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I can
help you put together your contract and help keep your sale
moving forward for as little as 1.5%. Contact me for a free consultation.
Poll-What's your opinion?
For Sale By Owner Workshops, what would
you like to see included?
Time for
a little humor!
for
For Sale By Owners
This great CD gives you valuable insight into what to do, how to do it, etc.
There is a $50 cash deposit required prior
to or at time of delivering the DVD. The $50 deposit
will be refunded in full when the DVD is returned - no
postage due, unscratched, and in the original package.
Another
Sharon Service Extra!
(for suburban Chicagoland sellers Only)
Did you know...
For most Illinois sellers, you may have to/want to provide a
prospective buyer the following forms:
Property Disclosure,
Lead Base Paint
Disclosure Mold Disclosure
Radon Disclosure
Check with
your attorney to see which forms you should use
You
can hire Sharon to stage your property, or get it organized
prior to selling.
It's proven that
staging adds about 18% to your sales price and your property
sells about 30% quicker. That makes it very cost
effective.
Have
me come in before you're ready to start marketing. Then your
photo's will show your property in it's best light-
bringing even more potential buyers inside, resulting in a
quicker sale!
Be Objective!
Sit down when you can really think and
concentrate about selling your property. Be objective -
and honest with yourself--your expectations, your time frame,
your situation, and your capabilities.
You need to be prepared for the task at hand
by researching, taking notes, and generally educating yourself
about the process.
Interview and retain professionals to help
you with your decisions and provide assistance when the time
comes.
On one sheet of paper brainstorm everything
that comes to mind about selling on your own. Then on
another sheet of paper make 2 columns - one for the
"PROS" of selling yourself and the other column for
the "CONS" of selling by yourself. From the
"brainstorming" sheet put each thing you wrote down
into either the pro or con list. Any concerns should go
on the "con" side until you are reasonably sure you
can take care of it.
Once this exercise is completed you'll be
able to see clearly which way might be better for you. I
hope this helps.
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What do others have to say about working with
Sharon?
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Sharon Gonwa came highly recommended by my mortgage broker
who said of her, "Sharon is as honest as the day is long.
She will never try to sell you anything you don't want."
Sharon proved that much and more on the first day we met and
continued to work hard for us throughout the buying
process. She was always available for calls and to go
looking at houses. She made it clear that she was on our
side. Sharon was alert for potential problems with each
house that we viewed, not only for our enjoyment of the
house, but for potential resale issues. Things really
kicked into high gear when, due to issues with my current
landlord, it became necessary to find and close on a house
ASAP if not sooner. We ended up finding the perfect house
and closing in record time (under 30 days), largely thanks
to Sharon's hard work. Additionally, my lawyer cancelled
out at the last minute, so Sharon handled much of the
negotiations while I frantically searched for a new lawyer.
Overall, I was very surprised with how smoothly the buying
process went. I am very grateful and would enthusiastically
recommend Sharon's services. If you are looking for a house
in the western suburbs, Sharon Gonwa is the woman you want
in your corner.
Dienne Anum, home buyer
"Sharon
went beyond the call of duty to help us find the right home,
then worked with the seller to close in less than a month, for
our relocation from out of state. On short notice,
Sharon dedicated herself to helping us find the right home.
65 houses later, we found it. She then helped us work
through a challenging closing process. Sharon was
diligent, patient, and helpful in her pursuit of the right
home for us. Once we found it, her
coordinating and
negotiating skills were invaluable in bringing it to closure.
She made it possible for us to close from out-of-state in less
than a month. We know who we'll call when we're ready to
sell."
Mr. & Mrs. Houghton,
Home Buyer and Home Seller
We
can't thank you enough for all your hard work helping us sell
our two houses and find the perfect new one. Your
professionalism, patience, and understanding helped make a
difficult time for us a lot easier. You gave us
excellent referrals for our home inspection, legal, and
financial assistance, as well as doing the job of others who
weren't so professional. Even after our closing, when your job
was done, you went to the old house at night to check for
items we misplaced! You go the extra mile and we will
never forget or recommend anyone else! With many thanks,
The Russler's. Home Sellers and Home Buyer
"I
found Sharon Gonwa while surfing the internet for
information about houses in the Chicagoland area. My husband
and I had just had our first child and we needed a bigger
home with a big lot for our big dog. At first I was a little
wary of using a realtor who worked on her own -- I thought
maybe we wouldn't get the same exposure or professional
treatment as we might receive with a bigger company. But
Sharon seemed so nice and so professional, and she was so
responsive to my questions, I thought we'd give her a try.
Boy, am I glad I did! I
did a little research and I found out that Sharon employs
her daughter, Pamela, who not only has clients of her own
but who backs Sharon up when necessary, so there's always
someone available to help. I also found out that Sharon won
numerous awards at the large real estate brokerage firms
where she worked over the years. She sold millions of
dollars of real estate before going out on her own. So I
apparently had the very best of the best working with me!
I quickly learned one of
the best parts of working with Sharon -- her
internet savvy.
Sharon let me do my own searching on-line through her
connection to MLS, and replied quickly to my (frequent)
emails asking for more information about different listings.
Since I have a young baby at home, it was
very helpful to me
to look for homes on the internet rather than poring over
the newspapers. Sharon's flexibility allowed me to virtually
"tour" tons of houses, and helped me refine my
needs, without taking a step out of the house.
Her flexibility extended
into the actual home-viewing process, too. The first time we
went looking at houses together, Sharon was so
organized --
she had everything printed out for me and arranged in a
logical order. Even when I needed to take a break to feed
the baby, she was happy to stand outside in the shade and
wait for me to feed my son. Sharon was always
flexible about
when she could meet me, and was often available on short
notice. She worked with my husband and me for over 5 months,
and we saw about 50 houses together. She was
unfailingly
patient with us as we determined through the search process
what our needs really were.
Sharon is very honest.
Sometimes I would see a house I thought would be right for
me -- but Sharon was always on top of the little things (and
sometimes big things) that I might have missed. One time she
found a bowed-out area of a basement wall, which the sellers
had hidden very well behind a bunch of boards. I know we
probably would have found the problem during the inspection,
but it was great that Sharon could notice something
important like that and save us the heartache of going
through the purchase process for a home that just wasn't
right for us.
When we saw the house that
we did ultimately buy, Sharon was as excited as we were.
Even so, Sharon drove a very hard bargain with our sellers,
and got us a price that we recently found out was $4000
UNDER the estimated value of the house. She gave us
excellent technical advice about how the different contracts
and conditions would work. She went over each element very
carefully with us to make sure we understood what we were
signing. I felt there were no surprises with Sharon. She is
incredibly knowledgeable and thorough.
We were
so happy with the
buying process with Sharon, we decided to list our house
with her too. We quickly found out that not only is Sharon
a
joy to work with, she gets RESULTS. Sharon listed our house
just after Thanksgiving last year, and sold it before the
first week of the new year was up. Even through the holidays
she was dedicated and helpful. We
got a great price for our
home and were able to negotiate the terms to our
satisfaction.
Sharon
followed up on
every little detail of the purchase and selling process, and
made sure my husband and I were totally prepared, in
advance, every step of the way. She made it so
easy and
pleasant,
I have
recommended her to everyone I know. Hire this woman! She's
amazing!"
Erin O'Neil Doppke, Home
Seller and Home Buyer
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The
Truth -
Well,
what can I say, but to tell the truth. I confess, I too, am
somewhat of a do-it-yourself kind of person. Just ask my
husband. He'll tell you how often I have these ideas, start to
implement them, get so far along, then have to have him (or a
professional) step in to finish the job.
I
don't hold it against anyone for trying anything on their own,
including selling their own property. In fact, I
whole-heartedly understand. No one knows your house better
than you. No one. You know all the positives about it,
the location, the schools, the parks, the churches, shops, etc.
You also know the negatives as well. The property's
short-comings, things that could be fixed or replaced, items that
are okay-but could be improved on, and those little characteristics
that come with every house - like stepping on a certain spot will
make the floor will squeak.
I
really believe if you feel up to the challenges and
responsibilities, and have the time, persistence, patience, and
money to dedicate to learning and implementing the entire process,
then go for it. After all what do you have to lose?
I know, there are those agents who will tell you that you stand to
lose plenty (money, market time, etc.). Unfortunately, in some
cases this will be an accurate outcome for their endeavor into a
temporary real estate "career".
Statistics say most
sellers do end up listing with a real estate agent and those who do
actually sell their property by owner typically lose more than
the sales fees might have been, have more stress, and would probably
never do it again. However, who's to say that will be you.
It might not be. Perhaps you'll be one of the ones that "lady
luck" smiles upon and sell on your own. Impossible to predict.
There's only one way to find out though and that's to try it.
If it works, let me help you find your new home. On the other hand,
if it doesn't work out, call me. Also, if you find a
prospective buyer and are unsure what to do next, for a modest fee I
can help you there too.
I've
created a very special, unique program for For Sale By Owners,
designed to help you succeed. I won't go into details here,
you'll have to call me for an consultation appointment -
complimentary, and NO pressure whatsoever to list your home - ever.
In fact, I won't even ask you.
We'll sit down like old friends
and we'll go over everything you need to know. Suffice it to
say, I don't think you've seen anything like this before.
No
scare tactics, horror stories, and the like. However, safety
is a concern we will address - but in a positive manner. We think you'll find the time beneficial. Oh, have your
questions, pen, and paper ready too!
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