But the website says my house is worth over (insert astronomical figure here)!
Dear Property Seller,
I am so pleased to finally meet you in person. As you could probably tell by our email correspondence, I am honest, straight-forward and strive to provide an exceptional client experience to Toluca Lake, Hollywood Hills and San Fernando Valley home sellers and home buyers. You asked for my help after your listing languished on the market for the better part of a year. So when I asked why you believed your property hasn't sold and you gave me every excuse in the book EXCEPT that the home is over-priced, I can predict the future. The reason I transform into a "psychic" is because you clearly indicate that you will not do anything differently in order to catalyze a sale. He who doesn't study history is doomed to repeat it.
You back away from a new, aggressive pricing strategy, because you're certain your home is worth up to multiple hundreds of thousands more than the actual comps say. You insist your property's location is better than it really is. You say you will do this and fix that but you will do it as cheaply as 
possible. Just because a certain website estimates your property is worth well over a million dollars doesn't make it so. The market has spoken but I'm afraid, dear seller, that you have not been listening. A buyer with a loan most likely will need an appraisal. The appraiser will use the current sold comps to help determine value, not the secret algorithm of a distant computer owned by a multi-billion-dollar corporation. They don't understand the difference between Toluca Lake, Toluca Woods and North Hollywood let alone care if there are no sidewalks or that a school is a stone's throw away from the home. Buyers care about these things, especially price.
A human being will buy your home, dear seller, and today's buyers are more savvy than ever before. Therefore, it is important to see things from their perspective. I know you put a lot of effort into remodeling this property, but that was almost 8 years ago. I also know you are ready to move on but over-pricing your property and denying reality will not result in a windfall for you. History will repeat itself, I will be hindered from doing the best job possible on your behalf and the property will not sell until the price is right in the eyes of prospective buyers. Oh, and about reducing my commission: I was happy to negotiate a small reduction but when you asked for that to be doubled, I had to draw the line and say, "No."
Thank you very much for taking the time to meet. When you're ready to employ my strategy so we can sell the home as quickly and painlessly as possible and at the highest price the market will bear and you understand the unique value my services bring, call me. I'd be thrilled to work with you.
-Risa
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