I was talking with a guy today, and he informed me that he had his home listed for a year with a realtor, and it hadn’t sold.. He listed with a new agent just recently. As we talked, he told me a lot of the things I hear all the time “He(their agent) never called!”, “He wasn’t open to any of my suggestions!”, etc… Then he told me something else… “The new agent discounted my rate right out of the gate!” This got my ears perked up…
So you got the guy of your dreams now, and he is going to do all the stuff you always wanted the other guy to do, and for 1-2% less than the previous guy?!? Also, if he was so quick to discount HIS money, how do you think he is going to react with YOUR money?
I generally ask people “Why do you think he discounted his rate?” I generally get to hear things like “He doesn’t need as much!”, “He’s not a big agent, he doesnt need to cover as many expenses.”, “He does a high enough volume, he can afford to take a discount!”
Let’s take these in turn? “He doesn’t need as much!”: Umm, this explains itself… He only needs to close as many transaction as he needs money. That’s the equivilant of someone living paycheck to paycheck, and no goals or ambitions and is happy with status quo… Now at face value, those are amenable goals, but is that the type of person you want selling your home?!? “Aww, if it don’t sell this month, maybe next month!”
“He’s not a big agent, he doesn’t need to cover as many expenses.”: Now at face value, i can see this, but it also means he is going to get burnt out quick.. BELIEVE ME, I KNOW!!!! I’ve taken those discounted listings, and then later wanted to kick myself because I was getting pennies for a ton of hard work**. No thanks, I’ll charge my full commision, and make sure I stay motivated.
“He does a high enough volume, he can afford to take a discount!”: So what you are saying, is that he sells a ton of houses each month, and is going to bend over backwards to take a personal interest in getting your home sold?!? He is the walmart of Realtors? Does Walmart give great customer service? Not to mention, Any agent who is willing to take your listing at a discount is hurting you in two ways. He is either going to slice his own commission, meaning that he would make more money to sell someone else’s house, or he will reduce the commission to the buyer’s agent meaning that most of those agents would rather not show your house.
Does this stuff make sense folks? Put yourself in the “Discount Realtors” shoes. Imagine you are going to fill all the big promises, and then get paid less for it. I’d love to hear why you would do that.
Sometimes you will find acceptions to the rules. I hope these agents work out for the people.. I just know that in my case, I do a tremendous amount of work for my clients.
Also, I am not saying you should just accept whatever a realtor wants to charge you, and that the higher priced people are going to be the best. YOU need to do your research. Make sure your agent tells you exactly what he/she is going to do for you, and then does it. In this market, the more marketing the better! You have to get that house in front of as many people as possible, and make sure they are SEEING the listing.
** Please remember folks, I am not a typical agent.. I have a 20+ step marketing strategy for getting homes sold. I put a ton of work into each of my listings. I AM NOT A TYPICAL AGENT!! There is quite a few craptastic Realtor’s out there, I run into them all the time.. I AM NOT ONE OF THEM!!!
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