40 Years in the Real Estate Business Pays Off

I see the look in sellers’ eyes when I tell them we will receive multiple offers and we need to put the home on the market right away. They stare at me with reservations blinking like strobe lights in their eyes but they also have blind faith that I know what I’m doing, which I do, so they agree to whatever I suggest. These are the kinds of sellers whom I love to work with. We have a trusted relationship that is based in the real world, and still I can astonish them when my predictions come true. 40 years in the real estate business pays off.

Just a few weeks ago, a tenant delighted in telling me that she had a good friend who worked at a competing brokerage, and her good friend said the list price I had proposed was way too high, and she predicted the home would never sell for that amount. Not only did the home immediately sell, but it sold for 2.5% more, and it was priced at the top of the market. My seller made out like a bandit, and I truly earned my fee. 40 years in the real estate business pays off.

A seller in Elk Grove called yesterday to inquire about putting her home on the market. She has spent a lot of money on upgrades and expects to get somewhere between $800,000 and $900,000. It’s not on the water, I pointed out. Well, she didn’t want a home on the water and deliberately bought it a few doors off the water because she didn’t want to deal with, you know, bugs and stuff.

How do I tell her that an identical model with upgrades that is actually on the water is for sale at $700,000 and nothing in that neighborhood has sold in her preferred price range, ever? Well, I’m not asking you, really, because I know how to break the news to her, but she doesn’t strike me as a seller who will gladly accept that news even when I back it up with hard, cold facts. She’ll just call another Elk Grove agent who will agree with her and list it.

Ordinarily I’d take the listing because eventually somebody will come to reality, and I kinda like to be the agent at that point. However, I don’t think this particular situation fits well into my architecture. My gut instinct tells me I would regret listing this home as an overpriced listing, and I listen to my gut instincts as they rarely steer me wrong. That’s the difference that 40 years in the real estate business brings. 40 years in the real estate business pays off.