The One Question Every Seller Should Ask Their Realtor – And Why We Love Answering It

When you’re preparing to sell your home in Snohomish County, you’ll have plenty of questions. From pricing to marketing to closing, the process can feel overwhelming. But if there’s one question every seller should ask their Realtor, it’s this:

“What is your plan to sell my home for the best possible price in the shortest time?”

This single question reveals whether your Realtor has the knowledge, strategy, and commitment to get you the results you deserve. At The Serviss Group, we love it when sellers ask us this — because it gives us the opportunity to show you exactly how we’ll deliver.

Why This One Question Matters

Not all Realtors approach selling a home the same way. Some rely on listing it and waiting. Others bring a full marketing and negotiation strategy. By asking about their plan, you’ll uncover:

• How well they understand the Snohomish County housing market.

• Whether they use proven real estate marketing strategies to reach buyers.

• How they’ll guide you through the home selling process from start to finish.

According to the National Association of REALTORS®, more than 90% of sellers use an agent, but the difference between a good agent and a great one is in their plan.

What a Strong Answer Should Include

When you ask “What’s your plan to sell my home?” listen for these five essentials:

1. Accurate Pricing Strategy

• Look for a Realtor who uses a comparative market analysis (CMA).

• They should know recent sales in Everett, Snohomish, Bothell, and beyond.

• Pricing right from the start avoids costly delays.

2. Home Preparation & Staging

   • Guidance on small updates with big returns (fresh paint, curb appeal, etc).

   • Professional staging or styling tips to make your home stand out.

   Comprehensive Marketing Plan

• High-quality photography and video tours.

• MLS exposure and syndication to major platforms like Zillow and Redfin.

• Targeted social media ads reaching Snohomish buyers where they’re looking.

• Open houses and agent networking.

3. Clear Communication

• Weekly updates on showings, feedback, and market conditions.

• Transparency on next steps so you’re never left in the dark.

4. Negotiation & Closing Expertise

• Skilled handling of multiple offers.

• Navigating contingencies and inspections.

• Protecting your bottom line through smart negotiation.

Why We Love Answering This Question

At The Serviss Group, we’re proud of our Listing Strategy — a proven roadmap we customize for every home we sell. Our answer to this question always includes:

• A data-driven pricing analysis based on Snohomish County trends.

• Professional staging advice and photography.

• A multi-channel marketing campaign designed to reach the widest pool of buyers.

• Frequent, clear communication with our sellers.

• Expert negotiation to secure the strongest price and terms.

We also back our plan with deep local insight. From Edmonds to Lake Stevens, every community attracts a different buyer pool. That’s why we also encourage sellers to explore our Neighborhood Guide, it shows exactly what buyers value in each area.

Case Study: The Johnsons in Mill Creek

When the Johnson family needed to sell quickly for a relocation, they asked the right question: “What’s your plan to get our home sold fast and for top dollar?”

Here’s what we did:

• Recommended minor updates and staging touches.

• Priced strategically using recent Mill Creek comparables.

• Launched a teaser campaign on social media before going live on the MLS.

• Hosted a packed open house weekend with professional photography and video.

Result: Four offers in the first week, 5% over asking, and a smooth closing aligned with their moving timeline. That success started with asking the one question every seller should ask their Realtor.

FAQs

Q: Should I ask other questions too?
Yes. Ask about experience, communication style, and past results. But this one question often covers it all.

Q: What if the answer feels vague?
That’s a red flag. Look for specific strategies, not general promises.

Q: How does the Snohomish market affect the plan?
Every city and season is different. An experienced Realtor tailors the plan to current market conditions.

Q: When’s the best time to sell?
Spring and summer are busiest, but with the right plan, homes sell year-round.

Ready to Ask the Right Question?

Selling your home doesn’t have to feel uncertain. Start with the one question every seller should ask their Realtor, and see how confident their answer makes you feel.

At The Serviss Group, we’d love to share our plan with you. From a free Home Valuation to a custom consultation, we’ll walk you through exactly how we’ll sell your home for the best price, in the best time, with the least stress.

Schedule your free seller consultation today.

Decoding the Down Payment: Should You Stick to the 20% Rule?

The Great Debate: Making a 20% Down Payment on Your House or Not?

Buying a house is one of the most significant decisions you'll ever make. It involves a lot of planning, saving, and a big question that looms large: "How much should my initial down payment be?" Traditionally, a 20% down payment has been the golden standard, but is it the right choice for you? Let's delve into the intricacies of making a 20% down payment versus opting for a smaller amount.

The 20% Down Payment

Historically, putting down 20% of the home's purchase price has been seen as a norm. Let's explore the pros and cons of sticking to this tradition.

Advantages:

• Lower Monthly Payments: A substantial down payment reduces your monthly mortgage payments, making your household budget more breathable.

• Better Mortgage Rates: Lenders often offer more favorable mortgage rates to buyers who can afford a 20% down payment, potentially saving you thousands over the life of the loan.

• Building Equity: A higher down payment means you start off with more equity in your home, providing a financial cushion for the future.

Disadvantages:

• Higher Upfront Cost: Accumulating 20% of the home's value can be a steep hill to climb, delaying your home ownership dreams.

• Less Liquidity: A hefty down payment can tie up a significant portion of your savings, leaving less room for other investments or emergencies.

Less Than 20% Down Payment

In recent years, many have chosen to put down less than 20%. Let's weigh the benefits and drawbacks of this approach.

Advantages:

• Getting into a Home Sooner: A smaller down payment means you can become a homeowner sooner rather than later.

• Preserving Cash: By not tying up a large sum in your home, you retain cash for other investments or emergencies.

Disadvantages:

• Higher Monthly Payments: A smaller down payment results in higher monthly mortgage payments.

• Potential for Higher Interest Rates: Lenders might charge higher interest rates if your down payment is less than 20%.

• Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI): With a down payment of less than 20%, you'll likely be required to pay PMI, adding to your monthly expenses.

Case Studies/Examples

To better illustrate the implications of your down payment choice, let's delve into two different scenarios with detailed calculations:

• Scenario 1: John opts for a 20% down payment

  Home Price: $700,000
  Down Payment (20%): $140,000
  Loan Amount: $560,000
  Interest Rate: 6.0%
  Loan Term: 30 years
  Monthly Payment: $3,358.35 (excluding property taxes and homeowners insurance)
  Total Interest Paid over 30 years: $606,005.60
  PMI: None

  Advantages:

  • Lower monthly payments, saving on interest over time.

  • No PMI, which can potentially save hundreds of dollars each month.

• Scenario 2: Sarah opts for a 10% down payment

  Home Price: $700,000
  Down Payment (10%): $70,000
  Loan Amount: $630,000
  Interest Rate: 6.0%
  Loan Term: 30 years
  Monthly Payment: $3,778.83 (excluding property taxes and homeowners insurance)
  Total Interest Paid over 30 years: $680,176.80
  PMI: Approximately $200 per month for the first several years (until 20% equity is reached)

  Advantages:

  • Sarah can become a homeowner sooner, with a lower initial down payment.

  • She retains more of her savings for other investments or emergencies.

Financial Implications Over Time:

• Interest Savings: By opting for a 20% down payment, John saves $74,171.20 in interest over the life of the loan compared to Sarah.

• PMI Costs: Sarah incurs additional costs due to PMI, which can add up significantly over time until she reaches 20% equity in her home.

• Equity Building: John starts with a higher equity in his home, providing a financial cushion and the ability to potentially access this equity through loans or lines of credit in the future.

Both scenarios have their own set of advantages and trade-offs. John enjoys lower monthly payments and saves on interest and PMI costs over time, but he also ties up a larger sum of money upfront. On the other hand, Sarah is able to enter the housing market sooner, albeit with higher monthly payments and additional PMI costs.

Helpful Resources

To aid you in making an informed decision, here are some resources you might find useful:

• Mortgage Calculators - to help you crunch the numbers.

• Down Payment Articles - for a deeper understanding of down payments.

Choosing the right down payment amount is a highly personal decision influenced by your financial circumstances, market conditions, and long-term goals. Whether you opt for a 20% down payment or a smaller amount, the most important factor is choosing a path that aligns with your financial stability and home ownership dreams.

We'd love to hear from you! Share your thoughts or experiences in the comments section below. If you're grappling with the down payment dilemma, feel free to reach out for personalized advice.

Need a realtor?

See if The Serviss Group can help!

How to Buy Land Like a Pro - A Checklist to Buy Land to Build a House

How To Buy Land Like a Pro

When researching to purchase land, you’ll want to get all the information you can upfront and during the escrow process. For one, it will help eliminate properties that won’t work for you, and two, it will help reduce unexpected costs or unexpected failed plans.

Simple enough, right? Once you start, you soon realize there is a LOT more to buying land than you might think. This guide should give you a good head start on what to learn before you go the land route. 

If you have questions or get overwhelmed by the process and need a REALTOR to help guide you through the process, The Serviss Group is here to help.

We have a 13 page document to share with you that outlines in detail all the steps you need to take to make sure a piece of land is right for you.

Get the 13-page “How To Buy Land Like a Pro” guide below

Here’s teaser…

• What’s is GIS?

• How to find parcel owner names and addresses

• How to discover land conditions like mortgages, liens, title issues, unpaid taxes, tax rates, roll-back taxes, foreclosures, deed restrictions, easements, and access.

• Have any mineral or air rights been sold or leased?

• How to learn more about the topography, impervious services, flood zones + FEMA

• Understanding the types of deeds

• Why surveys are important and all the different types

• The importance of soil testing

• Understanding land zoning and density zoning

• Minerals, oils, and gas

• Water and sewer or is will it be septic and well?

• How to understand CC&Rs and where to find them

• And I’m not joking… so much more!

Fill out the form below and you get a link to the document. You can download the file by going to file>download. I will also email you a copy.

Need a realtor?

See if The Serviss Group can help!

Everything You Need to Sell Your House - A (FREE) Seminar for Homeowners

Everything You Need to Sell Your House - A (FREE) Seminar for Homeowners

Panelist of top industry experts here to answer all your home selling questions. We help you avoid the most common mistakes sellers make!

Come join us for an open Q & A with top industry experts.

This seminar is 100% free. We want to help educate the WA state homeowner so you can avoid the mistakes other sellers make.

Guests that pre-register get a gift card to Arena Sports (where the event is held) to either play some games afterwards, or bring your kids and let them have some fun while you attend the 60 minute seminar.

The panelists will be guided by Managing Broker/Realtor, Nicole Serviss. She leads a Platinum Award Level team in the Snohomish County area and works with buyers, sellers, and investors. Ask questions like:

• What to fix to get your home ready to sell?

• What are the top mistakes sellers make?

• Is it a good time to sell?

• What is the market doing right now?

Hear from a financial advisor.

• Why invest your money?

• How to use your home equity to your advantage?

• What is capital gains tax?

• What is excise tax?

Ask a title officer questions about taking title to a property.

• What is a POA?

• How is my home deeded?

• How do I find out if I have any judgement liens?

• What if I own multiple parcels?

• What if there are legal issues that need to be addressed?

We'll have a mortgage broker. Ask about your budget for your move.

• What is a pre-approval vs. a pre-qualification?

• What is the best way to leverage my net proceeds towards the down payment on the next home in a higher rate environment?

• What is a Seller Buydown strategy?

• Is it better to offer a seller credit or price reduction?

About the venue:

Arena Sports Mill Creek has indoor activities for everyone — Ropes Course, Climbing Walls, Classic Bowling, Arcade & Virtual Reality Games, Laser Tag, Mini Bowling, Inflatable FunZone and a restaurant!

Light food provided.

Need a realtor?

See if The Serviss Group can help!

Moving to Snohomish? Don't Go Tour a House Until You Do These 3 Things

Moving to Snohomish? Don't Go Tour a House Until You Do These 3 Things

I've got a list for you guys that I will make the actual home shopping process go much faster.

You don’t want to waste your time (that you could be spending doing much more fun things) on houses that are big NOs!

Look up the house on Google Maps

Start with the satellite view and get a feel for the neighborhood and what’s around you. Sometimes when you're just looking at just the street address you don't realize that behind the the property is a maybe a construction company, or a landscaping company, or school. You can find positive things by looking at the satellite view and also maybe some negative things.

I also want you to try to look at the street view if it's available. Sometimes in more rural areas the street view isn’t available, but if you see that little glowing blue line, drag that little street-view guy there take a look around before you spend the time to get in your car and spend money on gas.

Read the Seller’s Disclosure

The seller disclosure is the seller telling you, to the best of their knowledge, what's wrong with their house along with some of its history. If there is a clear history of maybe flooding in the basement or roof is leaking and maybe that's not within your budget, well don't spend your time driving out to this house to go see it inside if you already know you're taking it off your list.

Take the time to read the seller's disclosure. The public does not have access to this form, so reach out to your real estate agent (if you don't have one, give me a call) and we'll get you a copy of that so you can preview it.

Look at the 3D Tour

If there's a virtual tour recorded of the house, absolutely look through it. If there’s a video, look at that too, but the 3D virtual tours are easier to control and give you a better idea of placement of rooms. Some of them you can actually measure room distances, so if it's really important to you to be able to fit a king-size bed in the master bedroom, you can measure that out and see how big the space is.

It's hard on pictures to see where each room is located and where that mystery door leads to. Is that door leading to a closet? Is that another bedroom? Is that the garage? That virtual tour will give you the lay of the land.

Do a Drive By

Sometimes you pull up to the curb and before you even walk in the front door you look around realize this is not the house for you. Maybe it doesn't really fit what you're needing for your family. If that's something that could have been eliminated before you take time off work and meet your real estate agent down at the house, go do a drive-by to get a feel for what's around there.

If it's really important to you to have walkability and you pull up and you realize this neighborhood has no sidewalks, well then don't waste your time looking at that house.

Your time is valuable. You don't want to spend it on on properties that would already be a no if you did these first steps.

I hope this was helpful, and it makes your house hunting process a little bit easier.

Need a realtor?

See if The Serviss Group can help!