Are You in the Driver's Seat, or Are You the Crash Test Dummy?
I know there are some home sellers that have had it up to here with their listing agents suggesting, nudging, hinting at them to drop their listing price when their home is such a great home! Some have even begun to resent the visits or phone calls from their agent after several months of no activity. In some cases, I don't blame you! But in others...well...hear me out.
Most home sellers, with the help of a great and informed Realtor, will take the driver's seat in this market by presenting and pricing their home in a way that will draw many buyers to it. These same saavy buyers when presented with a great home priced competitively, will oftentimes find themselves competing against one another in a multiple offer situation, thus submitting their highest and best offer (usually over asking price), while also attempting to make themselves more attractive to sellers by asking for fewer seller concessions (adding to the seller's bottom line). In many cases, the buyers are then placed at the mercy of the home seller. In control is the position every home seller and their agent wants to be in!
But there are some occasions when a seller will disregard "road conditions" (recently sold and pending comps for similar homes in the area detailed to them by a Realtor) by insisting on over-pricing and marking up their home, only to find themselves months later, spiraling downhill, out-of-control, finally hitting that brick wall as their "days on market" numbers climb higher and higher. These same type of listings usually become the examples used by local agents to potential home sellers of what costly mistake not to make when pricing their home. Also, have you noticed that the longer the days on market, the more number of "Seller to pay for..." boxes are checked in the offer packages that are finally submitted, if any? Where is the control in that? The seller is now at the mercy of a soon-to-be demanding buyer.
Home seller, there are many twists and turns on the road to home selling; please allow an experienced Realtor professional to help you navigate it with correct home pricing, presentation and sharp mid-escrow negotiations, in order to get you to the finish line ahead of the competition with fewer road blocks. The final desired outcome is you crossing the "SOLD" finish line and collecting the highest monetary reward.
If you are looking for someone to take the wheel or to help you navigate the sometimes treacherous roads of the home selling or buying process, do not hesitate to call Andi Grant at 310-508-4354. We'll discuss where you are at, where you want to go and the fastest and less costly way of getting you there.
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Race Car Driver, Crash Test Dummies and Finish Line Photos courtesy of Creative Commons 
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Andi...well said. I suppose you use this illustration for your home sellers while I use other illustrations to aid them in seeing how they must be in line with the market.
Don't you find if the seller is also your buyer that they see the market more clearly???
Well done & good advice.
Andi, great analogy! The withdrawn/expired/re-listed categories are full of crash test dummy casualties and after a while that's gotta hurt!
Bryan, sometimes appealing to vanity along with wallets work. :)
Lyn - thanks so much! I LOVE what I do and it shows with how frank I am with either buyer or seller. I WANT to help them sell for top dollar or buy for as little out-of-pocket as possible.
Diane - unfortunately it is...bless their hearts.:( Sometimes sellers are either bullied to pricing it too low and giving away money or the seller is the bully and is allowed to price it too high, therefore also losing money.
Andi,
This is an excellent post. The sellers who want to sell are usually the best listeners.
Jeana, yes you are absolutely correct and the best agents listen as well. :)
Honk, honk . . . those multiple offers are TRAFFIC JAMS!! Bottle neck nightmares to be avoided. Good analogy, Andi Grant.
Haha Carla - spoken like a true Exclusive Buyer's Agent! To be on the listing side with multiple offers is FANTASTIC, on the buyer's side, not so much.
Andi, I agree that home sellers absolutely need advice from a Realtor in today's buyer's market. Sellers may not know what a reasonable asking price is, and a Realtor can help them gauge the market in their local area.
Realtor Sally Ponchak also agrees: http://www.realtor.com/blogs/2011/02/17/remember-this-when-selling-your-home/
Love your post and the analogy, Andi. Not listening to the "road conditions" from your Realtor will leave you laps behind the leaders in this race.
Andi - a well thought out post! A seller can't ignore road conditions ... they will be used as comps when the appraiser comes along. BTW, love your QR code but my reader (Bee Tagg) can't read it. Maybe because of the border? Just sayin ...
Andi - I think I am the driver. My wife says I am the dummy. Go figure... Yes, if you do not hire an experienced agent like Andi Grant and think you will get more for your home than it will sell for you will end up with less money when you close.
You would have also undergone months of stress, mortgage payments, leaving at a moments notice to show the property. Drop the list price and the highest bid is what your home is worth in today's market, period. It is only worth what someone is willing to pay.
Assuming you did get someone to agree good luck getting the appraisal to meet the purchase price. If it doesn't, loan denied and your home is back on the market again. Listen to Andi, she knows what she is talking about.
Andi, great post and suggested. It's a sure bet that if you're looking for a realtor in Long Beach, Andi grant will make sure the ride is smoothe sailing.
I always use overpriced homes as a way to help buyers understand the market and see the value of the property they are interested in. Thanks for this post!
Jill - yes, because it's our income they question us, like they do doctors and lawyers. I guess it comes with the territory.
Carol - laps behind is so true. It's heartbreaking for the sellers to see all of the surrounding homes they were once competing with showing "pending" while theirs still show active and higher number days on market.
Nevin - Haha about your wife's view. Come to think of it, you are wearing the same non-hair hairdo. Thanks for the promo - you're hired!
Leah - what a sweetheart you are for saying and thank you for the suggest!
Paul - it's ghard for sellers. They do have an emotional tie to the home and know what they "raised" it up from. But unfortunately buyers do not care about the "before" pics. They are looking at multiple "afters."
Sometimes Andi sellers makes headstrong moves in an attempt to be in control. In the end, it works against them everytime.
Andie, This is good sound advice that sellers should heed to. The problem is when they want to be in control, as you say. They end up sitting with the property while the homes around them are selling.
I have always felt the same way, but you reminded me to tell the sellers "Do you want to be in control or do you want the Buyers to be in Control?"
Great post Andi. one of my referral partners had a difficult seller who refused to listen to any suggestions re: removing excess furniture, re-painting tired walls, you name it. So the house sat because it looked stale. After a couple months, he finally conceded and did as he was told. They had a full priced offer within 3 days of the fresh paint, etc.
Charita - it's understandable with so much at stake that the seller wants to take the steering wheel. But in a maze of other homes, in most cases it's the local Realtor with the road map.:)
Elyse - I have an acquaintance whose sister asked me for comps on her home for when she was ready to retire. I gave them a suggested listing price. Months later, they went with another Realtor who listed it $25K over. No upgrades, outdated furniture, with it's surrounding properties and competition being $25K less, in addition to several remodeled flips by an investor/Realtor offering above average commissions to agents who will show it.
Thomas - I agree. But there's nothing like the first 2 weeks whenit's priced right. :)
Jerry - right. We want the seller to be in control of the deal from beginning ot end and it starts with pricing.
Kevin sometimes there appears to be built-in rebellion (suspicion?) when we are moer times than not, simply asking the home to be priced at market value and to show well.
Andi - Being in the driver's seat is the best place to be. It gives the client more options and control.
Christine - Absolutely!