Frequently Asked Questions - (F.A.Q.)

A: You should hire us for the same reason that thousands of sellers have used us over and over again for more than 40 years. They know that they can depend on us to get them the most money, in the shortest amount of time, with the fewest hassles.

Our No Hassle Listing Home Marketing system offers benefits that the ordinary agent does not. Our program offers flexible commissions to put more money in your pocket, a client reward program when both buying and selling that actually rebates cash back to you, a cancel anytime policy and the right to sell your home yourself and pay us nothing. Additionally, our average time to sell a home is over 2.5 times as fast as an ordinary agent.

Every year we help over 400 people buy and sell. The average agent handles around six sales a year. When hiring anyone to perform a job for you, experience should weigh heavily in that decision. Who really wants to be the surgeon’s first patient?

Let’s examine one of our program benefits; we allow you to cancel the listing at any time. Most agents will not give the consumer this right. You may ask yourself why agents need to “lock you up” for four to six months. Why would they be afraid to give you the right to cancel? Our philosophy is that we would rather strive to earn your business every day. We are confident that we can provide a superior level of service and care. If we don’t, we don’t deserve your business. You can cancel with no cost, no argument.  It is that simple.

A: Sellers don’t need an agent just to sell their house. They need an agent to sell their house for more! If your property would sell for the same price no matter who sells it – It would probably be in your best interest to sell the home yourself. In that case, why pay an agent anything?

The fact of the matter is we can sell your home for more. We have the track record we do because we are experts at pricing the property (using a specific supply-demand analysis prior to even looking for “comps”) and experts at creating the greatest amount of exposure for your property.

Even at contract presentation, we do not follow the pack. We do not permit other agents to pressure you into a rash decision. The contract will be presented to you by us alone. This specific action (especially when there are multiple offers) gets significantly more dollars for our sellers. It is very difficult for a seller not to transmit emotions and reactions to another agent. That can cost a seller money.

Sadly, there are many agents who need the deal (sometimes more than you do). The weakest negotiator in any transaction is the one who has to have the deal. We are in the fortunate position of having enough clients that any one deal won’t make us or break us. Therefore, the negotiations are really about getting you the most money for your home. Period. If the offer doesn’t make sense, you can count on us to tell you so.

In addition to these points above, with our sliding scale commission and our Client Reward Program, our fees in many cases are less than the limited service broker at far superior service.

A: Due to our extensive radio and TV campaigns, more buyers and sellers are familiar with us than any other agent in the valley. Additionally, experience, product knowledge, doing the little things right, effective marketing programs, and our skilled team all add up to positive results. Every field has people who, through their drive and passion, manage to excel.

A: Absolutely not. Most of our listings sell at full price or above. We make it our business to know the market, so we can ensure we get the highest possible price for our sellers. Our homes typically sell two and a half times faster than the average agent because of the effective marketing we do. We accomplish this by first doing a supply/demand analysis in the immediate area for any home we consider marketing. All agents have access to the same market information. But unfortunately, market knowledge and the ability to evaluate the information is not the same agent to agent.  X-rays mean nothing until they are evaluated by a competent doctor. Similarly, knowing what the market is doing in any area affects both the marketing time and value. Factors such as area, demand, condition, pricing, accessibility, marketing and choice of agent all affect a home’s time on market.

A: The exposure your home receives while listed with us is second to none. No other agent in the valley advertises on both television and radio (the most effective type of advertising) as extensively as we do. We advertise on the five major TV networks and three prominent radio stations. These ads create a high volume of contact both from buyers and sellers. Additionally, yearly we direct mail over 496,000 copies of our newspaper which features all of our current listings. Our internet presence is also a top priority – we pay for premium placement of our properties on Zillow, Trulia, Realtor.com and over 200 websites (including one that translates in 12 different languages).  We have multiple websites that feature all of our properties in addition to the broader market; even small details, such as professional home photos or personal video walk thru tours, increase the attention we attract to our homes.  And of course, our numerous signs throughout the valley connect us with buyers in all price ranges and areas. Another important focus of ours is marketing to the agent community.  Remember, there are over 60,000 agents that we want to think of us first when preparing to show properties to their buyers.

A: Absolutely! Our internet presence is foremost – we pay for premium placement of our properties on Zillow, Trulia, Realtor.com and over 200 websites (including one that translates in 12 different languages).  We have multiple websites that feature all of our properties in addition to the broader market.  Even small details, such as professional home photos, multiple digital photos, and video walk thru tours increase the internet attention we attract to our homes.  All of our TV and radio ads as well as our yard signs, as well as our TV and radio ads prominently feature out website address.   Our media promotion drives thousands of buyers to view homes on our website.

A: Again, absolutely! Any agent who does not place your home on MLS is doing you a huge disservice. With over 60,000 agents in the valley, it is important to tap into that agent base of buyers. Also, if you are not on MLS you cannot appear on most of the heavily traffic websites.

A: Because times have changed. No one agent can be everywhere at the same time. Let’s suppose an agent has a relocation buyer in town. For three or four days they will have to be with just that one buyer, a dream scenario for the agent, but not so for you. They are unavailable to show your home, they are unavailable to get feedback on showings, they are unavailable to negotiate contracts or inspection reports, and so on. Also, most agents are either great at people skills or great at paperwork. Rarely will they excel at both. Unfortunately, today’s real estate marketplace demands that the agent possess all of these skills.

Under a team scenario such as ours, we have specialists. We have 5 Buyer Agents who only show property. We have a full time Listings Manager whose main job is to keep you informed of activity and feedback on showings. We have a full-time Contracts Manager whose main function is negotiating contracts. Additionally, we have a full-time Office Administrator along with a full-time Transaction Manager to handle all the details of the transaction. Each is an expert at that specific job. Simply, we can and do provide a higher level of service to our clients than most agents can even conceive of providing. Imagine that you’re a quarterback of a football team. Would you rather have 1 player on your team or the power of 13 that you have with our team?

A: No! Realty ONE Group is the brokerage firm we work for. Approximately 3500 agents work for Realty ONE Group in the valley. To receive the benefits of our experience and program, you need to contact the Russell Shaw Group directly at (602) 957-7777.

A: There are agents who focus primarily on one geographic area or neighborhood. But buyers come from all over the valley and country, not just from that small neighborhood. So an area specialist usually means “listing agent” in that area. Many years ago the real estate business was successfully composed of lots of small “boutique” offices – where companies did specialist in a certain area or part of town, but computers, the internet and cell phones have changed that aspect of the real estate business. Now the important points in selecting an agent are experience, track record, and marketing skills.

A: Contact our office by email or phone and we will set up an appointment to have one of our listing specialists meet with you. We will tour the home, go over recent market activity in your area to educate you on values, answer questions and make recommendations for maximizing your profit and increasing your speed of sale.

A: Once we have a signed listing agreement and a spare key, we can have your home on the market within 24-48 hours. However, it usually takes a day or two for the sign company to professionally install the sign and for professional photos.

A: Absolutely! If you are selling more than one house or plan to both sell and buy (new or resale), ask for a copy of our Client Rewards Program so that we can save you even more.