What in the World Could be going on that Your Home is Not Being Shown by other Realtors???
Well, here we go again, just in case you're not already tired of hearing it: (1) The price is too high (2) too much clutter (3) not in a desirable location , (4) the house needs too much work. We're heard all of these plenty of time, right?
Answer to this problem is that you're listed with someone who is afraid to be honest with you.
I've been helping several agents recently with their listings and marketing through consulting, and I have found some very simple fixes above price, condition and location that COULD be the cause for lack of showings or lack of offers above the one you are waiting on.
Ask your agent today to check these things or audit them yourself. If your agent is not willing to do this, or is too busy you might also be in trouble.
Problem 1: The home isn't mapping in the MLS system. Many agents search for properties in the agent-only section of the MLS via the "Mapping" feature. When the home is being data entered into RealTracs, one typo or not checking the "geo-coding" can cause your home not to show up to the agent. Remember, 78% of buyers report that they found their home through their buyer's agent. If Buyers Agent is searching for a home via the Geo-Coding/Mapping feature, and you're home isn't mapping correctly, it will not be found...period!
Problem 2: Poor Quality Photos. You should expect only professional level photography in this type of market. If your agent shows up with a point and shoot camera, this should be flag #1. Lighting, angles, point of view and equipment matter. I listed a home recently that was on the market with another agent for over 50 days and had average photos. The sellers said they had only a few showings and released their agent right away. I had more showings in the first week than the other agent had the entire time it was listed with them.
The homes photos were dark and shot from a poor angle. The new photo focuses on the room's light rather than the outdoor area outside the window.
Problem 3: The square footage, bedroom numbers or bathroom totals were incorrectly entered. My heart sinks every time I think of a story Brian Copeland had in Green Hills a few years ago. A home was priced amazingly and had been on the market for over 250 days. A senior couple owned it and had used "a friend" to list the home. The "friend" entered in the MLS as a 1 bedroom, 1 bath with 1200 square feet. In actuality, it was a 4 bedroom, 2 bath with well over 2300 AMAZING square feet. To top it off, it had no pictures, too. Brian called the agent's broker and reported it immediately after he had a buyer ask to see it via a drive-by, however, you may not be so lucky if you're not on a major thoroughfare!
Problem 4: The narrative and wording isn't present or is just plain ridiculous. In the MLS, agents can enter "Remarks" that the consumers see on all the websites (quiet, cul de sac street on slope yard, "Realtor Remarks" which are for agents only (agent bonus of $500, disclosures are available at...) and "Photo Captions" which appear below of the photos and allow 250 characters (Sitting on a large corner lot, the seller is providing a one-year home warranty and is willing to pay up to $4000 in closing costs). Is your agent using all these text areas to tell your story.
The "Remarks" section is the spot in the MLS that is picked up by every other website and agency site to describe your home. Example 1 chose to brilliantly use exclamation points instead of giving the seller their full potential narrative. Example 2's agent just didn't care enough to take the three minutes to write anything at all. Heck, I'd be happy with exclamation points at least here!
Problem 5: Your representative has a bad reputation in the agent community. Stock is too heavy and life is too short for agents and consumers to deal with jerks. Ask other agents candidly about your agent's involvement in the REALTOR community. While our code of ethics is clear that we can't bad-mouth another REALTOR, if you ask around enough in your community or find former agents, you'll get the scoop. If a buyer's agent has seven homes that are perfect for his/her buyer and your home is one of those perfect seven, why would he/she show the home of an agent that has a lose-win attitude, doesn't return calls or hasn't upheld the ethics the "good ones" keep. Is that fair? No. Is it illegal? No. A buyer's agent is actually representing his/her client BEST by safegarding them from potentially difficult negotiations and contract situations. Ask your agents about the designations they hold (all the letters that make no sense to you after their name), their involvement in their association, the awards they've won outside of sales production or better yet, check out their RECENT education history here: http://licsrch.state.tn.us/
Problem 6: You don't have enough visuals. Again, we are in a heavy stock cycle, and buyers are "stalking" home on the net first. If 45 homes fit their needs, they will likely look at the ones they've seen the most of. If your home has been on the market for over 90 days, recently, the MLS migrated to allow agents to upload 20 photos instead of the previous 10. I can't tell you how many times I've seen three or six photos presented on a 2000+ sq ft home!
Problem 7: Your home hasn't been connected with the correct agents. As all real estate is local, there are ways to analyze the area to see what buyer's agents sold the most three bedroom homes in 37204 in 2009 so far. Your agent should know who these agents in your home's sales feature price range and exposing your address to them. When I listed a home recently in Fairvue Plantation in Gallatin, while out of my primary territory, you better believe I paid a courier $150 to deliver information to the top 80 agents who had sold homes there. You better believe I offered incentives to those top agents to come out and preview it. (8/22/2009 note: Home went under contract within 14 days and is closed!)
Problem 8: The buyer's agents can't get in! This is my top pet peeve when I'm representing a buyer!! Most agents have a showing desk to set up the showings. If your agent handles the showings directly, this is a big red flag! "Oh, Mr. Seller, I always have my phone with me and this assure you will get the showing AND I will be able to speak to the agent myself to prep them." This is not the case! WEEKLY, YES, WEEKLY I call within 24 to 48 hours to show a home and at least one or two of the homes don't get a return call. Some major real estate companies in the Clarksville area are actually CLOSED on the weekends!
Additionally on Problem 8, as stupid as it sounds, check the key often and make sure it still works to the correct door and the lock box is clearly available. While I always call the agent and tell them there's an issue with the key, many agents won't. Consumers may be coming to your door, never getting in, finding another home and your never know! I had another key two weeks ago on one of my listings stop working, too. Obvious, but a potential problem!
Problem 9: Your home has expired or been withdrawn. What if your home is no longer active and no one bothered to tell you One customer couldn't figure out why he couldn't find his home listed on-line. More issues than that existed, but the biggest issue was that the home had expired from the MLS and she had no clue. Every agent in Tennessee is required to give you a copy of everything you have signed with 24 hours of signature. Her agent had not done this; so, she had no way of knowing she was out of contract and had been off the market for over a month!
Problem 10: The buyer's agents commission is not competitive. While there are no set commission rates for real estate, the more commission you are paying your agent, the more commission the buyer's agent will make. If a home fits my buyer's needs, I will show it regardless of commission offered, however, many agents don't share this opinion. In the new Tennessee Association of REALTORS listing agreement (which is widely used across the state, on line 81 of page 2 [as of 7/10/2009] there is a blank that shows you what the buyer's agent will receive. If your agent hasn't shown you their value enough to where you asked them to discount their normal rate, you need to make sure they are not placing your home in a low commission position. What percentage the listing agent shares with the buyer's agent is between those two agents, you NEED to know what that percentage is.
Usually we see lower commissions on multi-million dollar properties or commercial listings. This $200K home is listed giving the co-op agent 1% when all of its competing home sellers are offering 2%, 2.5% and 3%!
Problem 11: You! So many times we want to point the finger at the agent or his/her marketing deficiencies, however sometimes you're the problem. You are consistently turning down appointments or you don't check your voicemail to confirm showings until the showing request time has long passed.
Being very professional, I remind my sellers in the listing consultation of these obvious principles. If you want to sell, you have to show! Last weekend, I was trying to show my buyers a home and the seller has gone out of town and won't return until Thursday of this week. The seller locked the storm door, and I had no way of getting to the lockbox for the house key. If an agent is working to get you the showings, but you have overnight guests, a birthday party, want to watch football, or you need an extra two hours of sleep on Saturday morning is causing you to say "NO" to the showings, I would suggest that you (1) to not be on the market or (2) find an agent who will keep you in line (kindly, of course).
Janie Masterson (GRI, CLHMS) is a daily sales and listing agent in the Clarksville, TN - Ft. Campbell, KY market. She prides himself on her experience, advanced Real Estate education, and production. Janie works with the Vaughn Team.com Real Estate located in Clarksville, TN and has been a licensed Realtor since 2002. She began her career in Brevard County, FL and continues to maintain her Florida license as well as Tennessee. She has attended all classes and passed exams with high scores for her continued education in the Real Estate Industry. Her approach to permission-based real estate sales has brought her many new clients who are confident that they have chosen the best Resource Resource for Real Estate in the area. Janie is a member of the Council of Residential Specialist, the National Association of Realtor, the Clarksville Association of Realtors, the Tennessee and Florida Association of Realtors. Janie is a leader in social networking and is in the process of building a national agent network for relocation sales. Janie's constant internet presence and advertisements of her listings have brought many prospective buyers to her listing clients.
Janie Masterson, Realtor, GRI, CLHMS
2106 Trenton Rd, Clarksville TN
Direct 931 801-3348
Email: janie@janiemasterson.com
Hey guys, help out in the kitchen. Do some of the dicing and slicing, it's hard work especially if your wife has been on her feet all that time. Men's need to carve turkeys always amuses me. Did you ever notice that men can lounge all day in front of the television doing nothing to help with dinner, but they spring to action when the turkey is set on the table. Suddenly the women who have been cutting, chopping and peeling for hours (sometimes days) can't be trusted to hold sharp objects. Only men can carve the sacred bird.
