Engaging an Agent Who Sells your Home Or,
Buys your Listing?
Thank you for requesting this report, designed to educate you so that you are savvy about getting the best help you can from your Real Estate Agent.
DECISION MADE: “I'M SELLING!”
Like many people, actually making the decision to sell, can be quite scary. It's big thing to have to pack and move somewhere else, and it takes time and energy. It can also be very exciting, as you contemplate what price you might get for your home and what you can do with the money!
Of course, you also want the best price for your home! Don't we all! The more money, the more we can play with, right? So, your next step if you haven't already done so, is to try and find out how much your home is worth compared to similar properties, in a similar suburb or surroundings, as yours.
INTERVIEWING AGENTS
Let's get to it then… You may have already done this, but if you haven't, you should! Call up three Real Estate Agents to come and do what is commonly known as an Appraisal. This means that the agent will take a good look at your home, both inside and outside. Nothing is ignored in the process. Your agent will be looking for things like:
• Condition and standard of paint, tiles, wallpaper, cupboards, kitchens and bathrooms
• An uneven yard area and any hassles with gardens, driveways and garages
• Whether your home and property is rundown, in poor condition or fresh, clean, neat and in good repair and condition.
All of these things will impact on the price you can get for your home. Another important factor to consider is the comparison between your property and other similar properties in your area. Your Agent will most likely be able to provide a Comparative Market Analysis of other properties in your area, so that you can see how yours comes up.
Additionally, the agent will be interested in what price you think you should get for your home. Of course, you want the most dollars for your prize possession that you can get! You rub your hands with glee, and state your figure! Waiting with anticipation for them to agree with you…. But, here's the first pause - it is unlikely that the agent will give you a figure on the spot, because they need to do the Comparative Market Analysis and then provide you with a report on their reasons for their estimated sale price of your home.
However, you should tell the agent what you are hoping for because it will help you to ‘suss' out the agent. An agent who responds to your figure, by saying they are sure they can get more than that, or who agrees with you right then and there on the spot, should be treated with caution.
A good agent will be a professional, who says “I'm not in a position to agree or disagree right now, because I need to put all my impressions down on paper and complete my information gaps. Once, I have done that, and compared your home and property with others in the area, then I'll feel confident of giving you an accurate sales range.”
Although it can be frustrating to have to wait for the report to come, it will be good for developing your patience throughout the whole selling process! So smile and wait…
GETTING THE APPRAISALS
The fun part! Your appraisals have arrived from your three different agents and you can't wait to read them. But wait, what's this? Two of them have suggested a lower price, although the prices are close together, …oh, this is more like it, the third has suggested a much higher price - and it's what you were thinking you'd get, plus more! Well, didn't you just know that she/he was the right agent for you?
But wait…. Let's just think about this for a moment…
Sometimes, an Agent will ask you for your ballpark figure and they know that your home isn't going to get that price. But, they have agreed with you, in order to obtain the listing. Because, as you remember on the day of the appraisal when you were both laughing and joking together, you agreed you could always go down in price if you had to!
BUYING THE LISTING
If two other agents have suggested a lower price, then the third agent may be doing what is commonly known as “buying the listing” with the inflated sales figure. The worst part about this, is that in the first few weeks of your home being listed, right when you need a whirlwind of buyers coming through, there may not be much interest because the rest of the real estate world knows that the price is inflated on your home. Because of that, other real estate agents, listing agents and buyer's agents will likely boycott your home. Why? Because they don't want to waste their time and energy and that of the buyer's by taking them to a home that is too highly priced for the market to bear. They really don't have time for that.
Over the next couple of weeks, the agent who has bought your listing (with the best of intentions for sure - he or she wants the best price for you, because it means more commission for them!) will pressure you to bring the price down. However, market perception is very important and your home will now be seen as having faults, or problems, or that you might be difficult to negotiate with, all because your home wasn't correctly priced to begin with.
Worse still, because real estate agents are human, they will talk about the agent you engaged and leave your listing alone. Even if they have a buyer who might be interested in your property, if other agents who have ethics and integrity consider your agent unethical, they may not want to deal with your agent.
It's not a pretty picture is it? And, it gets worse!
UH OH!!
If your home is above market prices, when you do have a buyer who is taking out a mortgage, their finance institution will do an evaluation of your home. If the assessor does not think your home is worth the price when compared to prices for the last six months, then the deal will still fall over, because the finance institution won't loan the money to the buyer.
Plus, when your home has been on the market for some time, then buyers will think that you must be starting to get desperate and will make lower and lower offers.
And all of this can leave a very bad taste in your mouth, can't it?
GOOD ADVICE
Here's what I would do: I would call on three agents and have an appraisal done on my home. Then, I would wait until I get the reports to make my decision about choosing an agent. I would be looking for the following things:
• An easy to read report that spells out to me what my home is worth and why.
• A list of “things I need to do” to get my home into the best saleable position, possible.
• A list of other homes in my area and what prices they have sold for, in the last six months.
• The two reports that give me the most similar price.
Then comes the hard bit: Choosing out of these two agents, or three, if all of the reports suggest similar prices!
SELECTING YOUR REAL ESTATE AGENT
You could keep in mind these things:
• Your level of comfort or rapport with the agent - how much you felt that your agent listened to you, and understood your requirements.
• The agent's ability to explain things to you in an easy-to-understand manner, with simple language.
• The agent's knowledge on the local real estate industry.
• Whether the agent could provide testimonials from other satisfied clients - clients whom you can contact to satisfy yourself of the agent's standing.
• Whether the agent has a good track record and can provide statistics such as number of days taken to sell a home, and price obtained - was it at market price, below, or above market price?
• Keep in mind, that there are new agents on the block, who don't have a track record, as such, to call on. However, they may be ideal because they are so keen to help you, and to do a great job for you. There's something very powerful about enthusiasm! Plus, 99.99% of them will have a senior associate and whole office, helping them behind the scenes.
• The level of help that the agent is prepared to provide you with, for example:
How to Prepare your Home for Presentation
Once you have made your decision, based on the above points, be content that you have done the best you can, and get your home ready for Presentations.
This Report is aimed at helping you learn more about the Property Market and how to get the best result for you. Thank you for calling on me for help. If there is anything further that you require, do call.
