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Old 02-26-2014, 02:07 PM
 
Location: Massachusetts
6,301 posts, read 9,585,524 times
Reputation: 4797

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Quote:
Originally Posted by MikePRU View Post
This is one of the great mysteries of our industry. Some of the most successful agents are the ones who put in the least effort. I guess what they're really great at is selling themselves but not so great at actually selling the house.
I've met some in the most desirable of areas that had the personality of a wet paper bag.
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Old 02-26-2014, 09:15 PM
 
78 posts, read 135,115 times
Reputation: 37
Quote:
Originally Posted by REtoday View Post

Get out there take control and kick the bushes - see what comes out.

It's hard to kick the bushes when you live 3 hours away.
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Old 02-26-2014, 09:17 PM
 
78 posts, read 135,115 times
Reputation: 37
Quote:
Originally Posted by 3cents View Post
You've probably missed these 2 houses that came up these 2 days?: 9 Old Takmuck Road and 38 Forge Village Road
Thank you! Will check them out! yay!
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Old 02-27-2014, 09:24 AM
 
Location: 42°22'55.2"N 71°24'46.8"W
4,848 posts, read 11,751,074 times
Reputation: 2961
Quote:
Originally Posted by peachto4 View Post
It's hard to kick the bushes when you live 3 hours away.
Yikes - that may be your problem. Anything worth buying will have an offer before you even get to see it! Your agent needs to look at these houses for you once they hit the market during the week and communicate to you by Friday morning whether any of them are worth a visit. Then you need to drive down Saturday morning to look at it yourself and be prepared to make an offer by Saturday afternoon if you like the place. It's the only way you can buy a decent house in this market unless you want to pick from the "rejects" that have been on the market for weeks.
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Old 02-27-2014, 10:13 AM
 
Location: Needham, MA
8,525 posts, read 13,906,155 times
Reputation: 7908
Quote:
Originally Posted by peachto4 View Post
It's hard to kick the bushes when you live 3 hours away.
Your agent should definitely be helping you with this. Shaking the bushes shouldn't be a problem from 3 hours away if you're working with someone who's at least a little pro-active.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Parsec View Post
Yikes - that may be your problem. Anything worth buying will have an offer before you even get to see it! Your agent needs to look at these houses for you once they hit the market during the week and communicate to you by Friday morning whether any of them are worth a visit. Then you need to drive down Saturday morning to look at it yourself and be prepared to make an offer by Saturday afternoon if you like the place. It's the only way you can buy a decent house in this market unless you want to pick from the "rejects" that have been on the market for weeks.
I couldn't agree more. You have to be prepared to move quickly. If a listing comes on the market during the week though, there's no guarantee it will still be available when you go to look at it during the weekend.
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Old 02-27-2014, 09:48 PM
 
Location: Pittston
82 posts, read 130,711 times
Reputation: 113
It's quite easy to try up a property until the buyer is able to view.
Again, please think outside the box or hire a professional that will do so for you.
I have clients in California, buying in Boston. It's not rocket science.
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Old 02-28-2014, 02:02 PM
 
Location: Needham, MA
8,525 posts, read 13,906,155 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by REtoday View Post
It's quite easy to try up a property until the buyer is able to view.
Again, please think outside the box or hire a professional that will do so for you.
I have clients in California, buying in Boston. It's not rocket science.
When I'm on the listing side, if I don't see the buyer's name on the open house sign in or my showing log then I encourage my sellers to ignore the offer. The last thing I want is for the buyer to show up and decide "the house looked better in the pictures." In this market, it will be one of many offers so not a big deal to disregard one or two offers.

When I have out of town buyers I try to do a video chat of some sort (Skype, etc) and I'll walk through the house so that they can get a better feel for it and they can ask to see specific areas close up. Sometimes that's the best you can do, but I don't like the idea of tying up a property just to buy time. It's sort of an ethical gray area and my willingness to do that/suggest that would depend upon the true intentions of the buyer. If they're just looking to get time so that they can see it, that's one thing. If they've seen the photos, we've Skyped, they've seen a vide, etc and they are absolutely ga-ga over the property that's another thing entirely.

Last edited by MikePRU; 02-28-2014 at 02:22 PM..
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Old 03-01-2014, 10:56 AM
 
Location: Pittston
82 posts, read 130,711 times
Reputation: 113
Quote:
Originally Posted by MikePRU View Post
When I'm on the listing side, if I don't see the buyer's name on the open house sign in or my showing log then I encourage my sellers to ignore the offer. The last thing I want is for the buyer to show up and decide "the house looked better in the pictures." In this market, it will be one of many offers so not a big deal to disregard one or two offers.

When I have out of town buyers I try to do a video chat of some sort (Skype, etc) and I'll walk through the house so that they can get a better feel for it and they can ask to see specific areas close up. Sometimes that's the best you can do, but I don't like the idea of tying up a property just to buy time. It's sort of an ethical gray area and my willingness to do that/suggest that would depend upon the true intentions of the buyer. If they're just looking to get time so that they can see it, that's one thing. If they've seen the photos, we've Skyped, they've seen a vide, etc and they are absolutely ga-ga over the property that's another thing entirely.
Great points Mike.
It helps greatly when a family member, daughter, lives near the property. I post a very detailed video(youtube) for the buyers to see in addition to the traditional methods mentioned.
Also, google maps is invaluable for client research; streets - neighborhood houses etc.

I disagree with you about gray areas. As a buyer agent, you have responsibilities to that buyer. As long as everyone involved is on board, there is no problem.

If the offer is terrific, the sellers will wait.
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Old 03-01-2014, 07:25 PM
 
78 posts, read 135,115 times
Reputation: 37
Question then, what's the best way to ask our agent to help us with "kicking the bushes" for us? Agents on this board, how would you appreciate being asked.
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Old 03-01-2014, 07:36 PM
 
Location: Needham, MA
8,525 posts, read 13,906,155 times
Reputation: 7908
Quote:
Originally Posted by REtoday View Post
I disagree with you about gray areas. As a buyer agent, you have responsibilities to that buyer. As long as everyone involved is on board, there is no problem.
As I said, a lot depends on the motivation of the buyer. I've seen people tie up a house with very little idea of whether or not they will actually buy it. Most of the time when that happens they don't buy. Also, my responsibility to the buyer has nothing to do with ethics in this context. If you work for a buyer behaving unethically and you carry out their instructions then you too are behaving unethically.

Quote:
Originally Posted by REtoday View Post
If the offer is terrific, the sellers will wait.
In this market, I see a lot of terrific offers. Why take the one from the buyer who hasn't seen the property? Too much risk involved in that IMO.

Quote:
Originally Posted by peachto4 View Post
Question then, what's the best way to ask our agent to help us with "kicking the bushes" for us? Agents on this board, how would you appreciate being asked.
All you have to do is ask them to put some effort into finding you a property not on MLS.
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