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Did You Pick the Wrong Sacramento Realtor as Your Listing Agent?
Sellers believe they will never pick the wrong Sacramento Realtor to list a home but it happens. It almost happened to one of my clients. He was all set to sign with a discount agent. Instead, he started searching the internet to see if maybe, just maybe, he could find a better agent. Something in his gut just didn’t sit right, I imagine. I’m not sure exactly why he began a search for a different Sacramento Realtor but that’s how he found me. I’m everywhere. You really can’t get away from Elizabeth Weintraub online no matter where you go.
Some sellers say they did not pick the wrong Sacramento Realtor because they chose a friend. Doesn’t make a lick of sense to them that might not be wise because perhaps that agent doesn’t really sell much real estate. Never occurred to them they should instead choose a veteran full-service agent. They feel their agent friend is a person they can trust. Well, you can probably trust your gardener but you wouldn’t want him selling your home, would you? An agent who sells a home here and there often knows only the basics. Like how to put a home in MLS. But an agent’s duties to her seller goes way beyond that.
For one thing, an experienced agent know how to price correctly. She knows her market, buyer’s preferences, understands stats and develops custom strategies for each client. A top agent figures out what the market will bear over what the comps reflect. One of my clients called me last month just as he was about to pick the wrong Sacramento Realtor. We discussed pricing and one of the unusual aspects that came out of our conversation was the fact agents had been telling him to list about $50,000 less than I suggested.
Now I know how that looks to seller. They think: whoa, she’s so far off on her pricing! How can she be right and all of those other agents wrong? That’s a normal reaction. I had a seller in Carmichael last year ask the same thing. Yet, I sold his house at list price, which was $100,000 more than other agents in Carmichael told him to list at. I have an ability that apparently other agents do not.
In a blog he read that led him to call me, I had explained the standard real estate commission in Sacramento. He could clearly understand why I get paid a little bit more than many other agents. Because my clients tend to make more money by choosing my services.
I looked this guy straight in the eye and warned: do not list with any of those agents. You will lose $50,000. Not only that, but you have an older home. Which means you’ll never survive the inspections and they will take you to the cleaners. My experience will help you to smoothly navigate your escrow. Besides, you know why my sellers who post 5-star reviews say I exceed expectations and work miracles? Because they are happy.
It’s a good thing he listened to me and did not pick the wrong Sacramento Realtor to list his home. We are closing escrow next week, and he got exactly the price he wanted. No renegotiations after inspections, either. Smart guy.
Listing a Home in Sacramento and Interviewing Realtors
There is no rule about interviewing Realtors that means you can’t pick the first agent.
Many of the sellers I’ve been meeting with lately to list homes in Sacramento have been interviewing Realtors. It makes sense to ensure it’s a good fit between client and agent. On the other hand, most of my sellers already know they are going to hire me just by talking to me on the phone and reading my online reviews. I also encourage them to hire me. You betcha. I mean, who else has as much experience as I do? I’ve worked in real estate since the 1970s, and I am not ashamed to admit it. I don’t sell 3 or 4 homes a year like 90% of the agents in town. I have real hands-on, day-in and day-out experience that saves my sellers a world of future headaches.
One seller told me yesterday that she’s already interviewed a couple of agents. One agent suggested to her that she should interview more agents; said the seller should talk to at least 3 agents. What kind of agent would say that? I don’t know. I tell sellers they don’t have to interview anybody but me, but if they insist, I’ll probably look that much better by comparison. That always gets a laugh. When the seller said one of the agents told her we are in a slow market, I razzed her, “Hey, was this the same agent who accused you of doing a bad job of interviewing Realtors?”
Our market in Sacramento is still red hot. Listings that are priced right are getting attention and quickly selling. We have more buyers than we have listings. Some lucky sellers are the only game in town, the only home for sale, so you can bet I’m going to position them to attract top dollar. It’s what I do. It’s unusual for me go on a listing appointment where the seller is interviewing Realtors and not walk out with the listing.
Success breeds confidence. But even when I wasn’t so overwhelming successful, like when I first moved to Sacramento and was getting to know the marketplace and everybody in it, I never felt like a failure. I was talking about this topic with my husband yesterday because some people, like BoJack Horseman, OK, he’s not a real person, well, some people are insecure. They second-guess their decisions and down deep worry about everything.
An example. We watched the new Mike White movie, Brad’s Status, at the Tower Theatre in Land Park on Sunday, starring Ben Stiller. A very adult-looking Ben Stiller, unlike the guy from Midnight at the Museum or Zoolander, where he sucked in his cheekbones and pretended to be a model. In Brad’s Status, he has a mid-life crisis, worried that he’s failed in life. It also stars the guy from Masters of Sex, Michael Sheen, and Luke Wilson, who was also in Roadies. Stiller imagines everybody else is better than him. I’ve never had that feeling. I’ve always known I had the ability to do whatever I wanted to do.
Motivation is not a problem for me either. I am self motivated. I set goals and achieve them. Winning listing presentations when sellers are interviewing Realtors is one of those goals. I believe in myself and my clients do too. It comes through loud and clear.
The Sacramento REALTOR with the Highest List Price
Do sellers always pick the Sacramento REALTOR who proposes the highest sales price? Not if they’re smart they don’t. They should pick the REALTOR they most trust, like and who has the experience to do the best job for them. But what if they do take the REALTOR with the highest price and that REALTOR just happens to be me? That’s what happened this summer, and I wasn’t feeling really good about the fact that price might have been the main reason I was chosen to list that pool home in Carmichael.
I’m not underestimating my experience because I’m certain my decades in the business was a motivating factor, but I had the sneaky suspicion that if I had suggested a lower sales price, that seller might not have elected to list with me. It doesn’t mean I will sell out my ethics or tell a seller a price that I don’t think the seller will get just to obtain that listing. That’s not how I work. I do try to get the seller the highest price possible, though.
The thing is home pricing is so variable. There is no single list price, actually. There is a price it should be listed at, which is not necessarily the price a seller expects to get. There is a price a buyer might offer, which is not necessarily the price at which the home may appraise. There is market value and there is appraised value, and the two are not necessarily the same thing. It’s more of a strategy, mixed with science and emotion.
Much of my pricing is based on how the home feels emotionally to me. I know that might sound a little new-agey and touchy-feely, but buyers make offers based on emotion. I try to look at the home through the buyer’s eyes, and then I turn that feeling into a dollar figure, followed by a way to justify that price to an appraiser. It’s a different approach than most REALTORS use, and it’s been very successful for my sellers.
There were REALTORS in my real estate office who thought we had priced that Carmichael pool home too high. It didn’t have upgrades. It wasn’t remodeled. Some of the appliances didn’t even work. Other REALTORS at the listing presentations had suggested sales prices that were tens of thousands of dollars lower than mine. My suggested sales price was the highest. From a sole listing viewpoint, the price didn’t make sense. From a buyer’s viewpoint, though, it did.
We sold that Carmichael pool home at list price. It closed last week. So, while I always tell a seller do NOT pick the REALTOR who gives you the highest price, in this particular instance they might have just done that and it was not the wrong thing to do. Still, I hope they chose me for my willingness to always do what I believe is best for them and not because my suggested list price was the highest.
I don’t intend to beat out a competing agent by suggesting higher prices during a listing presentation. I do what I believe is right.
