I.
1. Having bought and sold 7 homes in my life I have the experience to sell my own home. If I list with you will you reduce the commission if I find the buyer myself?
My Answer:
I could say yes knowing that you have very little chance, if any, to find your own buyer. Rather then tell you what you want to hear, I'll just cut through the bologna and say no. If I'm going to pour myself into this job for which you likely will hire me for then I'll need 100% of your commitment as a seller. My commission isn't negotiable unless you are buying a home from me. If you do, I'll reimburse a point on the buy side only. That purchase must be at least equal to or greater than the home we are selling. We close between 8-10 homes per month. Your experience is understood, but ours is worth what we are paid.
2. WHAT? Why can't you reduce the commission on the listing to X? You'll get paid your full commission when we buy! Plus, my sisters neighbor is best friends with her uncle who has a daughter who said she'd list my home for free! I could just go with her.
My Response:
What's more important, selling your home right the first time or saving some commission and rolling the dice with somebody you already have doubts with? The reason I will not reduce the commission on the list side is because I need to ensure you actually fund and close on a home that you'll be buying. Many times a seller will decide to get an apartment, not buy, or move out of state. These 3 examples would mean I would not get paid on the buy side like you are suggesting. It puts you on the hook to close on a home you are buying and not me hoping that you will. At the end of the day and in the beginning I'm still running a business.
II.
1. I want my home advertised on Zillow.
My Response:
Zillow is like watching cartoon real estate on a Saturday morning. It's purely for entertainment. It's a copycat of the failing Realtor.com. Their primary objective is to use Realtor listings to obtain traffic and then turn around and SELL it back to the Realtors. 90% of buyers in Texas begin their search online. The OVERWHELMING MAJORITY of buyers in Houston find their home on HAR, our MLS. We have the best MLS in the entire country. It's voted number one year after year. Consumers go to Zillow to satisfy curiosity, get Hollywood gossip (it's there) toy with the (make me move feature) and look at listings that have already sold.
2. Look at listings that have already sold? What does that mean?
My Response:
Often Realtor.com, Zillow and many other giant websites that host syndicated listings typically have OUTDATED information. I once had a buyer call off a house (listing) that I closed on over a year ago. Believe it or not it still showed FOR SALE. I helped him find something else. For that I'm grateful to Zillow. Their website yielded me a buyer who was looking at a home that had sold 13 months ago. Our MLS doesn't list homes for sale that have closed!
III.
3. What is Active Rain anyways? I found that when I Google your name?
Active Rain allows me to promote myself to both the general public and more importantly to OTHER Realtors across the United States & Canada. My profile has been viewed over 16,000 times and my blogs have received almost 27,000 comments. This relationship I have is unique in that many local Realtors here in Houston do not participate as aggressively as I do. My ongoing interaction with the members (mostly other Realtors) allows me to get MORE REFERRALS. This is one of the many ways I capture relocation buyers. When I speak of marketing and advertising this is just one of hundreds of examples!
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