There is so much information that people can get online in regards to real estate. Websites such as Redfin, Trulia, Zillow and countless others give people instant access to real estate data.
Some people fear that it is making people feel that they don’t need a REALTOR®.
I agree and disagree with that notion. Those sites are more helpful than a BAD REALTOR®. However, those sites do not replace a good one.
I am very passionate about real estate and helping my buyers and sellers in the best ways that I can professionally.
I like to think of us as a “team,” as we go through the process. We discuss, we research and we keep working towards a common goal.
Whether I work with buyers or sellers, I feel as an agent, the best way to negotiate is to bring good data and hard facts.
Whenever I present an offer for my buyer, I put details in about the home, comparable sales data and anything that explains why we made that offer the way we did.
As for my sellers, I know recent comparables so that when someone makes an offer below market value, I remind them of that information to explain why that offer is not attractive to my seller.
I had a beautiful waterfront home in Hollywood Lakes for $650,000. It had great views but was a bit dated. Recent sales with a bit more sq ft and larger lots, had sold for $900,000 and $1,100,000 in the past year.
I had two REALTORS® bring buyers that offered about $100,000 less than asking. I asked if the REALTORS® and buyers were familiar with the neighborhood. (Hollywood Lakes is a very unique neighborhood where you are within a mile of the beach without paying multi-million dollar prices.)
They both said yes, but commented that the house needed a lot of work. I reminded them that the price factored that in. If the home was more upgraded, we would be asking closer to a million dollars. I asked what market data they had to support their offers. Both of them said the same thing, “That is what my buyer wants to offer and I can’t do anything about it.”
That kind of REALTOR® mentality upsets me. YES YOU CAN DO SOMETHING! Our job is to be the middlemen and provide our customers with as much information to help them make a well-informed, realistic decision.
REALTORS®, when you let your buyers do whatever they want, you are devaluing our job in a real estate transaction.
I had a short sale in Weston where we went to contract for $395,000. We had multiple offers and each offer that came in, I would have a discussion with the agent explaining that whatever we go to contract for, that the bank might want a bit more in the end. I would ask if the buyer was willing to negotiate if the bank counters higher?
(In Short Sales, a homeowner is coming in “Short” of what they owe their bank. The bank, like anyone would, wants as much as possible. So it is quite common for the bank to come back with a higher counteroffer and we have to go back and forth a little to negotiate.)
We went with a buyer for $395,000 and the agent verbally told me the buyer would come up to the low $400s. Four months later, the bank comes back with a counteroffer of $430,000. The buyer’s agent says that her buyer doesn’t want to budge at all. We explained that it was a counter and we are happy to push for a counter from her buyer to get the bank down a bit from the $430,000.
The REALTOR® went on saying how she does a bunch of short sales but she can’t make her buyer do anything. She even admitted to me that she felt the property was a good deal at $430,000. But, she said his highest and best was $400,000 and he wouldn’t go any higher than that. There was nothing more she could do.
Looking at the comparables, there was nothing to support a value of $400,000. The real value probably could range from $410,000-$425,000.
Her job was to educate her buyer on short sales and prepare him for this. Plus, because she was not showing him all of this market data, he probably was being misinformed and lost out on a good deal when we had to cancel on them.
Since she wasn’t doing her job, I told her that she could get us the addendum at $400,000, along with some market data demonstrating why her and her buyer felt that the property was worth $400,000. If her buyer thinks it really was worth that, show me.
Of course she admitted she had no data. The bank rejected the $400,000 and we canceled the contract with them.
To anyone thinking of buying or selling real estate, you do need a REALTOR®, you just need to make sure you use a good one that is there to help you.
REALTORS®, please help your customers better. Guide them and inform them, so they can easily tell the difference why we are much better than a basic search engine.