Would It Pose a Problem for You?

"Doctor, Make Me Feel Better....Just Don't Do It Too Quickly"

Can you imagine ever saying this to someone in the medical profession as you're writhing in pain on the guerney in the ER? Would you ever tell your attorney, "take your time getting me out of jail and proving my innocence? I want the District Attorney to come to that conclusion on his own and come down here and let me out personally."?


I am guessing that you are shaking your head, right?

I heard a disturbing story from one of our associates yesterday. Let me know if you've heard this before or had it happen to you.
 
Please Tell Me You're Making This Up


A Seller had recently received an offer on their new listing. It wasn't a full priced offer but in today's market, it was a very good offer. It was a border-line "acceptable with no counter offer" kind of offer.


Sadly, the Seller felt that the house must be underpriced and decided to not reply to the offer. It seems that the Seller felt that any offer coming in that quickly after placing the home on the market should have been at full price or perhaps even higher. The Seller feels that they will certainly get higher offers. 


When (and if) this home finally sells, I wonder if the Seller will be upset if the future buyers don't leave them a tip on the table after the closing too? You know, for all the hard work and kindness they showed.


Is Your Best Offer Your First Offer?


Many agents have said this to their clients, especially when negotiating an offer. I don't think there is anything that can definitively prove this is true but experience tells us that offers usually don't get higher the longer a home stays on the market, right?


The longer a home is listed, the more potential buyers will begin to question it's perception of value. The lower the perception of value, the lower the demand for that home. Add to that an increasing supply of inventory and that's not a good recipe for the market value of that specific home ever going up in value.


Three Questions from Buyers


When a home hits the market, has great curb appeal, shows well and is positioned properly on the pricing scale, the buyers that walk through the door (having seen all the other competing homes on the market) will most likely ask themselves or their Realtor, "What's it going to take to get this house?" That is the kind of reaction every Seller should be aiming from the day they put their house on the market.


After a house has been on the market for a month or two, the slowly dying stream of buyers begin to ask, "I wonder how much the Sellers would come down from their asking price?" There doesn't seem to be urgency on either side of the table with the Buyers not encouraged to submit a "test" offer and the Sellers are just standing their ground.


Once a home has been on the market for more than three months (sometimes less depending on the local markets) the main question out of their mouths will be "what do you think is wrong with it?" 


Address It Up Front


Here's a quick and easy way to avoid the issue that came up with the unfortunate Realtor and his unrealistic Seller from the top of this post. Ask the Sellers during your initial marketing presentation or interview, "If I was able to sell your home in 30 days or less, would that pose a problem for you?" You're not saying you guarantee it will be sold and you're not even saying it will be sold at all. You're just trying to find out if that would pose a problem to the Sellers.


Most Sellers would say "No, that would be great," or "Wow! Do you really think we could have an offer that quickly?" And while it's true that some might say "I would think that meant that we underpriced it, right?" at least you would have a chance to educate them on the customs of your local market, current statistics (such as list/sale ratio vs. days on the market) and their options when negotiating offers.


You could even address the three "questions" Buyers will be asking during the Selling process. Ask them if they went through those phases when they purchased the house they are now selling.


You Can't Answer Someone's Prayers Until You Know What They Are Praying For

Under the same logic, it's hard to exceed your clients expectations when you don't even know what they expect. Use the pre-listing process to set expectations of the market, how it functions and what everyone's role will be - before the home hits the market, during the listing period, after a successful contract has been negotiated and all the way through the successful management and closing of the transaction. 

Let me ask you, if you were able to work with Sellers who were better prepared for all the scenarios that could occur, "Would that pose a problem for you?"


Until next time, keep building relationships, solving problems and having fun.

What Do You Expect - Part II

In our last blog post, we focused on the expectations Buyers may have when searching for a house and how to best handle them. Now let's talk about the expectations we might encounter from the Sellers we will work with.

It's been said that most Sellers want the same five things when utilizing the services of a Realtor in the sale of their house - Price, Time, Convenience, Communication & Diligent Effort.

They want the highest price possible...in the shortest amount of time...with the least amount of inconvenience. They also want to have good communication between themselves and the agent they hire and they would like to see a diligent effort by the Realtor.

Would you say that those factors are important and should be addressed with every Seller we work with? I think so, too. I also feel that in exchange for our ability to deliver on those expectations that we should be fairly compensated for it. So if we're hoping to obtain a fell fee for the full services we are asked to provide, let's discuss how we can address these five expectations of most Sellers.

Get Me the Highest Price Possible

Pricing is perhaps the hardest thing we do in our jobs when it comes to Seller representation. If we really knew the exact price the house would sell for in the exact time the Sellers wanted, we would have a long line of clients waiting to work with us.

We must first use a blend of statistical analysis (Competitive Market Analysis) and personal experience to determine the proper price for a home. Remember the old saying that says "a house is only worth what the best offer obtainable from the best Buyer available in the current market is" so we must focus on attracting the "best Buyers available."

Use Logic, Not Emotion

Every sale involves both logic and emotion. When selling a house, what do you think the Seller will have more of? That's right...emotion. So which do you think you, as the professional, should have more of?

Try not to get emotionally sucked in to the Sellers emotions of raising their children in the house, feeling their pain of their financial pressures or riding the "ego train" to be the highest price in the neighborhood. You've got to share the logical information that will best position the house to attract that "best Buyer available" that we mentioned earlier.

What About Building in "Wiggle Room"?

Remind your Sellers that most Buyers don't negotiate to market value, they negotiate from market value. When today's savvy Buyers find a great home at a price that is at or close to "market value," they are less focused on negotiating the Sellers down as they are focused on not losing the house to another market savvy Buyer. If it starts out too high, those same savvy Buyers will keep looking until they perceive some value.

It's a Matter of Timing

If Sellers start the process thinking it's going to take them 9-12 months to get their house sold, do you think they are realistic about their asking price? Have they watched other homes in the neighborhood hit the market at one price only to drop their prices monthly and eventually sell for 85-90% of their original listing price after a year? Yet, they want to start their listing at the same price as their neighbors original asking price because "their house is better!"?

Come prepared to show them how that neighbor ended up costing themselves - in lost opportunity, added mortgage and carrying costs and possibly savings on their next home.

Easy Does It?

Sellers often don't realize how stressful it could be to sell a house. Let's share with them all that it takes to prepare for showings...and that's just a start. The house remaining clean and available to unknown buyers and agents on a daily basis can get old real quick. Making sure the house is ready to show at any given time might be the best chance to avoid missing the next "buyer." Consider using a professional home-stager as well as suggesting the Sellers order a pre-inspection of their home to avoid any unforeseen issues once the property does sell. And now might be a good time to let them know that once it gets "into contract" that the work is just beginning. Getting it to the closing table is a whole separate level of work.

Let's Stay In Touch

If there is one common complaint we hear from most disgruntled Sellers or from those listings that have "expired" with their last listings agent, it's that they "never heard from their agent." Please don't let this happen to you. Establish at the initial meeting how the client prefers to be communicated with. Do they prefer phone calls? E-mails? Text messages? In person?

Once you know how they want to be communicated with, establish the expectations of how often and why you will communicate with them. Then it's up to you to fulfill their expectations.

Here's what I suggest you say or do:

"Mr. & Mrs. Seller. I am very excited to have the opportunity to work with you and help you get your home sold and your family to Atlanta"

"I pride myself on my communication and feel that it will be important for us to have a regularly scheduled time to talk each week so I can keep you informed and up-to date. On those weekly calls, we'll discuss the happenings of the market, specifically our competition - what's sold, who has dropped prices, what has gone pending and any listings that may have expired or been withdrawn."

"We'll also discuss the weekly marketing efforts we will make to attract the best Buyers and keep you informed of Buyer activity in your neighborhood and price range as well as any other factors which may affect your homes perception of value in the market."

"Right now, I make those Seller Update calls on Monday or Wednesday afternoons, between 4 and 6pm. Which time slot will work best for you?"

If you did this on a regular basis, do you think it would eliminate the ability for your Sellers to say they never hear from you? If they had a concern and it was Tuesday evening, do you think they may just wait until you call them on Wednesday during your regularly scheduled call?

You might be surprised that you hardly ever have to discuss "repositioning" their home from a pricing standpoint. After sharing with them news about their competition dropping prices, going into contract or new homes hitting the market, just ask them if their time frame to get to their next destination is still the same. They'll begin to get the idea that they need to be properly priced to attract those "best buyers."

Are Your Trying Your Hardest?

Realtors are not magicians. We can't make houses sell just because we or the Sellers want them to. What we can do is be honest with our clients, provide them with the necessary information to make good decisions and then deliver on the promises we made to our clients to provide truly remarkable service.

Establishing these expectations at the beginning of our relationships with Sellers and then always reminding ourselves of those expectations will help us continue to offer full service efforts. When we under promise and over deliver with today's Sellers, it sure does make it easier to cash those checks for our full fee. When we give the clients what they expect, it seems fair that we get what we expect, doesn't it?


Until next time, keep building relationships...solving problems...and having fun!