What Does It Take To Sell A House?

I have been in the real estate game for 7 1/2 years. Which to a veteran real estate agent may seem like nothing. The thing is, we work with hundreds of clients a year instead of 20-30 like the average agent. This means in real estate terms I have 30-40 years of deals under my belt. What I have come to realize is that there is really two different markets of sellers. Similar to the home renovation market there is the Do It Yourself (DIY) market and the Do It For Me (DIFM) market. There are some distinct differences between these two groups which I will break down for you.

DIY Market

The DIY market, often refereed to as the FSBO or For Sale By Owner market is distinct in that sellers tend to feel they have the knowledge they need but do need access to some tools. There are extremes even within this market. The lion's share of this group feel they know their price range, have watched enough HGTV to be comfortable with the staging and just need to reach the buyers. They tend to look for the most inexpensive ways to advertise their home. Kijiji is a staple to this group. It has replaced print ads of days gone by, the classifieds of the 21st century. FSBO signs are common and they sometimes look to private sale marketing companies like PropertyGuys.com to increase their exposure as well as an avenue to get onto Realtor.ca. Typically they do most things on their own with little outside support and occaisionaly we see the true cowboy that has done their own blog dedicated to selling and want NO assistance from anyone, a true DIY person. What is distinct about this group is that they believe the key to selling is finding the right buyer. They feel they have everything they need except a buyer. 

DIFM Market

This market is distinct in the fact that they will pay what it takes for results. That is all they want. They have opinions on what services will provide the result, but if you can provide the result, they are willing to pay for it. The real estate industry have been exploiting this group for decades. They use fear based marketing and take tens of thousands of dollars in the home seller's equity. The industry is run like a cartel and often use the massive amounts of money pulled in to exploit fears in the industry to maintain control over what they deem as "their" market. The seller's big fear is of the unknown. They don't know what they don't know and fear that if they miss something it could be an expensive mistake.

Two Market Solution

So how does one company offer a solution to both of these distinctive markets? It lyes in first recognizing that both markets exist and validating that they are both viable markets. Agents typically scold the DIY seller and tell them they are stupid. The DIY seller tends to scrimp on spending anything and limit their knowledge and exposure. As with anything there are outliers that exist. Some people are true DIY and need very little help, others need someone to do EVERYTHING for them. The majority of people fall somewhere in the middle. The market typically breaks down leaning 10-15% towards DIY and 85-90% towards DIFM market. 

This is where we come in. At PropertyGuys.com in Cambridge we offer the FSBO DIY client what they want. Free exposure (on PropertyGuys.com) and inexpensive tools like open house signs and a listing on Realtor.ca. Everything they would want, from as little as free to as much as $500. The DIFM client is given what they need, results. Results are ONLY delivered when Product, Price and Exposure are in alignment. Our Real Estate Pro package offers all the tools including pricing from a licensed appraiser, exposure on Realtor.ca as well as local print and direct mail, legal advice and offer drafting 7 days a week, a real estate receptionist to answer calls around the clock and book appointments, access to local professionals to answer all their questions, heck even paid ads on places like Kijiji and Facebook! All this is backed up by the best real estate platform in the industry with big, bright photos, walk score mapping, visitor reports, inbox and an online offer maker to work out the deal with your buyers.

At the end of the day, selling without a real estate agent isn't for everyone. But the majority of people, DIY and DIFM, can get what they need from PropertyGuys.com. Set up an appointment to see where you fit. It will be the best 45 minutes you will spend to prepare for selling your home!

M

What A Home Buyer Needs To Know About Using A Real Estate Agent

I have had the two opposite ends of the spectrum come across my desk in the last 10 hours.

Last night while at a St Paddy's Day party I had a great chat with a local Cambridge real estate agent. One that I had yet to really meet, but was bound to eventually as our kids go to the same school. We had a great chat over the food table (where else would I be) about how she approaches sellers and how she coaches her buyers that are looking to purchase a home that is listed with PropertyGuys.com. It was refreshing to hear a proactive approach where she explains to her clients that she is getting paid by them, whether it is included in the asking price or not, and she advises them to pay her directly through the lawyer so they can better negotiate the purchase with the seller.  She doesn't call the seller to ask "Will you compensate me?" She calls and asks if she can show it to her buyers. She brings up commission if and only when they are discussing an offer. Usually she is able to say her buyers are paying the commission so they don't have to worry about negotiating the rate. An agent that is progressive and doesn't hide behind the numbers.

Today I hear from one of the clients I listed last week that were happy to report they had an offer. It turns out in their negotiations with the buyer's agent the agent wanted 3% instead of the traditional 2.5% a buyer's agent typically starts at.  Our sellers were very clear that if the real estate agent wanted 3% that his buyers would have to pay more for the house. The agent proceeded to advise his clients to put in a higher offer to maintain his high commissions. So I ask you this, who's best interest is this agent looking out for? Last time I checked taking money from unsuspecting people was thievery.

IF you are going to use an agent to buy a home I will give you a few suggestions.

• First, don't sign a Buyer's Representation Agreement unless it is specific to A house and for a short period of time (7 days). 
• Second, discuss commissions up front with your agent.
•  How are they getting paid? 
• Will the agent drop their commission if they can't negotiate a price that is acceptable to buyer and seller? 
• How much commission are you willing to pay?
• If you end up buying an agent listed house will they pay you back a portion of the commissions? 
• Third, know that if you are using an agent to buy a house, it is not free. You are paying more for the house because your agent gets paid through the purchase.

At the end of the day, you the home buyer decide if you want to use an agent. We coach PropertyGuys.com clients on how to interact with your agent and show them that if they maintain their bottom line (or more) and you are satisfied paying more because you brought an extra mouth to feed, why not entertain the offer?

M