Triangle Area Real Estate News & Information

If you're a Realtor, do you wish you had more closing each year? Do you find yourself wishing that the offers you made or received had a greater chance of resulting in a successfully closed transaction? With more than 20 years experience as a full-time Broker and someone who has successfully negotiated and closed on almost 1000 transactions, I would like to suggest that you will dramatically improve your business and bottom line if you prepare your buyers and sellers properly.

Have A Good Talk With Your Buyers & Sellers

To begin with it's critical to understand that it's a huge mistake to think about real estate transactions in terms of Winners and Losers. Successful real estate transactions are Win-Win and must work for both the Buyer and Seller. In other words neither side will get what they want and the sooner you as a Realtor accept this and explain it to your clients the better off you'll be; it's known as managing client expectations.

While it true that we can't make any of our clients do anything, being honest with them and educating them early on helps transactions proceed more smoothly and efficiently. Buyers and Sellers need to know that unlike fine wines and some cheeses; offers do not improve with age. The longer it takes for one side or the other to respond; the less likely it is that the offer will get accepted and closed. Yes there are legitimate circumstances such as family emergencies that can come up, but trust me I can count the number of times on one hand with fingers left over that I've had negotiation delays that honestly fell into this category.

A Good Real Estate Agent Stays Poised And Practical

Pragmatically professional Realtors know that in the vast majority of instances the Seller won't get their full asking price which is what they want, and the Buyer isn't going to get what they initially offer which is what they wish/want. Both sides are going to give a little and part of what sets the most successful 10% of Realtors apart from the remaining 90%; is their ability to keep both sides talking till they get to the point where each feels the deal is fair and that they can live with it. While Buyers and Sellers can get emotional during negotiations; successful agents cannot and should not. This is our business and what we were hired by our clients to do. Success requires preparation and this requires us to properly prepare our clients.

Successful transactions are based more on quantifiable hard data and less on wishful thinking or emotions. Gathering, analyzing and accurately sharing this information is a large part of the reason Buyers or Sellers hire us and the primary reason savvy Buyers and Sellers choose to work with a local Brokers/Agents rather than relying on the Internet where there are numerous sites that offer them all sorts of questionable analysis drawn from very limited data sources.

How many times have you found yourself in the position of having worked hard to bring about an offer only to have the negotiations drag on day after day even upon occasion for weeks? How did this go over with you? With your clients? Did it help or hinder things? Did the tenor of the negotiation improve with the passage of time? With the exception of one side having a bona fide emergency that prohibits them from responding promptly, there's absolutely no excuse for this to ever happen and I believe when it does it typically indicates that the agent representing the slow to respond party; simply hasn't done their job properly.

Selling Homes With Larry At My NC Homes

When I list a property for sale I have already had a detailed conversation with my Sellers as to what I know the property is likely going to sell for within a 1-2% range. This is our target number and we then price accordingly. I explain when an offer does come in what our negotiating strategy will be. I do all of this when I'm signing the listing agreement and I make sure that I send them an email going over it all again so that I have a written copy of the conversation which I can refer them back to if necessary. I do this so that when an offer is made there's really no reason for a long protracted negotiation. My sellers already know more or less what to expect and we can start moving in that direction.

Similarly when I meet with Buyers for the first time and I'm explaining how I work I let them know that when they find a property or two that their truly considering making an offer on to let me know so that I can then prepare a report for them that I refer to as True Market Value report. This report is essentially a CMA on the property. I show them very clearly what similar homes have sold for, and I tell them the maximum price I believe the property is worth in the market at that specific point in time. I tell them this is the highest price I would feel comfortable paying if I were buying the property for myself and that we'll be staring beneath this with the expectation of ending at or below this number. Again I take the time to explain all of this to them so that they understand my reasoning and the negotiating strategy, that I'm recommending to them.

Find An Agent That Can Be Honest With You, In Good Times And Bad

My purpose is always to supply my clients with all the information they need to make informed decisions and to set expectations that are reasonable. If my clients choose not to listen to me I'm still going to present their offer (or counter offer as the case may be) but I've learned something incredibly valuable about my clients and if the offer ends up failing to come to fruition, I will then have a hard talk with my clients and if I feel it necessary to terminate my agency agreement with them. In the case of Sellers this rarely happens as I tend to discover this before the listing agreement is signed in which case I simply refuse the listing as I'm not in the business of wasting my time. Historically I turn down anywhere from 25%-40% of the listings I get offered and usually end up “firing” one or two buyer clients a year. I don't agonize over these “missed opportunities” because in truth I don't view them as opportunities.

I successfully close an average of 1 transaction a week and doing the volume I do requires that I manage my time efficiently. Buyers who aren't being realistic are not a good use of my time. Sellers who want to price significantly higher than I know the house is going to sell for are not only going to waste my time, their going to cost me real money as taking a listing costs me on average $1400+/- in immediate out-of-pocket expenses by the time I'm done paying for professional photographer, appraiser to produce floor plans, professional staging consultation for Sellers, home warranty, and online marketing all of which I do for every listing I take.

If you're a Realtor who sincerely wants a more productive, financially rewarding business; I believe you can have it if you'll incorporate these practices into your day to day business.

Breaking into this industry can be tricky, but if you connect yourself with other experienced industry professionals, it doesn't have to be. Get in touch with me today if you'd like to learn more about getting involved in real estate or if you're looking for a some advice and tips to help boost your success. I'd be happy to connect with you, send me a message online or give us a call today to learn more.