Keeping It Real Estate with Colleen Benson

If you’re thinking about selling your home but a little overwhelmed by the entire process, join us as we walk you through each step.
 
Read more and get additional resources here: https://keepingitrealestatepodcast.com/selling/ep-71-step-by-step-process-for-selling-your-home/491/ 
 
See our listings: https://www.bensonbrokergroup.com/ 
 
What we discuss on this show:
1:01 – Preparation
4:29 – Getting an idea of the value of your home
7:18 – Find a real estate agent
11:54 – Set the list price for your home
13:00 – Marketing the home
14:08 – Negotiating with buyers
16:30 – Don’t ease up before closing

We all turn to friends and family for advice when it comes to buying and selling a home. It’s one of the biggest life events we’ll experience so it’s important to get it right. Today we’ll find out what advice real estate veteran Colleen has given and received through the years that she would pass along to you.
 
Read more and get additional resources here: https://keepingitrealestatepodcast.com/buying/ep-70-best-pieces-of-real-estate-advice/454/
 
See our listings: https://www.bensonbrokergroup.com/ 
 
What we discuss on this show: 
1:03 – The best piece of advice you give clients about the mortgage process
3:37 – Best advice you’ve received about running a business
5:36 – Best advice about marketing a home
7:27 – Best advice you ever received about negotiating 
9:22 – Best advice you give to clients about physically moving into a new home
11:50 – Best advice for communicating with clients 

A home inspection can create a lot of anxiety and worry for the seller but there are steps you can take to make the process go much smoother. Today we’ll share some of the things we tell our clients to do before the inspection takes place.
 
Read more and get additional resources here: https://keepingitrealestatepodcast.com/selling/ep-69-how-sellers-should-prepare-for-home-inspections/453/ 
 
See our listings: https://www.bensonbrokergroup.com/ 
 
What we discuss on this show: 
2:37 – Make some space for the inspector to get in there.
5:54 – Think about nuances to tell the inspector about. 
6:49 – Make sure all lightbulbs are working. 
8:20 – Beware of the small stuff. 
10:13 – Get mentally prepared.
12:23 – Trust your agent. 

Today we open up the mailbag for a couple of listener questions, which got us into a great discussion on the value of social media when it comes to marketing your home. Find out where Colleen stands on this strategy.
 
Read more and get additional real estate resources here: https://keepingitrealestatepodcast.com/selling/ep-68-the-importance-of-social-media-when-selling-a-home/447/ 
 
See our listings: https://www.bensonbrokergroup.com/ 
 
What we discuss today: 
0:37 – The Benson team is growing.
3:08 –  Mailbag Question #1: I wanted to sell my house fast and easy like I heard about in commercials, where I don’t have to list my house and they’ll just buy it straight from me. None of these businesses are returning my calls. Is this still possible?
6:40 – Mailbag Question #2: My good friend is a realtor but she’s not big into social media. I’ve heard you talk about the importance of advertising a home on social media. Would I be missing out if we used my friend as an agent?

Specific real estate search terms have skyrocketed during the pandemic. Can you guess what they are? Find out on this episode along with the latest on foreclosure forecasts and the future of real estate photography.
 
Read more on this topic: https://keepingitrealestatepodcast.com/headlines/ep-67-top-recent-real-estate-searches-other-headlines/442/ 
 
See our listings: https://www.bensonbrokergroup.com/ 
 
What we discuss on this show: 
1:00 – A new baby in the office.
2:24 – What’s the latest in the local market?
6:32 – The top recent real estate search terms
11:27 – An article suggested foreclosures won’t be a significant problem.
14:27 – Is it the end of real estate photography as we know it?
 

How is the pandemic changing the way buyers and sellers are behaving? A recent study found seven different trends emerging due to COVID-19 and they could impact real estate over the long-term. Let’s find out whether Colleen agrees with each of these behaviors and how they’ll impact Oregon.
 
Read more and get additional resources here: https://keepingitrealestatepodcast.com/buying/ep-66-emerging-behaviors-during-pandemic/420/ 
 
See our listings: https://www.bensonbrokergroup.com/ 
 
On today's show: 
1:26 – Buyers are rushing
3:51 – Shifting wishlists
5:47 – Less concern over commute time
6:35 – Multi-generational homes becoming more common
7:35 – Pets could drive purchasing decision
9:12 – Prepare for a first-time buyer wave
11:28 – People might stay in their homes fewer years

As we survey the landscape of real estate, three recent headlines jumped out at us about selling homes. Join us as we get Colleen’s reaction to each of them and find out if Oregon is seeing the same trends.
 
Show notes & additional resources here: https://keepingitrealestatepodcast.com/selling/ep-65-reacting-to-the-latest-real-estate-headlines/416/
 
See our listings: https://www.bensonbrokergroup.com/
 
On today's show: 
0:29 – The market needs more inventory.
3:25 – First headline: Is this is the best time in years to sell?
6:35 – Best way to get started if you want to sell.
7:44 – 2nd headline: How agents can avoid communication problems.  
10:57 – Driving for a win-win deal for both parties.
14:40 – 3rd headline: What’s motivating moves right now?

Are you having problems selling your home and can’t pinpoint the reason? Learn about the most common issues that can keep a property from selling as quickly as you’d like.
 
Read more and get additional resources here: https://keepingitrealestatepodcast.com/selling/ep-64-reasons-why-your-home-might-not-be-selling/410/ 
 
See our listings here: http://bensonbrokergroup.com/ 
 
Today's show schedule: 
1:18 – Your property might be too unique for the neighborhood or location.
2:25 – Geodesic homes
4:55 – Bad staging
5:51 – Ugly curb appeal
7:06 – Sub-par listing photos
10:59 – The house is listed without a marketing plan.
12:14 – Not being flexible with showing your home. 
13:17 – Home isn’t priced correctly. 
15:12 – A great tool we’ve put together to show you the value of your home.