Listen to your Realtor, Mr. Seller, He Really is on Your Side!
My sweet friend Jane, who is a Realtor in LA wrote this great post today. It's written for sellers and her advice isn't just great advice for sellers in LA, it's GREAT advice for sellers period, no matter where their home is located. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
Following my plea to buyers not to throw their realtors to the sharks I think it only fitting to ask that sellers don't shoot the messenger.
Who does the seller blame when their home does not sell? Yep, you got it, the realtor, probably one who just got out of the shark-infested water.
The house has been on the market for three weeks and your agent hasn't brought you one offer.
Question: Why is that do you think? Offers have been pouring in but your realtor decided that they didn't like the color of the buyers'eyes? They needed to start up the fireplace, so they used the offers as fuel? They have all 100 offers in the back of the car which is at the shop?
Answer: No. Do you remember the conversation your agent had with you when you first discussed listing? They told you what the correct price should be based on the comparable properties sold in the area. Somehow you decided your home was way better than any of those comps and priced yours accordingly.
An offer came in but it was so low it was insulting. How dare your agent present it to you.
Question: Why? Because the buyer's agent is an idiot? Because your agent is an idiot? Because the buyer is out to get you and is trying to steal your home? Because your agent told the buyer's agent that you wouldn't notice the missing zero?
Answer: No. Because your house is $200,000 overpriced and the offer is a good one. The buyer's agent knows the comps in the area and advised his clients, as any good realtor would, what to offer. Your realtor knows that this is a good offer and is doing his job, which is to present every offer received.
You have been asked for a price reduction. What a nerve!
Question: Why? Because your realtor really hasn't given this enough time and there is some clueless buyer out there who is going to overpay for your home because it is far superior to the 20 others on the market in the area? Your realtor really has no patience to wait the 10 years it will take to get your price? Your realtor really doesn't understand the value of your home?
Answer: No. Your house is starting to smell and if it sits much longer on the market someone will offer $200,000 less than the price it should have been listed for in the first place, and you will end up taking it.
You reluctantly agree to accept an offer under pressure from your agent and now those pesky buyers are asking for the hole in the roof to be repaired and the rats to be removed from behind the fridge. Didn't you stipulate that this would be an"as is" sale? Why is your agent presenting you with these requests and recommending that you consider them?
Question: Because the buyer's agent and your agent are going to pocket the money you allow for repairs? Because your agent somehow forgot to make the sale "as is"? Because your agent doesn't know how to negotiate?
Answer: No. An "as is" sale really means nothing when there are problems that impact the livability of the property and a buyer is still entitled to ask for repairs. Your agent is just the messenger, and his advice to take care of some of the repairs is to help you keep the buyer in play, since this will probably be your best and only offer.
Question: Do you think another realtor would have been able to get you more money?
Answer: Yes? Really? The answer is definitively no. How do you think your realtor picks the listing price, out of a hat? He checks what has sold in the area in the past 3 months, or longer if nothing has sold during that time period. He looks at the active and pending listings, but those tell him nothing since since the final sales price is unknown.
The price is determined by the last comparable homes sold nearby with adjustments for condition. These prices cannot be changed, and every realtor has access to the same data.
Switching realtors because your house didn't sell is not going to solve the problem if the reason is price. And do you realize that the more your realtor sells your home for the more your realtor makes?
Funny huh!
And remember when your realtor told you to take that first offer, the one you were so insulted by? That was the one you should have taken.
Buying or selling real estate in Los Angeles can be an overwhelming process. Contact Jane Peters, Los Angeles realtor specializing in absentee owners, out of town buyers, and those who need that extra attention, in order to make the transaction a smooth, trouble-free, and fun experience.
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