"Very little in life is as exciting as buying or selling your home. It's one of the most important transactions you can make and it should be done with extraordinary research and deliberation. These are huge moments and I'm proud of the of the trust I've been given and the successful conclusions I've had."
- Claudia
For Buyers
Purchasing a home is often one of the largest investments one will make their life. From NOBE to Piedmont to Rockridge, Claudia will help navigate the home buying process whether you are a first-time homebuyer or the seasoned investor. Bringing humor, candor and years of experience, Claudia's job is never complete until the exciting moment when she passes you the keys. Ensuring that time is used effectively and that the transaction is seamless, Claudia works tirelessly as your project manager to help achieve your home buying goals.
Initial consultation and defining goals
Sometimes clients know what they want and some... not so much. There are so many issues and trade offs it's important to really dig in and define clients' realistic goals. Schools, location, transportation, etc. are often more important than house style or square footage. When you establish clear priorities in this first phase everything else becomes much easier.
Visiting properties and identifying inventory
We all know it: home inventory in the East Bay is tight. And each house is different which makes it hard to compare one to the other. Claudia will try to help identify which properties hit the most important targets of her clients and try to clear away some of the chaff that inevitably clouds the choosing process.
Offers and Negotiation
This is the phase that makes some buyers crazy as the typical time between a home going on the market and taking offers is typically only ten days. And basically there are no deals. Quite the opposite Claudia has to prepare clients for how much over asking clients are willing to go. For those who have been close and lost out, they understand that the next step, negotiation, is all important and happens with dizzying speed. Here Claudia will fight to get the best price and lay out the realistic options that clients face.
For Sellers
Every property Claudia brings to market is unique and requires an individualized plan. From staging to remodeling, Claudia collaborates with you in order for the home to command the highest price.
Claudia uses a comprehensive marketing approach, enlisting the Bay Area's best professional videographers, custom web designers and photographers to create elegant collateral ensuring the home, grounds and neighborhood are properly captured. Claudia relies on the standard MLS syndications, such has Trulia and realtor.com, but then she has the added reach of Luxury Portfolio International, Savilles International, of which McGuire Real Estate is the Northern California exclusive partner and China’s Juwai real estate. All of this is enhanced even further by our robust social media experts and print advertising campaigns.
Initial Consultation and Agreement
This is typically where we compare notes about Sellers expectations and timing. Most realtors charge the same percentage based fees so it's up to the sellers to decide who does the most for this. Claudia with her team do much more than most realtors in bringing a home to market.
Design consulting for maximum ROI
Any realtor can hire a staging company, but what Claudia brings is a confidence about what current buyers get excited about when they shop for homes. She lays out a clear set of improvement options that will bring the maximum effect at point of sale.
Prepping property / Sub-contractors
Once it's agreed upon what is needed to be done, Claudia will guide her sellers though the gauntlet of coordinating sub-contractors while staying on an agreed timeline. This is often daunting to those of us who don't do this every day and Claudia's calm and focused expertise will help manage the process. She also has a list of professional tradesmen that she works with in case sellers need help with this aspect. Her knowledge of design trends is why Claudia is hired by the East Bay's most successful property developers.
Marketing and Sale
Marketing in East Bay real estate is one of the most critical aspects of bringing a home to market, and yet this is where most realtors typically do a very sub par job. Claudia and her team of top marketing professionals create a unique package designed to provide maximum impact for every listing.
The last step is taking offers. Claudia's negotiating expertise is remarkable which is why she typically achieves 30-50% over the asking price on most of her listings. Simply click on the list of previous sales to see her remarkable track record.
This above list of process stages is really only an abbreviation of what it usually takes to bring most East Bay properties to market. But, while daunting, it's worth the effort as East Bay properties are valued at ten times the cost per square foot over the national averages. As one's home often represents an enormous percentage of sellers net worth, the focus on maximizing the sale becomes essential. This focus is something that Claudia takes very seriously when bringing a home to market.
Marketing.
It's so important.
While most of us understand how important marketing is to most retail enterprises, very few realtors know much about it. Or do much about it. The irony here is that East Bay homes are probably the most expensive product an individual can purchase and yet receives about the same marketing attention that a home in Peoria, Illinois that's worth about a tenth as much for a comparable home.
Claudia's belief is that in the typical ten day window that a property is on the market she needs to bring every possible exposure advantage to the marketing of her listings. For this she finds that nothing is as powerful as the narrated property videos that she is known for. This type of video production is the most expensive marketing tool available for high end real estate. It's usually used only by agents selling properties in the tens of millions of dollars. ButClaudia has seen the results it brings time and time again, as have most of her clients.
And, while a few agents might use some video product on their most expensive listings, Claudia chooses to use this invaluable tool on every single property she brings to market. Additionally, she populates the web with her listing videos in every form available from social media like Youtube and Instagram to her unique Google video advertising as can be seen here: Google Video Advert
This is your Home
Sometimes we all lose track of the fact that this is not only the biggest investment you will ever make, or sell, but is also where you will raise your family and come home to after work day after day. Claudia knows how important that this is and factors that into all her interactions with her clients.
Our Check List
Buyers check list
This is just a "get started" list so be sure to contact Claudia for more specifics
Decide when you intend to buy your new home.
Get pre-approved by a lending institution. Claudia will go over why some lenders are better than others.
Decide as best you can what your priorities are in what you want in your new home. First is usually location as it often determines other things like schools, access to transportation, and, of course, price.
Start to research the areas that you are looking at. Here it's important to know that there are often "gotchas" that most home buyers don't see or get to know about that affect prices. but it will familiarize you with the inventory and a framework to start with.
Call Claudia. While this sounds self serving so many buyers spend way too much time thinking they understand the market only to find out they haven't considered so many key factors in appraising a potential home.
Sellers Check List
Selling a home is major commitment with many moving parts that require a lot of focus. Below are a few items that are important to consider when you decide to sell your home.
Decide when you want to bring your home to market and then carefully draw the timeline back to when to begin improvements for sale.
Obviously choosing the agent you want to represent your home is essential here. Claudia would be a smart choice.
Decide the scope of improvements. Remember that, if done right, the investment in improvements usually result in a ROI of 200% or more. Claudia knows what improvements bring the best returns in the current market.
Kitchens, bathrooms, flooring, and painting are all typical areas that need upgrading to make your property more attractive to potential buyers. If you don't know contractors who can do this type of work Claudia has a list of professionals who she's counted on over the years who can help.
Staging is very important in this market which usually mandates that the sellers move out. This is often tricky in terms of timing and logistics. Sellers should have this figured out early in the process.
Questions
Currently the market is very "hot" and has been this
way for a long time. But this can change on a dime. Obviously
the best time to buy is when there is a large inventory and
the opposite is true for the best time to sell, but most people
don't have the luxury of waiting years for the "perfect" time.
The best choice is to make the most of when you want to
either buy or sell and here the need for an expert is critical.
