From start
to sold.
How we prepare, price, market and close your home, one step at a time. Read it before we meet and bring your questions.
Everything you want is on the other side of sold.
Home is more than a building. It's where you've made memories with the people you love. Selling it and starting a new chapter can feel like a lot, and it's normal to feel a little uneasy.
You won't do the heavy lifting alone. We'll lay out the process and build a plan with you, from getting your home ready to finding the right buyer, negotiating the best terms and getting you to a smooth close.
Jessica Thomas & Kim Dozier
Why a team sells your home
Your home is likely your largest asset. Every listing we take is planned and checked by the whole team, so nothing in the marketing gets missed. Someone is always free to take a call or open the door, and you get our combined skills and our networks.
Jessica Thomas
Principal agent · (970) 376-6270
A Colorado native with deep roots in Vail and Denver, and a background in high-level sales and operations. Clients know her for straight answers, clear communication and a steady eye on every detail.
Outside work it's travel, music, animals and the garden. Staying close with clients year after year is what keeps her in real estate.
Kim Dozier
Principal agent · (970) 390-9555
Kim moved to Colorado in 2001 and fell for Denver and the Vail Valley. She built a fashion business and holds a degree in interior design, so helping people find spaces that fit their life came naturally.
She skis, splits her time between Vail and Denver, and loves to travel and make a home feel inviting.
In business since 2013. Jess and Kim have been business partners for 21 years, and have sold real estate together for 14 of them.
- $250Min sales
- 450+transactions
- 200+five-star reviews
- Top 1.5%of agents nationally, #188 in Colorado. RealTrends verified
Our commitment to you
- CommunicationYou'll always know where things stand, and we're here to answer every question along the way.
- Top dollarWe go after the highest realistic price with the fewest hurdles, and we protect your equity in every negotiation.
- Your timetableTiming is everything. We aim to beat your expectations on price, terms and time.
- Every detail coordinatedIt takes about 186 tasks to close a sale correctly. We track every one of them and every deadline, and handle problems as they come up.
Designed around your needs
"Selling your home is a collaborative process. We bring the strategy, the expertise and the communication. You bring your priorities, your timeline and your vision. Together, we build a plan around your goals."
Questions we'll ask you first
- What's your moving timeline?
- What do you hope to net from the sale?
- What worries you about listing, or about buying next?
- What matters most to you in an agent?
How we market your home
Buyers start online now. 95 percent of home buyers use the internet in their search, and 54 percent say it's their very first step. The average buyer searches for 10 weeks and tours 12 homes before choosing one. Every home gets its own timeline and marketing plan. Most follow three phases, and we'll decide together how long each one runs.
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Phase 1Test the price before you go public
We start with serious buyers, not everyone scrolling. Jess reaches out directly to agents in our network who have buyers looking for a home like yours. Have some updates you still want to make, in the middle of moving out? We can test the price with a coming soon listing as early as 2 weeks before going live to see how the market reacts before officially listing for sale.
Their response shows us how demand changes at different prices. You go public at a price that draws the strongest offers, without the days on market and price cuts that wear down a home's value.
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Phase 2Build attention
Print brochures, flyers, ads and mailers. Social posts, newsletters and property video. Digital ads shown to buyers already searching for homes like yours.
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Phase 3Launch on the MLS
Price is the single most important decision you'll make when you go to market. At your listing consultation we'll check your goals against what the market is doing and set the price together.
We go live on the MLS and the real estate websites when demand is strongest. Public open houses, agent tours and the campaign bring buyers in and invite competing offers.
What you can expect
Before the market
- Seller consultation
- Sign the listing agreement
- Test the price with our agent network
- Get your home ready, take photos and create the marketing. How to prep
On the market
- Announce your home as coming soon
- Run the marketing and open houses, adjusting the plan as we learn
- Launch on the MLS and real estate websites
- More promotion, showings and a close watch on the market
- Review offers and negotiate the best contract
Contract to close
- Sign the contract
- Inspection, disclosures, reports and any repairs. What can still change
- Buyer's loan and appraisal
- Buyer's final walkthrough
- Close and receive your funds. Closing day
- Consultation and price
- Get the home ready
- Photos and video
- Online debut
- Open house
- Offer
- Inspection and appraisal
- Sold
Getting your home ready
The fewer things a buyer can point at and say "well, we'd need to do...", the better. We'll walk through your home with you and tell you what's worth doing. Tick items off as you go.
1Before we listRepairs and paperwork
2Photo dayTake extra time here. The photos are your first showing.
3Before every showingFive minutes before you leave
Once you're live, your home goes on the MLS and out to Zillow, Realtor.com and the brokerage websites. Buyer's agents request showings through a showing service, and you choose whether requests confirm automatically or wait for your OK. Plan to be away the first weekend, especially if we're holding an open house. Let us know any times that don't work for showings, and we'll keep everything else open for buyers.
Photos and video
You never get a second chance at a first impression, and online that impression decides whether a buyer books a showing. Good photography isn't only about the house. It's about how a buyer imagines feeling while living there.
Homes listed with professional photography sell 32 percent faster, and 68 percent of buyers say great photos made them want to see the home in person. Every listing gets a full media package:
- Professional photos
- Video
- 3D tour
- Floor plans
- Aerials
Yes, you want an open house
66 percent of buyers visit an open house, and only 4 percent of homes sell without a buyer's agent involved. Each open house gives your listing fresh attention on the home search sites and puts it in front of more buyers. And it lets them walk through your home in person.
Your neighbors want a great new neighbor, and they want you to sell for top dollar too. We invite them and make it easy for them to bring friends. An open house makes your home easy to see, easy to talk about and easy to show. Buyers like easy.
After you accept an offer
We'll go through every offer with you line by line: price, any concessions, the type of financing, the inspection period and the closing date. Once you accept, these are the contingencies that can still change the deal.
"There will be some bumps along the way. I'll do my best to keep you clear of delays and roadblocks, and you'll hear from me every week with straight answers and creative problem solving."
Jess
- InspectionThe buyer inspects and can ask for repairs. We negotiate a resolution, and anything you agree to fix is finished before closing.
- FinancingMost contracts depend on the buyer's loan. We don't accept an offer without a lender's pre-approval.
- AppraisalThe buyer's loan usually depends on the home appraising for the loan amount.
- HOA documentsYou order the HOA documents and status letter, usually at your cost. The buyer reviews the finances and meeting minutes and can end the contract if they're not satisfied.Tell us about any special assessment that's been passed or voted on.
- Home saleSome buyers need to sell and close on their current home first. That adds paperwork and extra dates we'll track.
- InsuranceInsurance costs have climbed in Colorado, and a buyer may include an insurance termination date in the offer.
Our transaction coordinator tracks every date, and we work with the title company and the lender until closing day.
From contract to closing day
Here's what happens between your signature and the day you hand over the keys, and what we'll need from you along the way.
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Answering an offer
Accept and you're under contract.
Reject and nothing happens.
Counter and the buyer can accept, reject or counter again.
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Disclosure and inspection
Before the inspection you'll fill out the seller's property disclosure and gather maintenance records and warranties for the buyer. Plan to be away from the house during the inspection and the appraisal.
If the buyer sends an inspection objection, you can offer repairs or a credit, or decline. The buyer then agrees or ends the contract.
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HOA status letter
The HOA confirms your account is in good standing and lists any special assessments. The letter is paid at closing. If your HOA has no online portal, the title company orders the full set of documents for you.
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Title, appraisal and payoff
The title company searches the records to confirm the title can transfer and that every lien and loan gets paid off at closing.
The buyer's lender orders an independent appraisal to make sure the loan isn't bigger than the home's value.
If you have a mortgage, give the title company your loan details and they'll order the payoff, which is paid at closing.
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Underwriting
The lender's underwriter does a final review of the buyer's loan. Expect the approval close to closing day.
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Repairs and final walkthrough
Finish any repairs you agreed to and keep the receipts for the buyer. The buyer walks through the home before closing to check its condition. With a post-occupancy agreement, there's one walkthrough before closing and another after you move out.
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Closing and moving out
- Have your moving plans set before closing.
- Be fully moved out and leave the home clean by the time the buyer takes possession.
- Move the utilities out of your name, effective the day of possession.
- Cancel your homeowner's insurance as of closing day.
Once the buyer's loan funds, your home is sold. The title company records the documents with the county, and the buyers move in as the contract says. Congratulations!
Offering buyer agent compensation
In the United States, the commission for the buyer's agent can be paid by the seller, the listing agent or the buyer. When you offer to pay it, you make it more likely that a professional agent is guiding the buyer on the other side. It can also help you:
- Reach more qualified buyersYour home becomes more attractive to serious buyers, including buyers who have less cash up front.
- Sell fasterTaking that cost off the buyer can shorten your time on the market.
- Get a higher priceBuyers who don't have to set money aside for their agent may be able to offer more.
- Keep negotiations simpleWith commission off the table, everyone can focus on the price.
Closing costs
Who usually pays for what. Your contract can change any of it, and we'll walk you through your own numbers before you list.
You, the seller
- Owner's title insurance policy
- Real estate commissions
- Title closing fee, split 50/50 with the buyer
- Document preparation fee for the deed
- HOA assessments, as set in the contract
- Any delinquent taxes
- Any unpaid HOA dues
- FHA or VA loan fees required by the lender
- Payoff of every loan in your name
- Interest on those loans and any prepayment penalties
- Any judgments or tax liens against you, with their recording fees
- Property tax proration
- HOA transfer fee
- Anything else negotiated in the contract
The buyer
- Lender's title insurance policy
- Title closing fee, split 50/50 with you
- Loan document closing fee
- Recording fees for documents in the buyer's name
- All new loan charges, including the origination fee and interest until the first payment
- Inspection fees
- Appraisal fees
- First year of homeowner's insurance
- Escrow minimum held by the lender
- Anything else negotiated in the contract
Professional, patient & absolutely outstanding.
I have sold three properties and bought two properties with Jessica & Kim. I encountered several different "difficulties" with a couple of my real estate interactions. Jessica was always on top of what I needed to do to help the process progress. She would help out in areas that are not within her job description. I can't say enough positive things about Kim and her 4 Walls coworkers. There is no one else who I would trust more to help me navigate the complex process of home buying and selling a home.
A 4 Walls That Fit client
Let's get started
- Meet for your listing consultationWe walk through your home, talk through your goals and timeline, and look at the market together.
- Sign the listing paperworkThe listing agreement puts our relationship, and the level of service we've promised you, in writing.
- Build your launch planWe go over your options together and you choose the pre-market approach that fits you best.
Thinking about selling?
★★★★★ 5.0 from 103 Google reviewsTexting is usually quickest. Jess answers her own phone.
Co-lead Kim Dozier: (970) 390-9555 · Meet the whole team