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Will Discount Internet Real Estate Bokerages Replace Local Realtor Expert?
Will discount internet real estate brokerages replace local Realtor experts? We recently took a listing as a seller found us online. She had previously been on the market three months. Poor seller made the mistake of hiring a discount internet Realtor.
She said they told her to buy a vendor combination key box, and she made flyers and showed the property. The property sat for these months while the seller made three house payments, paid HOA fees, utilities and maintenance costs. These ongoing expenses were triple the amount she potentially would have saved. If a property doesn’t sell with a discount brokerage, it doesn’t mean much. Happens a lot.
We took the listing, immediately staged the home and started our complete marketing plan. Our open houses generated several opportunities and we put the house in escrow within 30 days with a fabulous offer. The seller was thrilled and so appreciative. The best money she spent was . . . wait for it, hiring a quality local area real estate team!
Will discount internet real estate brokerages replace a local Realtor expert? Not likely. Self help real estate does not work. We were thrilled to sell this property for the seller.
If you would like to buy or sell a real property, call Weintraub & Wallace Realtors with REMAX Gold. We can be reached at 916-233-6759.
– JaCi Wallace
Should a Listing Agent Tell the Seller Which Offer to Take?
Should a listing agent tell the seller which offer to take?
There are some sellers in Sacramento who would prefer it if their listing agent would handle every single detail of the transaction and make all of the important decisions for them. For a variety of reasons they obviously feel are very valid. If an agent tries to pass the responsibility back to the client, they feel dismissed, undervalued and rejected. They wonder why the listing agent doesn’t care about them.
There are other sellers who are much more hands on, sometimes too much so. They want to rewrite marketing materials, rearrange the order of photography and micro manage every aspect of the listing paperwork, sometimes to their own detriment. It’s evident that these guys don’t view themselves as others do. So, we go with the flow. What’s important is the client is happy.
But the bulk of sellers in Sacramento expect their listing agent to guide them to make the right decision. They don’t want the listing agent telling them which offer to take. When I am guiding sellers, I try to lay out all of the pros and cons of each offer. Cash offers aren’t always best because the buyers often display little loyalty to the transaction and can make unreasonable demands. VA buyers aren’t always worse due to the requirement for a pest completion because they are extremely committed to closing and tired of writing offers.
Not only do some sellers want the listing agent to tell them which offer to take but they want their agent to dictate terms of a counter offer. I always share my opinions and professional insight with my sellers, but the final decision is always theirs. I’ve suggested counter offers that sellers sometimes reject. They want that bird in hand and don’t want to take any kind of risk. That’s their decision to make, not mine.
My job is to ensure they have enough information to make an educated decision. If they want to take more time to weigh the pros and cons, I can make it happen. A seller in Sacramento should always be able to rely on her listing agent. Further, every transaction is different. If you’d like to hire an experienced listing agent who is on your side, engaged in your transaction, call Elizabeth Weintraub at 916.233.6759.
When Will New Homes for Sale in Sacramento Be Listed?
Near the end of August every year, this Sacramento real estate agent begins gearing up for the fall real estate market by listing more homes for sale in Sacramento. Normal people, on the other hand, are winding up family vacations, buying school gear and getting ready for Labor Day celebrations. Not busy real estate agents because we are not necessarily normal. We are loaded with listing appointments on our calendars to meet with sellers getting ready to list their homes for sale in Sacramento.
This is the second swing and revived housing interest period in town. The Sacramento real estate market is different from other parts of the country in that even with four seasons, the weather is so mild that we don’t deal with snow or much of a down market as the year winds down. Our fall real estate market generally starts off with a bang and then fizzles around Thanksgiving. If there is any time of the year that is a good time for vacation, and that’s questionable, December is generally the best time to escape for a Sacramento listing agent.
That’s because we work our tails off from January through November. But the second biggest months past the spring market are typically September and October. If you haven’t been able to sell your home all year, maybe it’s time to take a fresh approach? Re-list as a new listing at an improved price? Make a few repairs? Some homes take longer to sell than others, especially if they are unique and appeal to a smaller pool of home buyers.
I have new homes for sale in Sacramento coming on the market around Labor Day. A duplex in Fair Oaks, an affordable ranch home in Parkway Estates, a single-level in Natomas, a gorgeous waterfront home in the Pocket, among others. If you’re looking for a home to buy in Sacramento, why not use that first week in September to find the perfect home? This is typically when new inventory opens, not to mention, we desperately need more homes for sale in Sacramento to meet demand.
The Seller Always Has the Final Word
Are listing agents prone to sabotaging their own real estate transactions? It’s easy to do. I almost did it. And I certainly know better. I almost forgot the seller always has the final word. Nobody is infallible in this business, you know. I’ve been in real estate in some form or another since the 1970s. Yet, I almost put my big, fat foot directly into my mouth last month and am sharing this story in hopes of preventing this mishap from happening to somebody else.
First, let me say that this listing was not a short sale.
In this particular transaction, the home was owned by the seller free and clear, meaning there was no loan involved. It had been in his family for decades, and the seller was the executor of the trust. There were 5 or 6 other relatives involved. The seller confided in me that he was tired of being responsible for the home and wanted to sell it as quickly as possible. We priced it at market value.
Shortly after the listing hit the market, an agent called me. Said he was interested in acquiring the property for his own portfolio. He also asked if I would represent him, and he shared with me how much he wanted to pay. When I heard his suggested lowball price, I immediately said, “Ah, I don’t think so. The seller will never take that.” I regretted those words 5 minutes later. What the? Why did I say that, I wondered? That was pretty stupid. It was stupid, and it was presumptuous. If the seller were French he’d slap my face twice with a glove. I know the seller always has the final word. What I think of the offer has no bearing on anything.
The fact is I do not know what the seller will do. I never know what anybody will do. Even if they tell me what they will do — swear up and down what they will do — I still don’t know what they will do because I am not them. My fiduciary responsibility is to look out for their best interests, not to dictate the terms of those interests. The seller always has the final word.
I sent the seller an email and told him about the verbal offer. “You can say yay or nay,” I offered. I did not say anything else. I didn’t push him to take the offer, issue a counter offer or to reject the offer. This was his decision. His family’s home, his decision. I simply stepped back.
We’re closing today.
While Elizabeth is on vacation, we are revisiting some of her favorite blogs.
Lowering the Price of that Sacramento Home Listing
The California Association of REALTORS sent me and every other Sacramento real estate agent an email this morning. I could not figure out if it was an April Fool’s joke. It said that on April 1, 55 million households will see its new commercials: California REALTORS, Champions of Home. I don’t recall exactly how many people live in California, but I think the number is around 35 million. Maybe 38 million. I suppose many people could own more than one home; hey, I know, maybe babies own a few extra homes.
My thoughts today is how to be a champion of home for sellers in Sacramento when sellers don’t have enough equity and don’t want to do, or won’t qualify for, a short sale. One thing an agent can do is offer to put the home on the market at a price point where it will not be a short sale if a buyer elects to pay that price. In other words, let the market decide. Don’t make the decision for the seller. But that approach can backfire because when the home doesn’t sell, the sellers might be very upset with their agent.
Some agents just want the listing, period. They don’t always care if the home will ever sell. They just want their sign in the front yard and for buyers to call them. It’s free advertising. I never want to be THAT listing agent. I won’t tell sellers what they want to hear. I will tell sellers what I think. That’s what I promised to do many many decades ago when I became a real estate agent, and I don’t vary from that premise today.
Sometimes, it is necessary to tell a seller that the price might be too high. Telltale signs are many showings and no offers. The only thing worse than that is no showings at all, but in this market, buyers want to turn over every rock. Hence, just because a seller is getting showings doesn’t mean the buyer wants to buy that home. If a seller has showings and no offers, then the price might need to be reduced to a point that will entice a buyer to make an offer.
How do you know the price point that will work? By examining comparable sales. In this crazy market, wetting your finger and sticking it in the air might work, too. It might be painful to tell a seller that she may be better off renting her home than trying to sell it, but sometimes, that’s the call a Sacramento real estate agent has to make.
