Oh well, you win some and lose some.
$1,333 a Day
Recently I tried to offer a number of fee options, including hourly rates, to a seller that I suspected had financial issues. He declined my services, and listed with a friend of a friend. The property is under agreement in less than 30 days, and it will cost this seller more than $40,000 - now he's complaining. That's about $1,333 a day. My guess is that the total cost for the same service from me on what my recommendations were would have been LESS than $2,500, including marketing costs.
$5,000 a Day
Another seller I remember was offered the same fee options, but they had a friend in the business. They sold in 3 days, and it cost them $15,000. That's $5,000 a day. Their friend is grateful, I'm sure.
Yeah, But
I know. I know. I've been at this a long time. The first defense is: "yeah but I've been carting these buyers around for 6-months and showed them 120 houses, and this one just happened to be the right one." If that's REALLY the case, you did a lousy job qualifying the buyer. Why should someone pay you for your inefficiency? Busy work isn't isn't necessarily effective work.
The Other Problem
You win some and you lose some, but there's another issue. In a market that has a 10 months supply of inventory, and an average selling time of about 140 days, both of these seem a little short in terms of selling cycle. Do you suppose they were priced for the market?
Many real estate agents are quick to tell sellers they "should accept the first offer because it is likely to be the highest one," yet industry statistics indicate that agents' personal houses for sale are on the market longer than their seller clients' houses.
Can real estate agents make mistakes? You bet. Most are quick to tell sellers that they are "over-priced for the market," but have you EVER heard one say, "oops, I blew it. I should have priced that house $35,000 higher." Yeah, I never heard that one either.
Chris Michaud
chris@acceptancegroup.com
www.acceptancegroup.com
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