Seller, Don't Start Second Guessing Yourself.
We have all seen it happen. The agent comes in with the most recent comps to discuss listing the house. A pricing strategy is discussed and staging and showing conditions are laid out. The seller is excited and on board and asks how long the agent thinks it will take to sell.
This question doesn't come easy. It is hard to know because we have seen beautiful homes priced right sit on the market for months. So the agent answers that it depends on the buyer pool, market condtions and competition. It could be rather quick or it could take weeks or months. You don't know until we put it on the market for buyers to see.
All is now ready and the house goes on the market. Thankfully the seller has done all the things requested of him to make the home show its best. The agent takes some great photos and launches the marketing campaign in a big way.
Then it happens. A call comes in and a buyer wants to see the home today. The seller scurries out of the house after making sure everything looks in order. The buyer stays a couple of hours and is really loving the house. He leaves with his agent to go put an offer together. The offer is sent to the listing agent and she notifies the seller.
The seller is so happy, happy, happy. Someone likes his house, boy that didn't take long at all. He thinks to himself that he did a really great job getting it ready and he has the best house on the block. Why shouldn't the buyer like it after all he spent thousands in upgrades that the listing agent said he wouldn't get back? He even had a professional stager come in and make it a showplace. This cost him lots of money too.
The agent arrives to present the offer. The seller's enthusiasm has now cooled. The agent goes over the price and terms of the offer. The buyer's offer is just a little under full price and he asked for a condition or two. Now the seller doesn't seem nearly as anxious or excited. He is almost indignant and states, I think we priced it too low. That happened too quickly.
The agent explains that the correct pricing produced the offer. The seller says There have got to be more buyers out there that are willing to pay more. The agent remains calm on the outside but is getting tenser by the minute.
More of her negotiating skills are used to try to calm the seller and tell him what a good offer it is so he will be reasonable. The seller is digging his heels in, If the buyer wants my house, he will pay my price with no conditions.
The agent encourages a small compromise here or there in a counteroffer. The seller says No. So a counteroffer is sent back at full price with all conditions removed. There was no giving at all on the seller's side. The seller again says, The buyer will pay my price or he can buy someplace else. There will be other buyers. We are not in that big a hurry anyway.
The Buyer interprets the counteroffer correctly and does just that. He buys a house down the street that has been on the market a few weeks longer where the seller would do a little negotiating.
Meantime, the listing agent continues with an aggressive marketing campaign but the word has gotten out through the neighbors and real estate community that this is a difficult seller that won't budge. When a contract is finally negotiated, the seller nets out thousands less than anticipated and it took months to get it closed.
Seller, Don't Start Second Guessing Yourself. Be willing to negotiate and trust what your agent tells you all the way through.
Sellers in the Clarksville area, if you need an agent that can advise you on negotiations and protect your interests, then contact Debbie Reynolds at 931-320-6730.
Photo by markuso/freedigitalphotos.net.
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