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Attitude Adjustment --- what is a “little” sale?

By
Real Estate Agent with Alain Pinel BRE 01367196

Attitude Adjustment --- what is a “little” sale?

Dear Diary,Big dog small dog

I’m getting requests to buy and list condos for less than $200,000, many of which are short sales. These sales add up. And as long as I’m busy, I have busi-ness!

Each sale, no matter how big or small, is a joy.

I have to have an attitude adjustment about the length of time it takes to close escrow on short sales of properties valued at less than $200,000.


In our neck of the woods in the Bay area, prices are a lot higher than what they are elsewhere. I need to remember that these “little” sales are not so little elsewhere, like where I used to live in Tallahassee and Orlando FL.


In 2001, we sold our home in Palma Vista, a gated golf community in Orlando FL. That home had 4 bedrooms, 3 baths, 3-car garage 3000 sq ft, screened in swimming pool, really high ceilings (18 ft high) on a half acre lot.

We moved to San Francisco CA, and were dismayed that for what we sold our Orlando home for, all we can afford in San Francisco was a 600 sq ft 1 bedroom/1 bath unit in a three-bedroom building without parking space!

In time, after settling in Alameda CA, I got used to the prices, and managed to list and sell higher-priced properties, including a 10-unit building.

Today, no matter the size of the sale -- big or small ----the goal is to give good service --- before, during and after the sale --- and then hope that clients will remember and that they will refer me to their associates. That’s the ultimate objective: Referrals!

Comments (56)

Christine Donovan
Donovan Blatt Realty - Costa Mesa, CA
Broker/Attorney 714-319-9751 DRE01267479 - Costa M
Pacita - Those of us in California have a slightly skewed version of what an inexpensive home is.
May 04, 2012 03:43 PM
Pacita Dimacali
Alain Pinel - Oakland, CA
Alameda/Contra Costa Counties CA

Christine --- yep, California is a totally different market. I remember when I was still living in Florida, every time I visited California, I picked up the Homes and Lands magazine. It was always a means of amusement when the Floridians saw how much Californians pay for a "shack".

May 04, 2012 03:51 PM
Jeff Dowler, CRS
eXp Realty of California, Inc. - Carlsbad, CA
The Southern California Relocation Dude

Pacita

It truly IS about the attitude. The sale of a home, no matter what the price, is what is important to our clients.

Jeff

May 04, 2012 04:00 PM
Pacita Dimacali
Alain Pinel - Oakland, CA
Alameda/Contra Costa Counties CA

Jeff -- and we should weigh in who or what is most important: our clients!

May 04, 2012 04:04 PM
Hella Mitschke Rothwell
(831) 626-4000 - Honolulu, HI
Hawaii & California Real Estate Broker

Pacita: One of my "small" sales brought so much happiness to an elderly lady, and that made up for the "small" commission check

May 04, 2012 04:17 PM
Pacita Dimacali
Alain Pinel - Oakland, CA
Alameda/Contra Costa Counties CA

Hella

And occasions like that make our jobs so fulfilling. Small check, large dose of happiness :)

May 04, 2012 04:22 PM
Doug Bullwinkel
E Mortgage Capital, Inc. NMLS 1416824 - Roseville, CA
Mortgage Loan Officer NMLS #281609

Those little $200,000 deals are median price sales in the Sacramento area.  Every sale is a dream fulfilled for a homebuyer and it's the most important thing in their lives at that time.  Even the investors dream of making money so these are important to them too.  These small's can result in many more referrals and some big's down the road.

May 04, 2012 04:41 PM
Pete Xavier
Investments to Luxury - Pacific Palisades, CA
Outstanding Agent Referrals-Nationwide

Pacita,

You've made some really good points and I'll take heed.

Lower priced homes rock for that they could help solidify many transactions down the line and build an agents reputation.

May 04, 2012 04:54 PM
Don Barrett
Integrity Real Estate Services - Idabel, OK

Pacita,  I love your attitude.  That $200,000 home would be a great listing here.  

May 04, 2012 09:13 PM
Paul & Diane Boykin
Keller Williams Realty Greater Athens - Watkinsville, GA

"Little" here refers to those under $50,000!

May 04, 2012 09:14 PM
Amanda Christiansen
Christiansen Group Realty (260)704-0843 - Fort Wayne, IN
Christiansen Group Realty

Large or small, we sell em all!  Not sure where that came from, but it popped in my head as I read this.                                      

May 04, 2012 10:05 PM
Pamela Smith
Award Realty - Sun City West, AZ
Sun City West, Corte Bella, Sun City Grand

Having come from the Bay Area, I understand.  Make the most of what you can.

May 05, 2012 12:02 AM
Elizabeth Weintraub Sacramento Broker
Elizabeth Anne Weintraub, Broker - Sacramento, CA
Put 40 years of experience to work for you

Agents gain a reputation and become known by that reputation based on the listings they sell. Can't say that the thought has not occurred to me when I list a home for $50,000 whether it makes sense to do it. But then I figure if I don't do it, especially when it's a short sale, that seller might go to foreclosure, so I take it. Besides, it's really not the money; it's the challenge and the fun of our business. The day I turn down a listing because the price isn't high enough is the day I should leave the business.

May 05, 2012 01:14 AM
Joni Bailey
101 Main St. Realty - Huntsville, TX
Your Huntsville / Lake Livingston Area REALTOR®

I have said to my managing broker... I have a small closing today on a $5,000 lot. His answer... every closing is a BIG closing. Some are just bigger than others. I am thankful for every one of them. Thanking God for a wonderful managing broker who keeps my thinking on track!

May 05, 2012 01:45 AM
Pacita Dimacali
Alain Pinel - Oakland, CA
Alameda/Contra Costa Counties CA

Doug --- I have to go back in time and remember that my first house was $26,000. It isn't the price, but the joy that marked that purchase.

Pete --- in time, these little sales grow to a network of satisfied clients who refer us.

Valerie ---in my office, I'm like one of a few short sale listing agents who help clients with properties worth less than $200K (some less than $100K). And I'm also one of the busiest!

Don --- and that's what I have to remember. Our market is very different from others. What some will consider "little" here and big elsewhere. Just thankful for the business!

Paul and Diane --- as such, I am grateful.

May 05, 2012 01:58 AM
Lyn Sims
Schaumburg, IL
Real Estate Broker Retired

Pacita:  That's the way I look at it also. I just worked with a buyer the other day who was telling me agents refused to work with her because of her purchase price of $50 to $55K.

May 05, 2012 10:50 PM
Bryan Robertson
Los Altos, CA

My first manager had a phrase "Sell 'em big, sell 'em small, sell 'em all".  I love higher end properties but no matter how small, a deal is a deal.

 

May 07, 2012 01:07 AM
Sharon Tara
Sharon Tara Transformations - Portsmouth, NH
Retired New Hampshire Home Stager

What a GREAT post!!  You have a fabulous attitude and I'm glad you shared it!!  If this wasn't already Featured, I would have suggested it!

May 07, 2012 04:52 AM
Pacita Dimacali
Alain Pinel - Oakland, CA
Alameda/Contra Costa Counties CA

Lyn ---- sad that your buyer was turned down by others; glad that you took up the flag to restore confidence in what we do as realtors.

Bryant --- love that!

Sharon --- from the comments here, looks like there are many of us who feel that way.

May 07, 2012 04:57 AM
Brian Park
Danville, CA

My first broker always told me to handle a persons needs, not their properties, big or small we handle them all.

Along those lines a guy I meet at real estate school that I became great friend with, started with a brokerage in Oakland and a elderly widow came into the office saying she wanted to sell a old home near the Berkeley UC Campus, and the other agents in the office were very familiar with the street and they all pointed at my friend as the one to handle the deal. He took the listing and when she had left they all had a lot of fun with my buddy. Well, back then if you made $6k you had a good year, and his little problem property listing evolved into $272K of commissions.

Well, I had been investing for 10 years before I got my license and helped him in the early stages because no one in his office was including the broker until he saw the potential dollar signs attached to the 50/50 split. Even though my first office was in San Leandro, I was totally familiar with Berkeley, plus my wife was born and raised in the Berkeley hills. When all the dust had settled he took my wife and I on one great vacation. And on that vacation we both decided to go for our brokers licenses together.

May 08, 2012 05:37 AM