Welcome back to another video, my name is
Matt Leighton and in today’s video we’re going to go though the top six mistakes that
your real estate agent is making. If this is your first time on my channel,
be sure to hit the subscribe button to stay up to date on the latest real estate video. And without further ado, let’s get started
with the first mistake that your real estate agent is making. And that is Not submitting your lowball offer. It is your real estate agent’s job and legal
duty to submit an offer on your behalf. And if they force you not to submit the offer
or you almost feel like they won’t submit the offer that you signed off on, you may
have yourself a problem.
Now let’s get one thing straight, there’s
nothing wrong with your agent coaching you up on the comparable properties and educating
you on the market on why an offer may be considered too low. But too often I hear agents say that you don’t
want to ‘offend’ the other side or that your offer is too low that it could be ‘offensive’. Offensive to who? Does the agent think it’s offensive? That shouldn’t matter. Listen carefully, depending on your market,
and if a property has been listed for a long time, it may make sense to submit a low offer. Work with your agent and understand the reasoning
and logic behind why a low offer may work and the coomparable properties that have sold
that gives some strength behind your low offer. Mistake number two is Not getting enough information
out of the seller or seller agent. Sometimes as a listing agent, I’ll open
up my email and I’ll get an email from an agent I’ve never talked with before and
there will be an offer.
I’m thinking who the heck are you? Before I even get to the offer, I want to
know the back story, or at least a little bit about who is submitting the offer, why
they are submitting it, will they be living there or will it be an investment property. And it works the same way when you submit
the offer. Your buyer’s agent needs to understand why
the owner is selling and what the motivation is there. Is there a baby crib and a baby on the way,
was there a divorce, are the sellers moving for a job? Your buyer agent needs to find out that motivation. That will help you come up with your offer. And most of the time what will end up happening
is the listing agent will share more than they should, and they might spill the beans
on sharing a piece of information that will help you get the property at a better price.
I’ve even had agents tell me, unprovoked,
that the seller is willing to take $10,000 lower than the list price. Are you serious? Could you imagine if the seller was on that
call? They’d be furious! So whether you are buying a property or even
selling a property, try to understand the motivation and see what other information
you can get out of the other side before you submit your offer. Mistake number three I see agents make is
Agreeing to list your home at a price that won’t sell. It sounds so cliche, but there are a lot of
hungry agents out there. When you are selling your home and you interview
3 agents, because that’s the smart thing to do, is to interview multiple agents, there’s
inevitably going to be one agent that will agree 100% with your price, and may even say
you can get more to make you feel warm and fuzzy inside. But if you go on the market with your overpriced
property, it’s likely that your home will sell for less than what you would have gotten
if you had priced it correctly all along.
The first few weeks you are on the market
is the best time for you to get the best price. And essentially what will end up happening
is buyers won’t even make the trek to see your overpriced home, it will sit on the market,
rack up days on the market, and then once it’s been sitting for a long time, the new
buyers will start to wonder what’s wrong with the property and wonder why it hasn’t
sold yet. At that point is when your agent is going
to beat you up over the price and tell you to lower the price significantly.
Effective marketing starts with list price. Let’s get one thing straight. The price is just a marketing tool to get
an offer. Only 2 people determine the price. The buyer and the bank determine the price. Can we agree on that? Only 2 people determine the price? The seller doesn’t determine the price,
the listing agent doesn’t determine the price. Your marketing depends on the price so be
sure your real estate agent can back up the listing price they are suggesting with realistic
and similar comparable properties. The fourth mistake that real estate agents
are making is Cutting their commission instantly. How often do we see this? A listing agent will go through their presentation. The seller will love it. Then right before they sign the agreement,
they ask the agent if they will lower their commission. And what do most agents say?? They say YES! Or if you live in a condo community or a neighborhood
that receives a lot of ads in the mail from real estate agents, you’ll have these agents
that will advertise that they will sell your house for half of what most real estate agents
charge.
Are those discount agents spending the same
on marketing? Let’s start with the agents that reduce
their commission when asked… What you are doing when you are asking a listing
agent to lower their commission is essentially testing them on their negotiation skills. And when the agent immediately agrees to the
lower commission, they’re essentially telling you that they don’t even believe they are
charging what they are worth. Imagine that you do hire them. What’s going to happen when you are in negotiations. You already know they cave at the first sign
of pressure. Do you think they’re going to work hard
to get you that last $5,000? They’ve showed you how little they think
of themselves, what are they going to think of your sales price when someone challenges
it with a lower offer? And how about those discount agents out there
that advertise doing the job at half the price of other agents? Well that’s what sets them apart.
As an agent, it’s very simple, you can differentiate
yourself on value or price. You can advertise that you have 30 years experience
and know every home in the neighborhood or you can advertise that you’ll undercut every
broker out there. And if you’re selling your home and want
to save some money you may think the discount agent go this route but a reduced commission
means reduced marketing resources. Think about it. You’re not going to get more marketing or
more value from a reduced agent. Sure there are some agents out there that
are certainly charging way too much and are not worth their value. But if you think you’re going to get the
same level of marketing, service, and value, by choosing an agent with the lowest price
in your market, you’re going to be in for a surprise. The fifth mistake I see agents make, and guys,
just so you know, I’m not immune to this. I’m not up here saying I’ve never been
guilty of these things I’m talking about.
Because I have. I’m not perfect but I’m getting better
every day. Except for the price thing. I’ve never charged half price and I never
will. Ok the 5th mistake is Not properly telling
the seller how to prepare the home for the market. And the two biggest things I see are 1) not
wanting to disrupt the sellers’ life and 2) not suggesting repairs or upgrades if it’s
clear that it will make a significant impact. I was on a listing appointment the other day
and husband asked what needed to be done. And I went through my list and he was surprised. He said “Oh, that sounds like a lot of work
and that might be hard to do from my end”. Now I forget what I told him after that, but
in my head I was thinking “Good, it should be a lot of work! This should not be easy.” If your life as a seller stays completely
the same as you’re about to go on the market and when you’re on the market and there’s
no disruption, you’re probably not doing enough.
Things like renting out a storage unit to
put your junk, moving around furniture, plugging in air fresheners, all these things will help,
and some may be a bit burdensome. But you’re going to do it because the house
around the corner is too lazy to do it.You’re going to look amazing compared to your competition. And no matter how good your interior decorating
and cleaning skills are, there’s still going to be things that need to be done so you should
hope your agent is recommending that you change around your life a little bit to help you
get the most money possible.
Speaking of getting the most money possible,
I’m also seeing that agents are either scared or just not telling sellers if there’s an
opportunity to do a small upgrade, to spend the money. If you’re seeing that homes with hardwood
floors in the living room sell for $20,000 more and it only costs $10,000 to put those
in, you’re doing that deal all day long. OK, I know what you’re going to say. Not everyone has $10k lying around to use
at the drop of a hat. But think about it, if there are upgrades
that can net the seller more money than they invest, what is stopping the agent from recommending
these upgrades? Obviously the agent and seller should study
the comps to see if it makes sense. In this situation, like all situations, times
is money. So, and think about this, you could sell your
place unrenovated in 6 months. Or, you put in some new light fixtures, maybe
new countertops, maybe new carpet, spend a little, sell it in 2 months for $5,000 more
than what you invested.
Time is money. And I hope you as a seller or if you’re
an agent are figuring out whether it’s worth it to make the upgrades before hitting the
market. And the final mistake I see agents making
is, are you ready for it, it’s not telling the truth. And I don’t mean this in a lying, deceitful,
intentionally malice manner. The way I see it, a lot of agents can’t
talk to their clients like they would their best friend. A lot of the times the real estate agent will
dance around topics, not want to hurt the seller’s feelings, or not understand how
to broach maybe more sensitive topics, like your house smells like wet dog, or your home
is $50,000 overpriced, how am I expected to sell it? I’m a firm believer that almost every problem
is a communication problem. You want an agent that will look you in the
eyes and tell you directly if there are any issues, what the issues are, and how to remedy
them. If you’re a seller with a home on the market,
there is a very good reason why your home is not selling, and
your agent knows it.
And if you’re a buyer, there’s a very
good reason that you lost out on the past 3 homes you wrote a contract on, and your
buyer agent knows that reason. And
I hope for the sake of real estate agent-client relationships everywhere that you have hired
an agent that is not afraid or scared to tell you the truth. Okay there you have it
the 6 mistakes that real estate agents are making. I really
hope you found this video helpful, if you did be sure to hit that thumbs up button. And if you have anything to add, agree or disagree, would
love to hear from you in the comments section below. Okay thanks for watching. Until next time, create a productive day. Take care..
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