9 Small (But Mighty) Home Updates Agents Recommend Before Listing
Sherina Garner Has Found the Secret to Success
Sherina Garner is a Realtor with Keller Williams Preferred Properties. Prior to real estate, she worked in banking. When the company went out of business, Sherina pivoted her career path.
With a longstanding interest in real estate, she decided to take the leap and become a REALTOR®. Although she acknowledges being relatively new to the industry—having six years of experience—Sherina has quickly established herself in the industry. “I’m new at this,” she admits, but her determination has fueled her success. In her early years, Sherina focused on refining her processes and gaining confidence, and now her business is thriving. In 2023, she received an Individual Residential Silver Award from Prince George’s County Association of REALTORS®. But this is just the beginning for Sherina. “Using Curbio has given me an edge on my business,” she says.
Finding Her Competitive Edge
In a competitive real estate landscape, finding an edge is crucial for success. As Sherina points out, “Even though we work with other Realtors, what happens in this business is competition. It’s competitive.” And Sherina is right. With over 1.5 million members in The National Association of REALTORS®, agents need to think outside the box in order to stand out to homeowners.1
One thing Sherina quickly learned is that if you want to be successful in this industry, you cannot go it all alone. She explains, “If you want to perform well in this business you have to leverage. So instead of me just doing all these things myself, I have help.” She continues, “I actually have a team. I’m not interested in doing all this work and trying to figure this out on my own. Leverage. Go ahead and invest some money so you can focus on what you’re good at.”
Getting Market-Ready
Another obstacle Sherina initially faced was how to get her listings ready for the market. She found herself asking around for insight, but most agents weren’t that forthcoming and willing to spill the “tips of the trade.”
Another obstacle Sherina initially faced was how to get her listings ready for the market. She found herself asking around for insight, but most agents weren’t that forthcoming and willing to spill the “tips of the trade.”
She explains, “I’m learning that I need to find a way to offer my clients the ability to fix their houses up and present them on the market because nowadays people want certain houses. They don’t want an as-is home. They want move-in ready.” She continues, “Those are the ones that sell. Those are the ones that get multiple offers. Those are the ones that look good. They make the client look good and make you look good as the agent.”
But move-in ready homes can be hard to come by. Most homes just aren’t ready for the market as they are. “In the beginning of my business, of course, I didn’t have those types of properties [move-in ready homes]. I’d take whatever I could get. I’d list them as-is and do whatever I had to do to sell the home.” Now, Sherina understands that homes need to be move-in ready before hitting the market. Even better, she’s also discovered a few tricks of the trade to help them get there.
Taking Flight
In the last year, Sherina has really seen her business take flight, and Curbio has been part of the reason.
“The biggest thing that I did differently in my business this year was using Curbio.”
She explains, “Now I’m able to solve some problems for my client — something I wasn’t able to do in the beginning because nobody gave me the tips of the trade. Nobody told me who they use in their work or how they got their houses so good. I learned it on my own. I stumbled on it myself. I took a chance, and I’m happy that I did.” She continues, “This is what we do as agents — we try to solve problems. This is what I needed for my business. I needed someone to help me solve the problems for the sellers.”
As a result of working with Curbio, her business has changed slightly as well. She notes, “I work with a lot of first-time home buyers… but this year I had more listings than I did buyers.” She has already worked with Curbio four times this year and has seen great results because of it. “I believe this year is going to be one of my best years. And I believe it’s because I was able to use Curbio and offer my clients something more.”
Helping Herself
Along with being able to help her clients, Curbio has also been able to help Sherina help herself.
Sherina notes that pre-listing home improvements had hurt her in the past. “The sellers told me they still wanted to do something, but they didn’t have the money. It just was taking forever for the client to fix their house. Or, I heard the nightmare stories that they started but the person didn’t finish the work.” Instead of trying to overcome these various hurdles, Curbio’s project manager can help eliminate some of these potential issues.
With a project manager to oversee the work, Sherina was also able to focus on growing her business. She explains, “Curbio really helped me and my business to leverage what needs to be done to the house so I can focus on getting more business. I know this project is being worked on, and I know this client is taken care of. I can move on to the next client, and I don’t have to wait so long to put the homes on the market.”
Overall, Sherina is more than pleased to work with Curbio. “I thought the prices were fair. I thought the speed was good, and also I like how everything is done online with the virtual meetings with clients. Everything is professionally done, and it makes me look better as the agent.” In summary, she explains, “I’m new at this, but I would say this was a game changer for me — finding Curbio.”
And as for the future — Sherina believes hers is bright. She did four deals with Curbio this year, but next year her goal is ten.
Sources:
- National Association of REALTORS® (2023). Monthly Membership Report