Coffee and Change: A Lesson in Selling Your Home

Fourteen years ago a gorgeous woman walked up to me at a concert and asked if I would like to go out for tea sometime.

Why tea? Well, this lovely lady did not drink coffee. Ever. She later explained that coffee didn't make her feel very well. It made her jumpy. It hurt her stomach. We started dating and I bought her loose leaf tea, tea strainers, and other tea related gifts.

Fast forward thirteen and 1/2 years. My formerly coffee-hating wife Teresa decided to try a little coffee one morning. Just a small cup with a lot of sugar and creamer.

Then she started drinking a cup every morning. Lots of creamer. Lots of sugar. We started making a larger pot in the morning.

This morning, things took an extraordinary turn. Teresa walked over to the coffeepot, poured herself a cup, added a touch of milk, skipped the sugar and took a big sip. WHAT!!!!

Suddenly, everything I thought I knew about my wife (and my very life) experienced a tectonic shift--an earth-shattering quake of massive proportions. I knew--KNEW--that my wife would never drink coffee. I knew--KNEW--she would certainly never drink it every day. I knew--KNEW--she would never drink coffee without sugar.

What I knew became wrong. It didn't start out wrong. I was right fourteen years ago. I just wasn't right this morning. What I knew had changed.

The same thing can happen when you list your house. You interview agents. You pick one that you can relate to, communicate with, and who can help you price and sell your house. You get it on the market...and nothing happens.

Sometimes that means that the agent didn't help you understand the market in the first place. However, there is another option. The real estate market is a volatile place right now. There is a real possibility that the market can shift radically from one day to the next.

For example, a couple of months ago the $8000 tax credit expired. On April 30th the market looked one way. On May 1st, it looked completely different.

Or maybe you look at the market, examine competing listings and sales and determine a price based on all available data. You list your home and then one week later three houses in better condition come on the market for the same price. Your market has radically shifted. Suddenly what you knew--KNEW--is no longer true.

A good real estate agent will help you understand what is going on after your home is listed, not just before. Here are few things they should consider.

1. Current listings: What is happening with active inventory? How does your house compare? Where do you fit into the picture?

2. Sold and pending properties: What has gone under contract and sold since your house went on the market? What made those houses sell when yours didn't? Understanding this information will help you make smart choices about your house.

3. Communication: It's not enough for an agent to look at these factors. The mark of a truly effective agent is how honestly they communicate about what they see, no matter how hard it might be to talk about.

In the end sometimes what you think you knew--KNEW--to be true turns out to be an entirely different situation and you have to adjust your home selling strategy or (far worse) share your coffee. When that happens, you have to shift what you knew to what is true and the best agents will help you get there.