Realtor rant...

[cabmandone]

Originally Posted by greglepore

Avoiding the agent with an unsupportable listing price is excellent advice, for the reasons above plus the fact that the house needs to appraise if the buyer requires a mortgage. Don't over-fear "underpricing", if the price is low you'll just attract a lot of showings, and in this relatively low inventory environment perhaps even a quick offer above asking, significantly.

I let my license expire and got out of R.E because this practice was so prevalent. I got tired of walking into a home, showing them the comps I had prepared and explaining why their home was worth what I suggested then having them list with an agent because that agent blew me out of the water on the listing price then the home sells for what I originally said it was worth. I either had to get out or get better at lying to people and I wasn't going to lie to get listings. I'm convinced honesty and ethics have no place in that business.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Originally Posted by JavaBrewer

Any decent Realtor is not going to quote a price out front. They will take inventory of your home and what's currently on the market and what sold in the last 3-6 months. They will re-approach with their suggested listing price. They should come to the table with printed out comps of recent sales and current competing homes for sale. They (your Realtor) must be professional and look the part. Before speaking with a random Realtor I would network to see if anyone you know/trust has a recommendation. Some of the best folks in the industry don't advertise - don't need to. They get all their work on referral.

edit - as I said I have used the same Realtor for our last 3 home sales and purchases. I would not hesitate to use them again. I think the key is that you need to be educated on the market and what is selling. They will bring the connections and offer MLS exposure. Every single time the wife and I knew more about the local market than our preferred Realtor. The Realtor brought a good name in the business and the connections.

Best of luck Matt!

Absolutely! I would expect them to back up their suggested price with comps and market data. Off the cuff isn't going to work.

Originally Posted by cabmando

Ignore the open house answer as very few homes are sold at open house. The agent should have a very solid marketing plan that includes sending information to other agencies. Ask if they keep the listing in house for a period of time before cooperating with other agencies (some companies do that) Understand what duty the agent will be acting under. AVOID dual agency because at that point the agent is only a paper shifter and a high paid one at that. You want the agent representing only you in the transaction. A good agent should be able to pull comps on your home from their phone or Ipad to base their estimated sale price upon. Ask each agent what the average marketing time is from list to sell. Don't list with the person who shows you the highest estimated selling price unless they have EXCELLENT like kind transactions to back up that price. Many agents will throw a high number to get you to list then as weeks pass by without an offer they'll come to you and suggest a lower price. Ask if the agent only works with Pre Approved buyers (not pre-qualified)

Good advice, thanks. We are absolutely not doing open houses, total waste of time. I don't care to give my neighbors the opportunity to come see my house.

Originally Posted by greglepore

Avoiding the agent with an unsupportable listing price is excellent advice, for the reasons above plus the fact that the house needs to appraise if the buyer requires a mortgage. Don't over-fear "underpricing", if the price is low you'll just attract a lot of showings, and in this relatively low inventory environment perhaps even a quick offer above asking, significantly.

I think that's probably market specific. Wichita has never been a competitive market, so making offers above asking is simply not done.

[911SauCy]

Originally Posted by greglepore

Avoiding the agent with an unsupportable listing price is excellent advice, for the reasons above plus the fact that the house needs to appraise if the buyer requires a mortgage. Don't over-fear "underpricing", if the price is low you'll just attract a lot of showings, and in this relatively low inventory environment perhaps even a quick offer above asking, significantly.

Funny, as the house/situation I previously discussed in this thread is just this.

Randomly chosen listing price, no comps to justify, and for whatever reason the sellers are going with it.

I'm thinking the agent is a family member, friend, or possibly sees the sellers as gullible and is being very controlling...

[911SauCy]

Originally Posted by onewhippedpuppy

Just an aside, but any suggestions on finding a good realtor? My current plan (if we sell) is to call multiple realtors and essentially interview them. Just a discussion of how they will go about selling my home. If they want the job, they should have to tell me why they are the best. Right?

This is a great direction to take but I would forewarn about individuals who "know it all". My wife wanted to initially list our house last fall...I went along with it. She had an agent contact her, we sat down with her, she told us how amazing she was, how fast the house would sell, we should expect multiple offers, and she was confident it would be sold within 60days. She priced the house according to what my wife "wanted"...no facts.

I signed the contract, full 6%, on the spot with a smile...knowing damn well this chick would never come close to selling our house.

The best realtor will simply ask you questions about your needs, wants, and direction. After you answer those questions, they'll leave you wondering, and come back later with factual information and plan of attack. Our current realtor is this way, she is a fantastic resource, and only shows us what is right for us. I'm grateful for her knowledge. (never thought I'd say that)

I'm in sales and this is my style, it's just inherently how I do my thing. Apparently it's proven to be very rare (less than 15%) but the most successful sales people drive a process with this methodology.

And don't forget, expect treatment nothing short of how you would treat someone else...

[JavaBrewer]

Unlike other consumer goods homes are not alike - even if they are on the same street from the same builder and same floor plan. I don't suggest ever listing a home for more than it can sell for with the intent to bargain down to actual. The home will linger on the MLS which is not a good thing. Lots of stress on the seller (keeping house show ready 24/7) and buyers will see the time on market as there is something wrong with the home or it is just undesirable to the market at large.

Do the homework and settle on a listing price that is realistic - perhaps a bit under the current values. That will generate a bunch of traffic and possibly a quick deal with multiple offers.

[look 171]

David is correct about sitting in the MLS. With today's accessibility to the net with pricing at your finger tip, people will see the house sitting and assume something is wrong with the home and will not even give it a second thought after 2-3 week in today's hot market or lack of inventory. My agent and I talked about this on the last house we sold. If there is no offers within 2 weeks, we pull it and re-list it in 4 weeks or more to generate interest, bit it sold within the first 4 days. lucky us.

[onewhippedpuppy]

David, I understand your point about not letting it linger. But negotiating is a cultural thing around here, nobody makes large purchases without negotiating and NOBODY pays asking price. Above asking - no way in hell. Wichita isn't competitive like that, never has been. Even aggressively priced I will get lower offers, because that's just how things are dove around here. I'm just as bad, I don't think I could ever pay asking price. So whatever I price it at needs to have room to move.

[look 171]

Matt, that's the way it always has been, people negotiating on home purchases. Now there are no inventory on the market and people are fighting for them. Around here, anyway. Wichita or other smaller cities maybe different. Negotiating is a great thing. it means offers have been accepted.

[cabmandone]

Originally Posted by onewhippedpuppy

David, Even aggressively priced I will get lower offers, because that's just how things are dove around here.

In my construction equipment sales business, I price my equipment to sell. If people start lower, based on the number they reduced my asking price by. I have had a few people say "you can do that" to which I say "I own the machine, sure I can. Why can't I raise my price if you are trying to cut my price?" Some people get mad and others understand I'm offering the machine at a fair price and take the machine.

If a buyers agent is involved, it's their job to educate the buyer and if that agent knows the home is very competitively priced, they should do what a good listing agent does and show the buyer comps proving the home is worth the asking price. Part of being the listing agent is justifying the listing price to prospective buyers. The comps used to list the home should also be used to show buyers that your home is competitively priced. Someone will come along and realize your house is priced to sell and grab it. I know the nature of most is to try to negotiate a better price but sometimes people have to take a deal when a deal presents itself.

Also, a good listing agent should make sure relocation companies representing local businesses know about your home.

[JavaBrewer]

Originally Posted by onewhippedpuppy

David, I understand your point about not letting it linger. But negotiating is a cultural thing around here, nobody makes large purchases without negotiating and NOBODY pays asking price. Above asking - no way in hell. Wichita isn't competitive like that, never has been. Even aggressively priced I will get lower offers, because that's just how things are dove around here. I'm just as bad, I don't think I could ever pay asking price. So whatever I price it at needs to have room to move.

Matt, I am admittedly clueless to the housing market/trends in Wichita. One thing to remember is that negotiating for a home is unlike negotiating for other items like cars/boats. The process is drawn out and sterilized. Buyers submit signed offer to their realtor who then contacts and submits to the selling agent who then contacts the sellers and meets to discuss. Counter offers signed by all travel back to buyers in the same process. It gets tedious pretty quickly for everyone. After one round of such negotiations I always cut to the chase and as a buyer submit my final BEST offer or as seller request the buyer for their FINAL BEST. Of course this works better in an active market - especially when you are the seller and have multiple offers (which I will note in the request). Now if you're a FSBO dealing face to face with the buyer then yes by all means haggle away

Looking forward to updates on your possible move to AZ. That is definitely close enough to SD to warrant a couple beers some day!

[schamp]

I suggest having a third party present if your realtor wants the place. I just listed a rental unit for sale. Agents came at me with a 30 day sales price. Only 30 % low. They then started the comparable sales crap. When I asked if they were licensed appraisers in Georgia I got a no from both. After I explained it wasn't a fire sale we put the price where it ought to be. You have to stand firm. If it doesn't seem right to you, it ...

[cabmandone]

Originally Posted by schamp

I suggest having a third party present if your realtor wants the place. I just listed a rental unit for sale. Agents came at me with a 30 day sales price. Only 30 % low. They then started the comparable sales crap. When I asked if they were licensed appraisers in Georgia I got a no from both. After I explained it wasn't a fire sale we put the price where it ought to be. You have to stand firm. If it doesn't seem right to you, it ...

Guess where licensed appraisers get their comps.