For all of us that are veterans in real estate we've heard every possible line a potential home seller can say while they try to negotiate in a position of strength! The problem is that most of them really don't know what they are saying and how it will most likely kill any chances of selling! Any person knows that it is wrong to paint yourself into a corner with no way out, yet home sellers do it every day. Whether they realize it or not they speak in absolutes, and since we are only licensed as agents we must do the sellers bidding. So if they say "No closing costs," it means there will be no deal in this market!
When we listen to the potential seller we must hear what they are really trying to accomplish! Their words may not convey the real message!
- I really don't have to sell!
- I'm not giving my home away!
- I'm not selling unless I get my price!
- I'm just testing the market! If I get my price I'll sell!
- I'm not in a rush to sell!
- My new home won't be ready for 5 months!
- I don't have to move! I really love this home!
- I'm not doing anything! The buyer can take it or leave it!
- I'm not paying closing costs or giving the buyer anything!
- The neighbors gave their home away! I heard it was trashed!
- I took some time off to find myself!
- I'm not changing the carpet or painting!
What the seller may really be saying is:
- I am maxed out in my mortgage and cannot take less!
- We're divorcing.
- We've already pulled the credit out to pay off our debts!
- I lost my job, and I am working now at Starbuck's!
- They are eliminating my position next month!
- I am upside down, I owe more on the home than it is worth!
- The mortgage payment is resetting shortly, and I cannot pay it!
- I do not have that type of cash to bring to sell, and cannot afford to do so.
- The seller may have lost their job or know they are being laid off.
- I had a loss in income.
- I have a terminal illness and the mdical bills are forcing the sale!
- The seller's do not have the money for repairs, carpet or commission.
The sellers are really trying to firm up their net - getting the highest possible price. The seller may be more desperate, but do not want to give away their position! This real estate market is not for the faint of heart! As real estate professionals we must ask real questions, and give real directions..if not we may excuse ourselves from the appointment if we are at a stalemate! Pricing, commission, and appearance in this market are critical and not negotiable!
We must be able to ask real questions:
- What is your reason for selling or relocating?
- What is your time-frame?
- What is your target price? What do you owe on the home?
- Is there a divorce? Do you have a copy of the divorce decree?
- Are you in a mortgage where the payments are resetting? If so when?
- Are you currently employed?
- Do you have cash reserves? (If unemployed)
- Have you already purchased another home? Where? With whom? When does it close?
- Will that agent be representing you selling this home?
- Are you willing to work with me as a team to sell this home? Paint, price, repairs?
If we do not hear what we need to hear...move on! NEXT! We cannot help anyone unless the dialouge is based in truth! It is no difference to the person that tells a doctor that they do not smoke, and the doctor is looking at the X-Rays! Truth can be a starting place for assistance of a real professional!
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Amen! It is important to dig a little deeper and listen a little harder to what your clients are actually saying. If they are not saying it, then you are right, it is our responsibility to ask.
Finding motivation is key...if they are motivated then it has a chance.
I think we should have a degree in therapy in order to be Realtors! We do the work of one, we should bear the name and the pay!
Jim, very good. We have to ask the fact finding questions to do our job to the best of our ability.
Ashley Berg **Seattle's Green Realtor** I like that a lot! "If they are not saying it, then you are right, it is our responsibility to ask. "
Chuck Carstensen Correct! Otherwise we have just listed a home that we should have ran from!
Sara Homan There is more than one reason why we are paid what we get!
Ray Nellum, Fort Smith Real Estate It is we that are conducting the interview!
WELL SAID, Jim! A large part of our job is to be a good listener and sometimes we have to listen to the unspoken word in order to interpret our client's needs. GREAT post!
The more things change the more they stay the same. Let's remember we all face the same challenges. Thanks for this post.
Debe Maxwell - No one really wants to share if they are not in a good space.
Robert Slick You're welcome!
This is good information we have to think about when working with sellers in this market. It can really be difficult to work with the seller when they are not honest with us because we do not have a clear idea of what their needs or goals are.
Colorado Springs Realty Patricia Beck It is up to us to paint a real picture for the sellers!
Jim, this is a great "refresher" course for each of us. The key is to listen and to really "hear" what the seller is saying. THEN we can ask the right questions. Good, thoughtful post.
Good post Jim. I agree. People tend to get wrapped up in the minute details of their lives and needs. This keeps them from looking at the bigger picture. Our job is to help them see the bigger picture (ie the market) so that they can re-evaluate the details of their lives. Sometimes that means staying put.
Jim: to find what motivates the seller to sale is one of the key points. I like the fiction vs truth style of this post. Its also a question of pride.They may be maxed out but they don't want to say. OF course its not very hard for agents to find out how much they owe.Ashley is correct.We have to dig deeper. "do you have cash reserve?" is another bottom line question.Thanks for sharing.
Jim -- this is the best post I have read in a very long time. Of course, it may be because I agree with everything you have to say! It is important to ask the right questions and to listen. Do more listening and less talking!
Ah! Great insight and examples. Stop, look and listen.
Jim- Great topic. Without asking questions the truth may never come out and the Real Estate Professional is getting sold.
Great Post. You've hit the nail on the head!!
Jim, You certainly covered the bases and some of the "reason" are certainly so obviously false they are actually very funnu, Karen
Jim - your "must ask" questions are vital! You HAVE to ask them - it is your only insight into motivation for selling. Without the answers you may be marketing the wrong way, you won't have the seller's best interest in mind (because you won't know what it is) and it will help you with negotiations for when that offer comes in. Great post and spot on!
Jim, I agree we have to be good listeners. Sometimes we get caught up in our listing routine and forget what is really important. I do find it interesting that no matter where you are and who you talk to about listing their home, they all know their lines almost verbatim. Interesting.
Mesa, Arizona Real Estate ~ ~ ~ Teri Ellis, Broker, ABR,CRS,GRI,ePRO,MRE We all really need to know what really is taking place.
Melina Tomson, M.S. Salem Oregon Real Estate Specialist Very well said! We do that often! Sometimes not sellling is the smarter thing!
LLoyd Nichols~SW Florida Homes We must dig deeper! WE had a client years ago after Sept 11th when a lot of the DOT.BOMBS failed and he was let go overnight, with no cash reserves, a VA 100% Loan and 25K higher than anybody else in neighborhood! He had every toy imaginable, and no common sense! He was straight with us after I asked questions, and we sold him - he had to bring money to closing (4K!)
Unless we dug deeper, he wouldn't have told us!
Joan Whitebook, ABR, e-Pro, CEBA I agree! "Do more listening, and less talking!"
Celeste "Sally" Cheeseman -Hawaii Relocation, Century 21 Liberty Homes Sally, we really have to!
Mark Horan P.A. "The Resident Chef" at Keller Williams Marke I agree! There is so much more to this!
Laura Jefferson Thanks!
Karen Kruschka - One of the most experienced agents in Northern Virginia I find that humor is great wiht sellers because they're so stressed!
Leesa L. Finley, REALTOR® Right! Once we know and understand what the real motivating factor is we have a chance if the seller is willing to work with us!
Audrey June-Forshey, GRI, Gaithersburg, MD Well we must not only be good listeners, we have to know what to ask the potential seller the right questions! We must be directing the conversation!
Jim -I agree it does start with the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Probe...probe...probe..and realize often times when seller's blurt certain words out they are uncomfortable or ashamed or just don't want to share. It's best to probe and prober further until we get the answers we are looking for. It's like ping pong...question...answer...question...answer..question..answer...
Midori Miller-Daytona Beach Florida Real Estate Training I totally agree. In the end you have sold yourself, or you are walking away from someone you cannot deal with! It is the difference between a win and a loss! In hte past we have taken a listing where we disregarded our own advice...only to find we've listed a home where the seller's are in the middle of a vicious divorce! Need I say more?
Jim, great post, sometimes we have thought about selling here and moving towards Ellijay and yet when we really get down to it, it's more about the fact that during these times it's a little harder to meet the mortgage and it would be easier to sell and have something cheaper and yet everytime I think about it, I love my home and really don't want to move, plus David's business is more around here. Your sellers can be so torn when deciding what to do. My mother just moved to Ellijay and they use to live right behind us and we spent a great deal of time with them, so that would be a whole different issue. But if you don't ask you will truly never know what is going on with the person. You have to be a good investigator.
Bonnie
TheHomeInspectorsWife
Good points Jim, unfortunately sometimes we need to read between the lines.
Good points. It's tough because many sellers are just up against it right now and try to waltz around the fact that they made a decision that's going to result in the loss of their home. At least in SoCal right now with our 40% drop in value NOBODY is selling because they want to.
Atlanta's Home Inspector David Lelak - IHI Home Inspections We may be good in real estate but we are not psychic! Sometimes asking a question just confirms in your mind what you already suspect.
Joey Remondino Broker, GRI, E-Pro Exactly! Sometimes we need to prod a little to find the real path!
Gene Wunderlich - Selling Southwest California Homes / Murrieta & Temecula I agree. In the Atlanta area I always tell my buyers teh Fall is a great time to buy a home! If they ask why I tell them! No one wants to sell a home between Thanksgiving and New Years Day! Only serious sellers have their homes up for sale then!
Great post Jim. Resale offers do not come in at the rate of just a few years ago. Asking the hard questions these days are important.
Keith & Robin Perry - REALTOR® -West Metro Atlanta This is similar to the early 90's when we used to work the expired listings. You have to ask a load of questions to find the real answers.