SI Drive? Level Side walks? Curtains that Convey? Really??

by John Rice

About a year ago, my wife decided she wanted a Subaru Outback.  We looked at a few on used car lots.  I did a lot of research to find out what trim level we had to get for her to have the sunroof and heated leather seats that she wanted.  There really weren’t a lot of used Outbacks in or around Lexington at that time.  Then, one day, I found a classified ad that said “2008 Subaru Outback, SI Drive” with the price and the seller’s phone number.  Not a lot of info to work with.  Definitely nothing to make the guy’s phone start ringing.  But to me, this car having “SI Drive” told me a whole lot more about it.  Having done a lot of research, I knew that was only offered on the top trim level, having the giant sunroof, heated leather interior, and the bigger engine.  When we went to see the car, all the seller kept talking about the “SI Drive”.  I could tell it was very important to him.

A lot of home sellers are like that too.  They want to focus on what is important to them when selling their house, rather than focusing on things that are important to the buyer.  I see it a lot in marketing remarks of For Sale By Owner houses.  I once read a flyer where the seller spent a lot of space talking about how level the sidewalks are and never mentioned that his model of house had an open floor plan, which is something that is important to most buyers these days……especially since anybody picking up the flyer can see what is outside of the house, but knows nothing about the inside yet?

I sold a house to a family that I have since become friends with.  They found the house by driving around the neighborhood.  They would have never come to see it if they had only seen it online.  Why?  Because of the marketing remarks.  Instead of mentioning the hardwood floors, instead of mentioning that one of the upstairs bedrooms was huge, or that there were bedrooms on both levels of the house, or that the backyard was an awesome park-like oasis, the agent used that space to tell you that the exterior was maintenance free, that the curtains stayed with the house, and that there was an allowance for water-proofing the basement as well as mitigating radon……..Hardly anything to make somebody fall in love with a house that had a leaking basement and a high radon level!  The marketing remarks could only have been better if they said  “Must see!……You get to keep the seller’s curtains AND fix some major problems with this house, but at least you’ll never have to paint the outside!!  NOT a drive by!”

The hardest thing about real estate is getting sellers to think like a buyer and a buyer to think like a seller.  I think if that ever were to happen, I’d probably be out of a job!  Being a realtor these days is as much about mediation, negotiation and understanding differing perspectives as it is about houses.

BTW, “SI Drive” is a feature that has 3 settings for throttle response and transmission shift points.

What I like about a Contingency Contract

by John Rice

Well, I don’t really like them.  Sure, EVERYBODY would rather go ahead and close in the usual 30-45 days, but there is a good side to this type of contract.  Guess what it is?  The buyer will typically pay you more with a contingency to sell their house first than they would if they could close without having to first sell.

I don’t really get it, but I see it all the time.  A buyer with a house to sell gets really nervous about not knowing where they will be living once they sell their place.  What they do is go out and find a place they like, and kind of “Reserve” their spot in line.  Now, unless the buyer already has a contract on the house they are selling, I always counterback with a kickout clause.  That basically means the IF the seller would like to sell the house to another buyer without a contingency, they give the contingency buyer a certain amount of time to remove the contingency or back out of the deal. 

Another thing I like is that IF the contingency buyer can and does remove their contingency,  you have a back up buyer.  Sometimes it helps you when negotiating repairs after the inspection if the buyer knows there is somebody else wanting the house if the deal falls apart!

I don’t really care for this kind of contract though when I am working with the buyer…..for all those reasons.  When I have a buyer who wants to write a contingency offer, I usually try to get them to just wait until we sell their house first…..unless of course we are just using it to buy time and they are able to remove the contingency if another buyer comes along for the same property.  Here is why I don’t think they are a good idea for the buyer who can’t possibly remove the contingency if needed:  Any decent realtor is going to counterback with a kickout clause.   So, that means that if another buyer comes along they will lose the house.  If no such buyer comes along, that means that the house would still be there when their house eventually sells, and they could probably strike a better deal at that point.

Same Room. Different Pictures. Which One Would You Use to Sell Your House?

by John Rice

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I’m gonna make this a short post.  Know why?  Because most people would rather look at pictures than read about a house.   That’s why having terrific pictures online when you sell your house is so important.

Both of those pictures you see on the slide show are of the same room.  One was taken when another agent had the house listed.  It didn’t sell.  The other one was taken when I listed the house and sold it not too long afterwards.

The ONLY 2 Things You Need to Sell Your House

by John Rice

Price and Presentation…..If you get those two things right, you don’t need anything else to sell a house.  Those are the hardest things to get right though, so most realtors focus on the minor things like open houses, fancy brochures, ballons on the for sale sign….you know, you’ve seen it all too.  See, if you don’t know what price a buyer will consider fair for a house nor do you know how to make the listing stand out among other similar houses, that’s all you got left to do.

I recently sold a house for a friend who lives out of the country.  He trusts me and knows I know what I am doing.  He gave me free reign to get his place sold.

He had rented it out for a few years, so it was a little rough on the eye.  It needed a fresh vibe or we just weren’t going to be able to sell it for anywhere near its potential.

Soooo, I had all the rooms painted a nice neutral beige called “Pony Tail.”  We had the carpet cleaned.  We replaced the flooring in the kitchen and bathrooms.  I took a survey on Facebook to see which was better in the kitchen: A dark wood look or a neutral stone tile look.  It was a first time buyer type house, so both floor choices were vinyl rather than the real thing.  The dark hardwood look won out.  We then had the main rooms staged with furniture than would appeal to the typical first time buyer.

Want to know what happened next?  Well, we sold it.  Yep, took about 3 weeks and we got multiple offers too.  Got only $500 less than I told him it would sell for at that!

I really enjoyed helping my friend, but this was also a test for me to see if I really knew as much as I thought I did about buyers……I guess I passed.

Was  this a special house?  Not really.  Did we price it too low?  No, it was priced for slightly over what it would sell at.  Can this be duplicated?  Yes and no.  See, what made this such a success what that the seller was willing to do everything I told him to do in order to sell his house.  I hate to say this, but what ultimately makes a sale successful is the seller.  No amount of advertising or positive thinking can sell a house that is over-priced.  The best realtor in town (me again!) can’t sell a place that doesn’t show well.  It really takes a good seller who is willing to take the advice of a good realtor to get the job done these days……And you know what?  Wouldn’t you rather do this upfront and get it done quickly compared to dragging it out for the next 6-12 months?