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SE VA House Seller Guide

  • Writer: Adam Garrett
    Adam Garrett
  • Jul 21, 2023
  • 9 min read

Updated: Jul 5


Waterfront house viewed from air
Image courtesy Shane LaVoie Photography at a listing Adam sold in Gloucester County

I wanted to share a detailed house seller guide including a list of around 100 articles I've created pertinent to the real estate (i.e. house) selling process categorized in typical sequential order. While most elements are pertinent throughout the United States, some elements are geared specifically toward SE VA where I'm a real estate agent.

Regions, Cities, & Counties of SE VA

County & city boundaries in SE VA
Image courtesy Google & Randy Majors

(Ordered Approximately SE-NW):

  1. Hampton Roads

    1. South Side

      1. Virginia Beach

      2. Chesapeake

      3. Norfolk

      4. Portsmouth

      5. Suffolk

      6. Isle of Wight County

      7. Southampton County

      8. Franklin

      9. Surry County

    2. Virginia Peninsula

      1. Hampton

      2. Poquoson

      3. Newport News

      4. York County

      5. James City County

      6. Williamsburg

    3. Middle Peninsula

      1. Gloucester County

      2. Mathews County

      3. Middlesex County

      4. King & Queen County

      5. Essex County

      6. King William County

  2. Eastern Shore

    1. Northampton County

    2. Accomack County

  3. Emporia (city)

    1. Greensville County

  4. Greater Richmond

    1. Richmond (city)

      1. Charles City County

      2. New Kent County

      3. Henrico County

      4. Hanover County

      5. Powhatan County

      6. Goochland County

    2. Petersburg (city)

      1. Sussex County

      2. Prince George County

      3. Dinwiddie County

      4. Hopewell

      5. Colonial Heights

      6. Dinwiddie County

      7. Chesterfield County

  5. Northern Neck

    1. Lancaster County

    2. Northumberland County

    3. Richmond County

    4. Westmoreland County

    5. King George County

Specific Types of Sales

(Primarily Geared Toward Buyers, But with Much Helpful Information for Sellers as Well):

Find Out Which MLS You Need to be On

What is MLS?

The Multiple Listing Service (MLS) is the main way that sellers get their home out to the public via marketing. There are many MLS around the country, including 6 in SE VA alone.


Why is the MLS Chosen So Important?

Per NAR's 2023 Quick Real Estate Statistics available in 2024, "89% of buyers purchased their home through a real estate agent or broker." Per a study published that HousingWire covered in an article, "92% said their agent e-mailed or texted them properties of interest... the median buyer viewed 70% of the listings their agents recommended... 29% of home buyers purchased a home their agent found". The main way that agents use by far (I suspect >90%) is via direct MLS feeds from searches that the agent sets up for the buyer. With those numbers in mind, being on the right MLS is critical. If you are on the wrong MLS, you can say goodbye to that 29% #, and the lower the # of people seeing your home, the lower that the showings & the offers will tend to be.


Did you know that some agents will list your property on an MLS even in cases where that MLS has <1% of the MLS coverage of a particular area, with the seller typically having no idea since the agent doesn't disclose that & the seller typically doesn't ask? While rare, I have seen it happen. I've seen a lot more cases where the agent puts a home in 1 somewhat nearby MLS, but doesn't put it in the MLS that is the primary MLS for a location. For instance, there are many homes sold in James City County & Williamsburg where it's only put on 1 MLS, despite the fact that there isn't a single MLS that had >50% MLS coverage out of the 5 MLS I checked, which included all of the main MLS that make up the area. If you have <50% MLS coverage, you'll still be losing out on an unacceptable amount of buyers. High end listings aren't immune either. I've seen listings in the 2.5 million range in SE VA where the only MLS used doesn't have even 15% of the MLS market share of the area.


Where to Find Out the MLS You Need in SE VA

I provide an article on the subject here, based on data I pulled. Keep in mind that most of the data is only considering 5 MLS, 5 of the primary 6 of SE VA, while the counties where the 6th MLS is primary (N>50) & some other areas that border MLS I don't have direct access to are generated via actives on Zillow:


Where to Find Out the MLS You Need Outside SE VA

For areas outside of SE VA, there typically isn't a great way to find out which MLS are important because agents typically haven't collected the data that I have on MLS across multiple MLS. If that's unavailable in your area, go onto Zillow and check to see what MLS are on properties. The more properties you check, the more accurate your data will get, though I wouldn't suggest checking more than 100 properties. Zillow will show multiple MLS when applicable, so don't just rely on an MLS in the picture of the home without actually clicking on the home, since multiple MLS won't show in that view.


Related:

Decide on an Agent

Choosing an Agent:



Adam:

If in Adam's coverage area, consider Adam to be Your Agent:

Preparing Your Home for Sale

Basic Preparations:


Repairs/Reno/Cleaning/Maintenance:

Listing Agreements

  • Go over with your agent their commission options, with sometimes different offerings depending on the commission amount (which is definitely the case with Adam). If working with Adam, ask him for his commission offerings spreadsheet which goes over all the details.

  • Do a Thorough Seller Survey with Your Listing Agent (if they have one) to Better Market Your Property & to Prevent Issues

  • Consider a home warranty for the buyer. If you have one already, consider asking your warranty company about the cost for you to provide a seller's home warranty that will give the buyer a full year after closing. In some cases, you can get reimbursed for some of the difference in cost so that you're not losing money on the time that you wouldn't have used up on your existing warranty.

Keeping Your Home in a Good State Before & Throughout the Home Selling Process

Related:


About the Author: Adam Garrett - 3rd Generation REALTOR®

Adam is the 3rd generation in a line of award-winning real estate agents serving SE VA. He has served full time at Garrett Realty Partners since May 2014 when he joined the marketing department before transitioning to full-time sales to assist buyers and sellers in February 2015. He believes that an educated buyer or seller makes the best decisions, & is dedicated to helping with that both digitally & on-site physically for buyers & sellers. He's also available for referrals to real estate agents around the globe. In several capacities, his resources & direct offerings for assisting sellers & assisting buyers are either unmatched or are top 1% for the SE VA area, and in some cases, nationwide. Not stopping after closing, he also provides information for tenants, landlords, & homeowners.


Related for Buyers:


Related for Sellers:


Contact Adam


While Adam can refer buyers and sellers elsewhere, Adam’s direct coverage includes most of SE VA including Hampton Roads (VA Peninsula, Southside, & Middle Peninsula), the Northern Neck, & Greater Richmond.


Adam's Coverage Map with Adam's 5 Multiple Listing Services highlighted in orange & areas without good MLS coverage excluded:

Cities & counties served directly:

Amelia County,

Charles City County,

Chesapeake,

Chesterfield County,

Colonial Heights,

Dinwiddie County, 

Essex County,

Franklin,

Gloucester County,

Goochland County,

Hampton,

Hanover County,

Henrico County,

Hopewell,

Isle of Wight County, 

James City County,

King William County,

King & Queen County,

Lancaster County,

Mathews County,

Middlesex County,

New Kent County,

Newport News,

Northumberland County,

Nottoway County,

Petersburg

Poquoson,

Portsmouth,

Powhatan County,

Prince George County,

Richmond (City of),

Richmond County,

Southampton County,

Suffolk, 

Surry County, 

Sussex County,

Virginia Beach, 

Williamsburg, 

York County,


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