Have You Hugged Your REALTOR® Today?
by Mark Stallmann, GRI, ePRO
Chief Executive Officer
St. Charles Association of REALTORS®
You look out the window at the battered “For Sale” sign in the front yard and wonder if it’s grown roots yet. You can’t understand why your home hasn’t sold; it’s special and worth every penny you’re asking. So what if your REALTOR® says it’s $25,000 over market price, what does he know?
The sale or purchase of a new home is not only the biggest financial transaction of our lives for most of us, it is also an emotional and difficult time to live through. Unfortunately, when our emotions take over, logic and reason often go out the window.
Your REALTOR® is often, unfairly, the easy scapegoat when emotions take the place of sound judgment. Every successful partnership with a professional—be they doctor, lawyer or REALTOR®—is, however, a two-way street. So, it seems only appropriate to take a little time to talk about what you can do for your REALTOR®.
Some Tips on Being a Successful Home Seller:
LISTEN TO YOUR REALTOR®: You’ve hired your REALTOR® to help you sell your house because you understand that using a REALTOR® is the only safe way to sell your home. You selected him or her for his or her knowledge and expertise; so take advantage of it. Listen to your REALTOR®’s advice about improvements to your home, maintenance, price, showings, etc. Would you ask for your lawyer’s or doctor’s advice and then ignore what you were told? Of course not!
LET THE MARKET SET YOUR PRICE: Advice on pricing is the most critical help your REALTOR® can give you. Unfortunately, it is also the advice that is most often ignored by sellers. The market sets the value of your home, not the Multiple Listing Service (MLS). REALTOR®s’ use the MLS to track market activity and market price in your neighborhood. He or she knows what your home is worth on the real estate market in your neighborhood. The fact that you put $30,000 into your kitchen, or borrowed $30,000 against your house to buy that new van, or the fact that you need to clear at least $100,000 to buy the new home you want doesn’t make your home worth thousands more than similar homes in your neighborhood. In addition, it is a proven fact that homes priced too high end up selling for less than similar homes priced right initially.
DON’T MAKE YOUR REALTOR® PAY: Your REALTOR® is not the person who hasn’t had the furnace serviced since the Clinton years. So, don’t ask your REALTOR® to pay for repairs to your home that the buyer asks for. Would you ask your doctor to pay for the hospital or lab costs? Of course not! Also, the buyer and the market are responsible for the offer you get on your house, not your REALTOR®. So, don’t ask the REALTOR®s to supplement your proceeds by reducing their commission.
DON’T DUMP YOUR REALTOR® UNJUSTLY: It’s human nature to not want to admit we were wrong. Too often, it takes sellers several months to realize that their REALTOR® was right about pricing their home or the suggestions that were made about clean-up and fix-up around the house. Rather than admit they were wrong, some sellers fire their REALTOR®. They then hire another REALTOR® to sell their home at the price, and with the clean-up and fix-up completed, that their first REALTOR® suggested. Is this fair? Of course not!
It is important that you select a REALTOR® who you trust and have confidence in his or her ability to sell your home as quickly as possible for the highest possible price. Once you’ve made that selection, listen to his or her expertise and treat him or her as the dedicated professional that he or she is.
