Not more than an hour after I explained to someone that "I can fall down a flight of stairs and stand up with three listing contracts stuck to my back" did I receive two different phone calls about two different listings.
Supposedly well meaning "family members" of Bonita Springs home owners called me. Naturally, both of these calls were made by a real estate agent/family member. One of which is a spankin' new licensee, still wet behind the ears, the other a near self proclaimed hot-shot I can't even find in GOOGLE. They each claim that they're looking out for the best interest of their family member. It seems to me that the primary interest these agents have is getting the most bang (advertising) for the buck and ... oh yeah, a referral fee of course.
If they were looking out for the best interest of their family member, they would gather factual information to help inform and educate them, not shop for an agent to BUY THE LISTING and spin their wheels. I don't write checks to market homes that won't sell!
I'm the first person to be grateful for a referral. I look at them as an incredible opportunity that I may not have had if I didn't get it by referral. What I do mind is the lack of regard for my professional opinion about the market, the property values and my ability to price real estate to sell. I'm up to my eyes in Bonita Springs real estate. I'm out there working the market every bloody day. So when somebody asks me for my advise I expect them to listen, at least a little. They ASKED for help, I didn't call them.
Sellers of Real Estate and Licensee Family Members of Sellers, Listen up:
- I don't care (neither does an appraiser care) what the house next door is "listed for".
- I don't care (neither does an appraiser care) what the homes in the neighborhood were listed for last year, last week or in 1995.
- I don't care and (neither does the next appraiser care) WHAT the owner paid for it.
- I don't care (neither does an appraiser care) that the owner "wants to break even" - what an owner will "clear" on a house doesn't determine it's value.
- I don't care (neither does an appraiser care) if you chase a ghost price, just count me out of the hunt.
- I don't discount listing fees so you can get a referral and I can work my butt off selling an overpriced listing.
- I don't care if you hold your breath until you pass out, I can't change the market and I'm not going to try to change it with your homes listing price.
Plain and simple, an appraisal is an appraisal. If a home isn't listed and correctly priced, it will probably not sell in a competitive market. If it were to sell, it will probably not appraise. That's when the deal falls apart. Count me out of your equation and let the next agent "buy" your listing.
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