Thinking of selling your home? Don't believe the hype when
hiring a Realtor to represent you.
Just peruse through the Sunday newspaper, real estate books or
scan various Realtor websites and you will see alot of hype.
Largest Producer! If we don't sell your home we will
buy it! Your home sold in 39 days or we will sell it for
free! We will advertise your home until it is sold! We
guarantee to save you $5,000 on your next home purchase! We
will sell your home for 1% 2% or 3%! #1 Real Estate
Agent!
Real estate is a cutt thoat, competitive industry. Realtors are
always trying to find new ways to attract home buyers and
sellers. With so many to choose from Realtors are constantly
trying to make themselves stand out from the crowd. With this
desire to be different we naturally create alot of hype.
Let's go through a few of the more common ways Realtors try to
grab your attention.
Largest Producer!
People should be impressed by any agent that is the largest
producer. Right? What if that Realtor is in a 2 or 3 agent
office? It is not as impressive anymore. What if the agent was
the largest producer for just one week? They don't advertise
that information. Again, not as quite as impressive. Most people
just assume that the agent is the either the largest producer
ever or for atleast a long period of time like a year.
If we don't sell your home we will buy it!
Are these Realtors so confident in their ability to sell your
home that they will buy it if it does not sell? Not really. If
you read through the details you will see that the chances of
the Realtor buying your home are slim to none. Most of the
agents who advertise this have never bought one of their
client's homes. In order for the agent to purchase your home
there are usually numerous requirements such as them buying your
home for the appraised value minus various costs like financing
and marketing (broker commissions) fees. In the end, it does not
make much sense for the home owner to sell to the Realtor.
Your home sold in 30 days or we will sell it for free!
This one is similar to the above hyped program. Typically, there
is a list of things the homeowner would have to do to get the
Realtor to sell his house without a commission. In reality, it
rarely happens. Typically, the Realtor requires that the
homeowner price the property at a value given by an appraiser or
by the real estate agent. Other requirements may be:
the asking price of the home needs to be dropped frequently when
the home sells the homeowner would be required to buy his next
house through the same real estate agent the home would be
required to be in showing condition all of the time the home
would also be required to be easily seen on short notice.
If the homeowner does not perform on any these tasks then the
Realtor would not be required to sell the home free. There are
all kinds of caveats that the agent can have to get them out of
selling your home for free. Some of them are very entertaining.
We will advertise your home until it is sold!
Most Realtors will do this one without too many caveats. Most
agents know that advertising rarely sells a home. A very small
percentage of people buy the home they originally called on. The
main purpose of advertising by a Realtor is not to sell your
house directly. Advertising generates phone calls and some of
those people become clients of the Realtor. Over time this
builds up a list of home buyers looking for property. Another
reason Realtors like to advertise is to get future listings.
People thinking about selling will usually interview agents that
advertise heavily. So when an agent tells you how much they plan
to advertise your home keep in mind that most of that
advertising benefits the Realtor and not your house.
We guarantee to save you $5,000 on your next home
purchase!
Most home sellers have a built in cushion in their asking price.
Here in Sarasota, Florida on the average a home will sell for
about 97% of list price. If I sell a home for $350,000 chances
are that the home was listed for $360,000 - $365,000. In this
situation it would be pretty easy for the selling agent to say
he saved his buyer $10,000 - $15,000. Was the agent such a
shrewd negotiator that he got the seller to drop his price? Most
likely not. The seller probably just factored a 3-5% cushion
into their asking price.
In many instances, especially in hot markets, homes sell at or
above their asking price. Most Realtors who advertise these
guarantees either give you something small such as a home
warranty or a some other type of buyer credit if they do not
help you negotiate a lower price.
We will sell your home for 1% 2% or 3%!
This is another hook that Realtors use to attract home sellers.
Usually this 1% 2% or 3% is the listing agent's fee for selling
your home but it does not include any co-broke fees.
Depending on the market, sellers will list their home anywhere
from 5%-7%. What happens now is that the listing agents goes to
the Realtor community via the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) and
offers a co-broke fee (usually 3% or half of the total
commission). If the other agent brings the buyer he is paid the
co-broke fee. The majority of real estate transaction involve 2
Realtors. Therfore, the 6% total commission is split between the
two agents. Often times when an agent advertises 1% 2% or 3%
they are only advertising their fee but the commission goes up
if you want your house listed on the MLS. Most of the time it is
crucial to have your home listed on the MLS.
#1 Real Estate Agent!
#1 at what? Are they the absolute best Realtor in the world?
Have they sold the most real estate? Are they always the biggest
producer? Did they sell the most homes last week, last month,
last year?
I see Realtors throw this one around alot. Any real estate agent
can #1 at something on any given day. There are so many
statistics in this industry that it would be pretty hard not to
find an agent to be #1 at something. I think agents use this one
because it tends to grab people's attention more.
I think it is normal to see this type of marketing in a highly
competitive industry. I feel it is the nature of the business
and there is nothing wrong with it. Many successful agents have
used or are currently using these marketing ideas. When looking
to find an real estate remember not everything is as it seems.