5 Reasons NOT to Hire Me to Help You Sell Your Home
November 18th, 2008 Categories: Real Estate Business
As recently as yesterday my Partner, Matt Fagioli and I were meeting with a prospective client and the discussion headed in a very familiar direction. This client wanted to tell us how to market the property, what price was reasonable and what we should be able to sell the home for.
While I appreciate and totally understand where this person was coming from it reminded me of all the reasons that this person should NOT hire me to help get this home sold.
So here you go. There are at least FIVE reasons Not to hire me to help you sell your home. If any of these items fit, please let me know and I will be happy to provide you a name of a number of agents that will be happy to help you try to sell your home in this market.
Top Five Reasons NOT to Hire Me:
1. If you want me to tell you what you want to hear I am not the right person for the job.
I will always sit back and listen to my clients and get their imput and thoughts on the sales process and like to get your thoughts on what you feel may help get your home sold. No problem. I am smart enough to know that I do not know everything and enjoy learning. However, this is what I do on a FULL TIME basis. I sell real estate to provide an source of income for my family and I know what I am doing. If you want me to tell you what you want to hear, this does nothing but delay the inevitable. You will be upset that I have not sold your home and you will try another agent.
If you cannot handle the truth and let me tell you what is really going on in the market, where the pricing needs to be and how we can best market your home then we are not the right fit. If I cannot tell you what the real deal is and how we are going to address marketing the listing then please find another agent that wants to follow your lead.
2. If you have a friend, relative, or someone that “just got into the business” that you want to sell your home I am probably not the right person for the job.
In the real estate business I have been so fortunate to have had numerous referrals from past clients, friends, church members, relatives and so on. I always tell them up front that they can fire me at any time if they do not feel I am servicing them properly. I will not let a relationship fail because of trying to sell their home.
If you know someone that falls into one of the above categories I would strongly suggest that you think long and hard about hiring them. Why? Well, first it is hard to fire a friend. I have been on so many listing appointments where I hear the phrase “I hired my friend and felt bad about firing them”. While that is admirable, you have wasted months of market time and your home is still on the market. You have been losing money every month and your friendship is costing you dearly.
If someone that you know just got into the business, I applaud their decision to get into the exciting world of real estate, however, experience is paramount to your success in selling your home. Let them learn the real estate trade on someone else. Do not put your most important asset in the hands of a new agent.
3. If you want me to tell you how long it is going to take to sell your home I am not the right person to help you sell your home.
If I had an answer to this question, I would be sitting on a beach in the Bahamas drinking Margaritas and raking in millions of dollars a year. No one can tell you how a home will take to sell. I have seen homes sell in 6 hours and others take 6 years to sell. If an Realtor or real estate agent ever tells you that they know how long it will take to sell, run away fast. There is no time frame that is set in stone here. I may be able to give a good indication of market time, but a lot depends on the price, condition, location and current market conditions.
4. If we cannot come to an agreement on initial asking price, I am not the person to help you sell your home.
Pricing is the main factor to selling in this economy. I hate to tell you this, but unfortunately I do not control nor set the market. Buyers set the market and what they feel a home is worth drives pricing. With very few buyers in the market for homes we need to set the price the home at or below market value. Any homes priced above market value are destined to sit on the market for quite a while. A few years ago you could set a price higher than market and see if someone would come to you and make an acceptable offer. Nowadays, there are so many foreclosures and “deals” out there, the market will not bear overpriced listings.
5. If you think you can do as good a job selling your home For Sale By Owner (FSBO) then I am not the agent to help you sell your home.
I take great pride in my profession and know that I work hard to do the best job I can to get all of my clients homes sold in the least amount of time and for the most money. If you feel that you can do my job, then please go ahead and list your home FSBO and when the home does not sell then give me a call to discuss your needs. In the mean time, please remember that newspaper ad, print materials and open houses really are not effective ways to market your home. Remember that 85% of all home buyers look to the internet first to find their next home. How are you going to market to the internet consumer as well as the 25,000+- agents in this market who are looking for homes to sell to their clients.
Also, please know that FSBO’s typically sell their homes for less money than if they were to hire a real estate agent, so the money you think you are saving in commissions is irrelevant. It actually may cost you more to sell your home by yourself and can cause legal issues that typically are non-existant when you hire a professionally licensed real estate practitioner.
So there you have it. Five of the top reasons not to hire me to help you sell your home. I know this comes across to some that I do not want your business, that is the furthest from the truth. What it really means to say is that this is what I do full time to provide a income for my family and take pride in my work. I would never walk into your workplace or home and tell you how to raise your kids or do you job. Let me work for you and complete the task.
If you have any questions feel free to call or email me at any time and make it a great day.
MATT
PS: While I was writing this post our client I referred to in the first paragraph called to let me know we have earned her business and we are putting her home on the market this afternoon.
Great post. Right on the money. Crackin’ me up!