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You're trying too hard. These are your words to which I responded:
"You could do a few things, though, to make it go faster, easier, or minimize the wasted showings. For faster, you can lower your price..."
To which I replied "...the first thing you suggest is lowering the price."
Your suggestions were in the order in which you placed them, not I. Lowering the price was first, as I noted. There was no looking into why the price might benefit from being lowered. Anything can sell quickly if the price is far enough below its market value but that does not help a seller - but, as I noted, it is all too often what the professionals here approach first.
You then got into your suggestions of "bigotry" and "prejudice" as if there existed some unfortunate, abused class of people known as real estate sales people out there being treated unfairly. I'm not buying it; thin-skinned people are not yet a protected class.
The seller, in her very first thread on this forum, did indicate that her home had never been updated AND she felt it might be priced too high relative to other, similar homes in her area.
Just fyi.
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I understand it is quite responsible method for doing this one. But you should think that you can not get a lots of space in new flat as House. People with a realtor aren't running around looking at houses for funsies. It's a lot of work.
When we sell our house, we plan to tell the Realtor that "This is a lived in house. Advise all potential lookers of that. It will not be eligible for a feature article in "House Beautiful"!"
You're trying too hard. These are your words to which I responded:
"You could do a few things, though, to make it go faster, easier, or minimize the wasted showings. For faster, you can lower your price..."
To which I replied "...the first thing you suggest is lowering the price."
Your suggestions were in the order in which you placed them, not I. Lowering the price was first, as I noted. There was no looking into why the price might benefit from being lowered. Anything can sell quickly if the price is far enough below its market value but that does not help a seller - but, as I noted, it is all too often what the professionals here approach first.
You then got into your suggestions of "bigotry" and "prejudice" as if there existed some unfortunate, abused class of people known as real estate sales people out there being treated unfairly. I'm not buying it; thin-skinned people are not yet a protected class.
I haven't had time to read all of the messages but I will give a quick update.
We did do a 10% price reduction right after the first thread on wrote on this, I saw a few references to that thread. So we probably did miss some of the fall selling season which was a bit longer this year due to the mild weather here. Or not. Who knows. Regardless, it is priced right now. Whether or not you believe me, there is nothing I can do about that short of giving you my address.
Anyway, my update. This weekend we had three showings. We let them all in, same day, one cleaning session. We asked our agent to screen more as I had mentioned. Before we accepted these three showings, she told us that all of them were qualified, ready to buy right now. Okey dokey.
My agent followed up with all three of them...
All three own smaller homes in town, want to move up to a bigger home, need to sell first, and don't have their homes on the market yet.
This is not home showing...this is listing fishing.
These agents are fishing for listings and using my house, and probably other people's homes, as a way to convince people to list. And it's funny, in the feedback after the showing, the truth all comes out.
Which is fine. Business is business. I am not blaming the agents, they are only playing by the rules of the game and by being listed on the MLS, I am consenting to that game. I have some ideas as to why we are being targeted for these types of showings, but that is moot.
In any case, we have decided to take the house off until spring. We do not need to be a sample home for our development for the next two months for agents who are just cruising to get listings. If we lose a real buyer because of it, so be it.
To agents out there who do this to sellers, I would suggest that you be honest when you call asking for a showing. Some sellers may be very willing to entertain such showings. But it would be courteous if sellers knew what stage of the process your "buyers" were at so they could at least optimize their time, perhaps choose one showing day, etc. But I know this will happen when pigs fly.
Thanks to everyone who left helpful posts, constructive criticism or at least didn't sound like a total jerk LOL
To the OP, 3 out of the 5 times that I've bought a home I did it on a contingency of selling my, as yet,unlisted home. 3 times I successfully sold my home within a pre-set amount of time indicated in the contract. 3 times I closed on the new home as planned, moved in, and we all lived happily ever after.
You have some idea that people who already own homes are just going to sell them with no plan of where they are going to move. I have only once sold my home and moved to a rental temporarily, and that's because the home unexpectedly sold for asking price in five days and I was planning to move cross country, but had not found my new home yet. It was a nightmare I do not wish to repeat. It is not at all uncommon for people to buy homes on contingency and successfully sell their home within a 30-90 day contingency window. If you insist that the buyer must not be a contingency buyer, you are writing off most of the home buying public. That is totally within your rights. Not necessarily smart but, if that's how you roll, don't be surprised if it takes a while to find a buyer who meets your expectations and requirements.
To the OP, 3 out of the 5 times that I've bought a home I did it on a contingency of selling my, as yet,unlisted home. 3 times I successfully sold my home within a pre-set amount of time indicated in the contract. 3 times I closed on the new home as planned, moved in, and we all lived happily ever after.
You have some idea that people who already own homes are just going to sell them with no plan of where they are going to move. I have only once sold my home and moved to a rental temporarily, and that's because the home unexpectedly sold for asking price in five days and I was planning to move cross country, but had not found my new home yet. It was a nightmare I do not wish to repeat. It is not at all uncommon for people to buy homes on contingency and successfully sell their home within a 30-90 day contingency window. If you insist that the buyer must not be a contingency buyer, you are writing off most of the home buying public. That is totally within your rights. Not necessarily smart but, if that's how you roll, don't be surprised if it takes a while to find a buyer who meets your expectations and requirements.
Yes, I find it very odd as well. It seems to just be the norm around here. You had 3 offers... your house could be sold already....
I haven't had time to read all of the messages but I will give a quick update.
We did do a 10% price reduction right after the first thread on wrote on this, I saw a few references to that thread. So we probably did miss some of the fall selling season which was a bit longer this year due to the mild weather here. Or not. Who knows. Regardless, it is priced right now. Whether or not you believe me, there is nothing I can do about that short of giving you my address.
Anyway, my update. This weekend we had three showings. We let them all in, same day, one cleaning session. We asked our agent to screen more as I had mentioned. Before we accepted these three showings, she told us that all of them were qualified, ready to buy right now. Okey dokey.
My agent followed up with all three of them...
All three own smaller homes in town, want to move up to a bigger home, need to sell first, and don't have their homes on the market yet.
This is not home showing...this is listing fishing.
These agents are fishing for listings and using my house, and probably other people's homes, as a way to convince people to list. And it's funny, in the feedback after the showing, the truth all comes out.
Which is fine. Business is business. I am not blaming the agents, they are only playing by the rules of the game and by being listed on the MLS, I am consenting to that game. I have some ideas as to why we are being targeted for these types of showings, but that is moot.
In any case, we have decided to take the house off until spring. We do not need to be a sample home for our development for the next two months for agents who are just cruising to get listings. If we lose a real buyer because of it, so be it.
To agents out there who do this to sellers, I would suggest that you be honest when you call asking for a showing. Some sellers may be very willing to entertain such showings. But it would be courteous if sellers knew what stage of the process your "buyers" were at so they could at least optimize their time, perhaps choose one showing day, etc. But I know this will happen when pigs fly.
Thanks to everyone who left helpful posts, constructive criticism or at least didn't sound like a total jerk LOL
You are way too impatient and too controlling and too micromanaging, and as a result are living in a state of frustration. Here is how you do it correctly:
1) Clean the damned house up and tell yourself, your spouse and the brats, if any, that they are to keep their stuff off the floor and in the closets. Or you will throw it in the garbage. Then do it.
2) Decide something revolutionary: Live as a clean and organized family FULL TIME. Now you are always ready for a showing without a care in the world. By the way, this is a better way to live all the time. Healthier, both physically and mentally not to be sloppy and disorganized and disheveled.
3) Put the house on the market at your new correct price that immediately generated 3 showings.
4) FORGET YOU ARE ON THE MARKET. Just live. Don't ask questions about the buyers. Don't hatch paranoid plots about agents and buyers who are all out to get you and victimize you. Welcome all lookers in all the time. Stop overthinking it. Stop looking for feedback, the only feedback you want is an offer. Until then, just live as if you were not on the market.
5) Just be mellow, live your life, think about run-of-the-mill family things, forget you are listed, and wait for the offer that will come if your price is truly correct, which it now seems to be.
This is not rocket science. However, if you control freak it, you will make it the nightmare that it has already become. It doesn't need to be that way.
To summarize: Clean up, stay clean, list, forget you are listed, offer comes in, you close, you move, happiness.
You are way too impatient and too controlling and too micromanaging, and as a result are living in a state of frustration. Here is how you do it correctly:
1) Clean the damned house up and tell yourself, your spouse and the brats, if any, that they are to keep their stuff off the floor and in the closets. Or you will throw it in the garbage. Then do it.
2) Decide something revolutionary: Live as a clean and organized family FULL TIME. Now you are always ready for a showing without a care in the world. By the way, this is a better way to live all the time. Healthier, both physically and mentally not to be sloppy and disorganized and disheveled.
3) Put the house on the market at your new correct price that immediately generated 3 showings.
4) FORGET YOU ARE ON THE MARKET. Just live. Don't ask questions about the buyers. Don't hatch paranoid plots about agents and buyers who are all out to get you and victimize you. Welcome all lookers in all the time. Stop overthinking it. Stop looking for feedback, the only feedback you want is an offer. Until then, just live as if you were not on the market.
5) Just be mellow, live your life, think about run-of-the-mill family things, forget you are listed, and wait for the offer that will come if your price is truly correct, which it now seems to be.
This is not rocket science. However, if you control freak it, you will make it the nightmare that it has already become. It doesn't need to be that way.
To summarize: Clean up, stay clean, list, forget you are listed, offer comes in, you close, you move, happiness.
I haven't been a big fan of many of your posts, but this time I think you hit the nail on the head. I think the seller is in the control-freak mode. And, we can all be that way unless we check ourselves.
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