THE SELLER EXPERIENCE
Platform
THE SELLER EXPERIENCE
The Seller Experience | Suzie & Ed, Diane Turton, Realtors
Selling a home is one of the larger decisions you will make. Here is precisely what working with Suzie and Ed looks like, from the first conversation to closing day and beyond.
Our Approach
Suzie and Ed have lived in Bay Head and Mantoloking their entire lives. They know these streets, these neighborhoods, and the people who make up this community. That matters when it comes time to sell your home, because local knowledge is not something you can look up. It comes from being here, year after year, through every market.
Over 330+ career transactions, they have helped families downsize, helped estates settle, helped people move on to the next chapter, and helped buyers find the home they had been looking for, sometimes for years. Each one was different. Each one mattered.
What follows is a clear account of what the selling process looks like when you work with them.
The Process
The first meeting is not a sales pitch. It is a conversation. We want to understand what you are trying to accomplish, your timeline, your concerns, and what the home means to you. We will also ask questions that most agents do not think to ask: what do you love most about this property? What does the neighborhood feel like on a summer morning? What would a buyer be lucky to find here?
Those answers shape everything that follows, from how we write the listing description to which buyers we reach out to directly.
Pricing is the single most consequential decision in the sale of your home. Price too high and buyers move on without calling. Price too low and you leave money on the table. We conduct a full Comparative Market Analysis, reviewing recent sales, active competition, and the specific characteristics of your property to arrive at a number that reflects its true market value and gives us room to negotiate from a position of strength.
Our sellers average 102.3% of list price, compared to a market average of 96.1%. That gap comes from thoughtful pricing at the start, not from chasing the market down with reductions later. Our listings see 45% fewer price reductions than comparable properties.
Before your home is photographed or shown, we walk through it together. We point out what buyers will notice, what will photograph well, and what, if anything, is worth addressing before you go to market. Some things matter. Many things do not. We will tell you the difference honestly.
Where staging would help, we bring in a professional stager. We complete all listing documents and disclosures via DocuSign, so nothing requires an in-person signing appointment. We also gather every document a buyer or their attorney will eventually need: survey, certificate of occupancy, utility records, and anything specific to your property. Having this ready in advance means nothing slows the process down once you have an offer.
Buyers in this market often search from out of state, sometimes from much further away. The photography is not decoration. It is the moment a buyer decides whether to make the call. We use professional interior and exterior photography, drone photography and aerial video, and 3D virtual tours with interactive floorplans where the property warrants it. Photography is typically completed and delivered within a few days of the session.
The result is a set of visuals that shows your home honestly, at its best, in a way that makes a buyer feel they have already been inside.
The day your home goes live, a coordinated campaign is already underway. When an owner opts for "Coming Soon" pre-marketing, Facebook and Instagram posts build early awareness, in advance of the "start showing" date. Your listing enters the MLS and feeds Zillow, Homes.com, Redfin, and Trulia automatically. Through our relationship with Homes & Land Magazine, it also appears on the Wall Street Journal real estate section and Mansion Global.
We run paid advertising and retargeting on Facebook and Instagram, drawing on our combined audience of more than 30,000 followers across our pages and the Bay Head & Mantoloking Locals Group, a community we own and operate. Your listing goes directly to our personal email database of more than 3,000 contacts. We send a postcard mailing to neighboring property owners. For the right properties, we also send targeted mailings to high-net-worth individuals in the towns that historically produce our buyers.
We contact our office colleagues, run reverse prospecting through the MLS to identify agents working with qualified buyers, and reach out personally to agents we know are active in this market.
When an agent contacts us to request a showing, we reach out to you promptly by your preferred method, whether phone, email, or text, to schedule it and confirm access. Once approved, we coordinate all the details with the other agent directly.
In most cases, Suzie or Ed will accompany the showing of your property. An unaccompanied showing would only occur with a known and trusted agent, and only with your permission. After each showing, we follow up with the agent for feedback and to gauge their buyer's level of interest. That feedback comes back to you honestly, including things buyers say that you may not want to hear but that help us respond to the market intelligently.
Open houses are planned thoughtfully based on your property's type, location, and the current market. We host both public open houses and broker open houses for the agent community, which often produces the first serious offers. A recent listing at 69 Bay Point Harbour drew a dozen agencies to the broker event alone and generated 35 private showings before going under contract with multiple offers.
When offers come in, we review every detail with you: price, contingencies, financing, closing timeline, and anything else that affects the outcome. We have seen enough transactions to know which terms matter and which ones are noise. We will give you a clear, honest read on each offer and advise you on how to respond.
In competitive situations, we know how to structure a counter that keeps serious buyers engaged without leaving money on the table. In quieter markets, we know how to read buyer intent and find common ground. Several of our recent sales involved multiple offers and closed above asking price, including one that sold for more than $150,000 over list.
Once an offer is accepted, attorney review begins. At its conclusion, any remaining contingencies are addressed, most commonly mortgage approval and home inspections. A buyer will typically have an inspection performed by a licensed inspector, and Suzie or Ed will attend any inspections in person. Being present matters. It gives us firsthand knowledge of what the inspector finds, how the buyer's agent is framing it, and how to respond thoughtfully when the inspection report arrives.
Inspections can surface issues that require attention, negotiation, or creative solutions. We have been through this enough times to know what to take seriously, what to push back on, and how to keep a transaction on track when something unexpected comes up.
Once all contingencies are satisfied, the final steps begin: packing, moving, scheduling any final walkthroughs, and coordinating the closing itself. We help guide you through all of it. Closing day should feel like a relief, not a surprise. By the time you sit down at the table, every document is in order, every detail has been accounted for, and you know exactly what to expect. We have done this more than 330 times. We will make sure you are ready.
After closing, the relationship does not end. Suzie and Ed stay in touch, remain a resource for the communities they live in, and are genuinely glad to hear from past clients, whether they have a question about the market, need a referral to a local tradesperson, or are simply reaching out to say hello. Several of the families in their career represent third and fourth transactions over the years. That is not an accident.
What Sets Us Apart
Not with an assistant. Not with a team member you have never met. Every client, at every price point, works directly with Suzie and Ed from the first conversation through closing day.
The Shore market does not stop in September. Neither do we. As lifelong, year-round residents of Bay Head and Mantoloking, we are available and active in this market every month of the year.
About the price. About the condition. About the offer on the table. We have no interest in telling you what you want to hear if it will cost you money or time. Honest counsel is part of the job.
Estate sales, mid-renovation listings, out-of-state sellers, complex transactions with multiple parties. We have experience with all of it, and we know how to keep things moving when they get complicated.
105 years of combined local knowledge means we know the attorneys, the inspectors, the tradespeople, the other agents, and many of the buyers. That network is an asset to every seller we represent.
In a small, close-knit community, confidentiality matters. What you share with us stays with us. We handle every transaction with the professionalism and privacy our clients expect and deserve.
From Our Clients
"Suzie and Ed helped our family through the difficult situation of selling our father's home. They were extremely understanding and professional. They consistently kept us updated and informed. We couldn't have asked for more."
William K. | Google Review"They could not have done a better job of keeping us updated on everything happening with our property and the market at large. When the right buyer came along, they stepped up the information flow and gave us great counsel on how to move forward quickly and cleanly. The whole process could not have gone more smoothly."
Larry and Kathy M. | Google Review"I felt extremely fortunate to work with them. One property was more challenging than usual because it was midway through an extensive renovation. They bravely accepted the challenge without hesitation and guided me through the preparation of the home before listing. No question was left unanswered and their attention to each was immediate."
Judy D. | Google Review"Buying a home can be stressful, but his expertise and knowledge of the market, along with his calm demeanor, made our purchase seamless. I would give him our highest recommendation."
Paul B. | Google ReviewReady to Talk?
If you are thinking about selling, start with a conversation. We will listen, answer your questions honestly, and tell you what we think your home could achieve right now. No pressure. No obligation.
Suzanne Van Schoick & Edwin O'Malley | Diane Turton, Realtors | 88 Bridge Ave., Bay Head, NJ 08742
Our approach includes a targeted Digital Marketing strategy, Social Media advertising, email marketing and personalized 1 to 1 outreach to the right buyer.
We'll guide you through all the details to make sure the sale of your home goes smoothly - from accompanying showings, , to attorney review and inspections, moving, and more. Then we can all celebrate! And note - a closing is only the end of the transaction - the relationship continues long after, whether you are buying or selling.