Don Cook

Seems like a simple process; get a listing sold and create a happy seller!

My experience has shown that sellers and agents often have very different definitions of success. While I may market the bejeebers out of a house and work hard on the negotiations with a sale as the result, my seller may not agree that we "won the war" by getting to the closing table. They may even think that I took too long to sell and pressured them to take too little for their home. The reason for the gulf between our thought processes is a matter of expectations.

To set a standard of expectations, I now incorporate a few criteria that we can both agree to as a sign of success. For instance:

1. Time on market. I show my seller the average days on market for similar properties and gain agreement that a sale within 10% of the upper end of the time would be considered acceptable and produce the result they want. (condition of the property can affect this number)
2. Settlement price. Using the same logic, I ask the seller to agree that the final price will be acceptable if it is within 1% of the average list to sale ratio found in the seller's market.(again adjusted if needed by the characteristics of the property)
3. Marketing. If I can arrange to have __ buyers see the home within the first __ days, I will be successful in advertising the property. (fill in the blanks with numbers applicable to your market)
4. Communication. Every __ at __ AM/PM, we will visit via phone and discuss the progress. (more fill in the blanks!)

This puts pressure on me to do my job (as though making a living weren't pressure enough) and asks the seller to agree up front on what success actually is. Each listing has different criteria because each home and seller are different.

Obviously, there are caveats to each of these. If the DOM is skewed because of anomolies one way or the other, the time frame is adjusted. Same with the pricing. Also, the comps used for the analysis must be very similar to the subject and not just for the general area. Your criteria will likely be different from mine and I understand that your area and customer base will require tweaking to my method.

All of this assumes that I have done my homework pricing the home and helping to get it ready for the market. It also assumes that my seller is cooperating with me through the process and we communicate as agreed.

Once completed, the sale either creates a raving fan because I performed beyond expectations or it just creates a commission. Money is good, but money and referrals are far better.

I know everyone is in a tizzy about the current crisis with Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae and I'm not so sure about the short term future of the market. However, most of us in real estate are in this for the long haul and we have to be pragmatic about what's happening.

For the last 40 years I've been in or around the housing industry and my livelihood has been directly related to its ups and downs. This is a definite down and it may even go farther, but it will eventually turn and go up.

Our best advice to prospective buyers and sellers is to tell them to accept the fact that real estate over time has been a good place to park money. Short term owners rarely make big money, but long term holders of real estate usually come out just fine.

Personally, I don't work with the "seminar investors" out there. These are the fix and flip wannabees that have seen a couple of TV programs, attended a 1 or 2 day seminar, or read a book on how to make ziggillions in real estate. Most have absolutely no idea of what to do and I have no time or inclination to partner with them.

Honest to goodness buyers who want to find a good place for the families to live are still out there and if they have sufficient credit and income there is money available to help them. On the other side, there are plenty of sellers who are ready and willing to help their agent prepare their home for sale and can price it to reflect the market reality.

There is a real need for agents of good character to help with short sales, foreclosures and other distressed properties, but I wonder if this is the best place to spend our time. No judgment here, just curious about where to spend my limited time.