Selling

Marketing and Selling Your Key West Home

We don’t just list properties, we market and sell homes.

Whether your home is one of Key West’s crown jewels, a hidden gem, or a diamond in the rough, our laser focus, refined selling skills and proven strategy for marketing online and through social media will get your home sold fast and for top market value.

The key to our success is our ability to utilize the knowledge garnered through twenty years of combined experience selling our island’s homes as we continually adapt to the ever-changing real estate market. While our partnership with Keller Williams empowers us with the latest technology, marketing tools, research and statistics, it is our small-town, boutique firm, customer focused approach to selling properties that has gifted us with strong and lasting relationships with both sellers and buyers.

We strive to alleviate our customers’ concerns and work to turn those concerns into peace of mind. The fact that our clients have over 350 licensed Key West REALTORS® to choose from never escapes us. We are committed to superior customer service, only taking on a manageable number of listings at a time. Rather than striving to have the most listings we concentrate on giving our sellers their money’s worth.

During the marketing and selling process we’ll be there for you every step of the way.

• After carefully listening to your needs and desires, we will customize a marketing plan for your one-of-a-kind property that reaches local, national and international buyers.

• With careful market analysis, we will clearly show where the market says your home should be priced to sell for top market value, in the shortest amount of time.

• As full-time REALTORS®, we will keep a line of communication open with you as we service your listing every day of the week.

• Working from our mantra of web appeal is the new curb appeal, we will coordinate with you to implement an individualized home staging strategy to showcase your property in the best possible light.

• We will engage the island’s top real estate photographers to capture your home at its best—insuring online buyers experience love at first sight.

• Your polished listing will be launched following our proven marketing strategy of maximizing online algorithms to reach the greatest number of potential buyers—on social media and major real estate platforms—on the first day your home hits the market.

• No lock boxes here, we work hard to sell and protect your property at every showing.

• We will coordinate with you to schedule open houses to reach brokers, agents and potential buyers.

• As we receive offers for the purchase of your property, our superior negotiating skills will help maintain a productive relationship with buyers and agents while winning the best price and terms.

• During the inspection period we will represent you at all inspections to protect your interests. In the event an issue arises, we will work to successfully negotiate repairs or concessions.

• We strive to make each step of your selling experience as smooth as possible by staying in close communication with everyone involved in the closing process—makings sure deadlines have been met and details have not been overlooked.

• After your closing, we will not just be there to celebrate a successful transaction, we will continue to address your questions or concerns.

Having been involved in more than 250 real estate sales, we have the experience, knowledge, skill and dedication to be your Key West REALTORS® of choice.

Dean Townsend, Townsend Team

  • SELLING YOUR ISLAND COTTAGE? COLOR IT KEY WEST!

    Key West colors first entered the world’s consciousness in the 1970’s, when free-spirited locals began painting their historic cottages a spectrum of tropical hues. Today, buyers looking to purchase their Key West dream cottages expect them to be painted to match the colorful, idealized images that have been imprinted on their minds over decades.

    Beautifully painted in Key West colors, the quintessential conch cottage at 1127 Packer Street radiates captivating curb appeal.
    Beautifully painted in Key West colors, the quintessential conch cottage at 1127 Packer Street radiates captivating curb appeal.

    We have found that our clients respond less favorably to cottages that are painted in the traditional (white with black or dark green shutters) Key West color scheme. They immediately see dollar signs when they strongly feel the necessity to paint a home’s exterior to make it look like the “cute” conch cottage of their dreams.

    1127 Packer Street before it was colored Key West.
    1127 Packer Street before it was colored Key West.

    Although buyers often make the declaration that they are purchasing a property because it makes financial sense, the overriding reason is that it makes emotional sense for them. Frequently used to represent and elicit emotions, colors connect with individuals on a subconscious level. The house colors of Key West have come to represent the island’s lighthearted and carefree lifestyle that is envied around the globe.

    Key West colors not only enhance a cottage’s curb appeal, they greatly increase the home’s web appeal. Realtor.com and Zillow.com primarily utilize images to market real estate on the smart phone in the pocket of nearly everyone looking to purchase property. Bland, white or beige, shotgun cottages—that look like they could be easily transplanted anywhere—do not capture the attention of online shoppers looking for their island dream home.

    If you are planning to sell your conch cottage, wander around Old Town snapping pictures of the quintessential Key West cottages sporting color combinations that speak to you. The coastal colors that garner a positive response from you, will undoubtedly grab the attention of buyers as well. Pickup a selection of paint chips (with HARC approved historic colors) at Strunk Hardware and play with color combinations over a glass of wine with friends and neighbors. Once you have decided on the perfect color scheme, head over to City Hall to get the painting permit process rolling.

    The former white and dark green color scheme on display at 1711 Von Phister Street did not command the attention of potential buyers.
    The former white and dark green color scheme on display at 1711 Von Phister Street did not command the attention of potential buyers.
    Painted to reflect the scolors of Key West, the cottage's personality shines.
    Painted to reflect the soft tropical colors of Key West, the cottage’s personality shines.

    When successfully selling any product, you must give buyers what they want. Key West cottage buyers want them to look like their fantasy. Reflect the tropical hues of the island’s sea, sky, and flora in the exterior colors you paint your home, and you will not only capture the imagination of eager buyers, you will get your cigar maker’s cottage sold quickly and for the best price.

    We strongly encourage our sellers to color it Key West before they offer their cottages for sale. A tropically painted island cottage makes a winning first impression every time.

    —Dean Townsend, The Townsend Team