The method
How I sell a home
How James Brinkman sells a Northwest Austin home: Plan A/B/C pricing, video and photos, ads that run until it sells, a Grand Opening open house, and weekly updates.
The short version
Most homes get listed. A sign goes up, the MLS sends the listing out, and everyone waits to see who calls. Sometimes that works. When it doesn't, the home sits, the price drops, and the seller starts wondering what they hired an agent for.
I work the other way around. Before your home goes public, we decide where it stands in the market, how it will look, who needs to see it, and what happens in the first two weeks. I organize that work in four steps: Equity, Presentation, Impact and Campaign.
The order matters. I explain what's happening first, so you understand the ground you're standing on. Then I tell you what I'd do if it were my house. Then the decision is yours, and I carry it out the same way whichever direction you choose.
I've been doing this since 1995, with nearly 700 home sales along the way, most of them here in Northwest Austin, where I've lived since 1976. What follows is the plan I bring to every listing. Not every home needs every piece, and I'll tell you which ones yours does. No pressure. Just perspective.
Equity: where your home stands, and what you walk away with
Pricing starts with a real market evaluation, not an online estimate. I look at what has sold near you, what is under contract right now, what buyers have been walking past, and where your home fits among them. Then I walk you through exactly how I land on a number. No black box.
That conversation also covers condition. Some things are worth fixing before you list, and some are better left for the next owner to decide. I'll tell you which is which, because money spent on the wrong project rarely comes back at the closing table.
Plan A, Plan B, Plan C
Instead of handing you one price, I lay out three pricing strategies and the trade-offs of each:
- Plan A tests the ceiling. We list at the top of what the comparable sales support. If the market agrees, you get the strongest number. If it doesn't, we learn that quickly and adjust.
- Plan B matches the market. We list where the data says buyers are paying for homes like yours. This is where most sellers land.
- Plan C prices under the comparable sales to draw more buyers at once and create competition. It suits a seller who values speed and certainty, or a home with something a buyer will want to discount for.
I'll tell you which plan I'd choose and why. The choice is yours, and once you make it, I run the plan with the same effort either way.
Equity is also about what you keep. We talk through the costs of selling up front, so the number you hear at the start is the number you plan around at the end.
Presentation: how buyers first meet your home
Almost every buyer sees your home on a phone before they see it in person. That first look decides whether they book a showing, so it gets planned before anything goes live.
- Professional photography, inside and out.
- Floor plans and measurements, so buyers understand the layout before they walk in.
- A narrated video walkthrough, two to four minutes, showing how the home actually lives.
- A 3D virtual tour for buyers who are relocating and can't walk through in person yet.
Getting the house ready
I'll walk through the home with you and suggest what's worth doing. When something needs work, I can put you in touch with the painters, cleaners and landscapers I trust. Their work is billed to you directly, and I'll only recommend what I think will pay you back.
When the move is bigger than the house
Many of my sellers have lived in their homes for decades. The hardest part isn't the listing, it's everything inside. I help families sort and place belongings, coordinate haul-off for what nobody wants, and handle whatever else the move needs. For one couple moving into assisted living after more than 40 years in their home, that meant painting the living room myself and driving them back and forth so they could go through their things. That's what I mean by downsizing with dignity.
Impact: who sees your home, and how
The MLS puts your home in front of people already searching. Impact is about reaching the buyers who aren't searching yet, and the people who know them.
- A Coming Soon campaign to active buyers before the home hits the market, so interest is building on day one.
- Paid Facebook and Instagram ads that run until your home sells. I usually start at $7 to $10 a day and ease down to $3 to $5 a day over time. Depending on how long that takes, I've spent anywhere from about $200 to more than $1,000 on a single listing.
- Adwerx ads that follow people who've shown interest as they browse other sites.
- A property website and a YouTube tour, both written so they can be found in search.
- Just Listed postcards to 500 to 1,000 nearby homes.
- Pick Your Neighbor letters to the 100 closest neighbors. Neighbors often know someone who has wanted to live on their street for years.
- Outreach to my past clients, leads and referral partners, along with the people who follow my weekly market videos.
None of this replaces the MLS. It adds to it, so your home reaches more of the right people in the weeks when it's newest and getting the most attention.
Campaign: from launch day to the closing table
The Grand Opening
Every listing gets a Grand Opening open house within the first two weekends it's on the market. Open houses only work when they're done right: timed for when interest is highest, promoted ahead of time, and staffed by someone who knows the home and the neighborhood. That's how I run them.
Showing feedback
I ask for feedback after every showing, through ShowingTime and by reaching out to the buyer's agent directly. Fewer agents answer these days, roughly one in four or five in my experience, so I don't wait on it. I keep asking, and I tell you what I hear and what I don't.
Your Monday Morning Market Update
Every Monday you get a report on your own home: the activity on it, how your comparable sales have changed, and what's happening in the wider market that affects your sale. If the numbers say something should change, you'll hear it from me with a recommendation, not a surprise.
Offers and negotiation
When offers come in, we go through each one together, the terms as well as the price, because the strongest offer isn't always the biggest number. After that come the inspection and the repair requests. Some homes have real issues, and the right move is to price and negotiate for them in the open. One recent sale on a busy road had a dated remodel and a plumbing problem under the house. We negotiated the concession straight, kept the deal together, and closed.
From there I stay with you through closing, so nothing important gets left to chance in the last few weeks.
You're never locked in
No long-term listing traps here. My Cancel-Anytime Agreement gives you total flexibility: if I'm not delivering, you can walk away. Simple as that. My goal is to earn your trust, not expect it.
This describes how I generally work with sellers. It isn't legal, tax or lending advice, and every sale is different.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long do you run ads on my home?
Until it sells. I usually start at $7 to $10 a day on Facebook and Instagram and ease down to $3 to $5 a day over time. Total spend has ranged from about $200 to more than $1,000 on a single listing.
Do you hold open houses?
Yes. Every listing gets a Grand Opening open house within the first two weekends it's on the market.
What are Plan A, Plan B and Plan C?
Three pricing strategies. Plan A tests the top of the market, Plan B matches it, and Plan C prices under the comparable sales to draw competition. I tell you which one I'd choose, and you decide.
How will I know what buyers think?
I ask for feedback after every showing, through ShowingTime and directly, and every Monday you get a market update on your home: its activity, how your comparable sales have changed, and what's moving the wider market.
Keep exploring
Ready to make your move with James Brinkman?