How to Create a Killer Marketing Portfolio for your Luxury Listing: Project Highlight: The Wailuku Estate

There are many agents who called themselves “Luxury Property Agents”, what does that actually mean in terms of your Marketing Portfolio? Are you taking care of your client and going all out in creating a killer portfolio that looks absolutely stunning? Are you hiring the Best Photographer in town to do the photoshoot? What you provide your client in the marketing materials you create represents you and your brand. Just be honest, you can’t call yourself the luxury and high-end agent if you are trying to please your million dollars buyers and sellers by giving them crappy photos. Your portfolio creates values, trust, and tells the story of how you are ‘taking care’ of your sellers.

We were very honored to be the photographer for this luxury Wailuku Estate. The property has 5.39 acre estate on the slopes of the Kahakuloa hills. This luxury hideaway estate has 7,200 sqft, three beds, 4 full baths, 4 half beds, kitchen, bar, multiple living room and entertainment space. We were hired to take the photos of the property, drone photos, video, 3D Matterport as well as Virtual Stage this unfurnished property and we would like to share the process of this photoshoot and how we have created amazing content for the agent to market this property.

We started in the morning with drone, and all the exterior shots as the location can get pretty cloudy later the day. We took the advantage of the sunniest moment to make sure the drone shots, especially video shots are sunny and the least amount of clouds. Then we started with doing photos for each room, starting from one side of the house to the other, then the 2nd floor and basement. Because of how big this property is and all the rooms are vacant and some look alike, we marked each room location while doing the shoot, so we don’t forget which room the photos belong to in post. It took about 3 hours to finish all the interior photos.

While doing the photoshoot, we provided our clients our sets of virtual furniture library so they can discuss and visualize the furniture in the space while being on the property. I hand sketched a floor plan on my iPad and marked down all the furniture sets they selected.

Our goal is always to provide our client the best service, most practical solution in an effective and beautiful manner.

We are done with choosing virtual furniture by the time the interior photography is done.

Next, we started the Matterport, since it is a very large property, with elevators, staircase, we took extra care to ensure the staircase areas are scanned properly without missing information. In that way, post-production will be easier. We also know that the more attention to details we pay on-site and go the extra mile to fix things, do the job properly, the less error it will have for Matterport. We don’t skip steps, or do a hasty job that would require a reshoot - we absolutely do not want to waste our client’s time so we usually pay extra attention to details and never miss anything on site.

We finish the interior photoshoot with a video walkthrough. Since the property is primarily empty, the client would like to have a teaser video instead of a room-to-room walkthrough. Also, since the client is not from Maui, we provided local suggestion in how to sell the Maui experience, what other lifestyle clips to put in, and what we should avoid to focus on.

Last but not least, we took sunset photos for the property. It was not the most beautiful sunset that day as it was rainy and dark clouds. So most of the twilight effects have to be done in post-production. However, it is still helpful to get the photo of the exterior of the building with lights on. We always try to keep the photo as authentic as the original property, so it is a realistic depiction with aesthetic touch and angles. That will do the justice of the property without exaggeration or misrepresentation. Natural and Beautiful is the message we want to give off.

Photos are delivered in batches to the client, since there are over 100 of photos, that way client can get a sneak peek and start planning their marketing materials without compromising the timeline. All photos are delivered within one week, with virtual staging completed, video, drone and 3D model.

Advanced Editing Service

In our highly competitive marketplace, the role of digital photography and social media presence is crucial for the success of any small and big business. Posting anything on your accounts is not enough. Profiles with low-quality pictures may have a hard time getting good engagement and can affect your brand image. With the short attention spans of the digital age, it only takes a few seconds for a consumer or client to know if they’ll push through with the deal after looking at the photos. Properly edited photographs and high-quality visuals can deliver the desired message about your brand and business to your respective audience.

Let’s summarize the need for advanced editing services for real estate photography.

1. Building the image for your brand - your photos can say a lot about your brand signature and how professional or casual you might want to be.

2. Vibrant Images - dull, dark, and raw images wouldn’t really help in creating an appealing photo listing. Photo enhancements make sure that your property is seen in the best light possible without misleading your potential buyers.

3. Better Sales - making your images visually stunning will attract more audience, thereby increasing engagement and eventually garnering better sales prospects.

4. Creating credibility and reputation - high-quality photos provide a reason for people to rate you as someone who values their customers more than those profiles with low-quality photos. Using your own original image instead of stock also builds your reputation.

5. Social Media Presence - with our technology nowadays and current situation, social media is “THE PLACE TO BE”. You’ll always want to create a stronger social media presence for your business through high-quality images, be it through Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest to name a few.

Apart from providing Standard Quality Editing Service for property photos, we can go the extra mile for your specific preference or provide a better image outcome when we face environmental challenges during the photoshoot. Our advanced editing services include:

• Photo Masking and Layers

• Photo Stitching - combining multiple photographic images to produce a high-resolution image or a panorama.

• Portrait Corrections - fixing the complexion and features of people in the photos

• Background Removal - removing cars. people, birds, and everything else you want to remove from your image to make it picture-perfect.

• Sky Replacement - a pretty neat feature in most photo editing software, making it easier for photographers or editors to replace the sky in any photo with a different one.

Advance Editing is essentially the icing on your cake!

On average, there are 276 sunny days per year in Maui County, so there would still be no sunny days that are not suitable for a perfect photoshoot. Achieving a perfect and bright blue sky in the background of the property for listing is also easier said than done. For one, you can’t control the weather, and waiting for the ideal conditions for photoshoots is not always feasible especially for those back-to-back vacation rental units.

SKY REPLACEMENT

Notice the difference in the 1st photo which is the raw image of the property from the 2nd photo or after editing.

Sky replacement has been used to replace the dark gray skies with a vibrant blue sky. We will ensure your photos have BLUE Sky, even on rainy or cloudy days.

The following four pictures are from the same property listing. Photos are of “before photo editing or the raw images” and the “after editing photos”

The cloudy or rainy weather conditions causing gray skies can definitely affect your real estate photo listings. Take the opportunity to highlight the beauty of your property through advanced editing services. This will give your listing an instant boost with the pop of vibrant colors.

Car/Object/People Removal

Given a time when your camera and subjects are all set, but you’re also outside in a public area where you don’t have any control over who is parked in front of your lanai and other objects that may suddenly appear in your captured image. What do you do?

We use the handy tools of post-processing to clear the view from any distraction. Does it make misleading content? No, as it uses the same view less the cars or other objects. Does it provide you and your clients a better view of the property’s outside features? Absolutely yes!

Here are a few more examples of the before and after car (circled) removal editing process.

***Depending on the number of objects subject for removal or the complexity of the photo, advanced digital modification may cost extra fee.

Ocean Views

Love Ocean View?

See the comparison on the ocean between the same photo. This was taken just before the rain. Unfortunately, we cannot control the weather, but we will try our best to make it look more appealing.

Now, take 5 seconds to look at the ocean in these next pictures.

Let us know in the comments down below how you felt seeing the blue ocean.

Richard Shuster, PsyD, clinical psychologist and host of The Daily Helping podcast has this to say about how the beach gets us feeling more Zen. “The color blue has been found by an overwhelming amount of people to be associated with feelings of calm and peace,” says Shuster. “Staring at the ocean actually changes our brain waves’ frequency and puts us into a mild meditative state.” There is also the book “Blue Mind: The Surprising Science That Shows How Being Near, In, On, or Under Water Can Make You Happier, Healthier, More Connected, and Better at What You Do” that has been backed by research that confirms how spending time near water is key to “achieving an elevated and sustained happiness”. So it shouldn’t be a wonder why Hawaii tops U.S. Wellbeing for a 7th-time record since 2008.

Even with gorgeous beaches surrounding these properties and the high number of sunny days in Aloha State, the scheduled time and day may coincide with unfavorable weather conditions that we cannot change.

For property photo listings that include ocean views, it is best to schedule the photoshoot in the morning or at an earlier time of the day depending on the location, unless we are trying to catch the sunset shots viewed from the property. This is because we want to avoid taking pictures against the sun which can leave us with unsatisfying results.

The sun’s position and lighting at a certain time of the day affect the color of the ocean which can make it grayish and dull. However, if there are time constraints in scheduling the photo shoot, we can assure you to bring vibrant colors into the game through our professional editing services.

Check the next photo listing pictures which were taken at not the most ideal time - against the sunlight, but given that late afternoon was the only time we could schedule, we adjusted the blue color to prevent the ocean from looking too silvery.

Given these certain factors and qualifications that can influence your property’s photo listings marketability and your brand image, the important thing you’ll have to decide now is choosing among the various photographers. This is where research and portfolios are crucial in the selection process. Choose the most suitable provider that can offer you unique service propositions and the one closest to your brand image, or at best the one that can work around more closely with your preference.

Check out our portfolio and list of services available.

All photos and materials in this blog are copyrighted by FLOCUS Studio LLC. Do not copy or repost. Thank you.

Our Service Overview: What type of media do you need to market your listing?

Congratulations! You just got a new listing and you are excited to help the Seller to get it on the market. Now, you are searching for a local photographer to take pictures of your listing.

First, you want to think about what type of media do you need? Just photos? Drone? Video? 3D or more? Before you hire a photographer, let’s dive deeper into what you really need to market your listing.

This post will give you a general overview of the types of media you can hire a professional real estate photographer to create for your property marketing and a sneak peek of what services Flocus Studio can offer as a full-service real estate media producer.

1. Listing Photos

When it comes to real estate marketing there is nothing more important than real estate photography. In fact, it can make or break a sale very easily.

“Without a doubt, professional photography is the most critical element of your listing marketing strategy. 86% of homebuyers state that listing photography is the #1 reason why they decide to view a home, yet only 35% of Realtors use a professional photography solution,” says Michael Yates, Marketing Director at Virtuance.

According to experts like Michael, “Using professional photography is the #1 way to get your listing to stand out from the competition and puts you in the best position to get more showings, more offers, and ultimately a higher sale price.”

So number one most basic, hire a professional photographer to take your listing photo. Don’t take it with your iPhone.

2. Video

The cherry on the sundae is having some kind of video tour that buyers can sink their teeth into. The use of video has become more prevalent over the last few years as more and more buyers tell us how much they enjoy it. Again, a top-notch Realtor won’t even give a second thought to whether or not videos are an expense worth having. They understand that if a consumer wants it then it needs to be done!”

A well-made real estate video can be an invaluable resource for both buyers and sellers, since it showcases the property in much more detail than a photo or textual description ever could. It saves you time from showing the houses to numbers of the potential clients so they can see the property on their smartphones and only those who are really interested to buy will call and ask for more information. Save your time from replying to those who have no intention to buy so you can focus on other aspects of your business.

We offer basic walkthrough video service.

3. Aerial Photos and Video

The real estate business itself boils down to one basic principle: the more leads you generate the more sales you’re likely to make. Since real estate agents know this, they are constantly on the lookout for ways to help them generate leads and aerial photography is one of the best ways to do just that. It’s an easy way to make your listings stand out from the pack and that can make all the difference to your bottom line.

In Maui, if your property is in Kihei, it is close to the ocean but not as close as an oceanfront, you may want to show your buyers the proximity of the house/condo to the ocean. The drone photos can tell, “hey, the ocean is right across from the street” but a photo taken from the interior of the house will not be able to show. Usually, homes that have a partial ocean view, we can show the ocean in the interior photos but it may look very small inside the window frame. But when you add a drone photo, the “ocean part” of the photo is taken up the majority space of your photo. Which photo will catch your attention? An interior photo with a tiny ocean view from the window OR an aerial photo with more ocean?

Drone photos are a really good way to promote the location of your property. We usually will highlight the proximity to the ocean and also fly the drone looking back towards the mountain (Haleakala view), that way your viewers will have a 360 impression of what kind of views they are getting by staying in that property. This is even more important if you are trying to promote a vacation rental listing where most visitors to Hawaii will prefer to stay as close to the beach as possible.

Property in Makawao showing ocean view

Property in Kihei showing Haleakala View

Not every property is suitable to have drone though, we do not recommend using drone photos when the property is next to some undesirable surroundings, or the yard is poorly managed, the roof of the house is so dirty or old….bottom line, you want to show a stunning ocean view if you can.

If you have a property that is in great location, but the interior is not too special to showcase, we recommend to add a 1-minute drone video teaser instead. Always showcase the best features of your property, if something is not too special, you do not have to spend extra money to show the interiors with a walkthrough video. You want to give your viewers a teaser, a taste of how it will be like staying in your property - just enough that they will inquire more and catch their interests.

Show the location of the property - E.g. Kamalani is right across the street to the ocean, you can still show the proximity to the ocean and the mountain view on the other side with drone.

4. 3D Virtual Tour

You may have heard of 3D tours. In fact, what is a 3D Tour?

Many call video walkthroughs of homes “virtual tours,” for instance. While a great listing video can complement photos and really drive interest, it is definitely not the same thing as a virtual tour. A proper virtual tour is interactive, allowing the prospective buyer to view the home at their own pace and according to what draws their particular interest. The online home shopper controls which part of the house they look at and from which angle — think of it like Street View on Google Maps, but for the inside of a home.

Listing videos, on the other hand, are not interactive. They are a straightforward video that usually includes music, zooming and panning. The shopper can’t control the movement of the video nor a Slideshow. They are all different!

Here is an example of a 3D Tour.

This same listing above, since we posted in mid of March (now is end of April), has over 3,000 views on the 3D tours, with an average 45 second view time. People actually click your 3D tour! And when you have it embedded properly on the Zillow page (the platform that we used), it shows the 3D Home icon on your listing and stands out from others.

Read our other blog to learn more about 3D tours here.

So what are the benefits of a 3D Virtual Tour?

1) Save you time and cost to keep driving back and forth to show the property.

2) Reduce Your Listing Website’s bounce rate.

It represents the number of visitors who leave a website after seeing just one page. You can use virtual tours to keep visitors engaged for longer periods of time.This means that people will spend more time on your site. Low bounce rates result in more traffic and improved search engine rankings. They also help increase customer retention and boost your online exposure.

3) Get Quality Backlinks.

Every time someone shares your virtual house tours online, your site receives a backlink. This not only increases traffic but also helps establish your authority online.

Quality backlinks are a key ranking signal. They can increase brand awareness, strengthen your reputation, and drive traffic for years to come.

4) Increased Convenience

When you're showcasing a property, you first need to make sure the house is in pristine condition. But, it can be a hassle to call a cleaning agency or ask the homeowners to clean every time the phone rings. With virtual tours, you can show off the property in its very best condition. Moreover, you can highlight its key features to entice people into buying.

5) Stand Out from the Crowd

The more traffic and links you get, the more people will find out about your site. Virtual house tours can give you a competitive edge and make your business stands out.

6) Provide a Realistic Experience

Virtual tours are like a permanent open house. Potential clients can access the tour 24/7 from their office or while on the road.

This technology helps create an instant sense of ownership. Those who take the tour can easily imagine themselves living in that house.

5. Virtual Staging

When preparing a house for sale, there could be a lot of cleaning to be done before the photoshoot. Sometimes, it takes weeks to get the property ready. How much time can you afford to spend on waiting to have the house fully cleaned or for new furniture to be delivered before you list the house for sale?

We provide virtual staging services as an alternative to “physical staging” or intense cleaning for these situations:

• homes that have furniture that looks very old

• homes that have a lot of furniture in them

• homes that are poorly presented (very messy)

• rental properties where the tenant doesn’t want you to show their things in the photos

Depending on each house condition, we can digitally declutter and remove the current furniture and add in new virtual furniture to give a completely different look. This can dramatically change a room, and give added confidence to an agent who is selling a home that doesn’t present well. Digital decluttering depends on the property situation. Please send us sample photos to see if it is possible.

You will simply have to make a remark in your MLS listing saying photos are virtually staged. OR you can still have the empty room photos to show the before and after. Read more about Virtual Staging here.

6. Staging

Apart from virtual staging, we also provide basic staging services. This is especially helpful to vacation rental property where owners may want to show the vacation vibes and a tropical feel. The main area that we staged is usually the Lanai. We may put some flowers or fruits on the coffee table or kitchen countertop depending on the home.

You are welcome to stage it yourself or if you are owners who are not on the island, we will take care of the staging part for you. Nothing too fancy, but adding more colors to the living space does help make the photo pop up and stands out from the crowd.

7. Advance Digital Modification

Twilight Photos

We offer both sunset sessions to film your property during sunset and digital twilight photo. A sunset photo gives your listing a great cover photo and tells your viewers how it feels like to be in the house during evening time.

Sky Replacement

Although we live in Hawaii, there are still cloudy days or rainy days. If the photo shoot takes place on a less ideal weather day, don’t worry, we replace the sky with blue sky. Nice and shine.

Removing people in the photo

There may be lots of people on the beach or pool which we cannot always avoid. Let us digitally remove them from your listing photos.

Other specific requests

What if you have a fire pit in the backyard? If it is a challenge to light it up, we will light it up for you digitally by adding the fire.

***Advanced digital modification may cost extra depending on the complexity of the photo.

Fire is digitally added to the fire pit.

Twilight photo - Digital Sunset Photo

8. Custom Listing Website, Floor Plan and more

A great real estate agent will almost always have a first-class website as well. They understand that consumers start their search online and presentation is everything.

We can also create a custom hosting website with the function to host an interactive Virtual Open House, Floor Plans, 3D Tour, Flyer download, branded and unbranded version links, QR codes.

Inquire to know more.
Sample: Scroll below (left) or visit the custom website page directly.

We have covered some of the most popular media tools you can use for marketing your property listing. Now, it’s your decision to make what would you need your photographer to create for you.

If you want to know more about how to utilize these media tools in your listings, feel free to speak to us. Contact us for a consultation.

All photos and materials in this blog is copyrighted by FLOCUS Studio LLC. Do not copy or repost. Thank you.

Project Highlight: Peaceful Upcountry Designer Home

Recently, I have the pleasure to photograph a beautiful home in Kula in upcountry for an owner who was going to sell the property himself. It is a single-family home with a loft and a bonus ohana, 2,400 sqft with 3.2 acres of land. I want to share my work process and experience.

The owner would like to have property interior and exterior photos, aerial photos of the house and the view, twilight photos taken at sunset, and a video walkthrough. He was going to sell it primarily through photos and video because it is a for sale by owner and he lives off the island. Because of the unpredictable weather in upcountry and we are now in the “winter” raining season, the clouds could cover the ocean view in a short period of time. It took three visits to complete this project because of the weather, however, it is totally worth it! I didn’t want the sky to be too dark or not able to highlight the most important selling point of the ocean view.

The result is very rewarding, the owner received a cash full price offer before he list on market! Let’s check out this house.

Breathtaking view to capture. We waited for the most sunny day to capture this view.

I love the spaciousness of the kitchen, and how bright the space is with sunlight coming through. I want to highlight the ceiling window design. Having photos taken during sunset also gives a totally different feel of the house.

Master bedroom with beautiful light fixture and a lanai to go outside.

When taking the photos, I want the people to be able to envision how it is like to live here, show them they can watch sunset from this big balcony every day.

Check out the property video.

This was a very fun property to film. What I love most is the opportunity to communicate with the original owner and hear about their process of renovating and designing the house.

If you also plan to sell your house or need listing photos, we offer full photographer services, listing photos, 3D Tour, property video walkthrough, twilight photos, and virtual staging services, serving all area of Maui. We serve owners, architects, designers, realtors, and vacation rental property managers.

Check out our portfolio and know more.

Virtual Staging: Turn your ordinary property into Amazing listings

As more home-sellers turn to virtual staging, we have to ask: Is it really worth it, and does it compare to traditional staging?

According to the National Association of Realtors®, 77 percent of buyers’ agents say that staging makes it easier for buyers to visualize themselves living in a home. As many as 38 percent of sellers’ agents say that they stage all their clients’ homes before listing. Since the benefits of staging have a direct impact on listing performance, virtual staging was developed to give the same benefits that are looking for an alternative to traditional staging.

To determine whether virtual staging is a viable alternative for you, you have to know what it is and how it compares to traditional home staging.

What is Virtual Staging?

Virtual staging, like traditional staging, is decorating a property to showcase its best features and qualities in an effort to make it more attractive to buyers.

“I have always explained to my sellers that buyers will imprint on the first photos they see of a home and will develop their first positive feelings and attraction to a property at that time” describes Jen Williams, Real Estate Market Manager at Redfin.

But like the name implies, virtual staging is done with a computer. There’s exactly zero real furniture, area rugs, potted plants or other décor involved. Professional virtual stagers digitally insert decorative elements in high-resolution photos to show empty rooms’ full potential.

Virtually Staged Kamalani in Kihei

What Homes is Virtual Staging Best Suited For?

Virtual staging won’t work for all homes – in many cases, traditional staging is a superior choice. However, it can be a huge benefit if it’s done properly in:

• Vacant homes

• Homes with outdated furniture

• Properties with tenants in them, which leave the homeowner little control over the space’s appearance

If you still occupy your home and you can stage it to make it as appealing as possible to potential buyers, whole-house virtual staging isn’t for you. (You can still virtually stage some rooms if you and your agent think it’s appropriate, though.)

Virtual Staging vs. Traditional Staging

Virtual staging is usually a lot cheaper than traditional staging is. Here’s a quick glimpse at what you’re looking at:

• Virtual staging costs somewhere between $39 and $199 per room, depending on the contractor you use, your location and the amount of space you need staged.

• Traditional staging can cost several hundred dollars per month, depending on the stager you use, how much furniture you need to rent, your location and the number of rooms you need staged.

Price isn’t the only sticking point, though. Each method has its own pros and cons that you’ll have to consider, particularly if you’re trying to sell an empty house.

Pros and Cons of Virtual Staging

Virtual staging can help sell a home faster and for more money – but only if it’s done right. You still need to hire a professional who knows how to take good photos for virtual staging, and you need to work with a reputable company with a great portfolio of completed work.

Check out these side-by-side lists of the pros and cons of virtual staging to help you make the right choice:

Pros of Virtual Staging 

• Can help you showcase an empty home’s best features

• Is cost-effective when compared to traditional staging

• Attracts prospective buyers’ attention online

• Offers you the opportunity to stage any number of rooms

• Allows you to stage flex rooms in multiple ways

Cons of Virtual Staging

• Becomes more expensive when you need to remove furniture or items from photos

• Can be difficult to use when the house is occupied, unless you have previous listing photos

• Furniture and décor only exist in the virtual space – buyers will never see it in person

Pros and Cons of Traditional Staging

Traditional staging, which successful real estate agents have been using for decades, doesn’t always require a professional stager. However, it does require an eye for detail and the ability to create a space that appeals to the widest possible range of buyers.

Check out these side-by-side lists of the pros and cons of traditional staging to help you decide whether it’s a better choice for selling your home:

Pros of Traditional Staging

• Gives buyers real-life perspective when they tour the home

• Prevents buyers from having to tour a completely empty, vacant home

• Appeals to buyers’ sense of imagination

• Makes spaces appear larger and enables prospective buyers to gauge size

• Helps your home stand out in buyers’ memories after they leave

 Cons of Traditional Staging

• Can be expensive, and you’ll keep incurring costs until the home sells

• Requires stagers to bring in furnishings, décor and other items

• May be unnecessary, depending on how quickly homes are selling in your market

Sample Virtually Staged Photos - Original Photos provided by Agent

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Common Virtual Staging Mistakes

The biggest mistake a seller can make is hiring a virtual staging company that’s not good enough. Virtually staged photos should be exceptionally realistic – so real, in fact, that buyers won’t know they’re computer-generated unless someone tells them.

Other mistakes many people make with virtual staging is:

• Failing to provide prospective buyers with photos of empty rooms as well as staged rooms. Buyers may expect the home to look the same as it does in its listing photos, so provide both.

• Choosing virtual staging that makes the home look worse, not better. You have to be careful not to overdo furniture and decorative elements in staged photos.

• Using virtual staging when it’s unnecessary. Replacing furnishings and decorative elements in photos when they’re perfectly fine to begin with can be a significant waste of time (and money).

Could Virtual Staging Help You Sell Your Home?

Virtual staging can be a tremendous asset when you’re selling a vacant home, or one that has wild-card tenants or outdated décor. It allows prospective buyers to view the right vision of the home – not an empty, cavernous space, but one that’s comfortable and easy to live in.

Have you used virtual staging to sell a home? We’d love to hear your story and how it worked out for you, so please share your thoughts in the comments below.

Check out our Virtual Staging Services.

Article Reference: Bersin, Angie. at Redfin.com 

Sell Your House Fast: 7 People You Need on Your Team

So, you’ve decided to sell your home. Congratulations! Before you start playing with a mortgage calculator to see how much you can afford on your next home, you’ll want to know how to sell your current home fast. Ideally, you’re looking to list your home, generate interest quickly from potential buyers, and in a perfect world, a bidding war will ensue and you will get more than the asking price for your house. But before all of this can happen, you’re going to want to spend some time gathering a team of people who can help you along the way.

Whether you’re a first time or experienced seller, having a talented team of professionals on your side can mean the difference between a quick and stress-free selling experience and one that isn’t. So before you put your house on the market, here are seven key people you’ll want on your team to help sell your house fast.

Photo Credit: FLOCUS Studio. Copyright reserved.

1. Real Estate Agent 

Selling a house can be a complex process. That’s why the first person you’ll want by your side is a real estate agent. The job of a listing agent is to guide you through the entire home selling process. This can include necessary house preparations and repairs, pricing the home correctly, setting up the staging, executing a strategy to promote your home, negotiating with the buyer, and closing on the home.

But to do all of this you don’t want just any agent – you need the right agent for you. Well, you’ll want to find someone who will super-serve you, sell your house fast, and for the most money. So it’s important that you do your research and read reviews to make sure you’re choosing the best person for this important role. Free service to check what’s your Maui Area Property Worth.

Our Maui preferred agent is Daniel Rude at dreams2REALITY Group. Daniel has been involved in 200+ real estate transactions on Maui and served his clientele with a relationship approach.

Photo Credit: FLOCUS Studio. Copyright reserved.

2. Home Inspector 

It’s true that buyers are typically going to have a home inspection conducted before they agree to purchase the property, but what if you were to beat them to it? Hiring a home inspector to do a pre-listing home inspection is a proactive approach to getting your house ready to sell and it offers some advantages to sellers that you may not be aware of. With the pre-listing inspection, you can find out the exact condition of your property, what issues and repairs need to be addressed beforehand, fix them, and then focus on the next task of selling your home fast.

Also, knowing the condition of your home can be an asset during the negotiation phase. As you may already know, buyers often use their home inspection as a way of getting concessions from sellers, such as asking you to drop your list price. If you’ve already addressed these repairs, it is less likely that anything new will come up and impact your negotiation.

3. House Cleaner

Having a home that is fresh, clean, and inviting for potential buyers is crucial when selling. If buyers are interested in your home, they’ll open closets, explore cabinets, and they might move furniture around. The difference between inspecting a sparkling clean house and a place that hasn’t been thoroughly cleaned can make or break a deal. That’s why your home needs to be spotless from top to bottom. Although you can clean your house by yourself, hiring a professional cleaning service might prove helpful during what is likely to be a very busy time for you. Also, professionals have experience with the thorough cleaning needed to sell a house. They will use high-quality products and equipment to deep clean your entire home – even the nooks and crannies that you didn’t know existed.

It’s also important to consider the timing of cleaning your home. You don’t want to wait to hire a professional cleaner after your home has been listed. It is something you should invest in before your home is on the market, so the listing photos can reflect your clean and decluttered home. You should also consider having your home cleaned regularly while it’s on the market. It could take some time to sell, and if you’re living in it during that time it may be extremely difficult to keep it in pristine condition.

Photo Credit: FLOCUS Studio. Copyright reserved.

4. Home Stager

Staging is one of the most important parts of the selling process. Contrary to what many may think, home staging is about more than just preparing a house for sale. There’s an art and a science to staging a home that goes above and beyond simply cleaning and decluttering a space. Staging is about making the home look larger, brighter, cleaner, and more welcoming. It is about selling a lifestyle that buyers will experience if they own the home. In fact, research shows that 83% percent of buyers’ agents said staging a home made it easier for a buyer to visualize the property as a future home. 

Professional stagers know exactly how to showcase a space using furnishings, color, artwork, and accessories. They are able to offer prospective buyers a glimpse into how each room can be utilized. When all is said and done, a home stager will be key in helping you transform your space to appeal to the greatest number of buyers, which can help sell your house fast.

5. Real Estate Photographer

The key to successfully listing and selling your home quickly is the photos. Today, more than ever before, online browsing is a critical part of the home buying process. Buyers can tour your entire home without ever leaving their couch and if they aren’t sold on the images that they see online, they will move on. That’s why having professional real estate photos of your home is so important. You may think you can take some of these photos yourself, but research shows hiring a professional photographer can help homes sell faster and for more money. Just remember, the better you represent your house online, the faster it will sell.

In addition to traditional real estate photography, consider adding in aerial photography – which can show off your entire property, a scenic view, and the surrounding area. Maybe you’re selling a home with a beautiful view up in Kula or oceanfront property in Makena. An aerial shot can easily put into perspective the full scope your home has to offer.

Our preferred Real Estate Photographer on Maui: Flora from FLOCUS Studio. Flocus Studio provides comprehensive real estate photography services including listing photos, aerial photos, videos, 3D Virtual Tours, and virtual staging.

Photo Credit: FLOCUS Studio. Copyright reserved.

6. Painter

Painting your home before you sell it may sound like a hassle, but homebuyers may be turned off by your turquoise bathroom, or your teenager’s darkly colored bedroom. Hiring a professional painter to give the inside and/or the outside of your home a fresh look with neutral, bright colors will be more appealing to a wide range of homebuyers, both in-person and online. It may also help sell your house fast when your property is one of the nicer looking available homes on the market. 

Our preferred local vendor: Pipeline Painting offers high-quality interior and exterior paint jobs on Maui. Call Jef today for a free estimate (email).

7. Handyman

There will be few things more off-putting to a prospective homebuyer than touring a property with chips taken out of the walls, broken fixtures, or loose floorboards. So before listing your home, you’ll want to make sure you’ve made the necessary repairs and renovations. Sure, there will be projects you can easily complete yourself, but what if you don’t have the time with everything else going on or a repair project is over your head? That’s where a handyman comes in. A handyman, or handyman service, is a skilled jack-of-all-trades who can help you handle a wide range of repairs in your home.

Additionally, before you can sell your home, it will likely need to go through a home inspection. A professional home inspector will give you a home inspection report, which is usually a list of any issues needing attention. Handyman services can be extremely helpful for addressing problems on that list and making sure any repairs are done up to code.

Photo Credit: FLOCUS Studio. Copyright reserved.

Selling a home and navigating the housing market can be a stressful experience. But having the right people on your team during this journey – all working together to help sell your house fast – can make all the difference. So before you list your home, consider bringing these seven people onto your team as their advice, expertise, and guidance can help be invaluable during the selling process. 

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