SELLING NEW HOMES SHOULD BE FUN

I love selling new homes.  I've loved to sell new homes since I've been selling real estate.  Back in the hard times of late 1980s to about 1994, new home sales accounted for about 50% of my sales.  I helped buyer get rid of the condos and town homes with no equity and sold them new homes financed through their savings.  Their existing homes had no equity and we just "made them go away" to assumption buyer sales advertised in the Washington Post.  As long as the buyers were working with me as their agent on the new home, I didn't charge them for the sale of their existing home because there was no equity to pay an agent.  Lots of sellers went to the settlement table with checks in their hands in those tough days.  So, selling new homes has always been my favorite market focus.  I love to see the smiles when my buyers see the room, admire the decor, marvel at the kitchens and baths and I assure them that they can have it too.  You don't have to worry about the Property Condition Disclosure.  You get full warranties on everything.  I love new homes.


AGENTS HAVE MEMORIES LIKE ELEPHANTS. 
The last 5 years has been hard on agent trying to sell new homes.  Some builders in our area reduced or totally eliminated the broker fee.  Several builders would not register in their office.  You had to go on line and register your buyer who NEVER got a call for lot releases.  Three major builders were totally eliminated from new home tours during those days because we knew that the builder would either not pay us or pay us so little, it wasn't worth sacrificing your time to tour new homes when the same time could be utilized selling a resale.  I also know that a lot of agents don't want to sell new homes because they don't want to wait a year for their fee.  New agents must really be turned off when you have to clear barriers to sell a new home.

BUILDERS LIKE US AGAIN - MOST OF THE TIME.
I have four new homes under contract and, up until last week, it was going well.  Builders representatives were greeting me with a smile.  I was up to date on the latest pricing, available lots, incentives, etc. and encouraging buyers who wanted to buy a new home to do so.  It was fun again.  Until last week when the old stuff resurfaced. 

I sold a lovely home in Northern Virginia to a couple.  Everything went fine.  I got a call one Saturday morning about 3 weeks ago that the wife's parents also wanted to buy a new home in the same community.  I agreed to meet them at 11:30 a.m. that day to tour the model and available lots to see what they liked.  We spend all day.  First we walked the model home, reviewed the floor plans and spent an hour reviewing the available lots.  An hour sounds like a long time to study lots, but there was a Feng Shui matter.  One lot would only work if the builder would remove the tree in front of the entrance (100 feet away).  Another lot would work if the house was flipped so that the garage entrance was on the higher side of the lot.  Another lot would only work if the bridge over the creek was 10 feet farther South from where the county said it had to be.  Not a problem.  We got through all of the barriers, made a lot selection and by 5:30 p.m., my buyers filled out a lot hold and gave the builder a $5,000 check.

This is one of the builders who, in the real estate mania of 2001-2005 reduced their broker fee by 2/3.  They also made it very difficult to get buyers registered.  In some communities, buyers with an agent would have to go to a location, get registered, go through an orientation and generally waste about 1/2 hour before they could tour the builder's model a half mile away.  But, I just guided my buyers through the obstacle courses with a smile because if it was a home in their price range and location of choice, I was going to get my buyers registered. 

SOME BUILDERS NEVER CHANGE
Last week, I dropped by the builder to make sure that the final contract had gone out to my buyers who are in Canada closing on a home.  Yes, the contract did go out and they should get it Friday.  "BTW, Lenn, did you introduce the buyers to the community?"   "Good grief, of course I did.  I met them here on their first visit, registered them, worked with them to select the lot, model, etc."

Surprise, surprise.  The builder's rep had not included me in the contract because they were taking the position that the daughter, introduced by me, having a contract in the same community, was really the person who introduced her parents to the community.  Actually, the daughter was not even with her parents when they toured the community, selected the lot, model, etc.  However, knowing the barriers that this builder had placed in the way of buyers agents in the past, I was not surprised.  I also knew that I had dotted all the "i"s and crossed all the "t"s and would take file a complaint if necessary.  A $33,000 fee it not to be ignored.  

 THE LEOPARD'S SPOTS DON'T CHANGE

I am always very up front with my buyers from the first conversation, that if we are going to tour new homes, you must agree to sign the registration when we arrive because, not only is that my insurance policy that I will get paid, some builders have a history of trying to avoid paying the broker fee.  Fortunately, I had this conversation with these particular buyers.  I go through this primarily to let them know that I'm available to tour new homes with them, but that they should not go to any new home models without me.  I know that my BA Agreement protects my fee but I don't want to collect from a buyer.  I want to collect from the builder.   Further, I be not believe that this is an isolated experience.  I believe this is policy of a few builders.  I believe that the agents are trained to avoid qualifying a buyers agent if at all possible. 

MY BUYERS ARE VERY LOYAL
I wasn't going to argue with the builders representative about the matter of who introduced the buyers.  This was so obviously contrived, it wasn't worth the energy.  I just came home and called my buyers in Canada.  They were quite outraged, but they also remembered that I had told them about builders in general and this builder in particular and their attempts to avoid paying broker fees.  He called the builder and left a message that "Lenn is my agent".  

He also signed the contract, enclosed a check for the 5% earnest money and FedEx'd it to me.  So, I have the contract, the earnest money which I'll deliver to the builder when they are open Friday as long as they have the addendum prepared for me to sign as the broker for the buyers.  I got a telephone message from the builder that the addenda adding me are ready.  They look forward to getting the contract Friday.  Thanks a lot.

Courtesy:  Homefinders.com