Josette Skilling

Preparing for a Successful Home Sale

Welcome,

I realize you have a choice when hiring an agent and truly appreciate the opportunity to present my proven approach and the results Ive achieved for my clients. As your agent, there are several services you can expect me to provide, including the following:

Accurately pricing your home Enhancing the perceived and realvalue of your home, enabling you to command a higher asking price. Providing unmatched marketing, including professional staging, photography, video and custom property web sites Securing a qualified buyer within your specified time frame. Helping you to avoid the two main reasons sales fall apart: low lenders appraisals and problems with the home inspection.

Regardless of the price of your home, when you hire me as your Realtor, both you and your home will be prepared for a successful sale. Warm regards,

Josette
Josette Skilling Associate Broker CEO, Founding Partner

Josette Skilling, a Realtor for over 8 years brings a wealth of business knowledge to her career as an Associate Broker with Keller Williams Capital Properties. With a background in IT and a degree in French it might not seem an intuitive choice, but all have a common element: puzzle solving. Josette's analytical skills and ability to resolve complex issues have allowed her to transition quickly to the complex world of real estate. Josette's career in IT armed her with the knowledge that customer satisfaction plays a key role in establishing loyal clients. She brings that same caring philosophy to her relationships with her real estate clients. Josette is a very successful agent. She works with a team of affiliates title officers, inspectors, stagers, painters, contractors and more to guide you through every step of the home buying or selling process. Whatever the current market conditions, Josettes professionalism, coupled with market knowledge, negotiation skills and willingness to go beyond the call of duty, have allowed her to be ranked consistently as a top professional. While her philosophy is not common in our industry, it enables her to work to high standards and create an environment of trust, and frankly it's the way we'd wish to be treated.

Associate Broker
Top Agent Network (Top 1% of Agents) GRI, Graduate Realtor Institute SRES, Seniors Real Estate Services Member of National Association of Realtors Member of Maryland Association of Realtors Member of Greater Capital Area Association Serve on Grievance Committee for GCAAR

Josette is a member of St. Dunstans Episcopal Church and serves on the Executive Committee and the Vestry. Shes actively involved in her community, with the local pool association and is on the Montgomery County Dive League Board.
A graduate of Florida State University - go Noles! - and a transplant to the DC area but this has become home like no other place.

Josettes Track Record of Success

List to Sale Ratio What sellers keep!
Josette

Josette

98%

Market

102.27%

Market

94%

98.37%

2012

2013

Josettes Track Record of Success

Days on Market

Josette

Josette

18

Market

15

Market

67

54

2012

2013

Josettes Track Record of Success

Hundreds of families served!

Josette
$10M

Average Agent <$1M

Josettes Track Record of Success

One of the Top Ten Agents

in the Keller Williams Region

Testimonials
Jeanne and I had listed our home with another broker and had no success in attracting a buyer. Josette was able to come in and identify the issues which were preventing us from selling and help us to very quickly turn our home into a very saleable product. She worked tirelessly on our behalf, even painting walls and packing boxes! Shes a tough taskmaster but its truly in your best interest to listen to her wisdom she knows what buyers are looking for and how to make your home show up on their top 3 list. We truly feel Josette was the catalyst in getting our home successfully under contract in 34 days, at a time when the average days on market were over 70. And every detail along the way was taken care of for us all the way up to a very smooth and successful settlement. We are very thankful for Josettes knowledge and integrity and her ability to help us make good decisions. We recommend her without reservation as the agent who will help you make good decisions and who will always act in your best interests - Sincerely, Ed and Jeanne Reedy Dear Josette, Thank you so much for all your help and hours of hard work for the last few months to assist us to find the perfect home! We finally found it with your help!! Thank you! - Nate and Emily

Josette Skilling has a wealth of knowledge about the real estate business. While having impeccably high standards and an extremely professional approach to her work, she is also a warm and caring person who is willing to go the extra mile to achieve a successful outcome for her clients.

She is extremely knowledgeable about the neighborhoods in the area which is particularly helpful to newcomers to Maryland. At all stages of our house search, Josette offered lots of practical assistance and much sound advice about the best way to proceed. Josette listened carefully to our hopes and expectations and showed us a number of attractive homes any one of which would have met our needs.

Josette made the process of buying a home effortless and stress -free! As a first-time home buyer I was a little nervous but with Josettes guidance I was able to make an informed decision with no regrets. I appreciate that she was so knowledgeable about everything from finances to renovating your home. I cant thank Josette enough for her patience, honesty and determination in helping me get my dream home. I highly recommend Josette Skilling to anyone! - Nancy Bellegarde

Yet, she continued to offer us additional options until we found the home which we absolutely loved! This upcoming move to our new home will be our second move in nine months. It has been a trying time for our family to say the least, but Josettes expert opinion and helpful suggestions throughout the process have made the whole experience a lot less stressful. In fact, it was actually a lot of fun! Thanks a lot! - Barbara Dunkley

Testimonials
What more can you ask for in a buyers agent? Josette Skilling fulfills every expectation. I cant remember ever giving 5 stars for anything but this is a welcome exception. Josettes years of experience shone through in my dealings with her over the course of a year and a bit when we were searching for a home with some pretty specific criteria. She displayed utmost professionalism, untold patience and an acute understanding of our personal needs, our timing, our financing and general situation. She is not one of those agents who rushes you into signing anything. She takes the time to understand what you want and most of all she listens a rare quality these days. Combine that with her in depth knowledge of the local market and we knew we had a very special agent working for us. We have been in our home now for almost 6 months and we love it. I have absolutely no hesitation in recommending Josette to any prospective buyer or seller. - Matt Byrne My sister and I were experiencing emotional turmoil after the unexpected passing of our father in Maryland. We were suddenly trustee's of his estate, which included his house that he had lived in for 45 years. A friend, who knew that we had to sell the house because we both resided out of state, introduced us to Josette. I knew right away, during our first meeting at Dad's house, that Josette had the knowledge and experience necessary to prepare a 1960's home for sale in the present day. She pointed out how inexpensive upgrades like new light fixtures, a fresh coat of paint, or new glass in the kitchen cabinets, etc. would help in the sale of the house. We were convinced and asked her to get started. She became our "general contractor", buying light fixtures, kitchen appliances, etc., and getting quotations for other work and repairs that needed to be done. Everything she recommended was first sent to us for approval or discussion before she bought anything or hired anyone to work. Josette made my home buying experience great. She got to know my tastes quickly and found some great houses to look at. Once I found the house, Josette introduced me to online forms. It was so quick and easy. No waiting, no going to a lawyers office, it's very efficient. During the process, Josette sent me helpful emails so I knew what to expect next. She also has a great rolodex of people to fix any situation that may come up. I highly recommend Josette if you are buying a home! She also did thorough homework on the housing market in the area which helped us establish a selling price (which was within $3,000.00 of an independent appraisal). After all the necessary upgrades and repairs were completed, we put the house on the market and it sold within a month. Josette is an honest, hard-working (I often received e-mails from her late in the evening) and dedicated realtor. She is also a great "diplomat" and negotiator who was willing to listen to us and be sensitive to our needs and situation. How great it was to know that, 600 miles away, we had a highly competent realtor in Josette working "on our side". - David Young & Sue Vodola OUTSTANDING AGENT!!! Josette found us a rental property last year, so when our dream home unexpectedly came on the market, we called Josette. She had an offer ready within 24 hours. She persevered through some uniquely difficult circumstances, and got us our new house. If you want excellent, personal, and timely real estate service, have Josette on your speed dial.

- Steve Greehan

- Keith Alfieri

Testimonials
I never had a chance to write a review about my experience working with a real estate agent before and I respect Josette's professionalism and dedication to her work too much to Google something like "a good review for a real estate agent" so I can cut and paste something bland and unassuming about "attention to detail" and "zero - stress experience" or "savvy, personable personality" etc., etc. In fact, all the above is very true about working with Josette, who indeed neither showed any signs of tiredness of me becoming a home-buying version of Bridezilla nor became less attentive to my somewhat irrational demands and budgeting expectations. My search is finally over and my closing date is set and I can't say anything more than "Thank you, Josette, that couldn't have been done without you. And I wouldn't try it without you in the future." Dimitri Kirin
Josette made the process of buying this home so easy for us even though it

was a very difficult transaction with the financing. We love our home and cant wait to make the changes that will make it our own! We would recommend her to any of our friends
Jen & Mathew

Jon & I have searched daily online for homes. We have met numerous agents

My wife and I recently moved from San Francisco and were very excited at the prospect of purchasing a home in Maryland. We chose to work with several agents in the Montgomery County area to ensure that we found an agent we could work well with and to ensure we had someone who had our interests in mind. We were referred to Josette Skilling by a close family friend; and after our initial meeting, we decided that she was the agent for us. During our home search, Josettes ability to provide us with detailed information about homes in specific areas helped us narrow our choices. When we chose Clarksburg, Josette made sure we understood the building situation and permitting issues for new construction there. Josette helped to point out possible risks and areas of concern while we moved forward with the home buying process. Her negotiation skills helped us to structure an aggressive offer that was accepted by the seller. We were very pleased with Josettes efforts during our home buying process. She was accessible, a pleasure to work with, and very professional. She treated our home buying process as if she was buying the home herself. We confidently felt that she was helping us find our perfect home instead of trying to sell us a house. We would highly recommend Josette Skilling to those searching for their dream home.
- Bryan and Lisa Suit

at open houses. A couple agents showed us a listing that was from their company but not their personal listing. Due to various factors such as personality, organization skills (lacking), fee structure/paperwork, experience, knowledge of the neighborhood none of these agents were a good fit for us. Last week, the Soper Street listing popped up on Homesdatabase. I called the 800 number. I explained to you what I was looking for and you provided me with information that I could not get myself. When you showed the listing and then convinced me to take a look at the Chiswell property (even though I thought it was of the size it was due to tax records), you came armed with even more data. I was instantly impressed with all the research you had done on the area. Your paperwork was organized, informative, clear. You helped me visualize living in the house. You were personable, non pressuring and with it. I realized that before we even got to Chiswell Road. It was an automatic fit. When I called my husband to come over and see Chiswell, I told him we found our agent. Since our signing with you, you have continued to provide the same outstanding service. This is one of the most important transitions in my life and I had been praying for months to find the right person to guide us through it. You may think it hokey, but I believe God planted you on phone duty that day. You have been exactly who we were looking for. Thank you for making this process go so smoothly. 17 more days!!

Testimonials
Working with Josette was an outstanding experience. She was patient, thorough and
knowledgeable. Most importantly Josette was genuinely interested in helping us find the right home. We drove away from all of our interactions with Josette thinking about how much we enjoyed working with her. Even other agents commented on what a pleasure she was to work with. To us that spoke volumes about her professionalism and integrity. We would recommend Josette to anyone.

Congratulations, Josette! They are definitely lucky to have you. We have never, ever
worked with an agent that did more for us than you. You really know your stuff, you aren't afraid to get your hands dirty getting a house ready, and you are a whiz at technology and comparison shopping. Cheers to your new company.

- Catherine

- Aaron & Maura Davis

Without Josette, we wouldn't have been able to get through the whole process of a short sale. She was very responsive, thorough, and very patient in explaining everything to us, a first time home buyer. It took over 4 months for us to finally close on the condo, though seemed like forever, it could have been much worse as we had 2 impossible banks to deal with. But Josette worked diligently with the seller's agent, with her expertise in short sale, she got us our first home probably in the shortest possible time. Thank you so much, Josette!! Definitely a five star Realtor. Very experienced, knowledgeable, and tenacious in her dealings. A true professional in every sense of the word.

- Jim Luensman

- CC and Daniel
Josette quite simply delivers what she promises. She was systematic and deliberate in her processes which translated to the stepwise sale of my home with minimal stress on myself or my family.

Josette helped us act quickly to sell our home at a very good price and to buy a new home in parallel transactions. Her advice on preparing our home to show was absolutely correct and useful--the house showed once and the offers poured in. Josette stayed in touch in person, by phone and by email so that she knew what we were doing and what we needed and she advised us as to all aspects of the sale...she sat in with us at the closings just to be sure that no loose ends remained. We recommend her as strongly as possible.

- Mark Carmichael

- Ray Donnelly

Definitely a five star Realtor. Very experienced, knowledgeable, and tenacious in her dealings. A true professional in every sense of the word.

- Jim Luensman

Josette got us through another impossible real estate nightmare with a positive outcome. She dealt with everything with professionalism and integrity, and in our case, these were the key factors of getting this deal done. She is patient and responsive, and she treated us as if we were her only client. We highly recommend Josette to anyone!

- CC Choi

Testimonials
I cannot say enough positive things about Josette Skilling. She made the process of selling our home and purchasing a new home so manageable. With her expertise and by following her advice, our home was under contract in less than 2 days. And we are so happy in our new home, which is in the location we hoped for and has everything we need. Josette made herself available to us at all times and was a resource for all of our questions. I would recommend working with her to anyone who wants to find and buy, or sell their home, with as little headache as possible! Josette helped us sell our condo and buy our home. I dont think I could say enough about how wonderful she is to work with. On the seller side, Josette gave us realistic and concrete goals to get the condo ready. By following her suggestions, the place looked amazing and sold quickly. On the buyer side, Josette is very patient and provides helpful guidance. She seemed to never tire of showing us homes, sending us listings, or acting as a sounding board as we figured out what was best for our family. One thing that struck me when we were selling our condo was a comment the buyers agent made. She complimented us on what a professional and honest agent we were working with. Although I dont know what led her to say that, I was not surprised. Josette has a lot of integrity and she clearly cares about her clients.

- Erika Schwartz

Josette was wonderful to deal with. She worked with us and our bizarre schedules with one person local and one person out of state, it was a struggle to see all that we wanted in our small windows of availability. She went above and beyond to make sure that we saw everything. Josette was helpful in explanations of the market at the timethe slow response for short sales etc. She helped get us a tremendous deal on the house we ended up purchasing. Even though it was a foreclosure, it was pretty painless in the end We would definitely work with her again!

Josette is a pleasure to work with and we are confident she has our familys best intentions in mind. We look forward to working with her in the future!

- Aaron and Maura Davis

Working with Josette was a joy, and she made our transition to our dream-come-true condo happen much faster and more manageably than we ever would have thought. Her knowledge of our community and the real estate market here is deep and thorough. She knew how to handle every detail. She explained the steps and strategy thoroughly, so we understood what was happening. She linked us up with other extraordinary professionals, e.g. a mortgage broker who was a gem. Her high energy and positive attitude were infectious, and swept us along through parts of the process that might otherwise have been tedious. And, wow, did her strategy ever pay off! When our house went on the market, it was like the Oklahoma Land Rush! The open houses were packed, we had multiple offers within just a few days, and the house sold well above listing price. We give her our highest recommendation, and thanks.

- Steve & Kara Springer

Josette was an ideal partner in searching for a house we loved and could afford. She was accessible and upbeat every step of the way. Josettes knowledge of all aspects, and lack of pressure to decide until we were ready, made for a great process.

- JBM

- Sue Carroll & Ray Donnelly

Testimonials
It was an enjoyable experience working with Josette Skilling when selling our home in Montgomery County, Maryland. She was pleasant to work with and always responded to our communications in a timely manner. Her knowledge and experience were invaluable in helping us make our decisions. Josette explained the real estate game so that we understood it from both the sellers and buyers perspectives. She recognized a mistake by the buyers agent that saved us time and money in completing the process of selling our home.

- James Luensman

Why a Team?

Specialists

No detail is left to chance

The Process
The flow of a sale

How Homes Sell

Understanding how buyers evaluate homes
The marketing I will do to promote your home has only one purpose - to increase awareness among potential buyers leading to in person showings. Once buyers reach your front door, the job of marketing is over.

Your house must now compete with other active properties in two areas:

Features and Price.

If your home has more features that appeal to buyers - or your home is priced lower than comparable homes - your home will stand out as the better value.

Conversely, if your home lacks the features that potential buyers desire, your only option is to compete on price.

To be effective, your home should stand out as one of the top two to three best values in your immediate marketplace.

Pricing Your Home for a Successful Sale

Price

Factors that Influence Market Value:

Supply & Demand Economic Conditions Asking & Selling Prices of Competing Homes Your Homes Condition Buyers Perception of Your Home Factors with Little or No Influence on Market Value: The price the seller paid for the house

Pricing your home accurately is the most effective way to ensure a successful sale. Allow me to repeat thatpricing your home accurately is the most effective way to ensure a successful sale. No amount of marketing can sell an overpriced home. Many sellers are tempted to list their home with the agent who quotes the highest price. Please keep in mind, the agent doesn' t set the pricethe market will set the price, or value, for your home.

The sellers expected net proceeds

The amount spent on improvements

Pricing Your Home for a Successful Sale

Price

Professional Appraisal
The most effective method of pricing your home is to have a professional appraisal. When you list - and close - your home with me, I recommend a pre listing appraisal by the areas most respected firm. Benefits of having a professional appraisal: Having a pre-listing appraisal not only helped us sell faster but we saved over $40,000 by using our appraisal to successfully challenge the low lenders appraisal. That savings more than covered the fee!

Price

You receive an unbiased, third party opinion of the market value of your home by a trained professional. You are positioned to quickly recognize and respond to a market offer. You are positioned to effectively challenge a low lenders appraisal of your home, maintaining your higher contract price. A lender will consider a well-known appraisers valuationthey will not consider an estimate provided by a real estate agent.

You avoid the common practice of a real estate agent buying your listing by suggesting a higher price than can be achieved. Because the agent would then be reluctant to suggest a price reduction early in the marketing process, you lose valuable time during those critical first several weeks on the market.

Condition
Preparing Your Home for a Successful Sale
With the typical agent, you only discover potential deal-killing repairs after you are already under contractwhen the buyer hires a home inspector to scrutinize every aspect of your home. When you listand closeyour home with me, Ill recommend a pre -listing inspection by one of the areas most experienced, and respected inspection firms. n a Maritz Research poll, 63% of buyers responded that they would pay more for a house that is move in ready. Discovering and repairing problems early in the marketing process places you in control, eliminating the stress of making repairs on the buyers schedule. Having your house in move in condition also helps you avoid delays to closing and demonstrates to buyers, agents and the buyers home inspector that your house has been very well maintained. We want buyers to focus on how they would live in your homenot what they would have to repair. Additionally, your house will stand out from the competition as a better value and command a higher price. I will also recommend trustworthy, professional contractors to address any repairs that are needed. The extent to which these repairs are made will affect your asking price. You have the ability to command a higher asking price, and substantiate it, when your home is in top condition.

Condition
Home Warranty
While your home is listed with me I recommend it be covered by a home warranty which will transfer to the buyer. The benefit to you is the normal day to day repairs are covered under the plan while your home is listed. By advertising a comprehensive warranty for your home, we increase buyer confidence in your home and set you apart from the competition.

Condition
Home Staging
Once we have had your home inspected and made the necessary repairs, we will focus on presentation. You will only get one opportunity to make a positive first impression with potential buyers. Well staged homes look better, photograph better, show better and sell faster than non-staged homes. When you listand closeyour home with me Ill have scheduled a consultation with one of our areas most experienced professional stagers. Home staging is not decorating. Decorating appeals to the person living in the house; staging is positioning the house to appeal to the psychological needs of buyers by creating a series of impressions which build an emotional connection to help buyers imagine living in the home. An AOL Money & Finance poll revealed that 87% of respondents said home presentation made a difference in most sales. Also, while many agents overlook the presentation of your home and simply push for price reductions the problems whether perceived or realstill exist.

Marketing
Marketing your home for a successful sale
Your home is now priced accurately and looks great. Lets show it off! The marketing of your home will reflect an established history of how buyers search for, and purchase, homes. 95% of buyers use the Internet to search for homes 85% of all sales in the area are co-brokered. This means there is a listing agent who represents you, the seller, and another agent who represents the buyer of your home. As a result, marketing to Realtors is our most productive activity. The most effective way to get the attention of productive agents is through accurate pricing and great photography.

Marketing
Professional photography
After your home is staged, I will pay to have your home photographed by a superb home interiors photographer. With 95% of home buyers searching the Internet, professional photography is critical to any comprehensive marketing plan. More people will view your home online than will ever visit it personally. Getting, and holding, their attention with professional photography is one way to increase the probability of the in person showing. Remember the first showing is now on the Internet! Buyers perceive homes with professional photography to be worth, on average, 12% more than the actual price. The Wall Street Journal

Marketing
Professional floor plans
When you listand closeyour home with me I will pay to have professional floor plans created so that buyers have an accurate view of your homes layout and square footage. These professionally produced architectural drawings are also a benefit with appraisers who appreciate having a floor plan in place when they begin their work. Details like this make your home stand out among all other homes on the market.

Marketing
Internet marketing

I will place your home on 500 of the worlds leading websites for unmatched exposure.

Marketing
Internet marketing

Marketing
Internet marketing

Marketing
Internet marketing

Marketing
Bethesdabuzz

This site is a buyer magnet! Optimized for Google searchesor highly leveraged with Google Adwords it is exceptional at drawing in buyers to any area we target. We can track the buyers interest in certain homes, price ranges, areas of interest, school zones. We know how many times theyve looked at homes and when we know there is a home which fits their criteria we can text, email and phone that buyer directly.
No more waiting for them to come to us!

Marketing
Buyers
Everything we do is designed with getting buyers in mind! The massive marketing campaign begins on day one and we can report back to you just how and where your home is being viewed on the Internet. Our sites work together to increase the views of your home exactly where buyers are looking. With our buyer website we attract them in with beautiful photos of your home and then follow up directly with them. We are excellent at matching buyers who are looking in the market with new homes.

Marketing
Social media marketing
Your home will be marketed extensively on Facebook, the words leading social media site. I will market your home using several proven approaches, including highly targeted ads, video, photos and more. Facebook represents an opportunity to reach tens of thousands of local residents on a site where they already spend a lot of time.

Visit my Facebook Business Page

Twitter, Pinterest, and Google+ are all options we use to get the word about your home.

Marketing
Interactive mobile marketing

More homes are now viewed on Zillow and Trulia mobile than web 155 million homes viewed on mobile in March 2012

Mobile is the critical space to conquer. We have a superb mobile app the buyers use to search and everything we do is optimized for the small screen. Your buyers are making their selections on the web. Your first showing is on the Internet and often on the phone!

Marketing
Open Houses
Before the Open House I will:

Promote your open house on real estate web sites (see Internet marketing campaign)
Feature your home with driving directions on all real estate web sites Use highly recognizable local publications to attract the most buyers Invite people in your area via door hangers Prepare handouts with photos/features of your home to give to buyers Display a minimum of 8 directional signs (where allowed) Register all guests Sell your homes benefits as I escort guests through the property Advertise your homes affordability through mortgages affordability sheets Follow up with all prospects and send thank you notes Answer questions, gauge interest, and arrange for private visits Contact seller to update on activity

During the Open House I will:

After the Open House I will:

Marketing
A market within a market
Your home will not only be marketed through universal channels such as the Internet, print advertising, the Multiple Listing Service, and signage. I will also market internally to our KWCP sales force of highly productive agentseach with their own connections which forms a rich source of prospects, buyers and referrals.
This market within a market results in the most efficient transaction environment in the Metro area.

Top Agent Network (TAN) is the private online club where the verified top 10% real estate agents in local markets collaborate & exchange valuable Non-MLS information. These advance communications help TAN members sell more homes while attracting more clients.

As a top agent in the area, I am part of the exclusive Top Agent Network which allows me to network and pre market listings to the busiest and most productive agents anywhere. We also use many Facebook groups to announce listings, both national and international. Because we are so well connected across the globe, we can get the word out very quickly and connect buyers and sellers.

Marketing
Print marketing

I mail thousands of postcards each month. Your home will be featured on at least two of those mailings, increasing awareness among local buyers.

Service
Showing Service

Professionally managed showings. No agents calling you directly and a complete record of every visit to your home. Feedback requests sent multiple times

Service
What else you can expect from me
In addition to the services weve covered you can expect me to provide the following:

Attentive one-on-one service. The responsibility of managing your home is never passed off to other agents or assistant. My staff and I are full committed to your success. Regular communications regarding every aspect of my efforts and the results of those efforts as well as any changes in the market, including new listings, price changes of competing homes, sales and how we should re-position your property to remain competitive. For your convenience we offer electronic document storage/sharing and signatures Assistance negotiating offers and preparing contracts. Attending the closing to ensure all contract provisions have been met and that you are fully satisfied with the results of your sale.

Thank You
Thank you for the privilege and opportunity to work with you. As always, feel free to call me if you have any questions. I look forward to meeting with you to achieve a successful sale.

Josette Skilling, CEO & Associate Broker

Morrison Skilling & Mathews Team Keller Williams Capital Properties 7801 Woodmont Avenue Bethesda, MD 20814 Office: 240-383-1350 Cell: 301-385-9213

josette@theMSMTeam.com www.TheMSMTeam.com www.bethesdabuzz.com