7 Tips for Chehalis / Centralia Home Sellers:
Tip #7 FSBO/Expireds
Good morning and welcome to the final tip of 7 Tips for
Chehalis/Centralia area Home Sellers. I’m Eren Millam Realtor of Realty World
Cosser & Associates and I hope you’re having an extraordinary day! Last
week we covered setting expectations for extraordinary communication from your
agent. We’ve got a lot to cover today, so let’s get started!
The #1 reason why sellers try to sell their home without a
realtor, is the cost savings. This could be 10’s of thousands of dollars or
more on a single home. That is a big PRO!
The #2 reason stems from a distrust of realtors, in that
sellers believe they can market their own home just as well, if not better
than, an agent. Why pay realtor fees when you can do it yourself?
Let me be clear, real estate agents have EARNED their
reputation.
Let me also be clear, not every agent is created equal!
I have seen many For Sale By Owners who have done better
jobs at marketing than Realtors. Many agents have forgotten that we are in a
marketing and service industry and they have given the rest of us a bad name.
Now, let’s address the concerns of For Sale by Owner
properties:
#1 Saving on Realtor Fees
Only 2% of FSBOs sell to someone they DON’T know. If you
have someone lined up for your house, there’s a good chance you’ll be able to
sell your home. If not, there’s a 98% chance you won’t sell.
On top of that, studies have shown that homes listed by
Realtors, sell for more on average than homes sold by the owner. My personal
experience bears this truth. I average 11% greater sales price for my clients
than when they tried to For Sale By Owner. Now, I don’t charge anywhere close
to 11% commission so while the seller did pay a Realtor commission, they netted
more money in their pocket by using me rather than doing it alone.
Also, during the transaction, I was able to guide them through
the process and save them money by negotiating on their behalf when it came to
inspections and repairs.
#2 Marketing Your Home
In a previous lesson, I discussed a little bit of what I do
to market homes. However, there are not many agents that market the same way I
do. It’s no wonder so many people are disappointed when their home expires from
the market. When I go on listing appointments of expired homes, sellers are
flabberghasted by the difference because they’ve never even heard the type of
marketing language I use by any other realtor.
A new set of buyers hits the market on average, about every
3 weeks. This is one of the reasons why a Realtor will ask for a price drop
every few weeks if the home hasn’t sold. But, what have they done to market it?
Most sellers seem to have this question, yet few ask it. Many agents will “set
it and forget it” and hope for another Realtor to bring them a buyer. With me,
you will know what I’m doing, when I will ask for a price reduction, and how
much we should reduce it based on how the market reacts to it.
The final reason why a seller chooses not to work with a
Realtor is because they’ve had a bad experience in the past. There is nothing I
can say to change that experience. It may seem like a lot of work to weed
through all the different agents and their promises, but it will save you
money, time, and stress if you make the right selection. Here’s some questions
to ask to assist you in selecting the right agent for you:
What sets you apart from other agents?
How is your marketing different than other agents?
How often will I be hearing from you?
What happens if I’m not satisfied at any point in the
contract?
What’s your opinion of open houses?
These are just a few questions to get you started. If you
hear anything that is too generic or “we’re all the same, pick who you get
along with more” type answers, those should be red flags. You’re hiring someone
to sell your product, they should be adept marketing and service professionals!
I hope you’ve enjoyed this series and if there’s anything you take away from
it, let it be this: Don’t settle for anything less than Extraordinary!
