sell

Will Realtors be replaced with an app?

by John Rice

Yes, they could.

The app would need to be able to tell a seller that their house has a pet odor and that is what is keeping it from selling.

The app would need to tell a seller to rearrange their furniture because it currently make the living room look very small compared to other houses for sale in it’s price range.

The app would need to tell a buyer the house they want is worth less than other houses in the neighborhood that are the same size due to an unusual floor plan.

The app would need to be able to tell a buyer when the home inspection repair list is big enough to walk away from the house.

All this app would need is a way to download all the experience that only comes from being out there, seeing houses, writing offers, knowing the current market, and dealing with people.

So no, Realtors are here to stay.

I sold a listing of mine that did not inspect so well.  Before we put it back on the market, we have to make some repairs.  I have spent a lot of time advising my client on which repairs we need to do so that the next buyer won’t want to walk away.  We don’t want to fix everything little thing because we don’t have to do so.  The goal is just to do the big things so the next buyer still wants the house after their inspection.

I recently had a standoff with a listing agent when their seller did not do a few repairs they agreed to do.  The listing agent drew a line in the sand and told me my people had to take it or leave it.  Knowing that the seller had moved out of the house and was closing on his new house the next morning, I called his bluff by saying we would postpone the closing and go to mediation since that is how the contract says disputes are to be settled.  A couple of hours later he was asking me what my buyer wanted to have done in order to close on time.

An app can’t do these things.  An app can open doors.  An app can provide paperwork to be filled out.  An app can’t solve these types of problems.  People are always going to want help from somebody who knows what to do, how to do it, and when to do it.

Coming soon: Hype or not?

by John Rice

I say hype.

I think it is more about winning listings than getting top dollar for the house.  It’s something you tell a seller in a listing presentation to make them pick you over another realtor, who isn’t going to sort of put your house on the market but not let anybody see it for up to a week.

The thought is that during the time between posting that the listing is coming soon and when it is available to show, you will be building a frenzy of buyers who will all see it the first day on the market and it will sell in multiple offers for top dollar.

Sounds good, right?

Well, that is already happening with just about every house that is appropriately priced.

In a hot market where there are more buyers than sellers, the “Coming Soon” approach is sort of like telling a bunch of piranhas that you are going to throw raw meet at them next week……whether you throw it now or later, the results are the same.

I think the “Coming soon” thing would work best in a slow market when you need to create a buzz around a listing to make it stand out.

Two things I will never do again

by John Rice

I’ve been at this for nearly 15 years.  Never had an issue with either of the things below.  Until recently.  Both were so bad that I am just not going to ever do them again.

1.  A Post Closing Occupancy Agreement.  I don’t like these at all.  Never have, but in some situations they can help you get the house in multiple offers.  There is always risk though.  I’ve had dozens go okay.  They usually do.   But not this time.

I had a buyer for a townhouse.  We had agreed to possession with deed, meaning the seller is out by the closing.  About a week before closing, the listing agent tells me that the seller doesn’t have the cash to move.  This seller has equity and will be able to pay movers after the closing.  As much as I didn’t liked being boxed into a situation, if the seller didn’t have the money, they don’t have the money.  We agreed to let the seller stay for 2 days.

The seller was supposed to have been out.  They moved out on time.  That wasn’t the problem.  The problem was that they left about 20% of their stuff at the house.  NEVER AGAIN!

2.  A contingency to sell contract.  I have never liked these either, but sometimes, especially in a slow market or with a house that is tough to sell, you’ve gotta entertain them.  The problem is that most are written in a way that assumes once the buyer’s house sells, it will remain sold.

I just had a situation where we had a buyer who wanted one of my listings but needed to sell their old house in order to buy.  The buyer’s house sold.  We thought we were in good shape.  Then it fell apart.   Even after involving a really good real estate attorney, it was unclear what needed to happen next.  Did we still have a contract?  Did we not?  Nobody knew.  What made it worse was that the buyer still reaaaaaaally wanted the house and was trying to hold it hostage as they grasped at straws to find a way to get it.

If I ever have to take one of these again, I think I will add some verbiage that says something like if the buyer’s sale falls apart prior to closing, the seller has the option of voiding the contract immediately.

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I wish my dog was an appraiser

by John Rice

This time of year is always tough for comps…..which is the term we use for recent comparable sales used to determine the value of a house.  Realtors use comps to determine a list price.  Appraisers use them to justify a contract price.  The thought is that the recent past will tell you what the market is doing now, but it really doesn’t work that way in a really good or really bad market when prices are either going up or down.

This reminds me of my old dog Julie.  She was a beagle.  She loved to go out in the yard and sniff around for critters.  I remember one time she was on the trail of a rabbit.  She had her nose to the ground and was on the trail of where that rabbit had been.  What she didn’t know was that the rabbit was right behind her.  That is how appraisals work.  They always know where the market used to be and never where it currently is.

Part of what makes this time of year tough is that the market for the new year is kicking off and we are looking back at late fall and all of the winter to determine value.  Sales are usually down in the winter and most of what sells are the leftovers from last summer.

So, we are looking at the worst times to sell to determine a value during the best time of the market.

I personally have a house that I sold for $200k.  It only appraised for $185k.  The best comps for my house were from 6-12 months ago.  So we have a big gap between what a real buyer with money will pay for a specific house and what an appraiser, whose job is to determine market value, says it is worth.

My current dog Sherpa is a dachshund-Jack Russell mix.  She has no problem keeping up with critters in the backyard.

I wish we had a system of determining value more like Sherpa than Julie.

Real estate match-making

by John Rice

Sometimes things just work out perfectly.

A friend of mine referred me to one of his friends.  This seller needed to sell his house quickly without having to do a lot of prep work.

I’ve always got a long list of people who are looking for something specific.  I’ve got a guy wanting a ranch on a golf course.  I’ve got investors looking for various houses to fix up or rent.  I’ve got people looking for their ideal move up house.  I’ve got people looking for rural properties in very specific spots.  None of these buyers are actively looking.  They are just waiting for me to call them up and say “I’ve found it!”  I’ve also got plenty of sellers in my pipeline who may sell sooner than later if the right situation arises.

I also have a buyer who has been looking for a similar house in the exact neighborhood as the one that this new seller has.

So, I arranged a viewing.

Then a deal was made.

The seller got the fast sale they wanted without all the prep work before listing.

The buyer got the property they have been waiting to buy, including the huge dining room she wanted.

I get the satisfaction that I brought two people together whose needs were met perfectly by what the other party had to offer.