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In the 27 years that my partner and I have been together we have bought and sold ten houses. We have therefore met many Realtors and agents. When we go to list the current house we ALWAYS interview the "required" three agents, and usually more than three. We have seldom ended up listing with a male agent, have almost always gone with a female agent. Reason? We have a flare for decorating.... The female agents ALWAYS love our houses and quote better and higher prices than the male agents. The men come out, walk into our house, and immediately sit down at our dining room table with us, drag out all these lovely "comps", and say something like "Now that house two blocks over just sold for $275,000 after six months on the market, it looks just like yours, so we can't list yours for more than $275,000." The female agents come in, look all over the house, drool, squeal "Oh, I LOVE what you did. That color is GORGEOUS!, I can't believe it! Let's list at $310,000, we can always come down, but ONLY as a last resort!"
We have sold every house in less than the 90 days we sign up for and have rarely dropped the price appreciably. Often we have gotten a high offer in a few days from listing. I'm not exagerrating. The only time we had a major problem was in Prescott Valley, AZ; After 90 days of no activity with a male agent we switched to another company and a female agent, who immediiately sold the house for $3000.00 less than originally listed for.... The house HAS to be shown to be sold. Maybe its the Big Butch male agents versus the Old Sissy Owners Syndrome.....
You would live my wife and I. We come in...she does the how gorgeous bit and I do the cold hard numbers bit. But you will note that we did not have a real number when we came in. We did have hard comparables but not a final number. The reason is that we find it best to bounce off each other a bit before arriving at the number. Note that she can easily convince us all that the price should be at the top of the range...but when she wants to go past the top of the range it gets interesting...yes this may be absolutely the most gorgeous 1800 SF home in the neighborhood. Bit is it really worth more than a 2100 SF home with a gorgeous pool? Maybe..but that is a hard sell.
There really are limits in a given neighborhood that you should discourage a buyer from violating. Even the most gorgeous decorating job in the entire world has a six to eight year life...then what?
You would live my wife and I. We come in...she does the how gorgeous bit and I do the cold hard numbers bit. But you will note that we did not have a real number when we came in. We did have hard comparables but not a final number. The reason is that we find it best to bounce off each other a bit before arriving at the number. Note that she can easily convince us all that the price should be at the top of the range...but when she wants to go past the top of the range it gets interesting...yes this may be absolutely the most gorgeous 1800 SF home in the neighborhood. Bit is it really worth more than a 2100 SF home with a gorgeous pool? Maybe..but that is a hard sell.
There really are limits in a given neighborhood that you should discourage a buyer from violating. Even the most gorgeous decorating job in the entire world has a six to eight year life...then what?
You guys sound good! BTW after 8 or 10 years you redecorate again!!!!
Most times the only thing you can change about a house that is not selling is the price. Everyone thinks his house is better than the next one.
I've been a Real Estate Broker since 1982. I only sold for 3-4 years, it is a very tough way to make a living. But I still have a lot of experience with rental properties and such...
The Realtor (it's not Real-a-tor) does not get paid unless your house sells. He/She is shelling out money in the meantime. If you don't want to sell your house, then take it off the market.
A house gets stale real fast. If it's too high and doesn't sell in the first month or so, everyone wonders what is wrong with the house. You are jinxed.
So, get over it and follow the Realtor's advice. Or take it off the market. You are wasting everyone's time, including your own.
This made me laugh. We need a good story now and then. I have found myself in the same boat, admiring the decorating, and gushing. I think I'll stop and pay attention to the bones of the house! A very humorous perspective!
Many sellers think their home is worth way more than it actually is. Unfortunately a home is only worth what someone will pay for it (yes someone said that already-I agree). I know many people that fell into that same trap, they listed their home at a high price...waited a "gazillion" days and couldn't sell it so now their home is worth even less and they are in risk of foreclosure. Let;s be smart about our decisions...
Done with it. We aren't going to play the game anymore. Every seller has to see this. A realtor tells us to go lower on our selling price. Homes are being dropped to crazy prices. People are you desparate? I am tired of all the negative stuff about real estate and tired of the realtors wanting to make a quick sale. Don't give your homes away people!!! Stand up and make a difference. Keep your prices at what you listed them at unless you are in a desparate situation. Fight back! We are. I don't even care if we have to wait a gazillion days or months to get what our home is worth. We just had a friend get an appraisal and boy what a surprise that was. Its way above what these sellers are selling their homes for.
Nuff said.
This thread is old, but its crazy that some sellers still feel this way !
Last edited by mojo_1979; 05-21-2008 at 11:48 AM..
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Be smart about your decision to sell
