After a long drawn out short sale battle in Georgia, Olivia Futrell was able to get the job done with her hard work and perseverance. I really thought for a second that it was being held up by the investors and they might not approve the sale. I would recommend her as a referral source that communicates throughout the transaction. Please send her a congrats on a job well done.

McDonough Real Estate Market Trends: Average Sales Price

Posted on 16. Nov, 2009 by Jessica Wynn Horton in McDonough Market Trends

The average sales price in McDonough decreased to $136,453 in October 2009, compared to $172,431 a year ago, and down from $140,158 in September 2009. Through October 2009 year-to-date, the average sales price is $153,703, compared to $185,497 in 2008.

Other McDonough Real Estate Posts:

• McDonough Real Estate Market Trends: Pending Sales
• McDonough Real Estate Market Trends: Average Days on Market
• McDonough Real Estate Market Trends: Active Listings
• McDonough Real Estate Market Trends: New Listings
• McDonough Real Estate Market Trends: Sold Homes

I'll gladly share my average market time with you.

In fact, I will even take it a couple steps further: I will break it down by how many properties I've sold during each time period. I'll also provide you with my List Price to Sales Price ratio for them as well.

Now, don't go worrying about making me work too hard!

You aren't. I already have this information in a spreadsheet. I just have to cut and paste it - It will only take a few seconds...

See, I told you. We tend to keep track of this kind of thing (and a whole lot more). We're sort of like the CIA of real estate - except in our case it stands for Creating Immediate Action.

Just like my recent numbers show:

Mr. or Mrs. Home Seller:

Selling your home isn't mission: impossible. It can be done - even in this market.

While I don't really belong to the covert I.M. force - I do belong to the "I am" force. I am up to the challenge. I am a experienced agent. I am going to keep radio communication up and going. I am never going to go work under cover and be a secret agent - one you never see.

Your mission, if you decide to accept it: is to contact me and let's get your home sold!

This page will self destruct in 10 seconds. 10...9...8...you better get to clicking! :)

Real estate agents have a normal pick-up line they recite in order to handle this objection. It goes something like this: "Mr(s) Seller, will you take less from me?" I guess it's a good thing that I'm not trying to pick you up and I'm not attempting to do a "Wham! Bam! Thank you ma'am!" on you either.

Now, I apologize if that statement offends your sensibilities, but we call'em like we see'emaround here.

And that's exactly how we view those worn-out sales techniques. They're nothing but regurgitated pick-up lines that are designed to throw you off guard (Wham!), get you to pay exactly what they're asking (Bam!), and get back out the door as quickly as they possibly can (Thank you ma'am!). They've gotten what they want and now it's time to go.

Maybe they'll call you in the morning - maybe they won't.

Either way, you were taken for a ride. I can't say what I really want to say - that would most definetely offend your sensibilities, regardless of how true it really is.

That isn't how I operate.

I'm not going to try flipping the table on you. I'm not going to make you justify your question by asking you a loaded one in return. It isn't my habit to try and scare potential clients into believing that they're going to miss out on some important marketing technique if they aren't willing to pay me top dollar. Instead, I'm going to tell you exactly what I think about you asking me if I am willing to take less.

I'm a business woman.

That means everything but my soul, my marriage, my kids, my family, my honor and my ethics is negotiable. Oh yeah, my dogs also - I won't give them up either. Everything else, I'm pretty much willing to discuss and negotiate.

Let me make you this promise:

You won't ever offend my sensibilities by asking me if I will or won't take less. I'm not easily offended. So, I won't be pretending that the mere mention of such blasphemies will burn my precious, such-and-such-percent-commission-charging ears. I won't fall out of my chair and struggle to stick my fingers all the way into my eardrums as I beg you to stop uttering such horrible, horrible words.

I don't play that game.

Often, Realtors® have a reputation of being nothing more than "For Sale"-sign-wielding bloodsuckers that make their livings preying on others - I understand that. And, openly discussing commissions and whether or not they are negotiable with potential clients may be the garlic that keeps many real estate agents away - I'm not a vampire and it doesn't frighten me in the least. There isn't any need to hide commission negotiations behind a veil of dark, shadowy secrecy like some creature of the night. I prefer to cast some light on the subject and get everything out in the open - the bright, sunny open.

So, let's discuss it.

After we reach a win-win agreement, we'll sink our teeth into the job of getting your home sold. We'll work day (see, I told you I wasn't a vampire) and night to get you and your family where you need to go - when you need to be there.

Well now, that's really a good one...

I don't charge half of you half as well as I should like; and I charge less than half of you half as well as you deserve.

If you aren't a big fan of Lord of the Rings, then you probably didn't catch that. It was just another one of my attempts to avoid giving a root canal without Novocain.

However as I write this, it has dawned on me, even though my playing on J.R.R Tolkien's words were meant entirely in jest, I actually stated a not-often-talked-about, but still very true, aspect of real estate commissions: Some people don't pay nearly enough and some people pay entirely too much.

I actually have quite a lot to say about real estate commissions and how brokerages love to "spread the wealth around," but if you don't enjoy a shocking scandal whistle blower reporting and if saving money isn't important to you, then you probably don't want to read that one, or this one, or this one and most certainly not this one either.

So, let me just answer your question instead.

Until the day finally comes when I can get the rest of the slumbering-Rip-Van-Winkle real estate world to wake up and join me in the 21st century, I charge the following commission rates:

I don't charge any set commissions rates.

The thought of charging 4%, 5%, 6%, 7% or whatever percent, on every home I list - regardless of the list price or the actual sale price, and regardless of how much time and effort it takes to sell it - just isn't very appealing to me. If you stop and really think about what you're actually paying for when you agree to sell your home in this manner, it shouldn't be very appealing to you either.

No, I prefer to operate more like Priceline: You tell me how much you're willing to pay and what you expect to receive for this level of compensation, and I will tell you whether or not I can agree to your terms.
That's right, everything is negotiable.

You can haggle, dicker and horse trade with me until you're completely satisfied. And if you're really feeling spunky, we can rock- paper-scissor it, and let the winner take all!

Seriously, I don't like it when people try to stuff me into their concept of what a neat little box should look like. So, I'm not going to try and cram you into one either. I'm always willing to sit down and openly and objectively discuss what you need to accomplish and the budget you would like to stay within. Together, we can tailor-make a customized marketing and compensation plan that fits your individual needs, and at the same time allows me to realize a reasonable profit for my time and effort.

Please Note: The Bold text at the beginning will link to other articles that I've previously written, but haven't been republished on this site. We'll have them up shortly.