Years ago, I read some wonderful advice from a Real Estate coach Danielle Kennedy. Rather than just supplying prospective sellers with a list of my references, she suggested giving them a better representation of the quality and consistency of the professionalism in my business. She suggested offering to let any interested seller speak to the last 3 people that I closed a transaction with. I’ve taken that advice and offered my sellers that ever since.
Any agent that has been in the business for any length of time will have some nice reference letters. But when were those letters written? What if they’re walking away with 50% of their clients loving them and writing great letters, and the other 50% were left feeling less than pleased. There is no other way to know unless you speak to the last 3 clients they’ve working with.
Why the most recent 3?
- It shows you that they are currently running an active real estate practice.
- It give you a sense of consistency in job performance.
- It’s a ‘random sampling’ rather than hand picked agent favorites.
- It’s enough to give you a good, honest consensus and it’s not too overwhelming to gather the information.
It’s not bad if it’s a deal that is pending either. Sometimes, that client is most articulate about the experience they’re currently having – and it’s definitely fresh in their mind.
Ask the past clients:
- Tell me about your experience with this agent.
- How smoothly did the transaction go?
- Did you accomplish your goals?
- Is there anything you would change about your experience?
- Would you rehire the agent again?
Do your homework. An agent can have a huge impact on the sale of your listing. If you find that the agent is reluctant, ask yourself if this is really the right agent for you.
The question really is - Do Open Houses sell the home?
I’ll be honest. I’ve done a lot of open houses over the years and I consider myself fairly adept at assessing the level of interest and seriousness of a visitor to an open house. I’ve found many of my future clients at open houses, but I’ve only sold one house via an open house visitor.
BTW – I sold my very first listing…to the very first visitor…of my very first open house. Talk about Beginner’s Luck!!
So do they work? Rarely. It’s really a tool for an agent to secure new business. But if you want to cover all your bases and your agent is open to hosting one, these are the 5 things you must do to make the open house a potential success:
- Plan Ahead: At least 5 days to one week.
- Advertise Online: The new buyers that haven’t seen all the inventory will start their search online. Make sure you are advertised on the frequented sites like Realtor.com, Trulia, Zillow, Craigslist, your own website for your home, to name a few.
- Plan to be gone. Don’t be there for any part of the open house.
- Leave the property in perfect showing condition.
- Notice the events for the day. Minimize potential conflicts. Are there any key sporting events? Horrendous weather?
Note: You also must have hired an agent that is an expert at working with people in a way that inspires confidence and trust. Someone that is too busy watching TV or that is too overbearing will fail to get the results you are looking for.
And don’t forget, a perfect home that meets the perfect buyer, still won’t sell if it’s not the perfect price!
When is the best time to sell your home? The common perception – summer. Yet, summer is only partially true. I would say late Spring (end of April and May) to early Summer (June to mid July). Why?
There are two major considerations when you position a property for sale: Supply and Demand. Let’s look at both.
Generally, the supply of homes begins to creep up in April and May but doesn’t really going into full swing until June. People tend to list in the summer because the perception is that it’s the best time to sell. People also tend to like to list once school is out and before the new school year begins.
What does this mean? If you list in April or May, buyers actually have begun their home search so that they can move in the summer and possibly be settled before the new school year. Weather is improving and people have begun their search. With limited supply, your home will have the potential to really get the highest potential sale if it’s showing well and priced right.
The best thing about a April or May sale? You become a buyer in the peak of inventory – June, July and August.
If you wait to list until June, July or August – you risk putting yourself into the peak of the inventory where there is more competition and more pressure on prices. As August approaches, generally the demand starts to diminish – and you are in danger of becoming an active listing when demand is at it’s lowest – fall and over the holidays.
It’s possible to sell in every market with the right price and in the right condition. But if you are trying to considering a summer sale – think carefully about positioning for the best possible sale.
I know your home is better than the one that just sold around the corner. And I know that there circumstances forced the sale. Yours is better but…will holding out for a higher price work?
Keep in mind that the appraiser is not always particularly interested in the divorce down the street, or the high end wallpaper you selected. They also may not care that you put in $40,000 worth of hardscape and the other seller had nothing but builder options. The fact is, you may get some concessions for your upgrades – but if you have a similarly constructed home, in a similar neighborhood, similar size – you will have to contend with the fact that it will likely appraise close to recent sales.
Greg Swann just wrote an excellent piece addressing this very conversation. What happens when an appraisal fails to come in at the price offered? Back to the negotiating ‘drawing board’.
Pricing is one of the most critical elements about a successful sale. Price your property to sell and appraise. You may know all the details of those recent sales and the reasons they are ‘low’, but the appraiser will look at the black and white details. Your agent may be able to assist some – but it’s really about the numbers.
If you are rationalizing your price while your agent is telling you to reduce, take a moment to consider if you are at risk being one of the sellers in this type of situation. A home sold overpriced – is unfortunately a home that is not sold at all.
This is the time for some uncomfortable conversations. If you have your house listed, and you have not sold - it’s time to have a conversation that may make you uncomfortable.
If you hired someone that you really like, a friend, or family member, I’m talking to you. Those are the times that some agents have a harder time being the ‘bad guy’. Encourage frankness and honesty. You’ve hired them to sell your home – and trust me – they know why it’s not selling.
If you’ve been on the market over 45 days, ask yourself why you haven’t sold. What does your agent say? Are you open to what they are saying? Are you open to a direct answer?
Don’t draw a line in the sand about what you will and will not do. Encourage honesty from your agent so that you can assess how to proceed. Hold? Lower your price? Stand Firm? Remove your kitchen wallpaper? Maybe take it off the market. This is not the time for ego – this is about getting your home sold.
Keep your eye on the ball friends. Timing is critical and what you think you need, or what you think your home is worth, is not necessarily the buyers’ perception. Get to the bottom of it. Ask your agent why your home hasn’t sold – and don’t encourage the polite answer. Respond accordingly. If you are serious about selling, it may be time to hear something you didn’t necessarily want to hear – the truth.
I just read one of the best blog posts about positioning your home – price and condition. As Greg Swan states, “When buyers come to see your home, they aren’t looking for reasons to buy it. They’re looking for reasons to reject it, so they can move on to the next home. The one they buy will be the one that raises the fewest objections, for the money.”
Pricing your home well isn’t enough. Pricing gets the buyers to the door, but condition sells the property. If you aren’t getting showings of your home – you are overpriced. If you are getting showings, but no offers, there is a condition that is deterring buyers that must be addressed.
Some conditions cannot be remedied (backing to a street for example). In those cases, a price reduction (regardless of how well you think you are priced) is in order.
Check out Greg’s post. It’s right on!
When selecting your Realtor, it’s important to ask them to share with you the system they will have in place to get feedback on the showings that you have on your home.
- Do they have a way to automatically read the lockbox to see what Realtors have shown it? If so, make sure that every agent uses it on the way in, rather than you letting the buyer and the Realtor in.
- Will your Realtor, or an assistant, come by to get the business cards from showings?
Maybe you are even in a market where the it is customary for the listing agent to be present at all showings? (Note: I don’t recommend this, but it is customary in some markets).
- How often will your Realtor meet with you to discuss the feedback?
These questions are critical because this is the best way for you to respond to the buyers in the market. How does the home show? If the feedback is that the master is too small, we can discuss ways to open it up by rearranging or removing furniture. Maybe the paint isn’t neutral enough.
How is the home priced based on others they showed that day. Maybe the agents think it’s priced too high based on the competition.
All of these bits of information allow you to respond and address the things you can. You can’t change that it backs to a street, but you can make changes that minimize the buyers focus on the street (fountains for example). By responding to the feedback early and quickly, you can make your listing appeal to a larger number of buyers and get it sold!
Most sellers know that it’s not a good idea to be in the home when buyers are touring the property, yet sometimes sellers just can’t resist the temptation and desire to see if they can ‘help’. Sam Miller, an agent in Apple Valley Ohio, recently shared a story on his blog that illustrates perfectly how important it is for the seller to not be present.
If you want to get your home sold, the following are just a few of the reasons you should not be home:
- Buyers have a hard time imagining they are at ‘home’ in the presence of the very person who calls it ‘home’ now.
- Buyers feel uncomfortable opening cabinets and closets when a seller is home. They rush through the tour, anxious to leave, so they don’t feel as if they are ‘voyeurs’ in your home.
- Buyers and their agents may ask questions that put a seller in a tough spot and ones that might be best left to the negotiations in the offer.
- A Seller, well intentioned though they may be, may inadvertently say something that weakens negotiating power or worse, ‘kills the deal’, as in Miller’s example.
- What one person sees as a positive, another person may see as a negative. During one buyer tour that I was conducting, the seller proudly shared with my buyer that – although the ceiling looked white – it actually was a lighter shade of the green that was on the walls. Super. Not a plus for my buyer.
- You want the focus to be on the home, not on the personality traits of the seller. Some people aren’t a great personality mix. Why add those possibilities to the showing?
Let’s get the home sold. Allow the agent you have selected to share all the great details about the home in their marketing. Go for a drive. Take a walk. Sit outside for 10 minutes if you must. Give your buyer a chance to be at home in your home – and you will likely be one step closer to getting it sold!
When you get an offer on your home, I refer to this as an ‘At Bat’. I have often discussed with clients that are resistant to lowering their price, but still haven’t had an offer – ‘let’s price it to at least get an ‘at bat’ and you can then decide if you are netting enough to make this move. Where we are currently priced, we aren’t even gettng an ‘at bat’. ’ (BTW – terminology comes from years of kids in little league).
So what do you do when you have an ‘at bat’? Keep your eye on the ball my friends! Remember the goal and the master plan. It’s silly to win the battle but loose the war in your negotiation. I read a wonderful and painfully familiar example of just this conversation on The Phoenix Real Estate Guy’s site. Definitely worth a read.
One of my listings in the last year was priced at $1.6. My seller had an offer at $1.5 (which in my mind was a ‘Merry Christmas’ given the builder was selling inventory at $1.4). I advised him to accept based on my conversations with the Buyer’s agent, because I was fairly confident the Buyer would walk.
My seller insisted on a Counter at $1,550,000. Buyer walked. My listing expired. Seller eventually sold – for $1,250,000. That short sightedness cost my seller $250,000.
Remember, unlike the previous example, negotiations are not always about price . A buyer may have things that are important to them outside of price – like close of escrow period, deposit, occupancy, repairs, or closing cost concessions. In a buyers market, be aware that if you dig your heals in, you may loose your buyer so be sure it’s worth it.
If you are really ready to get your home sold, these tips are a must. It’s tough to compromise our normal course of living to get that home sold, but it’s temporary and it’s worth it!!
- Clutter - Those stacks of books on your bedside table (I currently have some on the floor and on the table so I know), the stack of bills and mail on your kitchen counter, magazines that you’re going to get to one of these days – all of it- must go! No appliances on the kitchen counters. Counters should be clean and clear.
- Odors - Please don’t smoke in your home. Better yet, don’t smoke. If you must, be aware, the odor carries into your home on your clothes and buyers notice. One of the number one deterrents for a buyer is smoke odor. Second is surely pet odors. If you have pet urine odors – replace your carpet before you list. It really isn’t optional. Not only will buyers expect a credit anyway, many buyers won’t even consider the property regardless of the other things they like. The candles and Plug-Ins aren’t going to help these two sale killers – smoke and pet odor.
- Furniture – This is often best discussed with a staging company. In lieu of that, talk openly with a friend (a frank one) or your agent. Are there pieces that are too big for the space? Can something be repositioned or removed that make the space appear larger and more usable? Is there a piece that looks tired or worn? Throw it out or take it to storage. Remember, your goal is to move. Storing somethings temporarily to open up the space is worth the effort. Also, would adding a simple piece make the space more easily undersood?
- Bedding - This is something that can really change the feel of a bedroom – for better or for worse. Old worn out, overly personal looking bedding can be a real turnoff for a buyer.
- Bathrooms – Get everything personal off the counters. Clean, Clean, Clean. Keep all toilet lids DOWN.
- Light and Bright- I wish I had a dollar for every time a buyer said that one of the things most important to them in their new home was a feeling of openness, light and bright. Turn on every light for every showing. It seems silly, but trust me, it makes a difference. Open the drapes or shutters. Airy and open is a must to many of your potential buyers.
- Plants – Make sure that you have beautiful plants in your home that look strong and healthy. They are simple, inexpensive and wonderfully effective at warming up a space. This can add such a feeling of ‘home’ and you can often take them with you if you are moving locally.
- Curb Appeal – Notice how your home looks as you pull up. Is the yard well manicured and healthy? Are there flowers to give color? Some buyers are looking for the property to ‘hit them’. They want to feel a ‘wow’ when they drive up to it. Give the curb appeal a little ‘wow’ and it can go a long way.
- Paint and Paper- Rarely will a buyer like your wall paper. There are certain papers that I love but I have yet to see one occasion where a buyer says, “Ooh, I love this wall paper.” It’s generally too personal in taste. Remove it. As for paint, neutral, neutral, neutral. You may love it and it may work with your decor but You aren’t going to live here anymore. The goal – allow the largest number of buyers to feel at home here as possible. Neutralize.
We will continue to revisit ideas and tips to prepare your home for sale. I know what your thinking – ‘This is a lot of work’, or ‘Is all this really necessary?”. The answer is yes, it’s a lot of work and it is all necessary if you want to get your home SOLD and you want to maximize your return.
Some of these small tips can earn $1,000’s of dollars in a sale price. Your competition is getting the same advice. Make sure that your are ready to compete. Good luck!
