What's Involved In The Pre-Listing Phase? | Listing Coordinator Interview

November 18, 2021 | New Listings

Sam Meredith wears a lot of hats on our team. He makes sure that everything runs smoothly.

If Kim or I are not available for a showing, Sam will pitch in. If Miranda needs help with paperwork, Sam knows what to do. If a client wants to offer on a house quickly and no one else is available, Sam will get it done. His primary role, however, is as our listing coordinator. Much logistical work goes into getting your house ready for sale, and Sam is in charge of all those moving pieces. He’ll be the one booking appointments with home inspectors, floor plan companies, photographers, staging, cleaners and anything else that needs to get done. He’s our problem-solver extraordinaire. He’s always early and never flustered.

Robyn: What is the most crucial step in getting a house ready to put on the market?

Sam: Oh gosh, that’s a hard one because every step feels so essential. Probably the most important step, though, is to declutter your home early. I don’t say this as a judgement. 99% of our clients need to declutter their homes. This is especially true for clients with children. If I wanted to sell my condo, I’d have to spend a reasonable amount of time decluttering too. But you can’t declutter a house in a day. Ideally, you start a few months out and do it methodically and thoroughly. It is tough for me to do my job and get the photographs, home inspection and floor plans looking great if there is a lot of stuff around the house. A clean house is the easiest kind of house to work with.

Robyn: What is the one thing that usually delays a listing from coming out?

Sam: Sometimes, a client will want quick timelines for everything to happen, which can have an opposite outcome. My system is like a game of dominoes. One step occurs after the next. First, you declutter and paint, then I can come in and get the home inspection, floor plans, staging and cleaning done. But, if decluttering and painting are delayed, then all the dominoes can fall at once. I’ll need to move the tradespeople, and they may be booked up for a while. Give yourself as long a time as possible to get your part of the work done, so I’m not booking my people on an unreasonably early timeline.

★ We have an extensive library of resources for sellers taking you from the pre-listing phase right up to closing:

Robyn: What is the one thing that sellers can do to make the process easier?

Sam: I say this with love for our clients, but stop thinking about this as your house during this process. We have a way of making your house look appealing to the largest number of buyers, even if it doesn’t suit your taste. So, take yourself out for lunch, Rent an Airbnb and try to detach from the process a bit. Trust that we’ve got a well-oiled machine in place to get your house looking market-ready. I attend every appointment in part to make sure that your house is always safe. You are always welcome to be there as well, but you don’t need to be. Ironically, you can make the process easier by trusting the process.

Robyn: Why do you think sellers need to know before they get ready to list their house?

Sam: There are two questions that I get asked all the time. The first is why we do home inspections. Home inspections, even if they reveal something that’s not great, ultimately get you more money because buyers don’t like surprises. When you give a buyer a home inspection, it makes them feel like you are doing your best to be transparent with them, which is invaluable.

The second is about cleaners. Our cleaners are there to get your house ready and beautiful for showings. They’ll polish your stainless steel, dust your light fixtures, mop your floors, clean your showers, but they’re not there to do a deep clean. They won’t be re-organizing your pantry or cleaning out that closet in your basement that you haven’t looked at in twenty years. If you want a very deep clean like that, you’ll have to do that as part of your decluttering process.

Robyn: What is your favourite part of the job?

Sam: Honestly? When there is a pet that I can meet in the home. I love going to appointments and meetings at our client’s animals. I also love seeing how excited and relieved people are when they view the final product after we’re done with their home. So many of our clients are thrilled with how we get their houses ready for marketing. I find that moment so satisfying.

★ For more information on how a qualified listing agent will boost your sale read:

If you have any questions about our pre-listing phase and what else is involved, give us a call.

Stay safe!

Robyn VanderVennen
The Kim Kehoe Team