I know many folks don't understand the real estate process, much less how much training a real estate agent ends up taking or how many reams of forms are involved in selling property.
There is little difference in most people's minds between one real estate agent and another until they actually start working with one of us. How we handle customers who are reluctant to put their home on the market when they really need to is a good way to build your reputation.
I recently had a very good call with a couple who is thinking about selling their home.
Having lived in small towns much of my life I understand the desire for privacy and for wanting to get everything organized in your mind before neighbors start asking questions.
Making the decision to sell your home which has been your pride and joy for a number of years is a tough decision. Usually it comes with a bunch of other hard decisions such as where you are going and what you are going to do with all the stuff you have accumulated.
Often it is even worse because the decision to sell has been precipitated by a death or illness in the family which sometimes brings the realization that you cannot look after your home like you used to do.
While we real estate agents aren't the cause of all these problems, we are a very visible reminder that some tough decisions are going to be made. Until we get involved it can be all speculation and what if we moved. I had done a lot of research before my call, and I think going through the research in a very methodical way gave my potential clients time to get used to me and to the idea of selling their property.
Once the papers are signed, it is pretty easy to have a knot in your stomach about your future especially in this market where buyers are scarce.
I think our challenge is to try to help people through the very emotional decision to put their home on the market. We can't remove all the challenges, but in doing our job very professionally we can make a huge difference and lift some of that weight from our clients' shoulders.
Yet we have to do it in a way where we present a realistic scenario as to what they might face. It is certainly not easy for them to jump into a market which they have not touched in twenty years. I know I try hard to prepare people for the process and for the challenge of buyers' market. So far my customers are very appreciative of the extra research and preparation that I bring to the table.
Still I wasn't surprised recently when someone asked me to show up in a vehicle without any real estate signage. I totally understood their need for privacy, because I know that once the sign goes up in the yard, it is a while before there is some relief from answering neighborly questions.
It is hard to have those feelings when you have moved lots, but that doesn't make those thoughts any less real for those who haven't moved in ten or twenty years.
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