Is YOUR home sale slip-sliding away? 

In light of all the rain this week in California you might think I'm talking about mudslides. And granted, there are some of those, unfortunately, with more likely to come unless the rain stops. 

But this post is really about home sales losing their potential to become a reality...for a host of reasons. Some may be YOUR fault, deliberate or not. Others, quite frankly, are the result of your agent's actions. Maybe you aren't aware. Maybe you are and don't care. 

As an agent who is, at the moment, working with lots of buyers who are anxious to buy, I thought I'd pass along some feedback that could help. Listen up! If you really do want and need to sell. If you are testing the market (come on, you KNOW if you are), you can simply ignore this. 

So this is what we (me and my buyers) think are a few signs of a seller's faux pas: 

PRICING

OK, the price is not in line with the local market: nuff said. Buyers know this right away, so you aren't fooling anyone. If the agent took the listing with a price that is out of whack you are both responsible.

AVAILABILITY

Scheduling a showing is too hard - the hours are really limited, you or the agent do not return calls or emails, you have to call too far in advance (48 hours? Forget it). Do we even need to talk about keys that don't work?  Or how about when we do call you say it's not a good time? Hmmm, you DO need to sell, don't you?

MLS INFORMATION

The information is limited, missing, inaccurate, or contradictory (e.g., it says MOVE IN condition and it looks like a junkyard with more cosmetics needed than most buyers would consider even remotely reasonable). That's your agent's fault, in most cases Are you getting the opportunity to review the listing to make sure it is accurate? Many folks make decisions about showing based on what they read. You CANNOT afford to ignore this. And as the client YOU deserve to have your home's information on the Internet presented in the best light.

NO PHOTOS

OK, so there's one crummy photo. Your agent is simply NOT doing the job. Buyers DEMAND photos. Like it or not they DO make decisions based on photos. No photos, no showings from some buyers. What a loss. This is your agent's job - you need to hold them accountable.

LOCKBOX ISSUES

This is solely the job of your agent. I can't tell you how many times I have encountered NO lockbox when the MLS says there is one. Or the key does not work. Or the agent doesn't bother to state in the MLS that the lockbox is a combo instead of one we can access with our Sentrilock card. Or the key does not get returned.  

INTERIOR and EXTERIOR HOME CONDITION

If you think buyers are not paying attention to the curb appeal, and the home's condition, you are not being told the reality of today's market (in many areas). Buyers LOOK for signs of a home that needs help, or means more work for them IF they should decide to buy. And they immediately start thinking there are other hidden issues if the home does not show well or clearly has lots of deferred maintenance.  

If this is sounding a little testy, it's meant to. Quite frankly, in the last few weeks I have had far more issues showing property than I would have expected in this market where many sellers presumably NEED to sell. And my buyers have asked me outright...."DO these home owners WANT to sell or not?" 

Some of this is due to the fact that SOME agents are NOT doing their job of educating sellers about the local market conditions, and what is essential in order to get the home sold. 

Thankfully there are also a good number of sellers who are doing all they need to do - the house looks great, they are accommodating reasonable showing times, and they seem genuinely interested that we are coming by to tour their home. And their care and concern about their home shows. 

So give it some thought. Are there things you are doing, or your agent is doing, or not doing, that is causing YOUR home to not be a viable candidate for being sold in this market?

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If I can provide more information about Carlsbad real estate and surrounding areas, or the housing market in general, or otherwise assist you in your homes search, please contact me by phone or text at (760) 840-1360 or email me at JDowler@remax.net.

All content copyright © 2010 Jeff Dowler "The California Relocation Dude" Carlsbad Homes and Real Estate Tidbits