Babylon Village Real Estate - Where Were The Buyers?!?!??!
I sent a mailing to an expired listing located in Babylon Village, New York, a few days ago. I received an email from the homeowner asking me and 2 other agents not to send mailings and to not come to his door. "My house was on the market for 6 months". "Where were your buyers then?" Boy, I could tell he was ticked off to no end!
That evening as I lay in bed, I kept thinking of that last line he said. I had to get up and look into because it bothered me that much.
As I did area comparables, I noticed that homes comparable to his were selling for more than what his home was priced at. Now I'm even more concerned because his home was nicer than the rest at that time. I took a look at his listing more carefully and found that he hired a one-man show to "sell" his home. A very low commission was posted in this listing and that is all I needed to figure out why his home did not sell. I heard the church choir singing in my head!
This homeowner received a sign on his lawn and his home listed on our local Multiple Listing Service (MLS). I doubt he even received a public open house.
Folks, that is not enough these days. Buyers do not just use their local MLS to search for homes.
As homeowners, you need to interview agents and ask questions:
- How many websites will my home appear on? (ask for proof on this) The more websites, the better. Ask what websites your home will be on and get a list of them. Make sure to get links to where you home is listed from your agent. Do not accept anything less.
- How often will I have Open Houses? The first 2 weeks a home is on the market, generates the most excitement among the buyer pool that is out there. Your agent should give you 2 open houses during the first weekend your home is on the market. And then the following weekend because that is the end of the 2 week excitement period. You need to get those buyers to view your home so let your agent do these open houses!
- This Is Market Value? Listen to your agent about market value. It's not us telling you it's market value, it's the fact that we know the bank appraisers will say that price is market value. Imagine getting a buyer and you accept their offer and your home is priced above market value. The bank appraiser that works for the bank where your buyer is getting their mortgage from will also do an area comparable and will find that your home doesn't match market value. At that point you will either have to come down to that market value or the deal is off. Plain and simple. In most cases, an overpriced home will not bring in buyers and that means no showings and no offers, period. Your home will just sit like a lump on a log.
- What else will you do to market my home? Anything we can short of getting arrested, lol. There are plenty of other things us Realtors can do. As long as it's priced at market value.
- Why can't the commission be lower? Realtors do not work for free or close to that. Good Realtors rightfully earn those commissions and we are more motivated to market your home with a higher commission. If you hire a Realtor at 2% commission, you better find out the answers to all the above questions. If you do not, your home will literally sit and you will not be happy. Even if that Realtor is a friend you need to have your home marketed. If they can't do that, you'll have to hire someone that can.
So, to sum it up, do your homework. Ask questions. You will be happier and that is more important!
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