My PRECIOUS....

Tomorrow is the mandatory Tuesday $ales Meeting.

Can I stay home Mommy?

Promptly at 9 a.m. we gather to blah de dah over real estate news, warranty info, agent presentations, new listings, have-wants-needs,  all of the things that go along with where we are in the world.  AFTER the meeting the agents head out to preview NEW Listings.  This is the topic of my BLOG today.

Previewing new listings is mandatory.  Agents in our office are required to block out 9-11 a.m. or thereabouts every Tuesday morning for the mandatory Tuesday $ales Meeting and following Tour of NEW Listings. I have no problem with the whole Tour of NEW Listings policy.  I rarely put mine on tour, the herding of the cattle through in 3 min or less isn't my idea of pro-active marketing.  There are a handful of others who abstain.  I prefer agents asking me to go solo and preview a listing-because it interests them.  My newest listing on Lakeside was one such listing.  The agent that puts up my signs was asking before it hit the market if he could go take a look.

Then there are the other agents. The ones who are old school.  The ones who let the office staff handle their marketing efforts.  The ones who tell their sellers and I quote 'I had an OPEN HOUSE Tuesday.'  (yes, I overheard the conversation with her client).  Now, I knew there was no OPEN HOUSE, so my ears perked up.  I couldn't hear the other side of the conversation but from her responses, her seller was no dummy.  He asked questions.  

'No', she said, 'only agents from my office came'.  uh huh...he must have asked about food etc because she finally admitted  it was an OFFICE tour.   Makes me think of a phrase my mother used to say all the time 'Lets not, and say we did'.  Where I come from, that's called a lie.

So, we now have agents using the Tour of NEW Listings as an OPEN HOUSE.  Then we have others  (and I am seeing a trend here) who use the tour to generate 'activity'.  A couple of weeks ago - we previewed a New Listing for the second time.  The difference was, the seller had moved out. We all looked at one another, 'haven't we seen this?'  A few eyebrows raised. Gas isn't cheap and time is even more costly.  Then last week, here we go, three of the six homes we previewed had been seen before on Tuesday's Tour of NEW Listings.  

Here's what I see.  Old school agents have to offer their sellers something. They have resorted to using the 'captive audience' technique.  You must view my precious listing because it is company policy.  It is MANDATORY that you preview NEW Listings, so we now make old things NEW.  Who thought this up?  A think outside the box kinda agent I'm guessing.  (I really hate that phrase) It's about as creative and innovative as their marketing plan.  Someone figured out a way to stir up 'activity' and believe it or not - the others are following their lead.  We looked at one last week that had been taken off the market and put back on a couple months later.  Another that had had a water heater leak throughout the entire house and needed to have the floors redone. (apparently no one had 'previewed' the home in some time for there to be that much damage)  So we went back through...no change in price thank you very much.  I guess they can call their sellers and say some 15 agents went through and SAW it.   Unfortunately, none of US are buyers.  AND they are not endearing the NON-BUYERS to themselves either.  Already agents are looking for any excuse they can find to ditch the Tuesday Sales Meeting and NEW Listing Tour.

Wouldn't it make more sense to offer something people are excited about?  Something they will go away from wanting to use, share and promote.  Rather than gripe and complain about (or BLOG).

I am excited about new listings, mine especially.  My sellers are special, and PRECIOUS.  Because they are mine.  I educated them and they don't give me any flack (not much usually).

I don't begrudge the other agents their special PRECIOUS listings.  But give me a break,ONCE IS ENOUGH.  

Smirk much?

Unless I am skipping through with my own happy buyer.

See Mr. So and So REALTOR on the right?  He is ditching the mandatory Tuesday $ales Meeting and NEW Listing tour tomorrow to take his daughter to audition for the X-FACTOR!!!  Go Sophia!

These re-tours are just forcing us to 'think outside the box' on absentee excuses.

Shark Bait

An agent sat down with me to discuss a former listing of his the other day.  He'd had it listed about 18 mos, replaced carpet, power washed the exterior, professionally cleaned the interior, yard work completed, exterior paint touched up, visual tour, video, CMA results and pricing options.  You name it - he did the works.  Even advised them to remove the dated, heavy dark drapes to let in some light and show off the fabulous views.    Two weeks after an incredible agent luncheon the sellers transferred the listing to another agent in the same company.  He wanted to know why I thought he didn't get it sold.  (well shucks Sweetie - it STILL ain't sold)!

I have shown said property many, many times.  More while he had it listed, less now.  Qualified buyers, they could buy and did buy (something else), no issues with financing at all.  Four of them were relocation buyers - absolutely buying and closing QUICKLY!   They all liked the home at first blush, some put it on the list of possibilities.  They all changed their minds when it came time to make the hard decision, IS THIS THE HOUSE?

Recently I had a buyer call and ask to return with her husband on a Sunday and take a second look at his former listing.  They spent a good 2 hours on site (its furnished but 'vacant').  Oh how they loved it, it was THE house.  In order to buy they must sell first so after a sad goodbye they went home to dream and wait.  Two weeks ago they called.  The Christmas holiday brought considerable interest in their current home and they thought it wise to return for a second look.  Look at a DIFFERENT house, one listed approx $120,000 higher.

Why, when they began to seriously consider buying did they choose another home?  The location of the former property offered an excellent opportunity to live on one of the finest streets in our market - at the lowest historical price in (as Taylor Swift might say) EVER. The VALUE appears to be there, they HAD seen it!  But they changed their minds when it became time to actually spend the $$$$

None of these buyers offered a definitive reason to take the home off their list. I have a theory.  It goes back to that relationship issue.  The original listing agent provided guidance, recommendations, and market projections.  The problem was - and as a buyers agent over the course of those months I can attest as to when the sellers cooperated or 'bought into' his plan.  It was NOT prior to list, but under duress, as the months went along.  And it was never in it's entirety.  Piece by piece, bit by bit, I would see changes as I brought one buyer after another through the home and tried to 'sell' the home.  I have begun to realize that I am having to work too hard to sell that home.  I am beginning to feel as though I am losing credibility with my buyers.  I have fallen out of love with the listing that I had such confidence in.  If that is true for me I imagine it is true for other agents.  Except for the agents  that pride themselves in finding just such properties.  The listings that have gotten weak.  They will check the history in MLS, put out feelers, sniff around.

This house is dead in the water.   I truly believe that if the sellers had bought into the entire marketing plan, worked with their original agent FROM DAY ONE it would have sold in a reasonable time to achieve their goals.  

I expect this to end badly.  The property will sell well below market value and the original CMA price (what a traditional resale at that location would sell for).  The concessions will be hard - closing costs, a roof, extensive repairs.  They will tear it to shreds.  It's inevitable, buyers will smell blood in the water.  They will wait, circle and someone will gobble it up.

The first question that buyer will ask is...'is this a foreclosure'?