When it comes to getting top dollar for your home, SOGO Homes and Marvel Developments are a winning combination

By Mitch Allen

When you talk with SOGO Homes real estate broker Aaron Peterson, the first thing you notice is his delightful Southern accent. There’s no hint of a mountain twang. Instead, it’s soft and round, the kind of accent you find farther south, say, in Georgia.

“When people hear my accent they often want to know where I’m from,” Aaron says. “I was born and raised in Rome, Georgia. I still have family there.”

Hearing his accent is a good enough reason to call Aaron, but there’s an even better reason:

He’s going to save you a lot of money.

That’s because SOGO Homes doesn’t charge a percentage-based commission. Instead, Aaron charges a flat $4,800.

“The traditional 6 percent commission on, say, a $350,000 home, is a whopping $21,000,” Aaron explains. “But we charge only $4,800, so you keep a lot more of your hard-earned equity.”

Aaron and his team—including agents Tom Dungan and Michael Bowling—also work hard to find the buyer themselves, so you also avoid paying an extra buyer’s agent fee. One way they do that is through an open house.

“Most agents don’t hold an open house because they’re a lot of work,” Aaron says. “But we believe they’re important. After all, you want your home in front of as many people as possible to generate interest and get multiple offers.”

When people hear “discount brokerage,” they sometimes think they won’t get top-level service. That’s not true with SOGO Homes.

“We understand that some people wonder what services they’re not going to get with our flat-fee structure,” Aaron says. “But we go above and beyond, doing even more than traditional commission-based agents. We are very much a full-service real estate firm.” (See the sidebar on this page for a listing of many of SOGO’s services.)

Although SOGO Homes works with buyers and sellers throughout Northeast Ohio, Aaron has been particularly successful with waterfront property, including homes on Portage Lakes. “It’s rewarding to help people buy and sell a home on the water,” he says. “For many people, it is a lifelong dream come true, and I love being a part of that.”

Giving Back to the Community
Before becoming a real estate broker, Aaron owned rental properties, including many Section-8 units, and he noticed a trend.

“All of my tenants were single moms,” he reveals. “I’d talk with them and ask, ‘Why don’t you buy your own home?’ They’d laugh and say that’s a pipe dream because they could never come up with a down payment. So when we started SOGO, we decided to give a portion of our proceeds to organizations that help single moms with a down payment to buy a home. It’s very rewarding, and doing it helps me sleep better at night.”

14 Reasons to List with SOGO Homes
You get…

1. An in-home consultation with recommendations for getting your home prepped to obtain top dollar.
2. A 10- to 12-page pricing analysis that helps determine your home’s market value.
3. Professional photography at no additional charge.
4. An estimated “net sheet,” so you see approximately what you will net from the sale.
5. A professional open house.
6. A listing on the MLS, ensuring your home’s data syncs correctly with websites like Zillow, Realtor.com, Homes.com, and many more.
7. Listings on social media platforms with more than 20,000 followers.

Plus, SOGO agents will…

1. Work diligently to find the buyer themselves so you avoid paying additional buyer’s fees.
2. Ensure potential buyers are pre-approved before walking through your home (excluding the open house).
3. Help you to determine the appropriateness of providing a home warranty and facilitating that paperwork.
4. Do due diligence on all offers to help ensure a potential buyer is capable of making the purchase.
5. Provide you with a summary of every offer and help you negotiate and choose not only the highest but also the best and safest offer.
6. Work closely with the title company and the lender to orchestrate the entire process from start to finish, including the signing of the closing documents.
7. Give back to the community by donating a portion of their real estate agent fees to a fund that helps qualified single moms in our community make a down payment on their first homes.

To list your home or for more information about SOGO’s flat-rate fee, call 330-984-0909 or visit GoWithSOGO.com.