You made it yours, you turned your house into a home through memories, friends, and family. Selling your home can bring up a lot of emotions and stress. At Lake State Realty, we are sensitive to all the emotions and excitement this transition brings. Let us be your guide to help you get to where you want to go. Find out how we navigate the sale process in an educationally-based, business-professional, and technologically savvy way!

Choosing the Right Listing Agent
Choosing the right listing agent is the most crucial decision that you can make when selling your home. Much like a director in a Hollywood film, a listing agent coordinates talent, and makes sure that the entire process goes smoothly. From start to finish, we work with the best professionals in the industry to ensure your home gets the attention that it deserves and commands a premium price.
Home Sales Process in Minnesota
– Preparing to Sell
Are you interested in getting top dollar for your home? Of course, you are! Then you have come to the right place, our agents will review your home and recommend ways for you to maximize your home’s value and prepare your home for showings. When you are getting ready to sell your home make sure that your property is show-ready. This can include minor upgrades, painting, repairs, staging, deep cleaning, landscaping, and decluttering.
– Pricing Your Home
Knowing where the housing market is headed is crucial when pricing your home. Consider the economic outlook, where interest rates are headed, whether there are a lot of similar homes for sale right now, and what is the current homebuyer sentiment. We consider all this and more as we leverage our vast knowledge of the current real estate market as well as our experience in the appraisal industry to develop an appropriate list price that neither leaves money on the table, or results in a market-worn listing, ultimately reducing your sales proceeds.
– Marketing Your Home
This is where the rubber hits the road in the sales process, so to speak. Your home will receive luxe, professional photos; Matterport 3D imaging and floorplans; and aerial drone footage. Our agents will compile this imaging along with compelling copywriting and luxurious design into a comprehensive marketing campaign that can include video as well. This will include a listing in Northstar MLS; a dedicated property webpage; syndication to 100’s of real estate websites like Zillow, Trulia, and Realtor.com; posts on social media; and print materials such as a promotional flier and brochure.
– Showings and Open Houses
Showings are where you formally introduce your house to the world. People can look at thousands of photos, videos, and even virtual reality tours of your home but nothing is the same as seeing it in person. We can either arrange showing appointments for you or we can utilize Showingtime which allows you to receive text messages of new showing requests and allows you to confirm or deny by simply replying with a “Y or N”. Additionally, depending on the nature of the property it may be desirable to host open house events or even a broker’s open. We can host virtual open houses on social media if you do not want all the traffic through your home.
– Negotiating and Accepting Offers
When we represent a seller, we feel a profound sense of responsibility to represent their best interest with integrity, honesty, and professionality. At the end of the day, preparation accounts for 90% of good negotiation. Our goal is to provide an unsurpassed level of information and analysis to help you make an informed decision. After all, this is likely the largest financial transaction of most people’s lives and we understand the gravity of the responsibility given to us.
To be able to differentiate between the best offer you will get and whether there is more that someone is willing to give takes a sage understanding of not only real estate but the psychology of money as well.
– Inspection Period and Escrow
If the accepted offer has an inspection contingency period this will start immediately after signing a purchase agreement. During this time the buyer will be able to perform non-intrusive tests and inspections. Based on what they find during the inspection, the buyers may try to cancel the purchase contract or renegotiate the terms of the contract. Having an expert negotiator may make the difference between keeping the deal alive or not, or negotiating favorable new contract terms. After the inspection period, we coordinate the Title Company, appraiser (if the buyer is obtaining a loan), and any lenders and lien holders to ensure this process goes smoothly.
– Buyer’s Final Walk-Through
This last step before the closing table is usually straightforward. The buyer is checking to make sure there is nothing unexpected with the condition of the home.
– Closing
You made it! Closing is the final step in the home selling process. While it may seem very straightforward and almost procedural, sometimes last-minute issues can crop up at the closing table. Our seasoned agents have seen it all and can help navigate any and smooth over all pitfalls and perils that occur at the closing table.
– Referrals
At the end of the day, our goal is to provide you with a level of service that you want to brag to your friends and family about. That is how we grow our business. The highest compliment you can give us is a referral and a 5-star review on Google.
Seller Representation
Work with a realtor that understands your needs, and the housing market. Along with our extensive appraisal experience, Lake State Realty provides insight into the real estate market that most Realtors cannot match.
Barry Thomas
Looking for a hard working, honest, professional and someone you can trust to get your Home Sold. We contracted Alex for selling our White Bear Lake Home 2 years ago. The pictures and advice he had helped sell our home in 1 Day.
2 years later we contracted Alex again to sell my wife’s mother’s home. Not in the best condition but in a great location of Little Canada. This home sold in 7 Days.
My Wife and I Recommend Alex Schwartz to Get Your Home Sold by a Great Guy.
Edwin Taylor
Alex Schwartz conducted an excellent sales campaign to sell my highly specialized, small office building during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. He was patient, resourceful, and very supportive during the year it took to sell the property. I would recommend Alex’s real estate brokerage services to those who are looking for a competent real estate agent in the White Bear Lake area.