Admin

The three biggest mistakes a seller makes

By
Real Estate Agent with Kettley and Company

for sale image house for sale in Kendall IllinoisThe reduction in the amont of FSBO (for sale by owners) on the market today is an indication of the seriousness of the declining housing market. The seller would like to cut out the fees realtors work hard to earn. I do not blame them for wanting to save money and when the market is hot they have a chance to save thousands of dollars. It is in these tough times that the true value of a professional realtor is understood.

The price is still the number reason why homes sell or sit. Mr seller price your home to sell or your neighbor will. You will help him sell his home because you are over priced.

The number two reason is condition with home prices averaging over $250,000 why would anyone want to spend that kind of money to do lots of work on it. Buyers are looking for a nice home for their family not another project. The professional stagers here on Active Rain can for sometimes just a few hundred dollars make your home stand out above the formidable and large cintengency of homes for sale.

Both of the above reasons have nothing to do with realtors. They are up to the seller but the third seller mistake is directly attributed to realtors. That is marketing. I can not tell you how many times I have received phone calls from sellers who ask what is your commission rate. I have never been asked what do you do to market my home to sell. Do you have a system to get my home marketed quickly and efficiently and thirdly what do we do after we list our home in the MLS.

couple with happy sold sign

Show All Comments Sort:
Donna Harris
Donna Homes, powered by JPAR - TexasRealEstateMediationServices.com - Austin, TX
Realtor,Mediator,Ombudsman,Property Tax Arbitrator
I got another email just this morning asking what my fee was.  I always say I can't and won't quote fees without seeing the "product".  If the product is not sellable, my fee doesn't matter because I probably won't take the listing.  If they won't present the product to the consumers in the way I think it needs to be presented, be it staging or repairs, there is no need to discuss my fees.  Great post!
Sep 18, 2007 08:42 AM
Brian Schulman
Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage, Lancaster PA - Lancaster, PA
Lancaster County PA RealEstate Expert 717-951-5552

Randy, I hate the question, what is your commission rate.  It implies that every agent does essentially the same thing; therefore, the only difference is the price.

If price were the only factor in, say, furniture, we could all sit on orange crates and save money.

Sep 18, 2007 08:43 AM
Sean Allen
International Financing Solutions - Fort Myers, FL
International Financing Solutions

hhhmmm, I agree with everyone on "what is your fee". The same thing applies to mortgage financing. We can't tell you what our "Fee" is until we have all the information and have a direction to go on the financing.

Sean Allen

Sep 18, 2007 08:53 AM
Roy Kotz
NPDodge - Papillion, NE
Here is a mistake I found a FSBO making yesterday. They had their flier listing the selling points of the home. Not only did they not have extra interior photos, but they labeled the style of their home as a 2 story w/ a walk-out lower level. The home is actually a Ranch w/ a walk-out. And, I am guessing this is all the marketing they had. When I approched the home owner to inquire about working with a buyers agent they said they could not afford to. I think the opposite is probably true.
Sep 18, 2007 09:04 AM
Randy Lyon
Kettley and Company - Oswego, IL

Donna~ We call that "a pig in a poke"

Brian~ The bottom line should be what the seller's should be worried about. "What are you going to do to get me more money for my home?"

Sean~ Even us realtors do not understand how you mortgage guys make your money. It would be a great blog to enlighten us on.

Roy~ You should have told them "you can not afford not to work with a realtor". I'm sure you did and probably left them with a few marketing tips. This biz is really client centric don't you think?

Oct 03, 2007 03:19 AM