What a pricing consult actually looks like

Most people who ask me what their home is worth have already looked it up online. They have a number, and they want to know if it's right.

Usually it's close, sometimes it's off by a lot, and either way it can't tell you why. An automated estimate has never stood in your kitchen, doesn't know your well produces eight gallons a minute, and can't tell that the house down the street sold low because the roof was shot. A pricing consult closes that gap. Here's exactly what happens, start to finish.

First, the walk-through

I walk the property with you, room by room and then outside, and look at it the way a buyer will. That means condition, layout, light, and the things photos flatter and the things they hide.

I'm also looking for what a buyer's inspector will find, so we find it first. A tired roof, a soft spot in the deck, an electrical panel with a recall history: none of these kill a sale, but they shape the price and the negotiation. Knowing about them now means we decide what to fix, what to disclose, and what to price in.

Outside city limits, the walk-through goes further. I ask about the well log and flow, the septic permit and when it was last pumped, the access road and who maintains it, and how the land is zoned. Those answers can move a rural property's value more than the kitchen does.

What to have ready: a list of improvements with rough dates, any permits, your well and septic paperwork if you have them, HOA documents if they apply, and anything you know about that a buyer would want to know.

Then the sales

Back at my desk, I pull the comparable sales myself. I don't use an automated list. I pick them by hand, because the right comparisons aren't always the closest ones.

For each sale, I look at what actually drove the price: square footage and lot size, condition, garage or shop space, city water or a well, views, the street it sits on, and how long it took to sell. Then I tell you why each one fits your home or doesn't. A house two blocks away that sold for a great number might have had a new roof and a finished shop. A sale across town might match yours almost exactly.

I also look at what you'd be competing against right now: the active listings and pending sales a buyer will tour the same weekend. Buyers don't see your home alone, so I don't price it that way. I also check the homes that expired or were pulled off the market, because they show where buyers said no.

Then the range

You get a price range, not a single number, along with the reasoning behind it. The point is that you can see how I got there and push back on any of it.

Then we talk about where in that range to list. I explain it with three pricing tiers, because each one does a different job:

• Event Price sits at or just under the recent sales, to bring several buyers in the first week. It's the right call when timing matters more than the last dollar.
• Market Perceived is where the recent sales say buyers will land. Most of my listings start here, because it's the price buyers already believe.
• Aspirational sits above the comps, with a set date to adjust if showings are quiet. It's worth trying when your home has something the comps don't.

There's no wrong tier. There's only the one that fits your timeline and your goals, and we choose it together.

What you leave with

When the consult is done, you'll have a price range and the sales behind it, a short list of what's worth fixing before photos, a sense of how long homes like yours are taking to sell, and a clear next step. That might be listing next month. It might be waiting until spring. Sometimes it's not selling at all, and that's a fine outcome too.

Want to know what your home would sell for, and why? Tell me about the property and I'll set up a walk-through.

Request a pricing consult