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historically the key to St Louis real estate sales has been the key to the home. Literally! It used to be that in order to sell a home a St Louis real estate agency had to be close enough to the home where an agent from another company could stop by the office and pick up the key in order to show the home to their client. That fact led to the development of the neighborhood real estate office. As time went on many successful St Louis real estate companies opened or purchased real estate offices in individual areas leading to some companies having as many as 39 real estate offices to service the St. Louis market. Quite frankly, with the advent of the computer, fax machines and computerized lock boxes, the idea of having all of these expensively decorated offices with managers earning hundred's of thousands of dollars a year is antiquated. Somebody has to pay for all of that overhead and guess what? That somebody is the home seller!
other economic advantage that ValueList has is that we combine real estate services. In essence, ValueList utilizes the 'flat-fee' listing arrangement as a 'loss-leader'. Very similar to when you go to a grocery store and they have eggs on sale. You know that they aren't making a whole bunch on the eggs, but the store is banking on the fact that while you are in the store to buy the eggs, that you will also pick up a loaf of bread and a gallon of milk! Well, with ValueList it's a similar concept. If you are selling a home, chances are that you will also be buying a home. ValueList will be glad to work with you in finding it. When you find it, will you need a mortgage? You will?Have I mentioned that ValueList is also a full service VA approved mortgage lender? By combining real estate services, ValueList doesn't have to charge as much as our competition.
Now the next question that people often ask is, 'Alright, you're less expensive, but are you as good?'
This is an excellent question and the answer is, "No'' We are better!
This is true for several reasons. First, by combining real estate services it gives us more control of the transaction. We don't have to 'hand the ball off' to any other company. When we work with a buyer we control all aspects of the transaction. ValueList originates and processes the loan application for the buyer.
Secondly, having the background and ability to do mortgages gives us a level of technical competence superior to that of most, if not all, conventional St Louis real estate agents. Think of it this way, if you liken a real estate agent to being a general practitioner and a mortgage banker to being a heart surgeon, the heart surgeon could remove your ingrown toenail, but would you feel comfortable with a general practitioner performing open-heart surgery on you?
In the event where ValueList has a home listed and another agency sells it and uses a different lender, ValueList has the technical competence to hold that lender's feet to the fire. If they balk or hesitate for any reason, ValueList has the ability to ask the hard questions with the inside knowledge of how the mortgage banking business works. In many cases, if the lender still balks or hesitates, ValueList has the ability to take the loan process over and close the transaction. Very few other St Louis real estate agencies, no matter how big, can make this claim!
So, back to the story, since 1995 ValueList has grown to be the largest company of our kind in
the St. Louis market. This is easy to say because we are the only company of our kind in the St. Louis market! While there are a couple of other discount real estate companies out there, none of them are 'full-service' companies. Most of the other discount real estate companies are based on a 'help you to sell' sort of model. That is, you show your own property (which puts you at a distinct disadvantage in selling your home), you field your own telephone calls and set your own appointments and in the event that you do sell your home, you are basically on your own in taking care of the details and getting the transaction to the closing table
g and maintaining the yard sign, ValueList fields all telephone inquiries regarding your property, ValueList sets all appointments, helps you to negotiate all offers and once we have an accepted contract, ValueList takes care of all of the details required to get your transaction to closing! In short, ValueList IS a full service company! Also, the ValueList 'flat-fee' is a commission. It is paid at closing, there is nothing paid up front! If ValueList doesn't produce, ValueList doesn't get paid! So this pretty much brings us up to date on the ValueList story. Thank you for taking the time to read it! If you have any questions or if any of the dedicated, ValueList real estate professionals can be of service in any manner, please do not hesitate to call us or to drop us a line. We very much look forward to serving all of your St Louis real estate and St Louis mortgage needs.
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