Looking Out From the Garage

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Not so fast there, Mr and Mrs Homeseller...

A lot of sellers think that the sailing is going to be smooth after they go "Under Contract".  After all, the hard part is getting an offer, right?

Maybe...  Maybe not...

Actually, I have dealt with a rash of buyers falling out of contract lately.  Inspections haven't been good to a couple of sellers.  The specific issues aren't as important as the concept here.  The home isn't sold until you clear the closing table.

Homes fall out of contract for a variety of reasons.

• Inspection issues
• Buyer financial problems
• Buyer's remorse
• Appraisal comes in too low
• Seller can't produce title
• Lender changes standards

And of course there are always strange and unique ways for sales to fail.

What can a seller do?

One of the things I always recommend is for a seller to get an inspection... just like the buyer would.  This gives the seller the opportunity to look at the property through the eyes of a buyer.  And then act on the results.  The BEST time to take care of inspection issues is BEFORE the buyer has them.

While, as a seller, you usually don't have the ability to derail financial problems on the buyer side, or buyer's remorse... and certainly not things like changes in lending standards... and even title issues (the closing attorney will find them), YOU CAN often figure out if there will be appraisal issues.

Appraisers are VERY conservative in the current environment.  While I wouldn't tell every seller to run out and drop another $300 on an appraisal, it wouldn't be a terrible idea to get your agent to check with one of their lenders to see what the AVMs (Automated Valuation Models) say.  Check Zillow, too.  It isn't the last word, but it gets you in the realm.  Most homes are fairly easy to value.  There are similar comparables in the same neighborhood, so an appraiser can grab those, make a few adjustments and come out with a value.

But, in addition to your real estate agent's CMA (Comparable Market Analysis), getting a real appraisal may be a good idea for an unusual home.  Remember, though, appraisers issue an opinion, so while one might assign an agreeable value, another may not.

The best tactics are to go into the process aware of the pitfalls, and do what you can to minimize the poor outcomes.  Keep your property clean and neat and in good repair.  And be flexible with the buyer...  Sometimes the next offer is just as good as the first one, but we often see the best offer is the first one to hit the table.

I'm in the market...  My family is 'thinking' of buying a new home.  And while I spend a lot of time with other buyers, it is a different beast when putting MY money on the line.  It shouldn't be... but it is.  I think it is a fantastic learning opportunity for me.  So, this is a series of posts about the things I am 'unlearning' as a real estate professional, and learning from the buyer's seat.

Dear Listing Agent,

Please don't put stupid things in your description.  There are a limited number of characters allowed by the listing services.  Using that valuable space describing the property and why we should consider buying it would be a 'highest and best use'.  Using it to say...

• "As is, where is" (Gee, I thought they would move and renovate the house for that money)
  
• "Show and Sell"  (Generally, as an agent, those are two of my job duties)
  
• "Mrs. Clean lives here"  (Will I have to evict her?)
  
• "Won't last long" (please note the winter grass in the picture... it has already 'lasted long')
• "Location, Location, Location"  (Yes, the house has a location... does it have three?)
  
• "EZ Show, 24 Hour Notice"  (That would be a pair of mutually exclusive terms)
  
• "Check out the seller's beautiful Golden Shower" (ok, that one is just WAY too much info for me)

I can think of a LOT of information that would be more relevent than the wasters of space listed above.  Maybe mentioning some of the highlights about the house or neighborhood would be a good use of the space... 

I'm not going to get into the repeated pictures of the same space, and missing pictures of the things I want to know about... like the garage.  We have 20 slots for pics... why use 3 of them for almost the same angle of the front of the house and three more for almost the same angle of the master bedroom?  Unless there is a way for me to meld those into a 3D image, I don't get it.  So, maybe using the four wasted pictures to show me the garage, tiled backsplash in the kitchen, the sunroom and the landscaped backyard would be better... after all, you mentioned them in the description. 

The first step is to start looking at your listings as if you were going to buy them... 

Thanks,

I'm in the market...  My family is 'thinking' of buying a new home.  And while I spend a lot of time with other buyers, it is a different beast when putting MY money on the line.  It shouldn't be... but it is.  I think it is a fantastic learning opportunity for me.  So, this is a series of posts about the things I am 'unlearning' as a real estate professional, and learning from the buyer's seat. 

Dear Seller,

As a buyer, I would love to see your house.  But... I don't really want to meet you there.  Actually, I don't want to meet your agent their, either.  We want to be free to discuss the house and how it fits (or doesn't fit) our needs and desires.  Honestly, we ARE going to make some biting remarks about the decor, paint choices, wallpaper and anything else we don't like. 

I certainly don't want to have to bend my schedule to wait until you are off work (it happens to be EXACTLY when my 2 year old is down for his nap...).  It might be different if your house wasn't actually vacant and without furniture. 

Having more than one picture on the listing might have helped, too.  But, while the description talked about how amazing the house was, it only showed an average exterior... one shot.  There is room for 20 on the MLS.  The competition... the 10 other homes in the price range in the same subdivision ALL had multiple pictures.  The 18 homes that are districted for the same Elementary School had multiple pictures... except that fully trashed foreclosure.  But it didn't require an appointment during my son's nap time to visit. 

I understand that you don't think anyone can show your house as well as you can.  You know EVERYTHING about the property, and if you show the property, you are right there to answer any concerns or point out any subtle advantages your home has over the competition.  But buyers... us included... want to be free to discuss what we like and don't like about the property.  And with a seller trailing along... or in the next room... or the driveway... we just don't feel comfortable doing that.  So, rather than 'basking' in your home and giving it time to grow on us, we end up hurrying out. 

Through the use of tools like the Supra Lockbox, your agent will know exactly who has accessed the home, and when.  Agents can't just give them their key... unless they are looking to find a different profession.  There is no lockbox code to allow them free access to the house. 

I hate to be blunt, and we might have not chosen your house even if we DID see it... but it didn't have a chance. 

Keep in mind, I don't think it is your fault.  I blame your real estate agent.  It isn't a limited service, MLS only brokerage... it is a full service broker.  But the agent should not have accepted the listing with the restrictions you wanted to place on viewing the property.  And if the restriction came from the agent, you shouldn't have listed with that agent... the restrictions are seriously inhibiting your ability to sell your property. 

Maybe next time.

I run across this a lot.  I am NOT a super lister, listing every house I can for sale.  I just want to make sure that you know that up front.  In fact, I don't list every house I can.  I turn down listings.  And what I am about the say is going to make some agents unhappy...

Listing too many properties means that they can't get the right attention...

I know of a few agents here in the Atlanta area that have HUNDREDS of listings.  Granted, they are teams, but still, I know of individual agents with dozens of listings.  In fact, the common saying in real estate has always been "List to live".  And by that, the speaker is saying that the best way to insure success for the agent is to list a lot of property.

But there is a big problem with that...  It is great for the agent, but for the seller it isn't so great.

I have had the coaches that told me that in order to be successful I need to pound to get listings every day.  I need to take every listing I can get.  if it is over-priced, still take it, but try to beat down the seller for reductions.  Until they reduce, don't spend money or time marketing their listings.  I have been to the seminars where the speaker told us that we should limit the ability of the sellers to contact us.  Only call them back on Tuesdays between 3:00 and 3:07... and if there are too many calls, put them off a week.  I have stood up in a class and asked about better ways to market the listing... and been told "the MLS is the best way to market the listing, concentrate on marketing yourself."

But I think that loses the reason I went into real estate... and the reason I stay.  I like helping people.  I like helping people buy that wonderful home they have been dreaming of, and I like helping people sell their home so that they can move into the next stage of their lives.

Self-promoting and ignoring the NEEDS of the people that hire me are NOT what I signed up for.

I only want to list a house... or maybe two... a week.

That is it.  That is the most I can handle.  Sure, I could ratchet that up and list a property a day... maybe two, but then I would have to farm out total responsibility for things like the single property blogs, virtual tours, interactive floor plans and everything else.  And I wouldn't be able to make sure that everything is done right.  All I would have time to do would be to get the listing agreements signed and get the house in the MLS... and that is fine for a lot of agents.  But it isn't for me.

I look up listings here in Lilburn (as well as a few other selct areas and types of properties) to see how well they are being promoted.  I see homes listed for sale with NO PICTURES, much less a virtual tour.  And I'm not just talking about foreclosures, I am talking about $500,000 houses that aren't distressed sales.

And I actually LIKE working with buyers...

Many of the "big time" agents won't work with buyers.  They hire agents to handle the buyers... they are referred to as "time suckers" by the various gurus out there.  And there is some truth... buyers take time.  But, as an agent, it is a great way to keep in touch with the market.  I know where my buyers are looking for properties.  I know what kind of properties and features are hot.  I know what kind of marketing pulls them in...  And I know it first hand.

The bottom line is that while the mega-agents might seem attractive, they may not be able to devote the kind of resources YOU need to get your home sold.  And it isn't likely that you will work with them... you might not even meet them.  And for buyers, finding an agents that is in the community is a great way to get an edge.

from LilburnDwellings.com

There are a lot of things that sellers can do to help seller their home faster and smoother.  Here are a few.  For more info, be sure to contact me to enroll in our Free Seller Seminar coming up in May.

Be Proactive.

A great example of this is a pre-listing inspection.  Generally, after an offer is accepted, and a home goes under contract (enters escrow in other parts of the country), there are only a couple of reasons things fall apart.  The most common one, especially in the last few years would be buyer financing falls through.  If it is for credit reasons, there isn't much a seller can do, but what is very common is for the financing to fall apart because of the appraisal not coming back high enough.  Right after financing issues would be items found during the inspection.  

A proactive seller should have a home inspection done prior to listing.  There are a few good reasons for this.  

• It allows those items to be fixed before buyers see them
• If not fixed, the price can be adjusted accordingly
  
• The Seller's Disclosure will be more accurate
  

Items that are in the disclosure aren't actually up for negotiation after the inspection.  It would only be items that are uncovered during inspection.  Also, if there is something questionable, it is better to be forearmed with the correct information to dispute faulty finding by the buyer's inspector.  

Be Informed.

A good seller will know what their agent is doing to promote their home.  And they will be quick to provide information and access.  I am in the MLS doing searches just about every day.  I can't even remember how many times I have seen listings with no pictures, a couple of bad pictures, or little or no information.  I have had a seller tell me (not one of mine, but whose listing I was showing) that they were going to do a virtual tour... but never scheduled it even though their agent had paid for it.  I also see listings with almost nothing for a description in the MLS.  

Ask to see the "Agent Full" listing sheet as well as the photo sheet if it is separate.  Verify that the information is correct.  Ask for copies of ads and website addresses (this can be tough, as some of us might be updating a Craigslist ad every two days, but you want to get an idea of what is going on). 

Be Realistic.

This is the one that will spark controversy.  Not with agents, but with buyers... ok, a few agents, too.  Tour your competition.  If you are selling a $300,000 house in a subdivision, you should see the other homes buyers might look at.  And... open your mind.  Be a buyer.  Look at it as someone that hasn't raised their kids there, or some other emotional attachment.  Ask yourself, "Self, why should my house sell for $10,000 more than this house (or less)?"  Keep in mind that "Because my house is special" is not a valid answer.  

Understand what buyers are going through when they look at your house.  Know what makes your house stand out.  A good agent will facilitate that.  They will help point out differences and highlights.  

We will be hosting a Seller Seminar in May.  We will be addressing these topics and more.  Contact me for more information.