Selling and buying in Savannah, answered in full

Under current national MLS rules a buyer signs a written buyer representation agreement before touring, stating exactly what their broker is paid, in the same way a seller signs a listing agreement. Buyers often ask in their offer for the seller to cover that fee from closing proceeds, and sellers weigh each offer on its true bottom-line net sheet. Every commission is negotiable and none is fixed by law; at this office the figure is agreed and written down at the first consultation.

Online valuations work from county tax-record square footage and broad zip-code averages. They cannot tell a kitchen taken back to the studs two years ago from one still in 1994 laminate, and they cannot hear the traffic or see the light. The in-home analysis compares only genuinely like-for-like closed sales from the last 90 to 180 days and ends with a pricing bracket and a net-proceeds sheet.

No. Some franchise offices add a brokerage compliance or transaction coordinator fee to the closing statement on top of the agreed commission. At Cornice & Slate Real Estate the fee written on the first page of the agreement is the whole of the brokerage compensation, and nothing is added at the title table.

Ideally six to ten weeks before the planned launch, and earlier if repairs are on the table. An early walkthrough tells an owner which projects to skip, which saves money, and leaves calm room for decluttering, paint touch-ups, landscaping, staging and photography in the best light.

Not for the first strategy session; meeting first means a broker can introduce local lenders known for closing on time. Before touring active listings and making offers, though, a fully underwritten pre-approval letter makes an offer far stronger in a seller’s eyes.

There are four tried routes, chosen by equity and inventory: a short rent-back after closing, so the sale closes first and there are 30 to 45 days to move; a short-term HELOC or bridge loan arranged with a lender; a well-placed home-sale contingency; or staggered 45 to 60 day escrows timed against each other.

Not usually. Many strong sales are lived-in homes where existing furniture is edited, a few accent pieces, neutral linens and warm lighting are brought in, and surplus things are stored for a few weeks. The room-by-room staging consultation and the photography are part of the full-service listing; if renting furniture for an empty house makes financial sense, direct vendor quotes are obtained first.

The sales associate in a model home represents the builder’s bottom line, and builders budget for broker cooperation whether a buyer brings an advisor or not, so walking in alone rarely lowers the base price. The broker must be with the buyer, or register them, on the very first model-home visit for the builder to honour the representation.