I thought I’d blog about two folks that I have represented recently.  Little disclaimer here:  No names, addresses, etc.  This isn’t really gonna be about them personally.  More about how a seller’s perception of reality affects the sale of their house.  It’s about Client “A” and Client “B”.  One got their houses sold quickly and everything went well, and the other hasn’t sold their house and is mad.  What is the difference?

Client “A” hired me to sell their house.  At first I thought we were a good fit for each other.  They wanted to price their house for what they needed out of it since they had only been in it for just over a year.  In all reality, that was the kiss of death.  All the things I do that have succeeded in getting houses sold quickly are rendered useless if the price is too high.  Think about it.  You are a buyer, looking at houses, and there are either better houses for the same asking price or equal houses for less.  What are you going to do?

Client “A” thought everything I did wasn’t working since nobody bought their house quickly, even though the average days on market were well over 6 months for their town and price range.  They got nervous and wanted to micro manage the deal……but without reducing their price.  They kept trying to come up with “Things” I should do to bring out all those buyers that didn’t know their house was for sale.  Eventually I told them I would release them from the listing agreement early if they wanted to find somebody else.  They took me up on the offer.  Get this though,  in the 60ish days I had their house listed, we had 4 showings.  Want to know how many houses sold in that time frame?  Yep, 4.  So I think we got showings from all the serious buyers out there looking for a similar house.  Hmmmmmm.  I got the buyer’s to come out to see the house and they didn’t want it.  In real estate it is all about price, location, and condition.  They had a fair location, a great house, but the price was wrong.  Anyway, these people probably won’t be writing kind words on my testimonial page like a lot of my clients do.

Client “B” is somebody that I have dealt with 5 times so far.  They have used me 3 times as a buyer’s agent and twice as a listing agent.  I am about to list their old house since they just closed on their new one, so that will make 6.  Six.  Yeah, 6.  Pretty rare to get that much repeat business from somebody you aren’t related to!!

Client “B” trusted me to be the realtor.  They knew that even though they have bought and sold a lot, that I am the one that spends all day, sometimes everyday, doing this.  They listened to my suggestions on what to do to make it show better.  They also let me price and market the house the way I saw fit.  Get this:  The first house I sold with them (Summer 2007) went in 9 days.  The other one I sold with them (Winter 2008) sold about 6 hours after I put it on the MLS. 

Both Client “A” and Client “B” are great people.  Fun.  Exciting to be with.  I like them both.  But that is where the similarities end.  Client “B” was realistic on what to expect.  They knew they needed to price their houses based on comparable sales data.  They are happy, got their houses sold, and have moved on.  Client “A” is still sitting on a vacant house, waiting for somebody to pay him what he needs out of it, and is mad.

My Dad always says reality is the only place we have to live in, so we may as well get use to it.  Good advice.