Everyone Appreciates Honesty Right? Not Always.

Some people cannot be pleased no matter what you do and when the house doesn't sell then you will probably get a call about the "other Realtor" and "how she hurt the seller's feelings"!!!!!  It is good now b/c you don't have to waste your time or money trying......let the seller get realistic and then maybe it will sell.  Tell your investor friends about it you never know in a few months from now she may let it go at investor pricing.......

Sybil.

You did a professional job.  You did not mislead the seller.

But, because you didn't tell her what she wanted to hear, she wants to make it about YOU.  Don't let her get away with it.

When the house doesn't sell, and it won't, she'll want to make it about the agent that didn't sell it. 

Just put these folks behind you. 

Hi Sybil

Lenn beat me to it!

I know it feels horrible when you "lose a listing" and her words hurt. However, what you saw, and made comment on are exactly the same issues potential buyers will see and not like as well.  Realtor "Susie SugarCoat-It" was willing to say anything to get the listing. But here's the catch...

And Again Lenn was right...

Marketing the Home is Business. 

It costs YOU money to promote it.

 It costs YOU time to show it.

The marketability of the property is YOUR call. If you truly felt it will not command the money she needs, then that was a good call on YOUR part.

This is a buyers Market. Carrying unsellable properties cuts into your marketing budget as well as your reputation. 

Trust Yourself just enough to know a "problem property" when you see one. You can't get paid unless it sells.

You have not lost a thing!  I hope you feel better now.  ;-)

 

 

I can understand, she did not want to hear your honest opinion. The other agent told what she wanted to hear and when the house doesn't sell she will be calling you. Don't let this seller bring you down.

Don't waste your valuable time worrying about this seller.  If they want a "yes" person - let them have one.  Move forward and find buyers and sellers that work with you intelligently and in reality.  Often my sellers (mainly builders) allow that you never have to wonder what I am thinking because if I think it, I will say it.  My business thrives on this basis - they know they can trust me to give them the best advice I can to sell their property (good, bad or indifferent) - no sucking up....just good communication. All great relationships (personal and professional) depend on good communication. 

I've lost several listings in the past because of my honesty about the house.  I went to list a house on Aug 1 that the seller has been working on since April to get ready.  I walked in and told him it was still not pictureable and not listable.  His jaw dropped.  We wrote another list of what he needed to get done, and I'm going back out there on Monday to see, but it's amazing how some people think their house is made of gold and most others will see that it's just plated.  If this wasn't the father of a past client, he probably would have found another agent, but his daughter is pushing to just do what I say.  With others, I don't have that chance, but I'm not willing to market a dog in today's market.

If you are going to lose a listing this is the way to do it, with honesty. Some people do not want to hear it, but will not forget it. She wind other reasons to be frustrated with her current realtor and I doubt she will ever come around, but do you really need the aggravation. You wants someont to work with you to sell their home. You don't want to list the home you want to sell it!

You did the right thing.  Some people do not want to know the truth.  Be glad you have great values, and did the right thing.  The best thing you can do at this point, is put it out of your mind and say next.  When a person rejects the message from the messenger, it is OK!  It is OK even if the message is the boat is sinking, and you need to put on a life jacket and get into the life boat.  It is not your fault they do not follow your advice and disaster befalls them.  Life is tough!

Thanks for commenting on my post on Allyssa. I am just getting back into the swing of things and wanted to visit you blog to leave a comment here.

You were honest. She was hurt, oh well. Move on you did the right thing and time will prove it. Don't ever tickle a clients ears to get a listing.

I believe being honest and truthful is the best policy. And I also believe the delivery and words chosen to convey the honesty is the key to one receiving it well. If this is done and the person still does not receive it well, there is nothing you can do. The problem is theirs not yours. 

I'd track the progress the other agent is making with this listing.  Don't let 'em get you down!

Sybil, not to minimize how this made you feel but just shake it off!  Maybe you have already.  I've learned to love the word "Next" in this business.  I recently met with a seller about listing her house and although the meeting was very cordial and we've had a couple of very friendly conversations since then, I did not want the listing.  I did struggle with how to tactfully turn down the listing but I managed it.  There were two main reasons:  she believe her home should be priced many thousands above what it really should be and even the facts in black and white didn't sway her and her house was unbelieveably cluttered with knick knacks and large furniture that she had no intention of doing anything about.  She was a nice lady but I felt her stubborness would really cause too much grief and Realtors get enough of that without willingly asking for it.  She tickled me though because I referred to another agent whom she went with and then told me that I missed my chance!  Some people just don't get it and I guess those are the ones who never will! My comment is so long, I guess I should have responded to you in a blog about this.

Sybil - You did absolutely NOTHING wrong!  If a seller wants someone to tell them that their shack is a castle then let them use someone else.  We are business people, and have no need to deliberately anger a seller.  More importantly, we are real estate professionals and we know the market better than them.  Ultimately, this seller will not like the happy-go-lucky REALTOR that she chose because the home isn't going to sell, and she's going to get frustrated.  Most of the time, the seller and agent start off happy with each other, and then the relationship suffers when the seller blames the agent for the house not selling.  You wanted to take the home at the right price.  The seller wasn't willing to sell it at the right price, so you're better off without the listing.  What they may or may not realize is that we have to spend money out of our pockets to get the home marketed, and it's not worth doing so if we're not going to be able to sell the home.  Move on to the next person knowing that you did what was right by this person, even though she fails to see it that way.

Sybil,  Be glad that you didn't sugar coat everything, and cave on the principles when you realize that 6 months down the road you haven't spent a bunch of money on a dead listing. 

Sybil,

You did absolutely the right thing.  Chances are this property is going to sit on the market for months and at some point this seller is going to realize that all you were doing was trying to HELP HER.  It always bugs me that there are agents in our industry that will tell a seller anything that they think they want to hear in order to get a listing. 

Let us know how long it takes "upbeat" to get this one sold.

Sybil: Integrity first! Good for you. A listing is just a listing if it won't sell. These are difficult times and a seller needs to not only be able to hear the truth, but also must be able to accept it. If we all had the guts to be totally honest with our clients, the market would be in much better shape right now.

You should be proud of yourself for being honest!  I applaud you.  This seller is likely not going to sell the home given what you've described.  As Kim said, you did absolutely the right thing.

Kathy

Sybil,

 Good for you, I get tired of hearing complete nonsense coming out of agents mouth's  so they can tell everyone whatever they want to hear. Glad to no there are others who feel the same way I do.

I am happy to announce West Metro Board of REALTORS in Carrollton GA has scheduled me for a full day of training April 23rd at their office on Bankhead Hwy.  If you own a Smartphone or thinking about buying a Smartphone then you want to be there!  We are having 6 hours of training with 3 hours of hands on training, so bring your chargers.  If you have any questions on what will be covered I have a link below on the class schedule.

Smartphone users, feel like your Smartphone is smarter then you?  Do you want to work Smarter not Harder?

If you don't currently own a Smartphone but know you need one, then ATTEND!  Normally 25% of my classes are agents thinking about buying a phone and I am there to help you decide what is best for you and where the best deals are.

Here's a link for more info;

http://www.dickbetts.com/carrolton.html

Dick I am sure hoping you asked for permission before advertising on someone else's post.\

 

Sybil - you don't tell them what they want to hear, you tell them the truth - because that is what they really need and it is the right thing to do.