The Biggest Issue Selling Your Home Without a Listing Agent

Have a look in the mirror!

I see people get frustrated when selling their home privately. They blame anything and everything but themselves. They think it's that they are not listed with an agent, that agents are not showing their home because they didn't list with an agent or that they are lacking exposure (even if they are on Realtor.ca) or some other imaginary problem they have dreamed up in their mind.

With PropertyGuys.com they have access to all the information they need. They see how much traffic they are getting on their listing through their listing analytics. A standard conversation with this type of seller goes something like this:

Seller "I think I need to list with an agent."

Me "Well looking at your listing you have had 1,027 people look at your listing. How many showings have you done?"

Seller "That's the thing, no one is calling. *insert concern like agents not showing it here*."

Me "Our experience tells us that if people are choosing not to call you it is usually related to pricing." 

Seller "No we know we are priced right."

Then 3 weeks later they list with an agent and lower their price by $25,000.

This is why our new Pro Approach is designed to bring in the professionals needed to get your home sold from the beginning. From Pricing to Legal to SOLD!

M

Tied Selling in Real Estate

• 

  Are your hands being tied as a house buyer?

  
  

  So you think you have found the perfect house. From what you have seen online it is the "forever house" the two of you have always talked about.  After contacting the real estate agent that has it listed and going to see it you know it's right.  You sit down to crunch some serious numbers. It will be tight over the next few years but doable.  After running all the numbers and budgeting your costs to sell, including $1,500 for your PropertyGuys.com listing you decide that you will make the leap.  
  
  You contact the agent to tell them your intentions to put in an offer conditional upon sale of your home.  This is when the house of cards comes tumbling down.  You are told that not only do you have to list the home with an agent but that it also has to be within this agent`s office.

  
  

  As you go through a range of emotions from anger to panic to fear you wonder is this even legal?
  Here is what the Competition Act has to say about Tied Selling:

  “tied selling” means(a) any practice whereby a supplier of a product, as a condition of supplying the product (the "tying" product) to a customer, requires that customer to(i) acquire any other product from the supplier or the supplier’s nominee...

   Why would the competition act be the place where this is addressed? Great question!  You see when someone ties you to a specific product what they are in turn doing is limiting your options in the market and forcing you to pay their price.  This snuffs out the opportunity for another company to offer you a newer or cheaper or more efficient or ground breaking product or service.  The act of tied selling costs you, the buyer.
  
  If you come across this situation as you are searching for houses in the market make sure that the real estate agent you are dealing with knows that they cannot force this type of condition on you and that you would be interested in knowing why this type of Tied Selling is even in the agreement.  No doubt you will hear some mumbo jumbo about how they need to know you are serious about selling your home and that you have to do everything in your power to sell it blah blah blah.
  
  The quick and easy response to this is to plainly say that by adding $15,000 to your selling price works against not only his client's best interest but also the laws of economics.
  
  Have a story where you were pushed into this type of situation?  Please, share some details with us.
  
  M

How Buyers Search for Houses Online

How are buyers finding homes on the internet?

The results of studies vary, but most conclude it is 85%-90% of home buyers search online for their next house.  In today's internet hungry, immediate gratification society this is really no surprise. I mean if you are reading this blog it's because you use the web for information, so where else would you search for a home than the comfort of your home, in your jammie pants, with a glass of shiraz.

That is not what I wanted to write about.  This information is like the 1 in front of an algebraic x, it is understood (shout out to Dr Pamboukian my high school math teacher). What I am more interested in explaining is what they do when they get to the site.

The main sources of online inventory have search tools.  Sites like PropertyGuys.com and Realtor.ca both offer the ability to narrow your search.  Typically you will type in the city you are looking for and more than likely narrow that down by price range.  No doubt we all want to see the mansions and multi-million dollar properties but the goal when you are serious is to narrow the search and find homes you can afford.

For the home seller this is important.  This is something you need to pay attention to because if a buyer is limiting their search you need to make sure you are maximizing your ability to be found.

Our society seems fascinated with the "900" factor.  You know, "Why list your home for $300,000 when you can list it for $299,900?"  Do you think today's buyer really sees that $100 difference as a savings on a $300,000 purchase?  It equates to 1/3 of a tenth of a percent.  I am going to show you how that $100 will work FOR you.

You will notice on search pages that the areas in which you set your high and low price criteria are drop down menus.  They usually are $25K increments to $400,000 and then they go in $50K increments from there.  So if someone is looking for a house between $275,000 and $300,000 your $299,900 shows up, great! Now let's say the next buyer is looking between $300,000 and $325,000.  Do you think this would be someone that should see your home?  What about if you priced your home at $302,000 hoping to settle for just under $300,000 once negotiations finished.  The person searching $275,000 to $300,000 doesn't find you, and they probably should!

My point is that if you look at the buyer search tools you are better situated to have your house found.  If you are within a few thousand of one of the search criteria you are best to round to the number so you can straddle both sides of the search bracket.  $300,000 will get you way more traffic on your listing than either $299,900 or $302,000.

What other things do you think will get more traffic to your listing?

M

What Does It Mean For a Home Seller If House Prices Fall?

How do you handle a drop in the market as a seller?

If we know anything about the stock market it is there is one key fundamental and two key ways to achieve it.

Fundamental - Buy low. Sell high. 

Achievement method one - Look for quick short term gains.  Under valued stock and/or companies that are on the verge of something new, big or wonderful. (Usually individual stocks) 

Achievement method two - Buy something stable and dependable now and put it away and know that in 25 years it will be worth more than it is today. (Usually mutual funds or bonds)

The housing market really isn't that different.  If you buy in a hot market you are poised to get quick returns. For the most part the big gain in housing happens over time.  If you purchased just before the market crashed in the early 90's and tried to sell after the crash, you would have lost thousands. That same house would show a total value increase today worth much more than any loss you would have felt.  Long term smooths out the ups and downs of the market with a general overall increase.

With fear starting to penetrate into the media about the "cooling of the market" people are starting to wonder what will happen. How will people deal with the news that their house they just purchased 2 years ago is worth 10 or 15 percent less then what they bought it for?  Is that even going to happen?

The good news for us here in the Kitchener, Waterloo, Cambridge and Guelph is that predictions for 2013 are to be steady through the year.  The bad news is if there is a correction in the major markets it could send a spiral through the media that will affect the market here.

As someone looking to sell a home in a market that is flat at best with potential for decline the most important factor in selling is price.  Anyone looking to buy will also be aware of the market conditions and they will be looking for homes that are more aggressively priced.  If you purchased a few years ago for $300,000 and your home has only seen a moderate increase and market value is $310,000 a $15,000+ real estate commission puts you at a loss. A $1,500 marketing package puts you at a gain plus gives you the advantage of being better priced then your competition using a real estate agent because in order to break even they end up over pricing at $320,000.

Typically in a volatile market it is best to hold on for the long term increase, specially with the low interest rates.  If you have to sell though, you really need to look at the dollars and sense (yes I meant sense and not cents).

M

How Do You Price A Home For Sale?

Is there an easy way to price your home for sale?

One of the biggest stumbling blocks a home seller can run across is getting the right information to price their home properly for the market. Who do you believe? Are real estate agents the best people for pricing advice? Are you able to make a sound decision when pricing your home, or are you biased?

There are two major things that are going to influence the market value of your home.  What has happened in the market and what is happening in the market.  Sure the fact that you have a nice kitchen and your bathroom is Belgian Taupe will impact the mind of the buyer but it won't majorly impact the value.  It will make it more salable, that is what home staging is all about, but will it make your home worth $20,000-$30,000 more than the same model 3 doors down?

The value of a house is mainly determined by the market.  What houses have sold for and what they are selling for (or not selling for) now.  If you have had 3 homes in your neighbourhood that have sold at a lower than anticipated price, you will have a hard time asking top dollar.  There is reason why neighbours get angry when a couple that splits up lists the house low just to get it sold.

So how do you determine what houses have sold for in your market?  Well you could call a local agent to come in and give you a "free market evaluation" but I don't recommend asking them for their "opinion on value". If you are just calling them for that, with no intention of listing with them, you might as well get the info off your MPAC account and save them an evening away from their family.  PropertyGuys.com suggests using a service like what we are able to offer through our partners. An estimated value report or a full licensed appraisal from a 3rd party service are unbiased and will provide you with the info of what has happened in the market.

Take this info and mix it with watching 5-6 houses within  a kilometer of your house that are within $10,000 of what you feel your home is worth and you will have all the info you need to be successful.  The only thing you will have left to get over is the stubborn, bull headed, house proud owner of your home.

M

How would a Jedi sell their house in today's real estate market?

Never more wisdom a pie chart has shown.

I would say one of the more common statements we hear in regards to selling a home privately is "it is worth a try". Fortunately we have learned from a reputable source, as so handily laid out in the pie chart above, there is no try. When selling a home, privately or with a real estate agent, the word try should never enter your vocabulary.

When one decides to sell their home there are key areas that need to be addressed in order to "do". If these things are not addressed you can not blame "try" you can only blame "do not".

What are the key areas? Great question! We know that the sale of a home is dependent on product, price and exposure, or the Home Selling Trifecta. Let's quickly look at each of these items as they relate to your home and then with each other.

• Product - This is the home it's self and all aspects of it's physical space including location, style, decorating, layout, quality, condition and over all cleanliness. The things you can't change or alter easily or at all you just have to deal with. Are you located in a busy neighbourhood? Does the flight path of the airport keep you awake? Are you in the neighbourhood that EVERYONE wants to be in? Do you have a 2 story or a bungalow?Areas where you do have control are areas that will impact the emotional buyer like staging the home for sale, having it "white glove clean", free of all defects inside and out (walls, roof, foundation) and ensuring all mechanical items are in good working order.
• Price - This is arguably the most important aspect. This is what will take an internet stalker and turn them into a motivated buyer. People are always lurking on real estate websites looking at this home and that home. Your goal is not to have a million views of your online listing but to have one person motivated to purchase it. Do your homework, find out what homes have sold for in your area. Look and see what your competition will be at the price you are thinking. How does your's stack up? Even if you miss the first 4 week window when properties are getting their first once over by the lurkers, you are still in the game if you are adjusting your price to where the market is moving. What doesn't work? Change your method of marketing and increase your price. If the widget you are selling for $5 isn't selling at Home Depot moving it over to Wal-Mart and charging $7 isn't going to help.
• Exposure - Get your home in front of buyers! Assuming you have priced your product correctly for the market this is the easy part. In today's market, as a private seller, you have more exposure potential than ever. There are plenty of questions someone considering selling their home should be asking. Do you need to be on the MLS? Will placing an ad in the paper help find home buyers? How do we advertise an Open House? Can I advertise my home on Google and Facebook or other social media platforms? What kind of advertising does an agent do for 5%?

The Trifecta works only when all three are working harmoniously together. If one side of the triangle is missing or being neglected you will not fall into "do" category.

Using services like PropertyGuys.com not only presents your home in professional way online but we also ensure you evaluate all areas of finding buyers for your home. We focus our efforts on ensuring all aspects of the home selling trifecta are met. If there is an area that is being neglected it will show up in your numbers. We will work with you throughout the home selling process to determin which part of the trifecta is being neglected so you can "do", because no one likes a "do noter"!



M

It's simple...it's all there in Black & White

Sometimes seeing things in black & white can change your perspective.

I have said it many times before. Your price (as it relates to your product) will be your biggest stumbling block in selling your house. So many people are lost in their home and don't realize that they are taking THAT with them. You are not selling your home. You are selling a house!!!

I have often joked the the difference between a house and a home is about $15,000. If you have even the slightest idea that you are house proud (do you think yours is worth more than your neighbours?) than I suggest you invest in some professional advice and get an appraiser in to give you the information you need to price your house correctly!

The last thing you want is the big $ sign and the little house...

He Was That Close

I recently saw a video posted on my Facebook feed where a VP from Keller Williams (and best selling author) talks about why houses don't sell. Why some homes sit and others move. He explains a very basic principle, one that I have talked about many times here.

If you are priced too high for your market you won't sell.

He goes on to explain that if you are getting no showings it tells you you are OUT of the market. If you are getting showings AND offers than you are IN the market. If you are getting showings but no offers than you are in "No Man's Land". What he failed to mention is that the cost of your trusty Realtor is what has you stuck in "No Man's Land".

Drop your Realtor and join the IN crowd!

Here's the video (don't judge him for his lack of white board skills.


M

But They Are Doing Me A Favour!

Are they?

I have been knocking on a lot of doors lately. Last week I had the pleasure of talking to a gentleman about his listing with a C21 agent. As he answered the door and saw my PropertyGuys.com Beetle over my shoulder he was quick to blurt out "I already have an estate agent." He continued on in his proper British accent about how the agent was giving him a deal by lowering the price on the house he was purchasing because he had listed with her.

So in this case the house was listed for $459,900. That means that the commission the home seller was expecting to pay was $24,097.50 including GST. What I am trying to figure out is how is this agent going to reduce the purchase price of the house they are buying by nearly $25,000. Generally if an agent does both sides of a deal (working on behalf of both buyer and seller) they reduce their commission from 5% to 4%. Let's say this agent was feeling awfully generous this day or even more likely, motivated to move the property and adjusted her commissions to 2.5%. For her to reduce the price by $25,000 it would mean this couple was buying at least a $1,000,000 home. Seems like a bit of a stretch for an upgrade, but possible.

If you are shopping to buy a house and the one you want is listed with an agent keep in mind that if they offer to work both sides of the deal to reduce the price of your purchase, under the condition that you list with them, they are not doing you any favours.

If they want to do the world a favour, they would let you sell privately and then you could pass on some of your savings to people that could REALLY use it...


Get involved with Kiva and make a difference in the world.

M

Looking Out For Your Financial Freedom?

How soon do you plan on retiring?

I don't care if you have your investments with a bank, an insurance company or an independent financial planner. Fact is, if your financial adviser is not discussing your choices of how to sell your home they are not working in your best interest.

Think about it. If you were to live in 4 houses in your life how much money could you waste on a real estate agent. Let's do the math, shall we.

Year 1 (Age 30) First Home - Modest townhouse selling for $225,000
Agent Commission 5% - $11,250
GST on Commission - $562.50
Total amount not invested - $11,812.50

Year 5 (Age 35) Second Home - Single detached selling for $300,000
Agent Commission 5% - $15,000
HST on Commission - $1,950
Total amount not invested - $16,950

Year 20 (Age 50) Third Home - Large family home selling for $450,000
Agent Commission 5% - $22,500
HST on Commission - $2,925
Total amount not invested - $25,425

Year 30 (Age 60) Fourth Home - Bungalow selling for $300,000
Agent Commission 5% - $15,000
HST on Commission - $1,950
Total amount not invested - $16,950

At 60 I hope that we are all ready to retire (if not before). All ready to buy a cottage on a lake in Northern Ontario and a condo in Palm Springs. So let's look at our investment profile....or more importantly what didn't end up in it. The total amount of commissions (including taxes) paid to real estate agents through your life was $71,137.50. That sure is a big number! But let's add in the aspect of lost interest into that figure over the 30 years and see what it is.

Using the Bank of Canada investment calculator over the 30 years at 6% interest the $11,812.50 from our townhouse would have been $67,844.99. The $16,950 from our second home would be $72,747.21 over 25 years. The $25,425 from our 3rd home would be $45,532.30 over the 10 years. Of course our $16,950 doesn't get invested because we just sold that place. So the total money not in our financial portfolio due to needlessly spending it on real estate agents is $203,074.50.

You always have other options...


M

Cart Before The Horse?

Are you doing things backwards?

It would seem that the common conception is that when we want to sell our house we plan on what we need or want for our house and then set our asking price accordingly.

Are we not putting the cart before the horse here?

So lets say you own a horse. Not just any horse. A big old handsome horse. A horse that the Budweiser Horses would be jealous of. The kinda horse that the lady horses would want to date. Here is the problem. You need to sell it. It would seem that your brother has a love of football and gambling and has racked up some bills. You got a call and if you don't raise $10,000 "Vinnie" is going to take your horse to the glue factory (if only it was that no good brother). In order to avoid the sticky situation looming you have decided it might be wise to sell your horse, parlaying it into enough cash to cover your delinquent brother's debt. So you put up the ad for your horse at $10,000 on Horsetopia.com and hope for the best.

Problem is that the only other "Budweiser" horse you can find is going for much less ($2,500). Now given this horse is a gelding and nowhere near the horse that yours is, a difference is expected but the $7,500 price gap is not working in your favour. Had you done your homework you would have found out that your horse's market value is only $5,000.

It would seem this situation is common place in the real estate market. How are you going to price your home? Let's hope you price it right...before your horse runs off to the circus...


M

New Year, Old Problems?

How do we figure out the last piece of the puzzle?

Last year turned out to be a fairly strong year for real estate (even after the doom and gloom of the "Next Great Depression"). With any good year there are still problems that exist. When we are sitting on a strong real estate market what inevitably happens is people get caught up in the dollars and feel their home is worth way more than what the market is willing to pay.

The stats for 2009 show KW had their second best year in home sales. But what do the rest of the numbers tell us? Let's have a look.

For the Waterloo Wellington area MLS sales in 2007 were 13,093 based on 19,573 listings. These means that 66.89% of the homes listed sold. 2/3 of all homes listed sold, a very strong year and a seller's market for sure. This means that as a seller you were in a stronger position than a buyer as decidedly more people were selling than not selling.

2008 showed a reverse of this seller's market. MLS sales for 2008 were 11,573 based on 20,292 listings. Less solds and more listings, not looking good. The List to Sell Ratio dropped to 57.03%. Still not a bad ratio but an adjustment of 10% year over year effects the market. This is a common occurrence after a strong market as more and more people jump in to "ride the wave" and get their piece. People see what their neighbour got and then proceed to ask more for their house (and this continues to perpetuate). As the market price pushes up buyers either become more cautious or they just can't afford the costs of ownership.

Which way did 2009 go? I still don't have the Dec numbers in but Jan-Nov show 11,325 MLS sales (sure to be above 2008) based on 18,811 listings (expected to be under 2008). So as it sits the List to Sell Ratio has increased vs. 2008 but is still well under 2007 at 60.20% (Jan - Nov).

So where does this leave us in 2010? What is the piece of the puzzle to keep a strong housing market? I believe that the increase in 2009 is directly related to the lowered mortgage rates we saw. If these rates continue through 2010 then we will see a slight increase over 2009 as the first few months of last year we were still getting our feet under us. If the rates move up with any swiftness we will see a quick spike as those approved under the lower rates will make rash buying decisions and then a stall in the market slowing sales.

All in all our 2010 looks like it should be OK. Could be worse, we could live in the US...


M

Can You Learn From the Dragons?

When I saw Kevin O'Leary's tweet about valuations it rang in my ears.

By now I assume everyone has at least heard of the hit CBC show Dragons' Den. Kevin is the "Simon Cowell" of the venture capital world. He is jagged and unrelenting on business owners to show him the money. His words above are the common denominator in deals turned down on the den. Most people go in looking for too much and have too high of a valuation. This is no different then those selling their house.

We recommend all sellers make sure they have the right information when pricing their home. As I have said many times before this is best made available from an independent appraiser. What happens when a home seller takes that advice? As you can expect, if they start with a fair market value appraisal to base their pricing decision on, they get people wanting to make a deal. If they choose to over value their home then buyers are going to say one thing..."I'm Out"

Check out what this Vancouver realtor has to say regarding price...


That's right, he said it. Price is 90% of the selling and marketing is only 10%. So tell me why an appraisal costs $250 and an agent costs $15,000. Seems to me your better investment is the appraiser not the realtor. Seems to me your better to drop your realtor AND your price so you can sell your house!

M

Win Fantabulous Prizes

All you have to do is know the right answer.

When selling your home you need to ask "What is the right question?"

The answer: Knowing the value of your home. Without this info you are guessing and one of 3 things will happen.

1.Price it too low and leave money on the table
2.Price it too high and sit on the market forever
3.Get lucky and price it right and sell your home

The likelihood of #3 goes up dramatically as you start to gather knowledge. First step in the knowledge quest happens by watching the local market and see what other people are listing for. How long are they sitting on the market? How does their home compare to yours? This step should be done 2-3 months before you put your house up ideally. Second step is to see what houses are selling for. This can be done easily enough through the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation website. The third step, and the most crucial, get yourself an appraisal by a licensed appraiser. Not a "CMA" from an agent, the motivation of their pricing can not always be considered in your best interest.
I am including this slide show and want you to look specifically at slide #8

CMA Steps

View more documents from mratcliffe1.

Why is it a Keller Williams agent does not want you to not listen to another agent? Are they not all trained the same? Do they not all look at the same data to come up with your price? Why would there be a difference between agents?

This is why an independent appraisal is so important versus a real estate agent offered CMA.

Hey don't get me wrong, you could always get lucky...


M

Keep Your Eye On Your Money

What is your cost to get your house noticed, per eyeball?

The interent has changed the way people buy and sell homes. Gone are the days of flipping through the big green MLS book at your local real estate office. Gone are the long Saturday drives in the back seat of your realtor's lincoln looking at 30 houses to see what you like within your price range. Gone is the lack of information for the consumer.

People are searching for homes while in their underwear. Come on you've done it. Just as your getting ready for bed your partner calls you "Honey come and see this one!" You rush over to the computer with your best pair of Calvin Kliens on. You catch a glimpse in the mirror and think "this is not the way my parents hunted for their first home".

The internet is a great tool allowing people to make a short list based upon what they see in the listings posted to their favorite sites. But as a home seller how do you choose where to list your home? Is there a way to measure the value of those eyeballs looking at each and every site? Let's boil it down with simple math. Depending on who you talk to Private Sale is garnering somewhere between 10 and 25% of the market. So as a conservative figure I am going to work with 15% for the purposes of this calculation. We are going to forget that people are looking at multiple websites and assume that 15% is decidedly Private Sale and the remainder are only looking on the MLS.

The cost of an average detached home in KW is just over $300,000. Based upon the industry average of 5% it would cost you $15,750 incl. GST to sell or $185.29 per set of eyeballs out of 100 home buyers. Looking at the same home being sold with PropertyGuys.com shows us a much better scenario. To ensure you are getting all the same coverage including paper advertising, virtual tours, and even an appraisal done by a 3rd party licensed appraiser lets look at the $1,500 package. With tax you would pay $1,575 or $105.00 per set of eyeballs a savings of nearly 44% per set of eyeballs. Remember that is the most expensive package. If you went with the $350 package it would cost you $23.33 or about 1-8th of the cost of the realtor.

I know what you are thinking. They get more eyeballs and that means more chance of selling, right? Wrong! The stats from November 2008 to October 2009 show that for every 100 listings that were listed by an agent in the Waterloo Wellington area 58 of them sold. Same time frame, same area for PropertyGuys.com and the numbers show 60 out of 100. The list to sell ratio (how many homes were listed vs sold in a given time period) for PropertyGuys.com in October was 81.67%, MLS was only 68.08%. I guess taking the commission off the table and making your pricing more attractive is what buyers are looking for.

Give your buyers a reason to have their eyes pop out when they see your home...


M

Am I Priced To High?

You don't need Bob Barker to answer your question!!!

When you are considering selling your home the big question is "How much is my house worth?" It's a great question. It's the most important question you should be asking.

So how do you go about finding the answer? Well the best way is to hire a third party appraiser. This unbiased professional opinion is your best bet. The investment of $250 is a good one in the sale of your home. Knowing that you are priced right can save you time and money! Heck you can even make this report available to prospective buyers!

If you are more inclined to figure things out on your own there are a few things you need to do. Watching the market is a great way to understand what is going on but you have to know what you are looking at. People can list there home for as much or as little as they want. You can learn from this if you are paying attention. Specifically it is good to watch comparable homes in your neighbourhood. Are they sitting for a long time? Did one just list and sell right away? Are their reduced price stickers on the signs? These nuggets of knowledge are all telling you something. The one thing you should always keep in mind is if a home is priced correctly it will sell (so long as you get the needed exposure).

If you are looking for better information, than the key number you want is their SOLD price. A home is only worth what someone will pay for it, no matter what they were listed for. So how do you get this info without calling a home appraiser or real estate agent? One way is to use the public info available to everyone through MPAC. As you can see on this sample report you can chose comparable properties within your community and it will show you the last sale date (if within the last 5 years) and the price it sold for. When I SOLD my house last winter I printed this report with 4 comparable properties and handed them out with my feature sheets to prospective buyers.

Giving prospective buyers information on how you priced your home is a great way to avoid situations like this...


M

What To Do With All This BS?

Author’s Note: Due to a complaint about the legitimacy of information in this post I have double checked my sources and found the data to be accurate and made some notes below. I have also made some edits to help protect the home buyers/sellers involved as well some of the language has been edited due to individual interpretation of the specific words used.

I think I need a skid of these to deal with it all!

I hear all sorts of stories in this business. I recognize that they all start with a kernel of truth and through the art of story telling they get altered slightly. We all remember playing broken telephone as children, right?

I was out putting up the first of two sold signs in Cambridge last Friday when I came across a flyer blowing aimlessly on our client's door step. I am sure it fell out of the door jam or mailbox but there it was carefully avoiding my feet as it tried to get my attention.

I picked it up to see the same drab excuse of a flyer we expect from a (replaced Joe Schmoe with) ordinary agent. What popped for me was the PropertyGuys.com sign in the photo. (Using other people's trade marks in your advertising is not allowed and was a big motivator to this post. I have scanned and presented the flyer as it was found and included another company logo only to show the flyer in it's entirety.) When I read it in detail I knew it was a stretch of the truth at best. It is the exact opposite of everything we see in the market...so I did some digging.

Nothing is the truth except the truth, and here it is.

Address deleted
Listed with PropertyGuys.com on July 14 2008 at $267,900
Cancellation date deleted
Listed with Robert Wollziefer on Sept 30 2008 at $269,900 MLS® #0894383
Relisted with Robert Wollziefer on Dec 1st 2008 at $259,900 MLS® #0895294
Sold Date Jan 29 2009 for $255,000 (There was some question to privacy laws in publicizing the sold value of the property. This is already public information available through the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation aka MPAC)
Total days on MLS 121
Estimated commission paid at 3.5% $8,925 plus $446.25 in GST
Net amount client sold for deleted

Here are some points that Robert fails to point out in his marketing piece:
Details of the price drop of $8,000 in listing price and $12,900 to the actual SOLD price
(Deleted a comment regarding bottom line price client received after commissions payed).
Property was relisted after 60 days on the market

Here is (in my opinion) the absolute (replaced false with) misleading statement made:
"One day they received 3 offers and can now move forward"

As you can see from the truth above, they were listed for a total of 121 days with Robert (deleted “and not the 1 day he states”. It was brought to my attention that the client did in fact receive 3 offers in one day, the ad fails to mention that it took 120 days prior to that happening). The truth is they were listed twice as long with Robert than with PropertyGuys.com and needed to drop their price because it was price that was the issue not their choice of marketing. (Deleted language specific to the client and replaced with) One of the true benefits of selling privately is the fact that you are able to lower the cost of the transaction. Those costs can either be kept by the seller or used as a tool to lower their price, making them more attractive in the market place and sell faster.

Way to help them "Move Forward" Mr. Wollziefer, (grammatical error replaced your) you’re a gem!

Do you have a similar story? Leave a comment! Your story may help someone else avoid the "Rubber Lips"...


M

Do You "Get It"?

Some people "get it" from the start, others, not so much...

I saw this quote on Facebook from the PropertyGuys.com Edmonton franchise.

"Just had a client who was listed on MLS for 2 weeks and was already getting the "Drop your price, drop your price, drop your price". The Realtor of course was going to get them "Top dollar" when she set the price two weeks prior. ...... So they dropped her and went with us. Listed Friday and already had 8 families through by Sunday. Somebody gets it, they really get it!!! Product......Price....Exposure."

More and more people are getting it.

Here in the Waterloo Wellington area we have been helping people pay themselves the commission for about 3 and a half years. Things are starting to come full circle in the local real estate market. Those leading private home sellers will be second time clients in the near future (we are already starting to see them).

As the Private Sale Circle grows so does the empowerment of you the home seller. The three card monte game of pricing your home with a realtor will end. No longer will you be lead astray in order to sign a contract. Pricing your home should not be a contingency on your listing. There is a better way. A licensed appraiser has to be objective. Here is a quote from their code of ethics

"public interest will be served by members acting responsibly, impartially, objectively, and with independent judgment."

Pricing shouldn't be tricky!

M

Strength In Your Sale

Don't let a skunk eat your lunch!

It would seem that every agent wants you to believe that they have the secret that will sell your house. I am sure you have seen all the marketing ploys. The most popular one these days seems to be "Your home sold in 90 days....GUARANTEED"

Something smell off?

They always list "some conditions apply". I did some digging and this was the most detailed explination I could find.

"We'll give you a guaranteed written offer on your home within 24 hours of your listing.
This written guarantee will give you the assurance that if your home doesn't sell within 90 days, we will buy it for your upfront guaranteed amount."

If you want more details you have to call them. So what's the catch? The "guaranteed" amount will allow them to purchase your house for under market value. Not such a bad deal....for them!

Programs like these emphasize that price is what sells your home. So what can you do to strengthen your position to sell?

"We tried selling our house using an agent, but after a number of issues, we let the listing expire, as we just didn't see the value we were getting. We decided to try PropertyGuys.com, and we had immediate interest. In 3 weeks we accepted an offer!"

Joe & Heidi Devitt, Ayr ON - Listing 162639 - June 2009

Buyer's Are Asking

The most important question in real estate is how much?

Pricing your home correctly up front will save you more time, hassle and MONEY than you care to know about. I am going to enlighten you anyway.

When a house on your street hits the market what is the first thing you do? Hit the computer and get nosy, right? Do you judge it? Rooms, decorating, layout, PRICE? Imagine all the people that jump on to the website where you are listed and judge your home. Once they have looked and judged will they ever be back?

So how the hell will you get the right price, specifically in this market?



Using "old" data is a starting point. If we don't learn from our history than we are doomed to repeat. Looking at trends and future market is what will propel you to the front of the pack.

The most important thing that Stacy points out is right at the end. Did you catch it? "Price your house below others in the market and get it SOLD!"

M