Special offer

I refuse to leave your home until you let me price it right!

By
Real Estate Agent with Brokered by eXp Realty LLC SL # 3014652

Last week my partner Steve received a call for a listing appointment. It happen to be in Century Village of Deerfield Beach Florida. Now he usually handles all of our buyers. As a matter of fact...we just sold 4 units in there in the last 3 months and they were all cash deals and they closed within 2 weeks to 1 month. We also have closed 4 rentals in there as well. we know pretty much every model in there after having showed over 100 of them to the buyers and renters we worked with so we have a pretty good idea what they want. This particular unit is a bit different from the others. It is only a two story building versus the normal 4 story high-rise. They called us from a postcard we mailed out almost 2 years ago. Most of the postcards we mailed out were delivered but about 50 came back. We never received any calls from this mailing until now. "pretty amazing huh?"

So now we go on this appointment to meet the sellers. They are probably in their 80's to 90's..."god I hope I live that long and can still function." Anyway we go to meet the people and their daughter was present as well....she actually lives there too so she wanted to be involved to protect her parents interests which was fine with us. She was really nice but she was their voice so we had to show her what the property values are in their community. We also knew going in that the property had been listed before.

I always check the history first just in case there are any surprises. The place was in pretty good condition. It also had a water view and a nice private location. We explained to them that there were over 400 units on the market there and only about 200 that closed since the beginning of the year. The range of value was anywhere from $50,000 to $85,000. Originally it was listed at $89,000 for six months.

I wanted to find out what happened and why it did not sell. I asked them how many showings they had..they told me six and no offers. I now knew we definitely had a price issue. We really were trying to convince them to price it in the low $80's range because of the averages we came up with. The daughter said.."I want to price it at $96,000 because my parents need to clear $91,000. I told the women that there was probably no chance it would sell at that price unless there was a change in the market. I feel we have another 24-36 months before we see any change for the better...we just have to suck it up in the meantime. I kept going back and forth with the daughter. I asked her that if 6 months ago you were not making any progress at $89,000 then how in the world would pricing it at a higher price help you? I could not really understand her reasons but I said..."it has been a pleasure meeting you all and we appreciate the opportunity but we have been in your home for almost 3 hours and I refuse to leave here without pricing it right or we leave now without the listing." They finally bought the idea and so after 3 hours of jousting we priced it at $84,500 which hopefully will be a good price to draw offers. They just emailed us the other day that they were very pleased when they saw all the advertising we sent them for their property. Since Century Village is a great place for adult living....... I think we might have to do a little farming there.

It just goes to show you that even though it is not a large deal...persistence pays off and honesty still rules for respect. As Realtors(R) it is our job to guide the clients in the right direction.

For more information please contact Neal The Real Deal Bloom-Realtor® /Remax Hometown

 Remax Real Estate Weston Florida                                                                                        Weston Realtor(R) Neal Bloom-copyright 2007

2500 Weston Road ,Suite 103

Weston FL 33331

(954)608-5556

The Real Deal tells it Like it is in Real Estate-copyright © 2007-All rights reserved 

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Posted by

Neal Bloom

Comments (36)

Neal Bloom
Brokered by eXp Realty LLC - Weston, FL
Realtor CRS-Weston FL Real Estate

Michael,

It was a battle for the gold!

Aug 04, 2007 09:20 AM
George Souto
George Souto NMLS #65149 FHA, CHFA, VA Mortgages - Middletown, CT
Your Connecticut Mortgage Expert
Neal, people do not realize that if comps can not be found to support a selling price then they will have an appraisal problem.  In market conditions like we are in it would be very difficult to get an appraisal for a higher value than the last highest sale in that complex.  But since you do all these cash deals that we mortgage guys just love you for, $96,000 should have been a piece of cake for you :)
Aug 04, 2007 09:31 AM
Missy Caulk
Missy Caulk TEAM - Ann Arbor, MI
Savvy Realtor - Ann Arbor Real Estate
Neal, I admire your persistance. three hours ? I would have been gone in half the time. A good lesson for me.
Aug 04, 2007 09:39 AM
Neal Bloom
Brokered by eXp Realty LLC - Weston, FL
Realtor CRS-Weston FL Real Estate

Hi George,

Usually in that complex and price most senior citizens do not want a loan at their age so they usually opt to the cash and this way they do not have to worry if something happens down the road with the debt.

Missy,

The reason it was 3 was because my partner can;t shut up ...and I thought I talked a lot...the people might have aged just sitting there that long:)

Aug 04, 2007 09:43 AM
George Souto
George Souto NMLS #65149 FHA, CHFA, VA Mortgages - Middletown, CT
Your Connecticut Mortgage Expert
Neal, since I am getting a lot closer to that age than I would like, that explaination works for me.  So did you sell it yet???
Aug 04, 2007 10:30 AM
Randy L. Prothero
eXp Realty - Hollister, MO
Missouri REALTOR, (808) 384-5645
I never stop being amazed by folks that think they can ask a ridicules price and still expect you to do your magic.
Aug 04, 2007 11:43 AM
Kaye Thomas
Real Estate West - Manhattan Beach, CA
e-PRO, Manhattan Beach CA
Neal- I have a feeling you will earn every dime and then some on this one..
Aug 04, 2007 04:15 PM
Paula Henry
Home to Indy Team @ HomeSmart Realty Group - Avon, IN
Realtor - Indianapolis Real Estate - 317-605-4174
Neal - Love the title of this post! That's one way to get the listing - refuse to leave! Of course you know if it sells too quickly they will think it was priced too low:) Good Luck!
Aug 04, 2007 05:58 PM
Thomas Weiss
Thomas R. Weiss - West Palm Beach, FL

Neil,

Persitence pays, as you have showed us:0) Nice Job..

Tom Weiss

Aug 04, 2007 07:35 PM
Allison Stewart
St.Cloud Homes - Saint Cloud, FL
St. Cloud Fl Realtor, Osceola County Real Estate 407-616-9904

Neal

The best close is the honest truth. It makes no sense to invest advertising dollars in an overpriced listing. After 3 hours drawing the call to action on the part of your sellers was your best plan.  Good luck and sell well.

Aug 04, 2007 11:09 PM
Neal Bloom
Brokered by eXp Realty LLC - Weston, FL
Realtor CRS-Weston FL Real Estate

George,

No not yet...just put it out on the market 3 days ago....I guess we shall see...but I stood firm on this.

Randy,

That is one of the reasons that listings expire and the next Realtor(R) gets the job...it does not make sense..we all tend to do this but how many unsellable ones do we need to carry?

Kaye,

That is just it...every dime...but we know the referrals will come from it later.:)

Paula,

They couldn't move me..I'm too big so they had to give it to us.:)

Tom,

I'm a lover...not a fighter:)

Allison,

I keep telling my partner that..but sometimes he just likes babysitting. If you babysit..don't you think you should get paid for it?:)Thanks!

Aug 05, 2007 01:00 AM
Jeff R. Geoghan
Coldwell Banker Realty - Lancaster, PA
REALTOR, Marketing Manager
Good post on perseverance, Neal.  I'm mildly surprised they didn't try to bring up the commission issue.  Around here we've got agents throwing out discounts left and right to get the inventory.  Then they don't apply the "savings" to the price and it sits anyway!  Discount commissions aren't the answer, proper pricing is.  
Aug 05, 2007 06:16 AM
Thesa Chambers
West + Main - Bend, OR
Principal Broker - Licensed in Oregon
wow your writing mood is back - I am excited..... you know funnier things have happened it just may sell :o)
Aug 05, 2007 07:45 AM
Neal Bloom
Brokered by eXp Realty LLC - Weston, FL
Realtor CRS-Weston FL Real Estate

Jeff,

Believe it or not...commission was no issue. It was price...after all we do not get paid until the deal is done so until they get a contract there is no commission anyway.

Aug 06, 2007 12:11 AM
Neal Bloom
Brokered by eXp Realty LLC - Weston, FL
Realtor CRS-Weston FL Real Estate

Thesa,

My mood?:)

Yeah..now if I can think of another post to write about .....

Aug 06, 2007 12:12 AM
Jeff Belonger
Social Media - Infinity Home Mortgage Company, Inc - Cherry Hill, NJ
The FHA Expert - FHA Loans - FHA mortgages - USDA loans - VA Loans

Neal...  this is so true. Persistence. Also, just for the fact that you didn't get any so-called response from that previous mailing that you did, until now. Go figure. Sometimes it is good to be last and not first, right. Good job and good luck with this one.  PS>..  I wonder why she said that they needed to clear 91K. I thought this was going to be another one of those  "the clients are under water" type blogs. Glad that this was different.

jeff belonger

Aug 06, 2007 02:06 AM
Irene Potter
ZipRealty Residential Brokerage - Maple Valley, WA
Creating moving experiences in real estate
Good job, Neal! I had one a few months ago which went the other way so you'll have to fly up here when I get into one of those sticky wickets again :-)
Aug 06, 2007 05:06 AM
Neal Bloom
Brokered by eXp Realty LLC - Weston, FL
Realtor CRS-Weston FL Real Estate

Jeff,

Many of the mailers I have sent out have gotten us both listings and sales from them.Thanks and who knows why.

Irene,

No thanks I have enough of my own:)

Aug 06, 2007 12:54 PM
Allison Stewart
St.Cloud Homes - Saint Cloud, FL
St. Cloud Fl Realtor, Osceola County Real Estate 407-616-9904
Congratulations Neal on hitting the 100,000 point mark!
Aug 07, 2007 12:35 AM
Neal Bloom
Brokered by eXp Realty LLC - Weston, FL
Realtor CRS-Weston FL Real Estate

Allison,

Thanks...I didn't even think anyone would notice unless I wrote about it..but i just did..you reminded me.:)

Aug 07, 2007 02:21 AM