Special offer

Costly Mistakes That Sellers Make

Reblogger
Real Estate Agent SL3287291

$$$$$ Can often cloud our thinking process. We all can tell stories of people in our lives who have held out for top dollar, only to lose.

This Post has some great examples that Sellers should be aware of. 

Original content by Beth and Richard Witt

Costly seller mistakes

A very costly mistake that I have seen many sellers make is refusing to accept their first offer especially when it is close to their asking price.

I vividly remember this costly seller mistake. A waterfront property in Massapequa. The house was priced at $499,000.00 and received a full price offer after the first Open House. The Open House was very well attended and the comps supported the asking price making the buyers comfortable with their offer and their terms were excellent.

The sellers on the other hand interpreted the full price offer as an indication that we had under-priced their home.  They rejected the offer by taking their home off the market and raising the price to $550,000.00. Eleven months later they accepted a $450,000.00 offer on their home.

Here's another one... This goes back at least 25 years... we had a Bayfront on the market in Harbor Green in Massapequa for $1,000,000.00.   At that time nothing had sold for that price in the area. But the market was good and the comps supported  something in the mid to high 900's... the buyer makes an offer of $950,000.00 the seller counters with full price. The buyer comes back with $980,000.00. The sellers responds by telling us that  if the buyer could afford that he could afford a million and a million is what I want, take it or leave it.  So.... The buyer buys another house on the Bay for $980,000.00. The seller waits for his next offer adamant about not dropping his price and all the agents knew that it was a million or nothing. The market starts to decline, interest rates rise... the seller sells his house almost two years after it hit the market for $800,000.00 and the horrible part of this tale was he had a heart attack and passed away before the closing.

So how do you avoid not making these mistakes?

Get your ego out of the way. What you sell your house for has nothing to do with what you want! It has to do with what a buyer is willing to pay and there is tons of information available to buyers today that will support your asking price or not support it. What Mr."C" did was comparable to putting $980,000.00 down on the craps table to make another $20,000.00. Tell me that makes any sense and yet sellers do it all the time!!!

Any thing brand new to the market draws the biggest crowd and the best price. No one likes a stale piece of bread... fresh bread will always get more money than stale bread. This is a fact my friends the first offer is almost always the best offer... Don't run from it, evaluate it and remember that agents are paid a percentage of your sales-price so for sure they want to sell your house for top dollar.

Comments (17)

Troy Erickson AZ Realtor (602) 295-6807
HomeSmart - Chandler, AZ
Your Chandler, Ahwatukee, and East Valley Realtor

It's almost always a best bet to accept a first offer. More often than not, that will be a much better deal than the seller will get later. However, when a buyer submits a low ball offer, normally there is no need to accept that. A better deal will come.

Feb 21, 2014 01:17 PM
John Wiley
Fort Myers, FL
Lee County, FL, ECO Broker, GRI, SRES,GREEN,PSA

Thanks for the comment Troy. You are correct to say an obvious low ball offer is not always the one to take.

Have a great weekend.

Feb 21, 2014 09:02 PM
Beth and Richard Witt
New York, NY
The best Retired Brokers !!!!

Hi John... thanks for the re-blog... enjoy your day... 

Feb 21, 2014 09:05 PM
Gita Bantwal
RE/MAX Centre Realtors - Warwick, PA
REALTOR,ABR,CRS,SRES,GRI - Bucks County & Philadel

Thank you for reblogging the post.

Feb 21, 2014 09:11 PM
John Wiley
Fort Myers, FL
Lee County, FL, ECO Broker, GRI, SRES,GREEN,PSA

Richard and Beth, I appreciate the good information you give us.

Have a great week end.

Feb 21, 2014 09:21 PM
John Wiley
Fort Myers, FL
Lee County, FL, ECO Broker, GRI, SRES,GREEN,PSA

Gita, thanks for the comment. Hope the post helped you as it did me.

Have a great weekend.

Feb 21, 2014 09:21 PM
Lawrence "Larry" & Sheila Agranoff. Cell: 631-805-4400
The Top Team @ Charles Rutenberg Realty 255 Executive Dr, Plainview NY 11803 - Plainview, NY
Long Island Condo and Home Specialists

We've seen this happen many times...The first offer may be the BEST offer!

Feb 21, 2014 09:53 PM
Joe Petrowsky
Mortgage Consultant, Right Trac Financial Group, Inc. NMLS # 2709 - Manchester, CT
Your Mortgage Consultant for Life

Good morning John. Great choice for a re-blog. Beth did a great job sharing an important lesson that many learn the hard way.

Make it a great weekend!

Feb 21, 2014 10:20 PM
John Wiley
Fort Myers, FL
Lee County, FL, ECO Broker, GRI, SRES,GREEN,PSA

Good morning Joe. I am sure you experience the mistakes people make also.

If we can help the consumer with these educational messages it would help everyone.

Thanks

Feb 21, 2014 10:32 PM
Allison Stewart
St.Cloud Homes - Saint Cloud, FL
St. Cloud Fl Realtor, Osceola County Real Estate 407-616-9904

"Cash in hand" is better than hanging onto a hope.

Feb 24, 2014 05:30 PM
John Wiley
Fort Myers, FL
Lee County, FL, ECO Broker, GRI, SRES,GREEN,PSA

Allison, you are right, it is just so hard for some to understand.

Thanks for the comment.

Feb 24, 2014 08:06 PM
Ralph Gorgoglione
Metro Life Homes - Palm Springs, CA
California and Hawaii Real Estate (310) 497-9407

John, grea re-blog.  Sometimes ego and greed cause sellers to lose out on selling their home when they are asking for too much.

Feb 25, 2014 07:09 AM
John Wiley
Fort Myers, FL
Lee County, FL, ECO Broker, GRI, SRES,GREEN,PSA

Thanks for the comment Ralph. You are right, we often get in the way of what is best for us.

Feb 25, 2014 10:54 PM
Tina Parker
EXP Realty Canada Inc. - Halifax, NS
Managing Associate Broker

This sellers' mistake is so true and unfortunate.  Egos get in the way far too many times

Feb 27, 2014 12:49 AM
John Wiley
Fort Myers, FL
Lee County, FL, ECO Broker, GRI, SRES,GREEN,PSA

Thanks for the comment Tina. Egos can be a bear.

Feb 27, 2014 01:37 AM
Shanna Hall
Real Estate Solutions - Kirkwood, MO
I love selling houses!!!St. Louis, MO 314-703-1311

John- excellent re-blog choice!  Love the way the points were backed up with real stories!

Mar 18, 2014 01:16 AM
John Wiley
Fort Myers, FL
Lee County, FL, ECO Broker, GRI, SRES,GREEN,PSA

Thanks for the comments Shanna. We want the best for the consumer.

Apr 02, 2014 09:10 PM