Does My Seller Think I Priced His Property Too Low?

It is so frustrating to everyone involved when sellers, A. don't take the advice of their Realtor and B. thinks that as-is means leave the mess for someone else.

As a professional Home Stager, I have seen homes that I wonder what I am doing in because they are nice enough and then those that I have to wear gloves and a face mask to get past the front door. If sellers want a property to show like a castle, Home Stagers can oblige and make it so, photos and all... But if they think they are going to get "market value" for a cluttered mess they are sadly mistaken.

I applaud you for sticking to your principles and showing the house as is... But your commission reflects that as-is which isn't fair to you for all the work you have done to sell it.  You deserved a fair days pay for going above and beyond fora client that didn't appreciate your efforts.

Thanks for sharing...

Kathy...

SW FL Realty Staging

Hello Bruce:

Sounds like it is priced and promoted correctly.  My personal bias is to have my photos put the property in the best possible light, without distorting the truth.  That said, you have given the seller exactly what he had hoped for.

What an upside down world we live in when you do a fantastic job and get multiple offers and instead of gratitude you get suspicion.

I'd like to take that appraiser out behind the wood shed.

Bruce: That's what happens when buyers and/or sellers begin to talk to everyone in town and take advice from everyone. I cannot tell you how many husband's brother's uncle's cousin's have told my sellers everything about real estate.

Don't you love it when people out of the area feel they know the value of a property better than we do? But what can you do? The seller having an appraisal done is a good idea. At least it will give peace of mind.

I have several listing that are not in good enough condition to take photos. So I just shoot photos of the exterior and the neighborhood. I also make it a habit of palcing all of the pics I take in a Picasa web album and emailing them to the seller so they can ask me to remove any they don't want shown.

Hi, Bruce. 

"I always ... make a joke about how Realtors ... take flattering pictures of their listings"

During our monthly Legal Update, our Board Attorney once warned us that photos that were photo-shopped, over-edited, or did not otherwise present the true condition of the property, could possibly be construed as false advertising / misrepresentation.

You did the right thing.

I'm a broker and appraiser (IL), and if I remember my pre-license and CE courses correctly, the appraiser was out of line offering an opinion of value. He basically appraised your listing, Bruce, at more than the list price. And I'm guessing that "appraisal" was done without an inspection, interior or exterior, or pulling a single comp.

As for his opinion that multiple offers mean the home is under-priced, wrong again. It's competitively priced, and some of those offers came from bottom-fishers. It obviously was marketed well, even with the clutter in the photos that probably was unavoidable thanks to your seller's decision to wait until a contract to clean up.

I tell sellers that "under-pricing" a house is hard to do. At worst, it will generate a lot more activity (showings) and probably multiple offers. As soon as you can say "highest and best," the buyer's agents will help their clients drive up the offers to market value. It's the law of supply and demand at work.

The fact many of your offers were low-balls tell me you're in the ballpark. If your fax machine had exploded in the first week with offers at or above list price, I might have to agree with your seller's appraiser buddy, but a call for "highest and best" will allow your seller to get market value for his "as-is" listing in the shortest amount of time possible.

it's real simple

if the home was underpriced

seven offers at or above list price

in the first few days

plenty of money out there

Man, it is so frustrating when people get others involved in matters that are none of their business!!

Thanks for getting this out to us today.

Patricia/Seacoast NH

Hi Bruce~  Sometimes sellers think that we priced their property too low!  But, they don't seem to think that until others give their opinions and raise that shadow of doubt in the first place.  It happens and it is not a good experience when it happens! 

Every one knows all about real estate, don't they.  They can all give us lots of advice.  Very little of any use though!

You are in a possible NO WIN SITUATION. .if the appraisal comes out much higher than your original suggested price, you can not dispute that. 

In the other hand if the appraisal comes lower. . you should write 10 posts about it and use it as a testimonial

There is no in between. .

Tell him to get an independent appraisal.  Let the appraiser be the "bad guy."  Also, tell him that it's not you who is being unkind but rather it's the market. 

The seller and friends saw the photos on Realtor.com. That leads me to wonder if the seller lives near the property. It does not appear that he was motivated enough to prepare the property for sale or that his friends knew about the condition of the property prior to seeing the photos. Their advice is worthless and meddlesome. Unfortunately, you have to deal with it. Your marketing plan garnered numerous showings, multiple offers and a contract that is satisfactory to the seller. That sounds like success to me. The only problem is that that seller is listening to his friends instead of the professional that he hired to sell the property.

I would have been a little more selective about the photos I chose to post online.  Being honest about the condition is one thing but then there's "brual honesty" which may actually put the home in a bad light.  Selling as-is does not necessarily mean just putting a sign out front and opening the door.

I would have hired someone to come in and clean the place up, invested a few dollars in touching up the place, and then put it on the market.  If the price range is too low to justify the expense, then OK, but that's what I would have done.

I agree with Bryan, #28. Your duty is to the Seller. What potential buyers might think shouldn't be your focus or priority. In fact, selecting such photos could be deemed a real disservice to your client and encourage lower than asking price offers.