I wanted to share an interesting occurence from last night. Now, as a professional real estate agent, one of our most important roles, in m eyes, is telling the client the truth above and beyond all else. If we do not tell them the truth, then we are not helping them at all and more importantly we are hurting them, their financial situation and ourselves. I went on a listing appointment on Friday evening and spent a good hour plus with the homeowners. They had already had their home on the market for quite sometime with another agent and the listing had expired and they were not happy with th results or the marketing (lack of) that had occurred with their previous agent. So we met and as I do with all homeowners I meet with, I prepare a detailed market analysis, anticipated net sheet, marketing plan, comparison of the services I offer for my clients compared to "normal marketing" and other agents so that they are very clear with exactly what I do to get their home sold as well as so they know I work to sell their home! I also provide a suggested list price (in todays market I provide more of a range untill I see the home in more detail) & testimonial letters from past clients. Upon meeting, they were a great family and the situation was unfortunately all too common: They have a brand new home being built that is already under contract. The home will be ready in a month or so and they need a certain amount out of their home in order to afford their new home. So unfortunately, they contracted their new home when the market was in a better situation then it is now and their home will not command the price that they desire. There home was originally priced about $80,000 above what the comps in the neighborhood supportand that is something that none of us can change. We all know, as real estate agents, that the fair market for a home is what a seller is willing to sell the home for and what a buyer is willing to pay for the home. So they wanted to think about what direction they wanted to go and discuss it in more detail as a family. We decided that we would meet again last night (Monday) so that they could come to a resolution. So we met last night for round 2 of our listing appointment. They decided as a family that they desired to list their home with me for they were very impressed with my marketing, what my past clients had said as well as my presentation. They however decided that they were going to list the home with me at the same price that it was listed at previously (about $40,000 overpriced). So we discussed this for awhile and now we get to my point of how important it is to tell the client the truth above and beyond all else. I asked them what the point was in overprcing their home and how if overpriced, we would not get any showings and miss the buyers that we need to see the home. That the most important issue in selling anything is getting eyeballs but at the same time, there is no marketing I can do that will get buyers into their home if the home is overpriced. As well we discussed that overpricing a home only gets the sellers less money in return. I asked the daughter, who is an adult and was involved in both our meetings if she were in my position, would she list the home at a price that she knew wouldn't sell as well then invest her money and time into selling the home. Her answer was a clear "NO". So they decided that they wanted to discuss this more as a family and they would contact me with a list price that they could live with. So now we are back at my point of the utter importance in telling the sellers the truth. Although having listings is very important as a real estate agent and is one of the best ways to get our name out there to the public, listing homes that are overpriced only hurts the sellers and our market. The more overpriced homes we place on the market, the more difficult it becomes for buyers to find the right home and the harder it becomes for the seller to accept a realistic offer. Whether any of us like our markets the way they are or we dont, the reality is that they are what they are and for many of us, that simply means that we need to work harder, better our skils and be willing to turn down listings and say no to clients who are not willing to see the reality of the market for what it is. So, the owners will most likely be calling me in the next few days to provide me a list price they are willing to list the home at and unless it is a price that works with the marekt analysis, then it is not a listing I will be able to take and I will suggest to them that they look into getting out of the contract for their new home or looking into alternative financing options since I cannot sell a home for a price above what it will appraise for and above what buyers are willing to pay for the home. I am sure many of you have had the same experience and I would love to hear how others are handling it and if you are telling clients the truth, my hat goes off to you as well as a heart felt thanks for raising the bar among agents and for your willingness to be honest above all else.
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