Selling
Sell for the number, not the hope.
The list price is a strategy, not a wish. Priced at the comps, a Los Gatos home launches on a Thursday and has offers by the following Tuesday. Priced at the hope, it sits.
The commission
1.5% to 2.5% on the listing side.
Our listing fee is 1.5% to 2.5% of the sale price, quoted at the first meeting and written into the listing agreement. Where it lands depends on the price, the amount of prep and coordination, and whether the home is a quiet off market sale or a full launch.
Separately, most sellers here still offer a fee to the buyer's agent, typically 2% to 2.5%. That is your call, not ours, and we show you what it does to your buyer pool either way. Both numbers come out of the proceeds at closing. You write no checks before then.
Included in our fee, always: professional photography, a two minute listing film, drone stills, a measured floor plan, staging consultation, the launch email to our buyer list and every agent in the area, and Ben at every showing that matters.
- Median days to offer
- 6
- Listings launched this year
- 26
- Sold over list
- 19
- Avg over list
- 5.8%
Placeholder figures for the demo.
Prep that pays back
Short list, in the right order.
Ben was a contractor before he was an agent. His prep lists are short because most work does not return its cost. This does.
- 01Pre-inspection
A general, a roof and a sewer scope, about $1,400 total. Buyers here expect to see them, and knowing what is in the report lets you fix the cheap things and disclose the rest without a surprise mid escrow.
- 02Paint, floors, light
Interior paint in one warm white, refinished or replaced floors where they are tired, and every bulb the same color temperature. Roughly $8,000 to $25,000 on a typical Los Gatos house. It is the work that shows up in the photos.
- 03The yard and the front door
Mulch, trimmed hedges, a power washed walk and a new doormat. Two days with a crew. Most buyers decide how they feel about a house before they reach the door.
- 04Staging, when it earns it
Vacant homes get staged, always. Occupied homes get a consultation and some editing. We show you three stager quotes and you pay them directly, around $4,000 to $12,000 for a month.
Pricing and launch
Thursday launch, Tuesday offers.
Priya prices from the last six months of comparable sales, adjusted for lot, condition and the street, and shows you every one of them. Then we pick a number that brings the most qualified buyers through the door in the first ten days, because that is where the competition happens.
Launch is a Thursday. Photos, film and floor plan go live together. Our buyer list and every agent in the area get the email at 9am. Open houses run Saturday and Sunday, broker tour is Tuesday, and offers are reviewed Tuesday evening with you at the table. Owen shoots the film the week before, early in the morning for the light.
Prefer a quiet sale? About a third of our sellers do. We take the house to our buyer list and to the agents we know without a sign or a public listing. Read about that on the hillside and estates page. Buying at the same time? We sequence it so you are never carrying two mortgages longer than you choose to. See how buying works.
Start here
What is your home worth right now?
Three short steps. We pull the comps by hand and send a real range within one business day, then you decide whether to talk further. Prefer to skip the form? Call (408) 555-0102 or book a time.
Thinking about a rental instead of a sale? The investment page covers what Los Gatos rents support.