|
Why should I NOT look for the cheapest rate of commission when I list my home?
Why and when should I list for a lower price than I would like to get?
Why and when should I agree to withhold the presentation of offers for a few days?
What do better photos do for me when I sell?
Why should I use you as my REALTOR?
Who really pays the commission?
What are the magic 3 letters of the real estate industry?
How long should it take to sell my home?
Q: Why should I NOT look for the cheapest rate of commission when I list my home?
Simply put, you get what you pay for. Think of yourself as a seller of goods - do you want to be a high-class store or a street vendor with a rickety cart? You the seller are in control of setting the rate of commission that pays the work force that will sell your home - make it as professional a work force as you can. Commission cutting just damages the enthusiasm of the real estate agents who are invited to show and sell your home. In fact, a high rate of commission can be the best tool in your tool kit when you are the seller, because in gets the MLS system to do its magic, and that is the most powerful feature of the real estate industry. At the end of the day, a higher commission earns you a higher return on the sale of your property, so why would you cheap out?
Related Questions:
Who really pays the commission?
What are the magic 3 letters of the real estate industry?
back to TOP
Q: Why and when should I list for a lower price than I would like to get?
A good question, because it is always in your interest to get the highest price possible, and strategy is most important in arriving at that goal. In a calm market, the usual starting price is above your expectations, in anticipation of a buyer negotiating with you from a lower offer. But in a very active seller's market (more buyers than listings) there is an opportunity to attract multiple offers, by starting at a lower price and letting the bidding go as high as it will, determined by the market demand. This way, your expectations might be exceeded by the successful offer. In any market, however, it is always bad news to list your home too high to start with, thinking you will encourage a higher price - buyers know what they want, and will either do what it takes to get it, or not. Period. Let the buyers decide.
Related Questions:
Why and when should I agree to withhold the presentation of offers for a few days?
back to TOP
Q: Why and when should I agree to withhold the presentation of offers for a few days?
The "when" is the easy answer - any time, if you want to. It is more important in a very hot market when so many buyers are trying to buy, and you want to make sure that enough people see your home, not just the first ones in the door. It is always a good way to ensure proper exposure of your property. Real estate is a special commodity, and it requires time and special marketing to sell it for fair market value. In a slow market, this occurs more naturally, but when things are hot, you should create a zone of time for proper marketing to work. This also promotes multiple offers, where you have the luxury of choosing the best offer to accept, and you get the highest price you can hope for - that is your right as a seller. It also takes the pressure off of buyers, allowing them more time to see your home before it sells, and makes for a fair, even playing field for all buyers.
Related Questions:
Why and when should I list for a lower price than I would like to get?
How long should it take to sell my home?
back to TOP
Q: What do better photos do for me when I sell?
They do 2 things, really. First of all, when online shoppers, open-house walk-ins, clients of agents, and agents themselves see great photos of a property, they are of course attracted to it, especially when the photos show, in a clear and detailed manner, the features they are looking for. The better the photos, the more the attraction. And it's attraction that you, the seller, want most of all. The other thing that plenty of good photos do, is turn away those buyers who wouldn't like the features and details of your particular home if they saw it in person. No home can suit everyone, and if someone isn't going to buy your home, why waste your time having them coming to see it, only to be uninterested. Better to have them look at several good photos with lots of detail, and decide ahead that your property doesn't meet their needs. That way only interested and better-informed buyers go through your home.
Related Questions:
Why should I use you as my REALTOR?
back to TOP
Q: Why should I use you as my REALTOR?
If you have read these answers, you will notice that I have a realistic perception of how the real estate industry works and an honest sense of duty to you the seller, to make the system work in your favor when I list your home. I do not put my own interests ahead of yours, and I use every tool available for achieving results that put money in your pocket. I am an enthusiastic photographer, which is evident in my panoramic photo samples, and I enjoy marketing homes - this is what I do best. Choose me to sell your home so that my effort, expertise and enthusiasm will get you the best results.
Related Questions:
What do better photos do for me when I sell?
back to TOP
Q: Who really pays the commission?
This is kind of a tricky question. The listing contract you sign with a real estate company puts you, the seller, in control of, and supposedly liable for, paying the commission. It comes out of the proceeds of the sale of your property. But think of the checkout at a shoe store. Who pays the wages of the store workers? The store owner, right? But doesn't the money for the wages come from the proceeds of the sale of the shoes? So, if the store owner (like you, the home owner) pays the workers and makes a profit also at the end of the day, then who pays for it, really? The simple answer is the buyer of the shoes. The bottom line is, in any exchange of goods or services, the costs of doing business are built into the price tag, and everyone accepts that as fair. Commissions for real estate services are no different, and in fact are one of the best tools for the seller to use for getting the best service and most money in their pocket after the sale.
Related Questions:
Why should I NOT look for the cheapest rate of commission when I list my home?
back to TOP
Q: What are the magic 3 letters of the real estate industry?
M. L. S. This, as most know, stands for the Multiple Listing Service, which is the system where all the real estate sales people in the area are invited to show and sell your home to their potential buyers. In Saskatoon, there are about 350 of those people, and they are very likely to sell your home. Think of it - they each have a list of buyers they are working with at any given time. Multiply that number of buyers by the number of sales people, and that is the number of potential buyers for your home. That could be many hundreds. And the commission you recommend is shared with the sales agent that sells your home, so they are all eager to help. One sales person alone could never provide that much exposure. This is the most powerful tool there is, to expose your home to the buying public.
Related Questions:
Why should I NOT look for the cheapest rate of commission when I list my home?
back to TOP
Q: How long should it take to sell my home?
Let me answer that with another question - would you be comfortable that you got the best price possible for your home if it sold in an hour through word-of-mouth? If you are in a hurry and price isn't that important to you, then your answer is - one hour. But if, like most people, you would like as high a sale price as possible, then the answer is more complex. Real estate is a special commodity, and cannot be fully marketed in an hour, so it must take some time. In a hot seller's market (more buyers than listings), it won't take long for a large number of people to see your property, and with the right strategy and expert marketing to expose your property quickly and thoroughly, the best results can be had in just a few days - say 3 to 5. You might have to withhold offers for a short period to achieve the proper exposure. But if the market is slow, the exposure period could be weeks before the right buyer sees your home, so it becomes very important to set a realistic price to prevent a dragged out or failed attempt to sell.
Look at the graph below. The area under the curve of the bars represents the amount of buyers looking at your property, and the bottom axis is time - the numbers could mean hours, days or weeks, depending on the market:
In any event, it is critical for you to realize that the most important time in the listing period is right near the beginning, after it hits the system. As soon as all the other sales agents in the city see your home for sale, they will try to show it to buyers they are working with. This sudden interest in your home won't last forever, so expect, and aim, to sell sooner than later.
Related Questions:
Why and when should I agree to withhold the presentation of offers for a few days?
Why and when should I list for a lower price than I would like to get?
back to TOP
|