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Hey everybody, Jon Sump here with the Home Brokerage, bringing a new video on just a few things that separate myself from other realtors, but in general, things you should be looking for in dealing with realtors. Today's topic, we're going to be talking about designations. What is a designation? Well, sometimes you see on a realtor's card or website or wherever, like on mine, I have three designations on there. One is a PSA, one is e-PRO, and the other one is CNE. We're going to go over what those are and why they pertain to you, and why they're important as just one aspect in choosing your realtor.
So the first one we're going to talk about today is... You know, during this whole coronavirus thing I had a lot of extra time on my hands, so one of the things I did was went and took some extra courses from the National Association of Realtors to improve my skills. But the funny part is, there's dozens of them that you can take. I took a lot of time to scan through them and pick the ones that I felt were the most beneficial to my clients and that are going to benefit you the most. So the first one we're going to talk about's called PSA, which is a Pricing Strategy Advisor. And I've always been really good at pricing properties, and even making sure my clients who are buying a home, that the pricing of the property was, for a buyer the best possible price, and for the seller the best possible price. So this course went over tons of details about how to price, how to appraise, how to work with the appraisers and things like that. And you'll see here, here's my certification. And here's what the press release has to say.
And that's just one of them that we've done. So, the next one we went into was the e-PRO, which is basically being a certified professional expert at marketing property via the internet, whether that be websites or third party websites or social media, email, all of those things combined, plus some security features and things like that. We've been doing it for a while, but now we're certified expert at doing it. And we did learn a lot on... We'll be taking care of our clients even better now than we were before, which for those of you that know me, that's saying a lot because I already do a bunch of it. So you'll see here, here's the certification. And here's what the press release had to say about the e-PRO.
All right, now this final one actually I've had the longest, and I actually got this... oh my goodness, probably 10 years or better ago. Those of you that don't know, this is my 22nd year in business. But this is called the CNE, and it is Certified Negotiation Experts. And it took quite a bit of studying on that to get to how to negotiate in a manner that is best for me and my clients, but also to where it's a deal that can come together and not just beat everybody up. It's that happy medium, where everybody's happy with what they got, especially my clients.
So as you see, I was very careful in what I chose to spend my time getting further education on, and that's on pricing, because it's critical when it comes to pricing property, whether you're a seller, getting the most value out of your home, or you're a buyer and you want to get the best deal on your home; the e-PRO on marketing the homes, to get the marketing to those buyers for the seller; and then lastly is negotiating the deal to get you, my client, the best deal for you possible.
So, hopefully this has been a little educational. If you have any questions about them, give me a call. This is just part of a series we're going to be doing on choosing the right agent, because who you choose matters. Thanks. And as always, make it a great day.

Hey, everybody. Jon Sump here with The Home Brokerage, doing a new video for you. I haven't been on the videos in quite a while with the COVID going on, plus we lost our office. Our landlord decided he was going to remodel the building, right when the shutdown happened. So it's been a little hectic for us. But we've finally got a brand new office. We've moved. We're in Stockton now at 1313 Robinhood Drive. Stop by and say hi, but you got to wear a mask. Anyways.
That's what I want to talk to you about right now, what's going on with the COVID virus. We're still getting properties sold, just some guidelines we have to do and take care of to do that. And then there's another way. So, we're going to talk about what the guidelines are to sell, to go look at houses, or to sell your house, and then another option, okay?
So, first, the first option is, you have to wear all the PPE, the protective equipment. So what does that mean? You got to wear a mask, wear gloves. You bring some hand sanitizer with you. And just if you go into a house, don't touch anything. Let the agent, like myself, turn the light switches on and off for you. I will be wearing my mask and gloves and have hand sanitizer. You got to keep the social distancing going on. Don't want to sit on the furniture. Don't want to do anything like that. You just want to walk through as briefly as possible to see the home. And then, when we're done, make sure you dispose of those gloves and that mask and things of that pretty common sense stuff, but just want to let you know.
Now, if you're too skittish about going and looking at houses today, you can do it another way. We actually have our website that, on my website, you'll see right here is the little URL for it. We have a page all on virtual, how you can buy real estate today virtually, without having to go into it, if that suits you. We just closed an escrow on a house. The buyers saw the video of a home, 3D tour of the home, and wrote the offer based on that. The sellers moved out. We did a quick walk-through the day before the close of escrow. It was exactly like the video showed, and we closed the escrow the next day, and they are very, very happy. And, again, congratulations. You know who you are.
So that's two different ways of doing it right now but, again, the market is moving. We're selling houses. We'll be doing a video update on the market here pretty soon, but it is going on. If you have any questions, concerns, or hallucinations about the market right now, give me a call. You know you got my number. Look right down here. Here's my number. Call me anytime you want. And, as always, make it a great day.

Jon Sump:
Hey everybody, welcome again to the home brokerage show, Jon Sump with the home brokerage. And today we're continuing our series on interviewing the experts. And today we have the great pleasure of interviewing staging experts here in the San Joaquin County area. Patrick Keehnel. Patrick, how are you today?

Patrick Keehnel:
Doing good, Jon. How are you?

Jon Sump:
Thanks so much. Thanks so much for coming, I really appreciate it. To me this is kind of a big deal because I've been looking for a stager for quite a while and the only ones I could find were in the Bay area and I just happened to come across Patrick here a few weeks ago and I already have him getting ready on some projects for us and so I thought it'd be a great thing to do, get him in here and get some advice from the experts in staging homes today in our area. So Patrick, if you don't mind, I have a couple questions to ask you.

Patrick Keehnel:
Sure, fire away.

Jon Sump:
Awesome. So tell me a little bit, just so everybody understands a little bit more about your background-

Patrick Keehnel:
Sure.

Jon Sump:
And kind of what got you towards this arena, so to speak?

Patrick Keehnel:
Okay. Yeah, I was educated, had a bachelor's degree in interior architecture from university of, Academy of Art University in San Francisco where I also had a practice for many years doing mostly commercial design work and architecture. Moved to Lodi to be closer to family and kind of getting towards that semi-retirement thing. Got my real estate license and started seeing the need for staging in the San Joaquin area and beyond. So I decided to make that my focus. That's kind of where I'm at now.

Jon Sump:
Fantastic. So real quick Pat, how did you get into staging actually homes for sale?

Patrick Keehnel:
Well, when I decided that there was a need in Lodi and Stockton and San Joaquin area to offer this service, I knew that I could do it and I knew that I could produce a really good job with all my years of experience in the design trade. I have that natural ability, but I also have that really good training and many years of experience doing this. And Jon, I think that's what sets me apart from a lot of the other competition or whatever. We all have our markets, but I feel like I produce a product that is truly geared in the way of an interior design project. I consider my projects very high quality. My merchandise and accessories and artwork are all hand chosen by me and I love putting it together and I treat each project with the utmost of detail.

Jon Sump:
I've seen some of the pictures of some of your work and it is, it does look phenomenal. I mean you think your house is staged good now, you have a stager come in and it really changes things. So let me ask you this. What tips would you give a viewer right now that, they can't afford to hire a stager today, but they have all their own furniture. What was your number one tip be to them to make their house the most showable when it comes to selling the house?

Patrick Keehnel:
That's a great question, Jon. That would be under the category of what we call in the staging world an owner occupied staging. I can go in and use whatever they have, and it's a process of taking what they have and going through the same design process that you would normally, just using their stuff. That's a lot of times it's rearranging furniture. It's saying this stays and that goes. And along with that, getting it ready for market in other ways, like suggesting types of deep cleaning or decluttering, which is, I know you do that any way, but to have the actual list and, and have me kind of overseeing that. We get really good results that way. But using your own furniture, you're not spending a lot of money and you're still getting really good bang for your buck and your house is going to look much better. I do this all the time.

Jon Sump:
Fantastic. And so what about like say a vacant home, what do you think is the bare minimum that should be done in your average size, vacant home to make it feel more lived in?

Patrick Keehnel:
I would suggest that the way you decide that is to remember that you have 15 seconds to make a first, a really good first impression on people. They're going to decide in that 15 seconds whether they want to look at the rest of the house or if they like it or they don't like it. If you make a great first impression, they're going to want to stay. They want to see more. They are starting to connect with it and identify with it.

Jon Sump:
Yeah. The longer people are in a home, the more they attached to it.

Patrick Keehnel:
Right. In fact, I think a very small percentage of people stay in a home that's unstaged. I think it's four to six minutes. In a staged home, people tend to stay on an average 40 minutes.

Jon Sump:
Wow, that much difference.

Patrick Keehnel:
So that is, yes. So that gives people a chance. They're meandering about and analyzing and looking at the furniture and envisioning themselves and that's what you want. That's why it's a marketing tool. Staging is the realtor's best marketing tool, in my opinion. I really do think though.

Jon Sump:
I agree with you.

Patrick Keehnel:
I believe that.

Jon Sump:
I think it's very important. So let's say somebody who's, real tight budget, average size home, what room, if you're going to do one room, what room would you recommend be done in a home?

Patrick Keehnel:
I would say I would never recommend just one. I think from your previous question, the rooms were, and I got carried away, but that that entry area when they first walk in.

Jon Sump:
Okay.

Patrick Keehnel:
The living room or great room, the kitchen and the master suite, that's I think the minimum-

Jon Sump:
The minimum.

Patrick Keehnel:
That's going to give a person enough information visually to be able to grasp what's going on in that space or how those main spaces are being used by how they've been delineated with the furnishings.

Jon Sump:
Yeah, that makes total sense. I mean, I know it's like I jokingly tell my clients, when it comes to selling a home, you know the person that buys it is actually the, usually the wife of the group buys it, but you know the husband goes along with it most of the time and usually they pick it up because they like the way it looks outside, the master suite, and kitchen, are usually the two most important parts according to statistics. And folks I've dealt with over the years. So, Patrick, let me ask you this, how much do you think staging helps to sell a home as far as time on the market?

Patrick Keehnel:
Well, it's said through, I think it was national association of realtors said that it can, a home that staged spends 90% less time on the market than a home that is not staged.

Jon Sump:
Wow.

Patrick Keehnel:
So that's pretty impressive. And that's coming from the national association of realtors.

Jon Sump:
Right, right.

Patrick Keehnel:
And I believe it.

Jon Sump:
Sure, sure. Yeah. I don't doubt it all. I mean, I firmly believe in staging. And what about pricing? When it comes to the prices of homes that have sold that were staged versus the price of homes are sold that weren't staged?

Patrick Keehnel:
well, I think that the percentage of the prices that were staged were six to 25% higher than the homes that were not staged.

Jon Sump:
Wow.

Patrick Keehnel:
Correct me if I'm wrong. [crosstalk 00:08:12]

Jon Sump:
Yeah, I believe that is the number. Yeah. So yeah, like 89% of the homes that were staged, was six to 25% higher in sales price people.

Patrick Keehnel:
There you go.

Jon Sump:
Higher in sales price just by being staged. What part of higher end sales prices do you not like? So anyways.

Patrick Keehnel:
Well, on that note, Jon, I always like to tell people that it's far more cost effective to invest in staging before you list it than it is to take that first price drop. So how much is a price drop? Usually five or $10,000?

Jon Sump:
Yup, mm-hmm (affirmative).

Patrick Keehnel:
Well, staging can pay for itself a couple of times over if you don't get it that way.

Jon Sump:
Exactly.

Patrick Keehnel:
Plus it makes you look like a superstar. It looks like the home seller looks like a superstar.

Jon Sump:
Right.

Patrick Keehnel:
You're getting all those wonderful pictures online. So people kind of stop scrolling through the endless listings of empty rooms, empty rooms, empty rooms, and they see that beautiful room and it captures their attention and suddenly it goes to the top of their list of wanting, what they want to see.

Jon Sump:
Absolutely. Well, and here's the other thing, I know for a fact that empty rooms look smaller than what the rooms that are furnished. I mean there's no depth perception.

Patrick Keehnel:
That's very true. Yeah.

Jon Sump:
So I know that from many years of doing the job. So what do you, what would you say is your overall personal philosophy about the staging process for you?

Patrick Keehnel:
Well, I think that I like to look at staging from a professional design standpoint and putting it into the context that I think is most relatable to the real estate market, which is, first of all, it is a marketing tool. It's meant to sell the house. I'm not trying to show off my designs, I'm trying to enhance what's there, so people are interested in the house. Yet I want it to be very beautiful and very stylish and lush and I try to treat each project as if it were my own client's interior design project.

Jon Sump:
Right. Fantastic. Well, I know from experience that, think about this, when you go to the new home subdivisions, the houses are always staged.

Patrick Keehnel:
Yes.

Jon Sump:
I mean down to the T. There's a reason for that and it's because of what we've been talking about here today. So if you're thinking about selling your home soon, give us a call. I'll get it sold and he will get it staged. Anyways, I hope it's been helpful to you. Again, Patrick, thanks so much for taking the time to come do this with us.

Patrick Keehnel:
Thank you.

Jon Sump:
And you guys make it a great day.

Hey, everybody. Jon Sump here again at The Home Brokerage, bringing you our continued series on the home-buying process, and today's video is on the fact that now you've got your home in escrow, now what?
Well, now a lot of stuff starts. Especially because you're on the buying side, you have a lot of timeframes that you have to adhere to. You got to really get to work on finishing up that pre-approval, you got to get to work on getting the appraisal ordered; whatever inspections you're going to be ordering, whether it be termite, roof, home inspection, pool, whatever that's going to be, typically you have 17 days or less to get that work done, the inspection done, and the reports back and all of that.
So, you really want to get to work on that right away. Make your decisions on what inspections you're going to get, and so you can get that back, so then you have time to do what's called a buyer's request for repairs, if you're going to do that. That'll be up to you and your realtor. Me, typically, I recommend we mainly focus on the health and safety issues, and not the little, little chip of paint on the wall, and stuff like that. You don't really need to worry about that unless you're buying a brand new home.
If you're not buying a brand new home, don't worry about it. Those are simple little things, that you don't want to ruin a deal over minor items. If it's health and safety, you definitely do.
And so, you have those things that are going to be happening. You're going to be going and looking at the house, you're going to be excited as heck, and so, just make sure you kind of keep your excitement down just a little bit, to make sure you make the right decisions when it comes to all these inspections and everything.
Your lender's going to be probably asking for information from you to finalize the approval. Make sure you get it to him ASAP! This is not a time you want to dilly-dally, because there's so many timeframes in the contract, and you can actually have a deal canceled if you don't meet those timeframes. Most people don't understand that, but you can have it canceled.
Hopefully this has been helpful, and if it has, please like and share, subscribe, check out our YouTube channel, all that fun stuff. And as always, make it a great...