The Barefoot Investor, Scott Pape, wrote in a column a few weeks back something along the lines of, real estate agents get paid too much for what they do.
This comment was not popular within our industry because it is pretty scathing, but I think he has made not only a very valid, but very important point.
The thing is, selling a home is major financial decision no matter who you are, and the quality of the advice you receive at this time can impact you in the way of hundreds of thousands of dollars.
So sellers, are you falling for the old clichés? Silent listings, buyer databases, a quick sale is a good sale and so on?
In today’s market your home will sell with or without an agent. The danger out there right now is underselling and missing out on sometimes tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands of dollars.
In all honesty, many agents today are simply order takers, and they are getting paid big bucks for the privilege. If you handed over that cash to any other discipline (say a lawyer or accountant) you would have massive expectations around their service level, why are we not expecting the same from our real estate agents?
So I am in real estate, why I am I saying all this? At Realmark I know that we provide value in that we help people get more for their property, we help them make good decisions around their property. We provide proven processes and our results reflect this. We work hard to remain informed and in touch, we never push outdated methods. We don’t take our commissions for granted and those in our industry that do reflect badly on us, and let me tell you, it is frustrating.
Sellers you need to understand that old clichés cost you money and rob you of the transparency you deserve. Let your sale mature with buyers within the optimum 21 days, demand a high level marketing strategy, expect real buyer feedback and find an agent that offers process, not personality...don’t just appoint an agent because they are a neighbourhood celebrity!
Be a little more savvy and it will pay off, often financially.
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