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What are you doing for your sellers?

By Eileen Landau

Real Estate Agent with BAIRD & WARNER, NAPERVILLE

May 03, 2007 06:32 AM

I received this email this morning.

Thank you for showing my listing. FYI there is a $1000 bonus to the buyers agent if you write a contract by May 15. The owner is also considering finishing the basemant, which is very important for many buyers. So please if your buyer is still loking or you have a new buyer in mind considering making an extra $1000 this month and make another buyer happy.

I emailed her back and suggested the following:

1) REDUCE the price. The home has been on the market forever and there's a ton of competing homes.

2) INCREASE the commission. A time-limited bonus will NOT get agents out there any faster. But, a higher commission will attract more showings. And, then, what is the listing agent going to do when the bonus expires?

3) DO NOT SPEND MONEY FINISHING THE BASEMENT. It's not necessary and it will NOT help the home sell faster. If the seller has enough money to finish the basement then there are other things that can be done.

4) STAGE the house. The property should be immaculate! No dirt; no smells; no clutter.

5) Front landscape. Is there any landscaping? I showed a $600,000 home a few weeks ago that was 3 years old and not a tree, not a shrub, not a flower. That house wasn't going to sell quickly either.

6) PAY BUYER CLOSING COSTS. Or offer to buy down the first three years of the buyer's mortgage. Prepay the association, if any, fee. Include all appliances with the property.

What would you do? Or what are you doing in a slow market to get your listings sold?

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Eileen Landau

BAIRD & WARNER, NAPERVILLE - Naperville, IL

ABR, CRS, e-PRO

Here's the response from the listing agent:

Hi Eileen,

Thank you very much for the advice, pretty straight forward and logical. I
will talk to my seller about it.

Norma

May 03, 2007 06:46 AM

Bryant Tutas

Tutas Towne Realty, Inc and Garden Views Realty, LLC - Winter Garden, FL

Selling Florida one home at a time

Eileen, I keep things pretty simple. Offer a better than average co-broke and instead of offering closing costs assistance and other incentives we reduce the price accordingly. My goal is to get the price as low as possible. If the buyer needs any kind of assistance they are going to ask for it anyway and we can negotiate accordingly at that time. A lower list price creates more showings. My strategy has always been price it right, get it in the best condition as possible and sell it.

May 03, 2007 11:09 AM

Don Fabrizio-Garcia

Fab Real Estate - Danbury, CT

Owner/Broker/Trainer - Fab Real Estate

Hi Eileen - Your points are all valid, and you probably helped that listing agent a lot today.

Price the home competitively and offer a better-than-average co-broke. That's the way to get buyers and buyer agents through the front door. All the other items are important once they're at the home. Great points, and I hope that listing agent appreciates the help you gave her!

May 03, 2007 01:16 PM

Hey Blogger Boy,

Yes...keeping things simple and pricing properties correctly will really help. Yet, we have over 1770 properties on the active market, so competition is tough. Some listing agents are refusing to take listings if they feel the sellers do not understand our slow market.

Don,

As prices have come down in our area you just can't add 5% to the listing price. In fact, it's safer to price property at the mid-point of the market. I just saw a new listing which came on last week at $295,000 reduce to $265,000 this week. It WILL sell at the lower listing price.

May 04, 2007 05:06 AM

Anonymous

hobson west neighborhood?

Any information you could provide about the quality of housing stock, price direction (up/down) typical offers (95, 96% etc.) and any other info you could provide would be helpful

cam1999mail@yahoo.com

I am potential buyer in this area.

May 17, 2007 03:18 AM

What are you doing for your sellers?

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Eileen Landau

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