Looking Out From the Garage

Exceptionalism

There are a lot of real estate agents.  The NAR reports over 1.2 million members, and the Atlanta area alone has more than 40,000.  It is hard to NOT know a real estate agent.  Regardless of where I go and who I talk with, they know an agent.  Today at the cell phone store, the clerk helping me has an agent for a Mother-in-Law.  There are three in my small neighborhood.  There are at least two at my son's pre-school. 

The fact is that is is hard to turn around without bumping into one of us. 

And there are agents that make it even worse.  Mention on Twitter that you are thinking of buying or selling a home and all of sudden you are getting creamed with direct messages and reply tweets... and they aren't even just local... agents from all over the country will try to refer you to someone they "know" near you. 

I'm not shocked that much of the public is annoyed, at best, by our omni-presence. 

And to make matters worse, the vast majority of agents are interchangeable.  The same weak "strategies" are touted as innovation.  The same ads with the same taglines.  The same property descriptions.  The same "slide show with funeral music" virtual tours. 

How many times have you seen...

  • #1 for Service.
  • Integrity has found a home!
  • You're neighborhood expert... everywhere in Atlanta.
  • Show & Sell
  • To see it is to LOVE it!
  • Good Bones...

I'm in the industry, and I know scores of agents that are different... and I'm still turned off by the stereotypes I see.  I can fully understand why consumers are turned off. 

"Prices are going up, up, up... It's a GREAT time to buy!" the NAR exclaims. 

"Prices are coming down, there are deals... It's a GREAT time to buy!" says the NAR. 

Yeah, that makes us trustworthy advisors...  NOT. 

But I do want to say something.  I want consumers to know something.  And this is important... 

There are some GREAT agents out there! 

There are agents that look for new technologies to help their buyers and their sellers.  There are agents that are just as upset by the dregs of our industry as you are! 

We strive to be exceptional!

Some of us are struggling.  This IS a tough market.  Listings take more work to sell.  Buyers want to see more properties.  Instead of cutting corners and hoping, we are doing more.  We are pushing beyond what the "normal" agent does. 

  • Better websites... when most agents don't even produce a website for their listings... even though at least 85% of buyers start their search on the web.
  • Unique Signage... instead of the boring, easy to ignore sign just like the one up the street.
  • Property Video... because buyers want to know what it is like to be in the home... and video is better at that than still pictures... and a slide show with crappy music isn't going to cut it.
  • Score of Pictures... because buyers say they want more pictures... and 8 or 12 or 16 from the MLS isn't fulfilling that need.
  • Interactive Virtual Tours... because consumers want to be engaged.  They want to participate, not just spectate. 

In every aspect of the business, there is a way to push beyond what most are doing.  Some of us are pushing those boundries. 

Find YOUR Dream HomeWhat's YOUR Home Worth?How's the Market?

Unless otherwise noted, all content of this blog is the property of Lane Bailey, ©2012 Lane Bailey. 

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0 comments • Lane Bailey - REALTOR & Car Guy • May 24 2009 11:18PM

I turned down a listing today... because it was the right thing to do...

I just got back with a meeting with a potential client.  We had a great time chatting about the market, her house, the area and where she wants to move back to.  We shared stories about family and friends.  In fact, it was less a meeting than a long awaited meeting between friends. 

She was referred to me by another Active Rainer.  She had contacted the other person through her blog, but had a need to sell here before moving.  But she has only been here a year and a half, and she is upside-down on her property. 

We talked about her options:

  • Trying to convince her lender to do a short sale.  She isn't in any sort of financial crisis, but couldn't hold this property, and would really like to move back to where her family is because they could use her help.  
  • Coming to the closing table with enough money to buy a small new car.  Another option that didn't look at all attractive.  It might be swingable, but would take a LONG time to recover from. 
  • Finding a renter for the property.  Since she doesn't have a lot of equity, she doesn't need to pull it out in order to buy a house elsewhere... but she isn't comfortable renting out her property, especially since she would be 7 hours away.  
  • Staying put.  She loves her job, her child is doing well in school, and she likes living here... It is an inconvenience to not be near her family, but with the money she would be saving by not having to pony up the cash to get to closing, she can afford to make a few extra trips to see them each year. 

In the end HER decision was to stay put and see where the market goes.  There are a few foreclosures in the neighborhood, depressing prices, but the neighborhood is pretty stable. 

Now, possibly, I might have been able to convince her that selling would be in her best interests.  I could certainly have come armed for the arguments that she might have had.  After all, I make money selling houses... and to sell houses, I need to have houses to sell.  But that wouldn't have been honest or ethical.  The person that referred her to me did so because she trusts that I will look out for her potential client's interests.  She has talked with me about this over the last few months because she felt I would look out for her interests and speak honestly and candidly. 

I could NOT sit in front of her and tell her that I thought she should do something just because it was in my best interests.  Most of the agents I know would have done the same thing... although, not all.  That is obvious from the thousands of listings that are at prices that are simply unrealistic... listings that were often taken by agents that were afraid to tell their client the truth. 

I value each client and potential client.  I think that this person will use me when it IS time for her to move back home.  In the mean time we will stay in touch.  She appreciated that I was willing to be honest with her and give her an honest assessment of the market.

Find YOUR Dream HomeWhat's YOUR Home Worth?How's the Market?

Unless otherwise noted, all content of this blog is the property of Lane Bailey, ©2012 Lane Bailey. 

I'd love to hear from you...

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46 comments • Lane Bailey - REALTOR & Car Guy • February 07 2009 12:49PM