WISCONSIN 2-24-20

WISCONSIN EDITION

BEYOND

CLEANING AND DECLUTTERING: What Improvement Expenses Make the Most Sense?

Developing Your

PRICING PHILOSOPHY

BY THE NUMBERS:

Understanding the True Value of Square Footage

COVER STORY

FEATURED AGENTS

ALYSON MARR JAKE SCHNEIDER

KEVIN JONES

WISCONSIN EDITION

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KEVIN JONES

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ALYSON MARR

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JAKE SCHNEIDER

KEVIN JONES

CONTENTS

4) BEYOND CLEANING AND DECLUTTERING: WHAT IMPROVEMENT EXPENSES MAKE THE MOST SENSE? 13) DEVELOPING YOUR PRICING PHILOSOPHY

18) BY THE NUMBERS: UNDERSTANDING THE TRUE VALUE OF SQUARE FOOTAGE 22) 5 THINGS YOU CAN DO TO ACHIEVE YOUR BIGGEST GOALS

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Beyond Cleaning and Decluttering: What Improvement Expenses Make the Most Sense?

Decluttering open spaces, emptying cabinets and drawers and removing knick-knacks might seem like obvious – and free – ways to improve a home’s presentability. Unfortunately, however, not all sellers or agents are willing to do much more than decluttering and cleaning.

Think of the listing as a reflection on yourself. If you didn’t comb your hair, shine your shoes, dress 4

neatly and drive a clean car, people would think you don’t care about yourself. They may wonder, “If he doesn’t care about how he presents himself, how is he going to present my house?” Likewise, not prepare a house for its most beautiful presentation might cast doubt on how the overall marketing will go. And, while not all changes will be immediately noticeable, chances are that what isn’t changed will be noticed.

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Ashley Aguilera, REALTOR®, broker and owner of The Aguilera Team in California’s Murrieta Valley and Temecula, says that after every consultation, her team formulates a game-plan. “We want to set their property apart from everything else on the market, but also fall within the comfort zone of the seller’s lifestyle,” she says. Changes may run the gamut from minor repairs and moving furniture for better flow, to adding accent pieces to harmonize the home’s look or create a “wow” factor before professional photography.

Many agents recommend conducting a professional inspection prior to listing; some will even hire the inspector at their own expense. Of course, any necessary repairs found during inspection and not repaired before listing must be formally disclosed. But wouldn’t it be nice to have no surprises during the buyer’s formal inspection?

In general, some improvements are required, others are low-cost and others pay for themselves

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with lower time on the market, competing offers or higher sale price.

Landscaping & Exterior First impressions begin outside. Be sure to mow and edge the lawn regularly; prune back overgrown trees and hedges; hire a professional to repair uneven pavement (especially if it’s a hazard); remove or replace dying annuals; and clean or repair porches or railings. Are there dry or dead patches of lawn? An inexpensive repair to the irrigation system might be the solution.

While painting an entire house can be extreme, a wise investment is to paint trim, porches, steps or railings that may look tired or have too many colors; choosing a single, neutral color for trim can create a bright, cohesive look. Finally, check the roof, gutters and windows, looking for spots to caulk, shingles to replace, or debris to remove.

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Paint is extremely important if the home has faded or dirty walls, holes or chips on paint or plaster. If an entire paint job is not feasible, at least consider cleaning repairing the obvious and adding a fresh coat of semi-gloss to baseboards, moldings, windowsills, doors, banisters balustrades and built-ins. Don’t overlook the ceilings!

A long-ago leak from a second-floor bathroom may have been completely repaired and moisture abated, but a patched-up ceiling is a red-flag.

Kitchens and baths

Walls, carpets, ceilings and trim Next, it’s time for agent and seller to open up to one another about the interior. Janelle Holte, who leads Seller’s Edge Home Team in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area, loves walking into a home knowing that her team will be the driving force behind selling it.

“I like seeing how owners took care of it and raised their family in it,” she says. “But I won’t sugar-coat anything, so I tell them not to shoot the messenger!” She gives it to them straight, explaining what needs to be done to stage it to present well from a buyer’s perspective.

Those changes often include repainting at least the primarily living areas and replacing carpet, especially worn carpet or carpet that has faded or stained beyond what professional carpet cleaning could remedy. Sometimes, all that’s needed is professional carpet stretching to remove any buckling prior to cleaning.

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Most agents agree that the easiest costs to recoup in home improvements prior to selling are those spent in bathroom and kitchen updates. Complete remodels are unwise; you can’t anticipate the style preferences of their buyer. But refinishing, touching-ug up or painting cabinets can create a great impact, while also forcing the seller to remove unwanted or overstocked items from cabinets and drawers. Don’t forget the cabinet pulls – shiny, new nobs look nice.

Lee Ritchie of Ritchie Realty Group in Columbus, Ohio, gives a reminder to discuss any and all issues up front. “People need to be able rely on the professional who’s presenting, pricing and marketing their home,” she says. An honest and diligent agent will be an open book about the current market conditions, the quality of comparable listings and the potential return-on-investment for improvements.

Some agents, like Debra Dobbs of @properties in Chicago, even roll up their sleeves to help with decluttering and repairs. While not at all required or expected, doing so sure lets sellers see the investment their agent is willing to make for them.

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KEVIN JONES Top Agent Magazine

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KEVIN JONES From locations in Fond du Lac, Oshkosh, Appleton, and Green Lake, Top Agent Adashun Jones operates in eight counties surrounding the Fox Valley, and has built a stellar reputation for quality service and consistency.

From the beginning of his career as an agent, Kevin Jones had a passion for both high performance and helping people. Kevin joined Adashun Jones Real Estate at the age of 19 while a sophomore at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh. At the time, he worked as an assistant for the owners while 8Copyright Top Agent Magazine

studying for his real estate license. Later that year, he became a licensed agent and then proceeded to close over $2 million in sales over the following summer months. “I was a marketing student trying to put myself through college. After that, I was hooked,� he says.

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Fast forward 19 years, 529 home sales, and over 100 million in sales volume, and Kevin is still with Adashun Jones, only now he is a Co-owner helping to manage the firm’s 100 employees and agents. From locations in Fond du Lac, Oshkosh, Appleton, and Green Lake, Adashun Jones operates in eight Top Agent Magazine

counties surrounding the Fox Valley, and has built a stellar reputation for quality service and consistency. Under the direction of Kevin and his two co-owners Glenn Elmer and Frank Adashun, Adashun Jones closed 1,156 transactions with a total value 197 million in 2019.

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“It’s not just about one showing, one open house, and the goal of getting that sale for that person that one day. It’s about building relationships. It’s about becoming a reliable resource that can educate and guide your clients.”

Kevin credits much of his success to his own personal philosophy that real estate is all about building relationships with both his clients and his team. “It’s not just about one showing, one open house, and the goal of getting that sale for that person that one day. It’s about building relationships. It’s about becoming a reliable resource that can educate and guide your clients.” Unsurprisingly, this is also a key component of the work culture at Adashun Jones.

According to Kevin, his company’s biggest advantage is that “we live and work together with our clients, so we see them every day whether it’s at the grocery store, or the local high schools’ sporting events. We are able to constantly interact with the people that support our business.”

But for Kevin and his coworkers, it’s not enough to just live and work in their communities, they also have to give back. “Our slogan Copyright Top Agent Magazine 10

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this year is work here, live here, give here. Not only are we trying to run a successful business, but we’re also trying to give back to the community, and we want people to know that we are in it together with them side-by-side.�

Adashun Jones recently rolled out a new company program called Home Sweet Schools, which allows agents to donate a portion of their commission from every transaction they Top Agent Magazine

close to a local school on behalf of their client.

Kevin and his company have been involved in initiatives ranging from purchasing Christmas presents for children from underprivileged backgrounds, to supporting conservation efforts to preserve Big Green Lake and Lake Winnebago.

In his personal life, Kevin enjoys spending time with his wife and two boys and “exploring Copyright Top Agent Magazine 11

everything that Wisconsin has to offer.” As an avid hiker and fisher, he says that he inevitably spends a lot of time around the state’s many lakes.

In thinking about the future, Kevin is focused on improving his business’ efficiency and

reaching more members of the community.

“Our goal is to generate new ideas that can create a better environment for our agents so that they have the tools and resources to provide better services for our clients, and ultimately, give back more to the community. We focus on creating good habits. “

For more information about Kevin Jones, please visit adashunjones.com, call 920-251-6748 or email kevin@adashunjones.com www.

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Developing Your Pricing Philosophy

By Dirk Zeller

Ask a dozen agents to explain their home pricing philosophy, and you’ll

hear a dozen different approaches. And if the talk reveals frank responses, you’ll also learn that the most common pricing strategy is no strategy at all.

Here’s my advice: Break out of the ranks by establishing and following a specific strategy for arriving at the ideal selling price for each home.

Adopt the philosophy that, in real estate sales, price is king. Price trumps all other factors—including marketing approaches, home condition, market competitiveness, and sales approach. I believe that, in the end, marketing and condition of the property are controlled by the price.

The alternative, advocated by many agents, most sellers, and even some sales trainers, is to emphasize marketing over pricing. Rather than working to set the ideal price, they believe success will come from optimizing the home’s condition and presentation and then marketing it with skill and savvy.

I take the opposite belief, based on years of experience working with sellers who wanted unrealistic prices for their homes and who experienced firsttime sales failures as a result.

Over my sales career, I resurrected and re-listed more than 600 expired listings—nearly 75 a year. Among all those transactions, I never met an owner with an expired listing who thought that an unreasonable price had anything to do with the home’s failure to sell. They all blamed the previous Copyright Agent Magazine Top Agent Top Magazine

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agent and that person’s approach to marketing. Each sought some magic marketing strategy to change the reality of the law of supply and demand.

There is a magic strategy: Price the home correctly.

Price is the only factor that can overcome sales obstacles, compensate for a home’s deficiencies, and motivate a purchaser even if the condition of the property and your marketing approach is less than perfect.

Getting the listing at any cost Does this scenario sound familiar? An agent (usually a newer agent) is short on business or maybe even desperate for the chance to stake a sign in someone’s yard. The agent wants a listing at any price – even if the chance 14

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to seal a deal erodes the likelihood of selling the property. To gain a seller’s nod of approval, the agent makes a flatteringly high pricing recommendation, throwing out a number the client wants to hear and then hoping something good will result from the bad situation.

I can think of few examples, if any, where this philosophy works. Hope isn’t a successful pricing strategy. Worse, the please-the-client mindset is a hard one to abandon. Agents who achieve listings with unrealistic prices find it hard to later counsel their clients honestly.

If you take and price a good listing competitively, it will sell. You can’t keep a good price a secret!

The pitfalls of a “please the buyer” approach are many and significant. By overpricing, you can practically count on a reduction in your productivity, profitability, and salability, and here’s why: It’s impossible to keep your productivity high when your time is spent in conversations with an unsuccessful seller who lacks motivation to take corrective action. The seller’s negativity, concerns, and phone calls will only increase with each week or month the house remains on the market.

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As time goes on, you’ll devote more and more time unsuccessfully trying to create a sale not only for your seller but also for yourself. This will pull you away from activities that are more likely to deliver income. The ensuing frustration will de-motivate you and stunt your ability to secure better appointments that create other income opportunities.

An unsold, overpriced listing negatively impacts your profitability because it costs you time and money to service while it delivers no revenue to your business. And the situation only gets worse the longer the listing languishes on the market. You’ll end up deducting the expenses of this in-limbo listing from the proceeds generated by any revenue-producing deals you manage to close in the meantime, reducing your net profit and business success.

Unsold homes that linger on the market seriously diminish your salability, which is the term that describes your sales success track. Your salability is based on such key statistics as your average ratio of listing price compared to sale price and the average number of days your listings are on the market.

Obviously, these statistics, which prospects rely on when choosing one agent over another, can be crushed by a “get the listings at any cost” philosophy. They’re also harmed by the “start high and reduce later” tactic.

If you take and price a good listing competitively, it will sell. You can’t keep a good price a secret!

Dirk Zeller is an Agent, an Investor, and the President and CEO of Real Estate Champions. Copyright©, Dirk Zeller. All rights reserved.

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ALYSON MARR For Alyson Marr, her career in the real estate industry started at a title company. “I worked there for five years doing closings, and after being at the closing table and seeing the joy everyone experienced, I knew I wanted to be more deeply involved,” she says. When she felt she had reached a peak at the title company, she took the opportunity to earn her real estate license. Today she works as a solo agent with a part-time assistant and a transaction coordinator. Serving Milwaukee and Waukesha counties, the vast majority of her business consists of repeat clients and referrals. Her growing clientbase is a testament to her commitment to providing superior service at all times.

“My number one goal is to always bring joy to the experience, no matter what we’re facing,” she says.

“Sometimes there’s uncontrollable situations that happen, and I always keep my clients calm and make sure they’re guided through it.” Alyson’s top priority is her clients’ needs, so she will go above and beyond to make sure they’re happy. “I just really focus on the relationship, I become friends with most of my clients because we’ve gotten to know each other so well throughout the transaction. It’s all about creating that lifelong relationship with my clients and making sure that no matter what we come across, I’m able to bring them joy.”

When it comes to marketing, Alyson also exceeds expectations, with Keller Williams syndicating her listings out to 350 websites. “Also, my For Sale sign that goes out front has my cell phone and email, so the people who are contacting me about the property have my immediate communication directly,” she says. “I have great social media exposure as well.”

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After the transaction, clients leave glowing reviews about their time together. One recently said, “Alyson Marr is the most organized, competent Realtor® we have ever worked with! She was very knowledgeable, having the answers to all of our concerns, or finding the answers promptly. She was always available when we called or returned our calls in a very timely manner. She took us through the process of selling our house with ease and calmness. We had the most wonderful experience. We highly recommend her for all real estate needs.”

During any freetime, Alyson is giving back to the community through serving on the local Farmer’s Market Committee and Concerts on the Green Committee. She also loves spending time with family, is a part-time kickboxing instructor and sings on the worship team for her church.

As Alyson looks ahead, she is eager to continue growing. She can’t imagine herself in any other career path. “I feel so incredibly blessed to be in a position where I can reach so many people, and the fact that people trust me. I feel super humbled by that.”

For more information about Alyson Marr, please call 262-424-4681 or email alyson@kw.com Copyright Top Agent Magazine 17

By the Numbers:

Understanding the True Value of Square Footage Measuring the square footage of a property may seem like an objective and straightforward task, but you’d be surprised at how many agents and homebuyers misunderstand this pivotal figure.

True square footage provides homebuyers a concrete understanding of their prospective domain, but here’s the problem: the rules to determine a home’s square footage are not always uniform across the board. What’s more, much of 18

a home’s value is determined by its size, so accuracy is certainly important. While many real estate agents have their own systems for determining or confirming a home’s true square footage, it doesn’t hurt to update your practices and become an expert on the subject. After all, you may learn a few techniques that could add value to a listing, or better prepare you in guiding house-hunters on the lookout.

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1. Do your due diligence Most towns and cities have a local records department where floorplans and blueprints are kept on file. It’s worth noting that these records don’t typically include any subsequent additions or remodels on a property, but they still give archive hunters a legal baseline when outlining a property’s square footage. Oftentimes, a straightforward online search of a city or county’s records office can pull the information necessary, or else agents can poke around in person to uncover informative blueprints at the records office. Either way, access to original blueprints or floorplans is a great tool for determining livable square footage. As a bonus,

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original blueprints and floorplans—especially in historic properties—can be intriguing visual aids for prospective buyers, as well.

2. Know the rules While there aren’t universal standards when it comes to measuring square footage, there are general guidelines that can help determine square footage in an authentic way. Per the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), here are the official recommendations for measuring a home’s real square footage: n

Called “below grade spaces,” basements and sunrooms beyond a home’s typical

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living quarters do not count toward a home’s true square footage. According to ANSI, even big draws like finished basements don’t count toward a property’s Gross Living Area. Of course, even below grade spaces have their own desirable value and should be outlined as such on listings. n

n

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Did you know the space inside closets and on stairways counts toward a home’s square footage? Even if these areas are relatively small, they still add to a property’s calculable square footage.

When recording square footage, ANSI actually suggests performing measurements from a property’s exterior—though this method does not account for the

thickness of exterior walls, which could skew square footage numbers. n

Just like below grade spaces, a garage, a pool house, or even a guest house should not be included in a property’s Gross Living Area. The rationale at work here is this: if you must go outside to access additional living areas, then they are beyond the square footage scope of the primary dwelling and should not be included in a home’s Gross Living Area.

3. Double-check by doing the dirty work Buyers and sellers have or will make a sizable investment in a property, so isn’t it fair to double-check all the relevant facts and figures

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when it comes to true square footage? If you want to take on the endeavor yourself, here are a few helpful steps to take. n

First, you’ll need a few things to get started, including a tape measure that can measure at least 100 ft., graph paper, and a pencil.

n

Next, choose a room to start measuring wall-by-wall. Measure Wall 1, then proceed to assign each square on the gridded paper a corresponding measurement, rounding to the nearest tenth of a foot for the sake of clarity.

n

From there, draw out the wall you measured and measure the remaining walls in the

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room. Once you’ve completed the room’s measurements, multiply the room’s length and width to determine its square footage. n

As you go measure throughout the home, using your own system to scale, you will construct a failsafe floorplan.

Mastering your craft is everything, and the real estate industry is no different. Every now and again, it’s worthwhile to update your well of information, take matters into your own hands, and continue to innovate with the industry. While square footage may not seem like the juiciest starting off point for such a venture, never forget: mastery of technical knowledge is a sure sign of expertise.

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5 Things You Can Do To Achieve Your Biggest Goals If there’s one thing successful people can agree on, it’s that setting goals has been key to their success.

Whether you’re creating a five year plan or just settling on what you want to achieve by the end of the day, setting goals gives you the focus and direction you need to complete even the biggest tasks.

But there is a method to setting them. It’s a process that takes careful thought and consideration up front, which is then combined with the hard work necessary to implement your plan. Luckily there are proven methods to goal setting that you can start using immediately.

1. MAKE YOUR GOALS SPECIFIC Yes, it’s fun to think in grand terms of where you want to end up in life and in your career, but it’s better to have a specific goal like “Increase my sales by 25%”, than “Get rich.” When a goal is clear and specific, it allows you to figure out the exact steps you need to take to accomplish it. The more general it is, the more paralyzed you might be when it comes to figuring out what to do since, the choices may be overwhelming.

2. MAKE IT ATTAINABLE Making attainable goals might seem boring, I mean afterall, you want to dream big! But you don’t want to suffer through the disappointment of not reaching your goal, something that may not even be possible at this stage in your life to begin with. One solution to that is creating goal levels. You can have the dream goal, but underneath that you have the realistic goals that are setting up a foundation for achieving the big one. Things that are attainable still take work and effort to achieve. Those small victories will keep you motivated and encouraged to go for the bigger dreams. And don’t forget, those 22

little goals may have been things you wouldn’t have gotten done if you didn’t set out to achieve them, so be proud!

3. PUT A PLAN OF ACTION IN WRITING Your plan of action should include daily, weekly, monthly and yearly goals. There is something about seeing things in writing and crossing them off the list that is oddly satisfying.The daily goals are especially important in regards to building up those good habits. The first few weeks of your plan of action are critical when it comes to your long term success. Reaching a goal is something you are doing every day, all throughout the day, in numerous ways. Achieving goals is all about creating good new habits.

4. MAKE IT MEASURABLE This is key, since you definitely want to reward yourself for a job well done, and having a goal that is measurable in some way is a sure way to know.

Maybe it’s to increase your lead generation or to cut expenses, whatever the case, have a measurable test you need to meet, as well as a time frame. Then calculate what you have to do to reach that goal. Not only should your goal be specific, but the plan and the measure of success should also be set in stone.

5. ADJUST AS YOU GO You can have all the best laid plans, and you still might quickly realize that what you thought would help you reach your goal, might not be cutting it.

Commitment to reaching your goals is good, but commitment to a plan you know isn’t going to work is not only a waste of time, but will be a devastating blow to your motivation. Sticking to a plan everyday means adjusting it accordingly.

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JAKE SCHNEIDER Like many other agents, Jake Schneider didn’t start his career in real estate. After graduating from college with a degree in finance, he initially took a job doing inside sales at an industrial distributor. “I realized pretty quickly that the monotonous routine of an 8am-5pm schedule wasn’t going to be a great fit for me,” he says.

“I had always been a self-starter and had an interest in real estate; I saved up enough money to give myself one year to either sink or swim in the industry, quit my job, signed up with Century 21 Affiliated and haven’t looked back.”

Approaching ten years and over 750 transactions later, Jake is now the team leader of The Jake Schneider Group at Century 21 Affiliated. Operating throughout the Greater Milwaukee Area, Jake and his team have built an outstanding reputation as a trustworthy and go-to authority in real estate.

When you ask Jake what has helped him to become so successful, he immediately points to the personal philosophy he uses to operate his business. “I firmly believe in putting the client before the transaction,” he explains. “I try to treat my clients like I would family.

As a result I’ve never worried about closing one particular deal, but rather focus on building a lasting relationship that will allow me to become their agent for life.” The fact that more than 70% of Jake’s business comes from referrals or repeat clients serves as a testament to the efficacy of his approach.

Beyond this, Jake also places a huge emphasis on maintaining communications with his clients. “If I’m in the car, I’m usually on the phone checking in with my past and current clients,” he tells us. In addition, Jake sends out a weekly email to his clients and prospects which provides updates on recent listings and sales, current market data as well as his thoughts on Top Agent Magazine

local market conditions. “Since beginning the weekly email, the feedback I’ve received has been overwhelmingly positive— people really view it as an insightful resource they can rely on for information about the local housing market.”

When Jake isn’t busy working, he loves getting out on the links to play a round of golf. Jake’s belief in the positive impact of the sport has led him to support a number of organizations that help underprivileged youth gain access to golf. In addition, Jake volunteers at his local church, and is a supporter of a second– hand community store in Milwaukee. “Whenever I have clients who are preparing to sell and have a lot of clutter, I offer them the opportunity to donate items to the store so that they can be sold back into the community and put to use,” he explains.

Looking to the future, Jake plans to increase the complexity of his marketing efforts in order to further develop the Jake Schneider Group brand. “I want our team to be market-proof so that no matter what may happen in the market, we are positioned as a local leader that buyers and sellers can rely on.”

For more about Jake Schneider, visit jakeschneidergroup.com, call 414-688-7469 or email jake@jakeschneidergroup.com

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