I'm a Realtor, Not a Dominatrix.
As humorist Dave Barry might say, I am not making this story up.
One of my seller clients decided to feel some remorse about not taking an early offer on his home.
When we listed the house, we provided a range in which we thought it could sell and told him that the more aggressively he positioned his home in that range, the longer it would take to sell and the more patience would be required. Despite his need to sell by a certain date, he took an aggressive stance and priced at the very top of the range.
About a week into the listing an offer came in. It was low, but workable.
We negotiated with the buyer's agent until the offer stopped at a price about 10 percent under the listing price. Net sheets showed that there would be nice proceeds for the seller. I presented the pros and cons of taking the offer, but in the end he decided not to drop the asking price to the buyer's best and highest offer.
His reasoning, which I respected then and still respect, was, 1.) it was very early in the listing and there was plenty of time before he needed to move, 2.) spring weather (if spring ever came -- we had a rough winter) would increase showings, and 3.) he would like more robust proceeds from the higher sale price to take into his next home purchase.
So our talks stopped and both parties moved on.
We received few showings after that point and the seller continued to refuse to adjust the listing price. At one of our frequent meetings, the seller said to me, "I am very disappointed in you."
Me: "Why are you disappointed?"
Seller: "Because you didn't force me to take that offer."
Me: "Yes, you're right. I don't bully, force or coerce my clients into making major financial decisions that they determine are not in their best interest just for my own financial gain. That would be unethical, wouldn't it?"
If you're looking for a real estate professional, I'm your person. But if you're looking for domination, you'll have to call a professional of another sort -- if you get my drift.
(Apologies to Tango afficionados. You can't imagine how hard it is to find clip art to illustrate the word "dominatrix.")
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