TEN    S M O K I N '   H O T    REASONS

  TAKE GREAT PHOTOS! Then use readily available photo editing software to edit, crop, and size them. Photos need to be consistantly sized using a 3x4 height to width ratio so they'll look good across all sites regardless of their sizing conventions or display format. We use 1200 x 1600 finished as our standard.

  UPLOAD PHOTOS IMMEDIATELY! We edit our photos and video in advance of even starting to input a new listing. As soon as we upload the data, we immediately start uploading photos. MLS listings are instantly available to both brokers and the public. A broker who waits to upload photos runs the ominous risk of presenting a listing to the world, with no photos.

  VIDEO IS IN! Virtual tours were all the rage a couple of years ago. Now they're just slow and boring. Last year YouTube was serving-up 12 billion videos a month. So we started producing full-motion video with voice-over and sound-tracks for display on YouTube. We now routinely produce 30-second, 60-second, and "full-length" features quickly and effectively.

  COMPLETE THE LISTING! Not all fields are required and many brokers are very sloppy about submitting incomplete listings. In today's market, buyers demand complete information before they make the decision to purchase.

  PROVIDE SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS! As with photos, we scan supporting documents before we begin to input your listing. That gives brokers immediate access to required documents such as the property disclosure, legal description, and plat map.

  THEY'RE MARKETING REMARKS! Not just a string of abbreviations and poor grammar which, unfortunately, seems to be the norm. Marketing remarks should sell the fantastic lifestyle someone will achieve by purchasing your home and living where you live. True, we are limited to 500 characters, but copy writers have been writing very succinct and persuasive ads for years using fewer. Also, before submitting marketing remarks to the MLS, read, re-read, spell check, read again, and have somebody else read them.

  USE KEYWORDS! I know most brokers don't get this one yet. Keywords are what you use to find things on the Internet. Looking for a waterfront home in Olympia? Google "waterfront", "home", "olympia", or some reasonable variation. We use keywords in the marketing remarks, photo descriptions, and video descriptions.

  PRICE IN ROUND NUMBERS! If you want to list your home for $800,000 and your broker suggests $799,950, fire your broker immediately! It may work in retail where you're trying to grab someone's attention as they walk through your store, but on the internet, it's all about search parameters. In the above example, your home will be found in a search from $700,000 to $800,000, but not $800,000 to $900,000. Price it at $800,000 and you'll be found in both searches. Do some searches and you'll soon discover that only about 1 in 10 brokers have figured this out.

  PICK A ROLL-OUT DATE! Wednesday or Thursday is the best day for your home to hit the market as much of what happens in real estate happens on the week-end. A complete listing, with all photos, video, and supporting documents hits the market Thursday morning. As brokers start their day they see your new listing and call their buyers to schedule a showing. Or, a buyer sees your listing hit the market via one of our feeds, they call their broker to schedule a showing.

  THERE'S NO SECOND CHANCE! As soon as your listing hits the MLS, it starts disseminating to Websites, portals, search engines, social sites, sharing sites, and more. If your listings gets to NWMLS with bad photos, incomplete data and lame marketing remarks, you'll probably be stuck with at least some of that for the duration of your listing a beyond. Some portals and sites update daily, some weekly, and some are one time uploads only. These days on the Internet, there's no second chance to get it right.

We started compiliing email lists when most other offices were just warming up to the fax machine. We maintain and regularly email to a huge email list. Our list includes both interested potential buyers and top selling real estate agents.

• More than 3,000 potential buyers who have requested more information on waterfront properties. (We average 3 to 5 new prospects a day).
• More than 300 top producing real estate agents in the Puget Sound region.
• We also email flyers to agents in target counties.

Our red, white, and blue color scheme stands out from the rest. Our sign was professionally designed for maximum impact and visibility. We use the top of the line vinyl sign hangers and an attached top quality flyer box.

Glen Hellman is the owner and broker for Networks Real Estate. He's been in the real estate business since 1986, and operated Northwest Waterfront, a real estate company specializing in waterfront listing and sales, from 1991 to 2002. You can reach Glen at 360-349-2518 or Glen@NetworksRE.com

Our experience will help you avoid those nasty little surprises that can ruin the sale of your waterfront property. Septic systems, wells, state regulations, shoreline management, clearing ordinances, sensitive areas designations, bank erosion, retaining walls, drainage plans, beach access, tideland ownership, even native american treaty rights, can all significantly impact the sale of your waterfront home or property. Don't leave any one of these issues to chance. Work with a real estate broker who knows waterfront -- a NetWorks Real Estate Waterfront Specialist.

In addition, we have 15 buyer agents on staff to handle waterfront inquiries resulting from our extensive Internet presence and advertising. And, we work with scores of waterfront referral agents in all areas of the Puget Sound region and in many other parts of the world. If you own waterfront outside our service area, we can still work with you and guarantee superior service and a pleasant and rewarding selling experience.

When we work for you, we represent your best interest at all times. We'll do everything possible to locate the right buyer for your property. The right buyer is ready and able to purchase. When we receive an offer, we'll examine it thoroughly to be sure we can explain the exact terms and conditions of the contract. We'll advise you on the best approach regarding an acceptance or counter-offer. We'll prepare all the necessary forms.

We want to get you the highest price possible for your property. But if it's overpriced, potential buyers will know it and it won't sell. And in this economy, the longer it's on the market, the more you loose. So it's critical to price your property so you can realize the highest price the market will bear without overpricing. Our professional CMA will get your property priced just right.