Great article Jeff!

Wonderful advice, Jeff. Educating clients is an integral part of our job.

Always give them the truth. It may hurt at times but in the end it is the very best medicine. Great post, jeff.

Jeff Dowler - hope to see this post in Daily Drop.

So many times, the listing agent forgets what seller nets. The number which is so important to the seller. (The FACT and Market conditions are also very important.)

Jeff Dowler I guessed the truth would definitely be on this list!

Good morning Jeff.  Some people really don't realize the cost associated with selling their home.  Education for the sellers is a vital part of our duty.

Jeff Dowler ~ good morning, Jeff. Couldn't have said it better myself! Too many agents let a relationship "die" once everyone steps away from the closing table, so we need to be providing a lot of this during and after a transaction.

Congratulations, Jeff, on your feature recognition. This is great advice for those working with home sellers.

A "road map to the future" is very good advice.  Anticipating and preventing problems down the road can be addressed at the beginning by laying it all out and discussing step-by-step.

Congratulations on your feature. This is great conversation starter with sellers during a listing presentation to demonstrate what you value is

Hi Jeff -- an excellent how-to-guide for agents to share with their sellers during a listing appointment.   A well-deserved gold star post.  

Congrats, Jeff.  This one is certainly feature worthy.  Taking the time to educate both buyers and sellers is usually time well spent.

All good! The financials are the one many Realtors miss. I often wonder why you would take a listing that cannot happen based on the clients desires. When they say...if I don't get $xxxx I will not sell because I do not need to sell. If that figure is unrealistic you are wasting time and showing other buyers/sellers you don't know the market.

Jeff, all great guidelines for a good agent to follow. 

They don't know what they don't know.  You said quite a mouthful there Jeff.  It can be very disheartening for a seller to hear the truth particularly if it's contrary to their needs or beliefs about their house.  But what we have to consider is whether we're honest, upfront and value our integrity or do we want to sell our souls to the devil just to get a listing based on a deceptive practice of telling a seller what they want to hear even if it's a lie.

As for me, I'm taking the route to find a gentle but effective way of informing the seller based on facts and not fiction.

Sellers think they own the house and control price as they want. The reality is they do not own the home (banks do) and the market dictate the going price.

Don't need a realtor is fine. You will not get a fair price.

Give me truth...holds

Jeff, so much easier to give them the truth and facts up front than to explain the "why" later on.

A well deserved feature .  So many sellers need to hear the reality of the market and not be sold a story to procure the listing.  Market value determines all of the rest.

Commission costs may be known, but so many Sellers don't know of the costs they'll face beyond that, Jeff Dowler ...  it's important info shared with them by their agent ...

Congrats on the Feature!

Gene

Jeff really easy to understand post.  Agreed always tell the truth up front and explain so they understand.

Now, thanks to the roadmap you've written, Jeff, this post is destined to become a popular and timeless read. Reblogged.

Great post Jeff! Even after a thorough listing presentation, sellers may need a review of details and a sellers' net sheet is a must.  I remember one poor seller said, "I have to pay the buyers' agent commission too!"  Yes, that's how it works here for sellers costs. Never cheap to move. 

What a wonderful job of covering the basics of a sale.  I'm sure all of us have heard people state "how much they want" to get out of their home sale (to our own horror).  Great post, congratulations on the feature.

Navigate and guide the process with a helping hand, the advice the buyers, sellers need to get to the real estate closing safe, sound, quickly. Good summation Jeff Dowler !

I'm here from Jill's reblog!

Excellent advice for providing the best service possible to sellers.

Truth is number one in my book.  Not all sellers want to hear it, but they need to badly.  Just because they need to net $100,000 doesn't mean a buyer is willing to pay that price.  Nicely done.

Jeff- this is excellent.  Most sellers want to know how much to list their home for and how you will market their home.  So much more is involved and needed!  Giving them a road map of what will happen and even what might occur is so helpful. 

Hi Jeff, thanks for the list of things that sellers need from us and you are right, they often don't think or know that they need them.

Hi Jeff - That's a great list - our clients deserve every one of those, and especially the one about the truth.

Great list. I always ask my clients if I can be honest with them throughout the transaction because I may have to terll them things they don't want to hear. They always answer yes, and in fact then ask if people don't want to hear the truth. Does open an interesting conversation.

Congrats on the feature, Jeff!  I think it goes for both Sellers and Buyers.  There's a lot of information that they don't know about, which becomes the responsibility for the real estate professional, whom is assisting them, to prepare and inform them of the needed information.  Nice job, Jeff!

Jeff, that last point is a familar one in our market. Sellers have a number they want and they don't care what it takes to get there. Sadly, it often isn't possible. 

The truth!  I love it!

Keep the good info coming!

Jeff all 5 are good for a Seller to know, especially the truth, but many times they do not want to hear the truth especially about selling price.

Good evening Jeff Dowler ,

Congratulations on a well deserved featured post! All five of your tips are exactly what a seller needs to know, and especially the truth even if they don't like the truth..better to be honest than set false expectations!

Great tips, Jeff Dowler and I agree with others who have mentioned the 'truth' factor - sometimes it hurts but, it's best to give it to them up front...and TRUTHFULLY!

Jeff

Your post is right on point and a road map to sell their real estate.

Good luck and success.

Lou Ludwig

Jeff

Congratulations on being awarded a feature for your post.

Good luck and success.

Lou Ludwig

There are some good tips in this article, Jeff Dowler . Thanks!

Profound advice!!!

Desired outcome often becomes the basis for an unrealistic list price. Regardless of what the house sells for, there are closing costs that must be borne by the seller and these can sometimes be a surprise. Don’t let these be one!

Thanks for sharing this great article Jeff Dowler .

Good advice ! We must help set our clients expectations .

These five things are of utmost importance. I'm not sure which would be MORE important as they are all essential for the success of the transaction and future business. 

This is a great blog and so true Jeff Dowler . Seller expectations can really be our most difficult challenge to overcome.  

Great post, Jeff! 

Setting clients' expectations from the beginning saves you and your clients time and frustrations. Sometimes clients' expectations are as high as the sky and it is up to an agent to bring them back to Earth.