In today’s market, a seller will often interview several real estate agents before choosing the agent that they will engage to sell their home.
Sometimes (if the seller has had a strong relationship with a particular agent), they may only interview one agent…and sometimes they’ll interview anywhere from two to ten agents.
Only a few months ago, I was invited in to speak with some owners that had interviewed nine agents before we arrived and as you’d expect, they had so many different opinions about the possible price of their property, the method of sale which would best be utilised in order to achieve the highest possible price, and the work that should or should not be done in order to maximise the price, the owners were completely confused and honestly didn’t know their left foot from their right.
I’m finding that many agents don’t take the time to advise their potential sellers how to best present their home for sale…and they seem reluctant to recommend some basic cosmetic improvements that should be done in order to turn a few thousand dollars into $30,000, $40,000 or even $50,000 more.
It’s an easy option to say…
“Your home is fine, buyers can see the potential…so let’s just get it on the market!”
But the reality is that the wrong advice could cost an owner plenty of money – more than most home owners realise!
One of the games that agents play is the process of appraising a home.
Despite the fact that many property owners know that some agents will tell them that their property is worth more than what it actually is worth, the temptation to believe that the highest figure might actually be right can often be the carrot that influences the decision of the sellers.
If you’ve been around property for any length of time, you’ll know that when a property is listed at a figure that’s way over-inflated, it will often sit for lengthy periods of time (with very little activity from buyers) and this can inevitably cost these sellers a lot of money – and often, a property can sell for far less money than what it would have achieved if it had have been listed at the right price from the outset.
I’m told by many sellers that a lot of agents will directly ask the property owners at an appraisal…
“How much do you want to achieve for your property?”
This is a really interesting question to ask as I believe that any agent that knows how much a seller wants to achieve is then compromised by this figure.
I must admit that I never ask this question for several reasons…
- It’s all too easy for an agent to say…“That is exactly the price I was thinking – let’s list it and get going straight away!”
It can be a dishonest way to do business when the agent knows that the figure is simply too ambitious.
- If an agent has a strong moral compass, the good-natured side of them might be persuaded to think…“I’d love to help them achieve this figure even though I think it might be a little high but I’ll do whatever I can to try to achieve this.”
Again, the outcome can be disappointing when the agent is just trying to do the right thing.
- If the owner’s expectation is lower than market value, it’s very rare that an agent will talk the sellers into increasing the list price and seeking to exceed their expectations. This can result in the sellers leaving significant money on the table for the buyers.
You might think that Number 3 above never happens, but you’d be surprised.
We’ve sold two properties within the past fortnight where my appraised figure was considerably higher than the respective sellers’ expectations…and on both occasions, we sold the home within the first week…and for even more money than our appraisal figure!
Let me give you an inside tip here – as an agent, if you’re able to achieve a figure that’s higher than what the owners are looking for and even higher again than what you’ve appraised the home for, you usually have a client for life!
There’s no better way to attract referrals from these clients and have them come back to us to sell properties for them in the future…even years down the track!
So, the summary for today’s blog is that if an agent asks you what you want to achieve – don’t tell them!
And even more so, if an agent even asks you that question in the initial meeting without first disclosing exactly how much they believe your property to be worth, understand that you have an agent in front of you that is running their own agenda and will likely manipulate the sales process for their own benefit…and in my opinion, you should avoid listing your property with this agent at all costs.
Until next week, Happy Listing & Happy Selling!