When Kelly and Brian Casperson put their home on the market, they expected it to sell quickly. Realtor Steve Poulos, co-owner of Northwest Home Team, had assured them that no other homes like theirs existed in their neighborhood and within their price range. But they were still stunned when it sold in less than two days – for $35,000 over the listing price.
“It was pretty amazing,” says Kelly. “Steve knew exactly how to price it so that we got a good amount. We put everything in his hands, the listing price, when to put it on the market and how to handle calls. He made everything so simple.”
The Caspersons were part of a special 60-day home sale guarantee program Northwest Home Team offers for clients who are already buying a home or having one built through the agency. “We guarantee to sell their home within 60 days, or we’ll do it for free,” explains Jessica Poulos, Steve’s wife and the company’s co-owner. “We’re very confident that because of the marketing we do, we can produce results.”
Within the last six months alone, the couple has sold 55 homes through the program in Thurston, Mason and Kitsap counties. The homes ranged in price from $69,000 to $454,000 and included a variety of styles and square footage.
The main reason for the program was to alleviate stress for clients who were already doing business with them. “A lot of people who purchase homes in one of our new developments or buy existing homes are thinking about selling their house,” says Jessica. “They get so nervous about whether or not it will sell. We wanted to take some of that stress off them.”
Several key factors make the program work: a proven formula called Ingredients to a Successful Sale and an extensive database of potential buyers. “We call them ‘buyers-in-waiting,’” says Jessica. “These are buyers that tell us, ‘If you find a house that has these components, we’ll be ready to buy’ but they haven’t found what they’re looking for yet. We have around 20,000 people in our database and a good percentage of those are buyers-in-waiting.”
Another reason: targeted marketing that is constantly assessed for its effectiveness. “We don’t take an approach where we just throw something against the wall to see what will stick,” says Steve. “We test our marketing every single day to see how much traffic it’s getting. We track every phone call that comes into the office and find out which ad the caller saw. We’re always testing ads so we can see which ones are working.”
That level of focus pays off for clients through faster home sales and less stress. Compared to their previous experience of listing a home, the Caspersons say their experience with Northwest Home Team was night and day. “When we sold our last house, it took months,” says Kelly. “We would hear that we’d gotten an offer and then nothing would happen for days. Steve answers phone calls and gets back to you. He was very responsive, and we were in constant communication.”
The Caspersons were already working with Poulos on building a new home in one of the company’s developments when they decided to use him to sell their old house as well. They had met him years earlier and discussed selling their home but at that point, they weren’t ready. “We really liked him,” says Kelly. “We liked working with him and it made sense to ask him to sell our home as well.”
From the start, he told them their home would sell quickly based on the state of the market, its location and the price they were asking. In fact, within just three hours a bidding war erupted, with two contingent offers emerging. The result was the additional $35,000 beyond the listing price.
Now the couple refers friends and family to Northwest Home Team whenever anyone wants to buy or sell their home. “They’re quality people,” says Brian. “We have nothing but positives to say about them. We refer a lot of people to their agency. In fact, Steve is going to be signing on a house for my mom here pretty soon.”
Learn more about the guaranteed home sale program by visiting the Northwest Home Team website or calling 360-529-0992
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