Home buyer/seller myth #10. "I can save a lot of money using a limited service agency. They will just charge me $500 to put my house in the MLS and I can sell it myself"
Once again, Guys, if it was easy, I wouldn't have a job! People outside of the business have no idea where to price their home, so they price it way above market. "Someone will make an offer" they say.
Well I experienced one of these yesterday. It was priced $15000 over market. I showed it , thinking, t...his is not going to be fun, should my clients decide to buy it. They liked it and I wrote an offer, based on market price. Obviously, the deal fell apart, as we could not come to an agreement. (I'm not negotiating with an agent, but with a homeowner who says that he is an experienced negotiator) yeh right.
When the negotiations fell apart, my clients bought another home , not a limited service listing.
Now, think about this for a minute. What if it had worked out? Then you have a home inspection. The seller has no agent to tell him what he needs to fix and what he doesn't. So you run into another obstacle at that point. Who is going to let the appraiser and termite inspector in? If it doesn't appraise for contract price, what then?
Why would any agent work both sides and get paid for one?
I got a call from another seller, who has a great home, but is listed with a limited service agency. She has had a lot of showings, but no offers. Could it be that her home is a few years old, but it is priced higher than new construction in her neighborhood? There have been 10 homes sold around her, since her home has been listed. Is home home better than many of these? Yes, but it has not been marketed the way it should be.
The question is, Mr. Seller, how much have you saved if you make a years worth of payments on a home that you no longer live in or need?
Thanks for listening to my rants. More later
Steve Houck, ABR, GRI
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