The method
How We Sell a Home in the OKC Metro
Priced against what buyers compare, shown with pro photos and video, and put in front of the right agents. How we sell a home, from first visit to closing.
How we sell a home: the short version
A lot of houses get listed the same way: a few photos, an MLS entry, a sign in the yard, and a lot of waiting. Putting a house in the MLS isn't a marketing plan. It's the minimum.
Here's how we sell a home in the OKC metro instead. Before anything goes public, we figure out where your house really stands, decide what's worth doing to get it ready and what isn't, and plan who needs to see it and when. Then we launch it on purpose.
We break the work into four steps. Equity is knowing what your house is worth and where it stands against the competition. Presentation is how the house looks and what it says to a buyer. Impact is who actually sees it. Campaign is how the launch and the offers get run.
You work with both of us the whole way. Mark started in mortgage lending and has spent years on the builder side. Kelli has 20 years as a REALTOR® and a degree in interior design. Between us, we've sat on every side of a sale.
Four steps on every home we list. Putting a house in the MLS isn't a marketing plan. It's the minimum.
Equity
Priced against what buyers actually compare, including the new construction down the road, so your number holds up.
Presentation
Professional photos and video on every listing, drone when it fits, and a website of its own. We show the house for what it is.
Impact
A paid ad that reaches thousands of people in the area, and an email to about 2,000 agents who have sold nearby in the last year.
Campaign
Everything ready before launch day, then a plan for showings, feedback, and offers, so the first week counts.
What happens at our first meeting
Our first meeting with a seller is a conversation, not a pitch. We want to understand where you're going, why, and on what timeline before we say anything about price.
We walk through the house together. We call it the Two-Perspective Walkthrough: Kelli looks at it through a buyer's eyes, and Mark looks at how it's built and what it competes with, including any new construction nearby. We talk about what's worth doing before you list, and what isn't.
After the walkthrough, you get our view of where the house stands, the price range we'd recommend and why, and what the launch would look like. If you're buying and selling at the same time, we'll talk through the order that fits your situation. Then you decide what happens next, whether that's listing next month or next year.
Equity: price it against what buyers actually compare
Most pricing starts and ends with a list of nearby sales. We start there too, but a list of sales isn't enough. Buyers don't compare your house to a spreadsheet. They compare it to every other house they toured that weekend.
In much of the metro, that list includes new construction. A buyer looking at your house may also be walking through a model home a few miles away. Mark has spent years on the builder side, so he knows what that buyer is being offered and what it really costs them. Your price has to make sense next to the new house down the road, not only next to last spring's sales.
We also price the house itself, not an average. Online estimates can't see a new roof, a bigger lot, a view of the water, or a kitchen that needs work. We walk through your house, and we tell you what we see, including the parts that are hard to hear.
Your plans matter just as much. Where are you moving? Do you need to sell before you buy? How much time do you have? A list price is only right if it fits your plan. Some sellers need a quick, clean sale, and others can wait for the right buyer. We lay out the tradeoffs and let you decide.
Mark's years in mortgage lending help here too. He knows how a buyer's loan, appraisal, and monthly payment shape what they can offer, so we price for the buyer who can actually close. See how we figure out what your home is worth.
Presentation: show the house for what it is
Buyers decide how they feel about a house long before they walk in. The photos, the video, and the first few lines of the listing do most of that work, so we don't leave them to chance.
Every listing gets professional photos and professional video. When the property calls for it, like acreage, a big lot, or a home on the water, we add drone footage so buyers can see the land and what's around it. Each listing also gets its own website, usually live within 48 hours after the photos and video are done, so the house has a home online beyond the MLS and the big search sites.
Before the camera shows up, Kelli walks the house with you. With her interior design background, she sees a house the way buyers will: what they'll love, what will distract them, and what you've stopped noticing. Sometimes her advice is a few changes to a room. Sometimes it's trimming a tree so the view shows up in the photos. It's rarely a remodel.
We don't try to make a house look like something it isn't. A mid-century home should look like a great mid-century home, not a builder-grade house with the character painted over. A house on 5 acres should sell the land and the quiet. Buyers pay for what's special about a house, so the presentation leads with it.
Wondering whether a project is worth doing before you list? Ask us first. One of our favorite sales skipped a remodel of over $50,000 and spent a small amount on trees and landscaping instead. Read how that sale came together, or see homes with character if yours is one of a kind.
Impact: put the house in front of the people who can buy it
A listing only works if the right people see it. The MLS puts your house in front of the agents who happen to be searching that week. We go after everyone else who matters.
- Agents who've already sold in your area. We email your listing to every agent who has sold a home in that area in the last 12 months, which is usually about 2,000 agents. Those agents know the neighborhood, and some of them have buyers who missed out on the last house there.
- Agents across the metro. We email the listing to other agents so it's on their radar, not just sitting in a search.
- Our own office. We bring your house to the agents at The Agency, who may already have a buyer looking for exactly what you have.
- A paid Facebook ad on every listing. A post on our own page mostly reaches friends and family who already follow us. A paid ad sends your house out to thousands of people in the area, including people who weren't actively searching yet.
- Social media. We post your house on our own social accounts, and let the photos and video do the talking.
- The listing's own website. Every ad, post, and email points back to it, so interested buyers land somewhere built for your house.
Being everywhere isn't the goal. Reaching the buyers most likely to want your house, and the agents most likely to bring them, is.
Campaign: launch the house, then run the offers
A house gets the most attention it will ever get in its first days on the market, so we plan the launch instead of posting the listing and waiting.
Everything is ready before your house goes live: the photos, the video, the website, the ad, and the emails to agents. When it launches, it shows up everywhere at once. If an open house fits the house and the timing, we'll hold one. Not every house needs one, and we'll tell you which kind yours is.
While your house is on the market, we stay in touch. You'll hear what buyers and their agents said after showings, what's working, and what we'd change if interest is slower than we expected. You shouldn't have to chase us down for an update.
When offers come in, the highest number isn't always the best offer. We look at the whole thing: the buyer's financing, the terms, the timeline, and how likely the deal is to close. Mark's lending background helps us read a buyer's financing, and our years on the builder side and the agent side help us negotiate firmly without creating conflict nobody needs.
After you accept an offer, we keep the sale moving through inspections, the appraisal, and closing, and we keep you posted along the way. If something comes up, you'll hear it from us first, with the facts and our recommendation.
What we won't do
Some of what makes our way of selling a house work is what we leave out.
- No fake urgency. We won't pressure you to list before you're ready, or to take an offer you're unsure about.
- No money spent that won't come back. If a project won't pay you back, we'll say so, even when it would make the house easier for us to sell.
- No making your house into something it isn't. Character, land, and water are reasons to buy a house, not problems to hide.
- No guessing on timing. If you're buying too, we work out the order with your real numbers first.
Talk to us about selling your home
You don't need to be ready to list to have this conversation. If you're just starting to think about selling, we'll walk through what your house is likely worth, what it needs and what it doesn't, and what the launch could look like. There's no pressure to decide anything.
Tell us about your home, or call the team line at 405-593-8326. If you're buying and selling at the same time, start with selling to trade up. You can also read more about The Osterman Team.
This page describes our general process. It isn't legal, tax, or lending advice, and every sale is a little different.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you use professional photos on every listing?
Yes. Every listing gets professional photos and professional video. We add drone footage when the property calls for it, like acreage, a large lot, or a home on the water.
Will you hold an open house?
When it fits the house and the timing. Some homes get real value from an open house and some don't, and we'll tell you which kind yours is before we plan the launch.
How do you get my house in front of buyers besides the MLS?
We email it to every agent who has sold a home in your area in the last 12 months, usually about 2,000 agents, email it to agents across the metro, share it with our own office at The Agency, run a paid Facebook ad that reaches thousands of people in the area, post it on social media, and give it its own website.
Do I have to fix everything before I list?
No. We'll tell you which projects are likely to pay you back and which aren't. Most houses need a few smart changes, not a remodel.
Who will I be working with?
It depends. The type of home you have, your timeline and who you connect with best all help decide who takes the lead on each project. The other one of us is always working in the background, and we collaborate a lot behind the scenes for your greater advantage. When you hire one of us, you basically hire both of us, even though your main point of contact may be just one person for ease of communication. That is the person who fits your personality, style and expectations best.
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