A church "friend" who I haven't heard from for years recently called me stating she wanted to pick my brain as to how she could list her home for sale on the MLS and sell it as a FSBO. I told her the fee for listing in the MLS and then went on to ask why she would want to sell it herself. She replied stating oh I just want to try it out before I give it to a Realtor. My ears caught on fast when she said she would give it to a Realtor, not give it to me!
I explained to the "friend" that selling property is a lot more complicated than listing it in the MLS and putting a sign in her yard. I explained that the property has to be in the right price range to sell and in order to get it into that right range she would have to research recent SOLDs in her neighborhood and also look at Pending sales and Active listings. She would also have to realize that you can't compare apples to apples as each home brings different qualities, amenities, upgrades etc. which has to be added or subtracted when comparing to other homes for sale, sold or pending. I also told her how important it is to screen potential buyers for their ability to buy and cautioned her about letting strangers into her home.
Then I mentioned the fact that numerous problems and issues can evolve during the sales process and how meeting deadlines for loan commitments, inspections etc. and putting fires out not to mention keeping all involved in the transaction calm are all part of getting a deal closed and even after all that some deals fail to close! I ended the speech by saying that's why Realtors have to be licensed and 99% of homes are sold by Realtors because it takes on going education, experience and knowledge of the local market to successfully close deals. The "friend" replied, oh I have sold properties before so I just want to pick your brains, text me your email address and you can send me all the information I need to help me do this myself.
At the conclusion of the call I put DNA (DO NOT ANSWER) after the ex friend's name! I am more than willing to help anyone anyway that I can and like most Realtors I strive to give the best service to my clients but I am NOT willing to allow people to disrespect my profession and abuse my time and this ex friend was trying to do this. I have had past experience of the "friend" wasting my time on other issues but disrespect me once shame on you, do it twice, shame on me!
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