Curb appeal is important not only for the front of your house but also for the waterfront side of the property. While cultivating an appealing first impression for buyers when they walk through your front door is critical, it’s also important to consider how the buyers will experience the side of your home that faces the water. Although there are many similarities between selling waterfront homes and selling standard properties, there are a few key differences to understand. It’s essential to work with a real estate agent in this circumstance so you can navigate the process successfully.
Let’s take a look at what selling a waterfront property with the right agent looks like.
You get their experience and expertise
At Jared Bowers, we stay ahead of the curb by continuously examining new market trends and working closely with each client. We carefully consider a client’s wants and needs for their next real estate transaction and make them a priority in every step of the process. By employing our negotiation skills and breadth of experience, we will also be able to negotiate on behalf of a client when it comes time to sell so they can walk away with an impressive deal in their favor.
Agents stay current on market trends and are aware of the types of neighborhoods that their customers are interested in. Most real estate brokers have access to the local multiple listing service (MLS), and they tailor searches to generate a list of available properties that fit their client’s needs. Real estate agents using MLS also have access to critical sales data, allowing them to appropriately price homes for sale to attract the highest number of qualified buyers.
You get their marketing proficiency
One of the most important components of selling a home is marketing, and the "publish it online and pray" or "hang a sign in the yard and pray" strategy is not sufficient and is not used by reputable real estate agents. Agents must commission and organize photographs and videos of the property as well as make every effort to ensure the listing description persuades buyers to visit it in person.
Marketing for a lifestyle
It's not about the number of bedrooms, bathrooms, or square footage in a waterfront home — it's about the lifestyle! Your agent will paint a picture of what life can be like on the lake, enticing customers from all over to imagine a life defined by swimming, boating, and enjoying outdoor dinners. They will market your home to emphasize these attributes depending on the types of photos you use for the listing or what type of furniture and accessories to include while staging your home.
Seasonal photos to showcase the home in every season
Waterfront homes are lovely during every part of the year, but they are particularly beautiful in the summer. What if you're selling your house in the dead of winter? If you have images of how the property appears during the warmer months, your real estate agent can commission large prints of it to include in the house tours so guests may get a sense of what life is like in your home during other seasons.
Bird's-eye views from the deck
People thinking about buying beachfront real estate want to know where it is with respect to other properties, natural features, and landmarks. Will they be able to enjoy a gorgeous sunset this summer? How close are they to town and a variety of amenities? Will they enjoy a desirable degree of privacy from other neighbors? Consider what buyers will be seeking in your property and be sure to highlight these attributes in your listing.
You get their ability to negotiate
When it comes to real estate, there is a lot of negotiation to be done. The house buyer and seller negotiate the price and timelines for examining and purchasing a home from the start of the offer process. Buyers and sellers may rest certain their best interests are protected by having an expert real estate agent involved in the process. Real estate agents are familiar with the timelines and price techniques for selling a home. Buyers who believe they can get a better bargain by buying without an agent may find themselves in over their heads when unexpected costs and delays arise.
Furthermore, having a real estate agent function as a buffer between the home buyer and the seller reduces the amount of stress experienced by both parties. For instance, a quality agent will not reveal that the seller thought the buyer's offer was “complete nonsense” but rather will express the underlying message that they thought the offer was low. This might encourage the buyer to think more strategically about how much they want the house and if they want to amend their offer.
You save time and money
One of the common misunderstandings in real estate is that cutting either a listing agent or a buyer's agent can save money for both parties. That is rarely the case, as over 70% of properties are sold with the assistance of an agent. It’s also important to note that when it comes to real estate that has been listed on the market by an agent, the buyer will not save money if they do not bring their own agent because the commission is usually fixed in the listing agreement.
Working with a real estate agent allows the process to move efficiently which saves valuable time on everyone’s behalf. Additionally, a drawn-out process can have costly consequences. It could result in the seller missing critical deadlines, forcing them to offload their property for a lower price than they had hoped for.
You get their network's influence
Agents who have been in the business for a while have amassed a huge database of trustworthy home inspectors, contractors, stagers, and other professionals. When the real estate market is booming during the busiest seasons of the year, finding great inspectors and contractors to do their work before a deadline can be challenging. However, by having access to an agent’s network, you have a much higher chance of having access to the professionals you need in the timeframe you want.
They assist with documentation
Understanding each and every term of a real estate contract, which can be more than five or six pages long, can take hours for the typical individual. On the other hand, a real estate agent who has spent time creating and studying real estate offer contracts, property disclosure forms, inspection reports, appraisal reports, and other documents knows what the contract terms mean. If a contract requires specific language, the agent can most likely draw from a library kept by their broker or get legal assistance quickly to ensure the language is drafted correctly. Contract language that isn't up to par might quickly become costly.
You’ll walk away with more
While some property buyers and sellers may feel comfortable dealing with a real estate purchase or sale on their own, the majority are unfamiliar with how the process should function. Local real estate attorneys can sometimes assist with contract analysis and possibly contract negotiation, but they are unlikely to be experts in understanding how to navigate the real estate market as a buyer or a seller. Contrastingly, qualified agents typically use contracts that have been previously examined by an attorney, and they are familiar with how to prepare or assess a real estate offer.
