snack. All Jennings Realty agents notify their clients by email or telephone of all new listings.

We will do Open Houses, with your agreement, on an as needed basis. We will communicate with you on a regular basis with updates and changes in the market. We promise not to pressure you to reduce the price of your property unless absolutely necessary due to market changes. As a result of this policy, we obtain on average a selling price which meets or exceeds your asking price more often than other top agents on our mountain.

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Receiving an Offer
We will explain all points and applicable clauses and the pros and cons of each, so that you can make fully informed decisions. We will then negotiate with the buyer’s agent the best price and terms possible based on your decisions. We will write all counter offers. We will oversee Escrow/Title and the buyers Mortgage Company to ensure a successful closure of escrow. We will order all necessary inspections and supervise any necessary work. We will coordinate regularly with the buyer‘s agent. We will provide you with regular status updates.

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Home Staging - Getting a House Ready to Sell
Home staging involves much the same commonsense advice that real estate agents have been giving to sellers for a long time, but with some fresh additions. Simply put, you want to show case a house so that home buyers can visualize living there.

Professional home stagers are available in large cities. We are not suggesting that you import one to our mountains, but we are suggesting that you at least read and mull over the following ideas.

The first step and the most difficult is to separate yourself emotionally from the personal feelings that you have about the house. So don’t take it personally! It’s not your home now, it’s a commodity that you intend to market. Try to evaluate the house as if you are seeing it for the first time. If you were in the market to buy this house, instead of selling it, what would you think about the house? Try to pretend that you are seeing the house for the first time. What changes would make immediate improvements? What are the house’s best features and how can you show them off?

The following ideas are some things that you can do to stage your house yourself. Please note, these ideas do not include making major improvements for which you generally do not get your money back.

Basic Inside Prep Before you Sell
Everything from floors to windows must be as spotless as you can make them. Or perhaps hire a professional house cleaner. Think about cleaning the carpet. If your carpet is really bad, most times don’t replace it. We can offer an allowance to the buyers and they can make their own choice.

Kill offensive odors.

Eliminate clutter. De-clutter every part of the house.

Clear off all surfaces, including kitchen countertops. Pack away family photographs and other personal items from tables and shelves. Buyers need to imagine their family and their possessions in the house. When buyers start deciding how their furniture will fit into your rooms, you’re on your way to a contract.

Pack up the bulk of your personal collections. You don’t want potential buyers spending more time looking at your collections and not at your house.

Remove excess furniture to make rooms appear more spacious. Rent a storage unit if you need to.

Make sure that your door locks work easily. It is really frustrating to agents when they have to struggle to open
a door.

Basic Outside Tasks
• Clean the gutters.

• Store or organize items that make the yard look messy.

• Make your front entry inviting. If the weather permits, try potted flowers on your front porch. If necessary, buy a new front door, decorate it, or paint it.

• Keep the landscaping neat.

Prior to a Showing
• Turn on all lights.

• Soft background music is nice.

• Open all drapes or curtains.

• If your cooking something that smells good, don’t worry - it helps.

Taking the time to prepare the house may put extra dollars in your pocket, and in less than average time. Another plus, is that a great overall impression is often enough to make a buyer more lenient about requesting minor repairs. You want the buyers to fall in love with the house as soon as they drive up.

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Advertising That We Do
Each property that we list is quickly added to the following:
• Mountain Communities Multiple Listing Service - Our local MLS which covers from Lebec to Pine Mountain Club.

• Chris Net Regional Multiple Listing Service - Our company Jennings Realty/GMAC is the only agency that belongs to this MLS which covers Burbank, Santa Clarita Valley, Conejo Valley, Simivalley/Moorpark, and San Fernando Valley. This MLS is available to over 9,000 real estate agents.

• Jennings Realty/GMAC Private Listing Service - This website is available only to Jennings agent clients by password. It includes a photo, brief description, and price of properties.

• Realtor.com - The internet’s #1 real estate listing site.

And several other websites.

We also use print advertising as necessary. Over the years, we have advertised in the Santa Barbara, Santa Clarita/Valencia, and the South Bay area in Homes and Land, The Real Estate Book, and Beverly Hills 213. We currently have an ad running in Beverly Hills 213 for our new construction listings. When we advertise in magazines, we frequently advertise the mountain area rather than specific properties. We have found that beautiful pictures of our area, rather than specific homes, brings us buyers.

Now that we have told you about all of the advertising that we do, we will also tell you that there is a misconception that advertising sells real estate. Studies done by the National Association of Realtors® show that 82% of real estate sales are the result of agent contacts through previous clients, referrals, friends and family, and personal contacts. In our beautiful area where many clients just come to visit, walk-ins (folks who just happen by the office) are an extremely important source of buyers. So a partnership works well, one can be out showing property and the other holding down the office.

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If you have any questions or would like more information please contact us at 661-242-7715 or toll free at 800-505-5170, email us, or use our Online Request Form.