We all absolutely hate do it (agents, sellers, FSBO's, etc.), but when everyone decides it's time to lower the price of the home, are some days better than others?

Is Friday the best day to lower the price of a home?  Right before a holiday weekend?  Mid-Summer?

 

 

 

Anyone have good suggestions for getting rid of STRONG CAT and other pet odors in a home?  

My Buyers made an offer.  Sellers countered.  As I read through the counter, there was this little statement that said "Buyer's Agent to receive 1% less commission than was originally being offered".

I did my job!  But, now the other side is penalizing me for bringing them a Buyer at a price over asking?  WHY???

My issue is the agent never mentioned, asked, explained, called me, or indicated anything about the commission being reduced.   

Don't get me wrong...I like to keep deals together and I certainly am not going to lose this one over my commission.  I will definitely be countering.  However, I do think the other agent owed me the courtesy of discussing with me before putting it in writing. 

So, my question is...WHO CONTROLS YOUR COMMISSION?  The seller?  The Other Agent?  You?  I know the answer....I control my commission.    But...I think there are a lot of agents out there who may be encountering similar situations and need to take back control of their own commission.

I'm beginning to think contracts in this day and age are meaningless!  At least in the Realtor community.  Lately, I've encountered more realtors who have absolutely NO sense of urgency in meeting deadlines and keeping their clients on track to get the deal to closing.  It seems that asking for extensions are the norm with no darn good reason to back up the request for one.

Scenario:  I'm the list agent.  Property went into contract April 20th.  I tried to stay in contact with Buyer Agent, but no return calls.  So I called the lender directly to check on things.  Buyer just signed loan app and other documents 2 days ago.  I contacted Buyer's agent to discuss and all she had to say was "OK.  You seem to really be on top of things...good for you."  Appraisal being ordered today or tomorrow....5 days before closing...Huh????  As a result, closing is being delayed.  Supposed to be closing next Tuesday.  Contacted Buyer's agent and general response was "We'll just do an extension.  Will that be a problem?"

Is it just me or do any of you encounter similar situations?  Do you bite your tongue and do you just go ahead and do the work for both sides in the deal?  

I'm looking for ideas here.  There are many levels and different types of recognition and rewards for top producers...

My local MLS offers - Broker of the Year, Salesperson of the Year, Million Dollar Club, Five Million Club , Ten Million Club, 25 Million Club,  Lifetime Achievement Awards, Volunteer Service Award, and Spotlight on Community Service Award.

The OAR (Ohio Assoc. of Realtors) offers - President's Club, Realtor of the Year, Distinguished Service Award, OAR Certificat of Merit Award, Excellence in Community Service Award, and a Realtor Promotion and Advertising Contest each year.

We have the NAR (National Assoc. of Realtors) that offers - Good Neighbor Awards, among others.

And then we have awards within each brokerage. 

In the midst of all these awards, other than adding to the credentials and the increased recognition among the Realtor community, what do these agents receive in return for their efforts and achievements? 

I commend those agents who have earned, been recognized, etc. for their accomplishments.  I am in NO WAY Knocking Awards.  I'm looking for ideas!  What perks, if any, do you offer to agents and on what basis do they earn those perks? 

Are ONLY top producing agents being rewarded or do you have a program in place that rewards everyone from a rookie agent to the average agent to the top producing ones?  Do they receive the use of professionals on retainer?  Do they receive a bonus check?  How about 1 month without an office fee?

 

 

There have been posts on AR about Quirky MLS remarks and how truthful they are.  To name a couple...

Steve Crossland's article "Does Typing "Hurry" in MLS Remarks Result in Faster Sale? Discusses a home that was on the market almost 300 days.  Doesn't look like using HURRY in the MLS remarks got that one sold any faster.  However, Steve found that using the word "hurry", "won't last", "priced to sell" in the remarks actually decreased the overall average time a home was on the market in his area.

My point is, how does what you put in the MLS remarks effect getting your listing sold?

Bob Hunt of RealtyTimes wrote an article on this very question.

According to some social scientists, a study was conducted from about 1994-2002. One scientist studied Texas, one looked at Canada and the other from Illinois. After evaluating almost 200,000 listings, they did come up a few conclusions.   

No real surprise here, but they found that listings with positive comments such as "near lake", "golf course", and "updated", sold for higher than average prices.  On the contrary, listings with negative comments such as "needs repairs", "foreclosures," had lower selling prices. 

However, other findings were not so clear.  Without a good explanation for the results, they found that listings with comments with "seller motivated," actually stayed on the market longer by about 15-30%.  Using "well maintained" also brought a lower sales price.

Another unexplained finding is that homes described as "in good condition" and "beautiful", sold faster and at a higher price.  Whereas, homes described as "charming" and "fantastic" sold for less than the average comparables.

Share your experiences, findings and secret MLS codes with the rest of us. 

Many homeowners are now hitting their 3rd year on 2/1 Buydowns and 3/1 ARMS and are furiously trying to get out of their homes and higher mortgage payments.  Unfortunately many of the areas these homes are in, still have new build homes being constructed and the projects aren't complete yet.

HOW DO YOU COMPETE WITH THE BUILDERS? Or can you?

What incentives do you offer when listing an existing home in an area of new build homes?

 

 

Becoming more frequent in the last 6 months, Buyers seem to be taking longer to pull the trigger, and are definitely more nervous. 

Do some Buyers have to go through the Buying process inch by inch to finally close a deal?  Here's an example of the Inchworm Buyer:

The Buyer makes an offer on House #1, but then rescinds their offer.  The Buyer moves on to House #2, gets under contract and immeditely has Buyer's remorse and gets out of the deal.  They move on to House #3 get in contract, go through the motions, home inspection, etc. and back out at that time for some reason.  They finally arrive at House #4, get in contract and actually close the deal. 

Of course, no one wants their Buyers running amuck, and most of us would fire the Buyer early on.  But,   BEWARE.... the INCHWORM Buyer population is growing fast!

Perhaps Buyers are becoming more educated on the legal system and think they know how to maneuver through their contractual obligations...I don't know, but they're on the move.

Maybe a bit overboard, but you get the picture  Educating Buyers in the beginning is crucial.  My scenario is drawn from a poor Buyer's agent I met recently who unfortunately is working with an INCHWORM. 

I say let that INCHWORM loose in the Dirt!

There has been much talk about the market and whether or not we're in a bubble or not.   I'm sure you've all heard buyers and especially sellers say they wish the market would return to normal.  As Wynonna's mother once said, according to April's Reader's Digest...

 "...Normal is just a cycle on the washing machine."

Are you waiting for business to come to you or are you actively working it?  Every day should be a consistent effort to produce gettable clients and income producing results.  You have to take action to get results.  Sitting on the sidelines just won't cut it.

From April's Reader's Digest Quotable Quotes section, here is a little phrase that is definitely food for thought...

"DOING NOTHING IS VERY HARD TO DO...YOU NEVER KNOW WHEN YOU'RE FINISHED."  Leslie Nielsen

Just a friendly reminder....if you're representing a seller, be sure you question them carefully in the beginning.  -

ASK if their current on their payments.  If they're not, this may mean more time and energy on everyone's part to look into possible short sales, etc.  Until you ask about their payments and situation, for all you know they could be heading for bankruptcy, foreclosure, etc.  Knowing what their situation is, can help you determine the best route and person for the job.

Be sure to check into cost savings for the Seller.  ASK if they have their title policy if they've owned the home less than 10 years.  This could mean a small re-issue credit to them.  

Also, if your title company is able to, you might even look into any possible mortgage escrow refund may be due back the seller.  Sometimes the sellers forget all about this (however large or small it may be).

If you can negotiate a higher deductible home warranty, which typically means lower cost for your seller, go for it.  The seller can pay for the basic plan and the Buyer might pay for the extras if they want them.

I mention all of this, because none of us want to go to closing and have our client question "Why we didn't tell them they could get a re-issue credit", or "Why didn't you get me a less expensive home warranty?", etc.  However small the credit or cost savings to us, it may seem HUGE to the seller.   

Be their advocate and then their Realtor for life.

Here's food for thought.   As consumers become more aware that commission are negotiable, increasing costs, etc. how do you handle certain situations?

We all work hard for our money and buyers and sellers think we just pocket what we get and take a luxury vacation.  HAAAAAAA!!!!!  If only they knew the truth.  Most do not understand that we share the commission with the other agent and on top of that pay for advertising, listing, and other expenses we incurred during the listing period.

1.  What do you say and do when you bring the seller 1, 2, 3 offers and they ask you to lower your comission?

2.  What do you do when when it means lowering your commission or losing the deal all together?

Share you experiences and how you handled them.

Just like with mold issues, we as Realtors, should be somewhat familiar with radon systems, etc.   Is that a radon system?  Does that mean radon exists in the home?  Is the radon system just in place or is it actively working? 

These are questions you may want to familiarize yourself with if you haven't already.  We are NOT the experts, but we should be familiar and have a name or two of inspectors or radon specialists who can intelligently answer our clients questions.

Here's my story:

The Buyer's Agents Ignorance Killed the Deal!!!  A Buyer's Agent showed my listing which happened to have a radon system in place, but not active.  The Buyers were considering making an offer on the home, but they were from out of state and unfamiliar with the whole radon thing.  Instead of connecting these buyers with someone qualified to answer their questions, the agent told her Buyers she wasn't familiar either and the best thing they could do is research radon on the internet.

WRONG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  The Buyer's became so overwhelmed with information and even more scared,  that they ended up viewing the radon system as a BAD thing instead of something that would be beneficial. 

The market is changing....homes are sitting longer...agent competition is stiff...I'm running into more strongwilled clients....but those things never stopped me before.  Why Now?

My appt. to list ratio has always been pretty good, about 80%.  However, this year....it's dropped to more like 60%.  What's changed????  I can't seem to put my finger on it.  I use the same materials, the same presentation style, etc. but have been losing out on the listing.  The only thing I can see is that these sellers are listing with agents at a higher list price than what I suggested. 

Perhaps the problem is that my presentation hasn't changed along with the market.  Or perhaps, I'm gaining ground in the long-time more experienced agents arena and higher priced homes, that I'm now running with the BIG DOGS.

When things are taking a turn in the wrong direction, what do you do?  What do you re-evaluate?