Unscrupulous Tactics

Truth the Whole Truth and Nothing but the Truth

All of the following I've witnessed over the years. Some more often than others. In all cases I've had at least one agent admit their guilt to me. Some were "rookie" errors in judgment; others are more an attempt to "manipulate" a buyer or seller in order to deflect an inadequacy or fear.

My policy. Don't obfuscate the truth. Don't bend or twist it. You're doing your client the best service when you "level" with them no matter how "hard" that may be in the short term. You can make a mistake and tell your client that you now think differently because circumstances and/or market conditions have changed. That's OK. Most will understand. What people don't understand is an unrealistic rosy picture not based on reality that later comes back to haunt you and usually COSTS THEM real money.

Some Bad Tactics I've Seen

"But you've got to take this offer it's the best you're going to get. Everyone knows your first offer is the highest." What? Where did you hear that crap?

I'll tell you a neat little statistic you won't hear in the industry circles. Did you know that the average real estate agent's home for sale is on the market l-o-n-g-e-r than the average seller's that they represent? Hmmm, haven't you heard that if your home is on the market more than 30 days it's supposed to be "market worn?" Guess who says that?

"You better place an offer RIGHT NOW, this house was shown 20 times today and I've been called by 2 agents with offers coming in. As a matter of fact one of them is from my office..." I'd like to check out those statistics sometime. I fired an agent on the spot once, when I learned he had used this tactic, when he knew there weren't any other offers coming in on his listing. We trained our agents differently than that. That was an unethical tactic, though he tried to weasel out of it by saying he was "working to get the seller top price..." He knew better, and was trained to negotiate ethically to produce top results. What he saw was a "shortcut."

"I had several brokers tell me they wouldn't show the house because it was over-priced..."

That's enough for this post, but you should also be aware, that I have also seen the other side of these. I've been in markets where the average market price was 103% of listed price. That's a seller's market. We're now in a buyer's market.

I have also been called by several agents on a hot listing, and had to tell a buyer I was showing a home to that if they were really interested in the property, they should act quickly because I was anticipating one or more offers. The problem is most buyers are predisposed not to believe you because they've heard of this tactic or had it used on them unethically in the past. The better relationship you have with the buyer though the more they'll believe you when you're truthful.

Yes, I have had many brokers over the years tell me that a house was "an over-priced dog." They often say something like: "what were you using for comparables anyway? I turned that turkey down at that price." To which I would reply: "then you're lucky. You might get a chance to list it the second time around if it's priced incorrectly." Yes, I took my share of turkeys in my time. Some were subjective misinterpretation of the available data, or too little data available to make a good judgment call. At other times, I've succumbed to the influence of a friend, long time client or family member when I knew the price was too high.

Have I ever priced a property too low? Likely, though that is more difficult to ascertain. Usually that's not the problem though. Almost invariably it's the other way around. Why? Because there is a LOT of competition among brokers to get a listing, and sellers will often go with the "highest bidder." But how do you explain to a seller the negative impact that has on a property after about 6 months on the market. They don't realize it until the property is already "market worn." Then of course, they blame the agent. They were "lousy. They couldn't sell their way out of a paper bag. I could do a better job of selling than that." What they forget is the hours of threat and negotiation they used by holding their agent hostage to listing with another broker, "if you don't take it at this price. This is what we NEED to sell." Of course they then wind up selling for 5% to 20% below market by the time the "shelf life" factor is considered. Most agents don't remind them. They're just glad for the sale. Besides trying to involve the seller into their own part in the pricing conspiracy is something most don't understand or refuse to acknowledge it. So most agents "take the hit," and move on.

Chris Michaud
(978) 697-8568
Acceptance Group
chris@acceptancegroup.com