Richard Harbin

I am often asked by people or quoted to from people that the 3 most important words in real estate are location, location, location. While this is definitely a key ingredient in the selling pie Im going to propose something else that carries more weight.

Living in East TN and the Smoky Mountains when you say LOCATION, this can mean desireable locations anywhere from Downtown Knoxville lofts to Lakefront Property to Mountain Chalet living.

While all three have the desirable LOCATION part, there are two of these that have a handicap.

The Lakefront property and the Mountain Chalet both are handicapped by the amount of EXPOSURE they can get due to their LOCATION. The Vol Navy(UT football fans who drive our boats to the waterfront stadium) and black bears are about the only creatures who see these homes or lots.

Therefore I put forth that the three most important words for SELLING real estate are..

EXPOSURE, EXPOSURE, EXPOSURE!

Anyone who has been in sales can tell you that it is a numbers game. The more people that see your home the better the chance of getting that all hallowed CONTRACT!

So even if your home/listing isn't in the greatest location you might have an advantage over someone in the same price range as you in a desirable location who doesn't have that all important thing when selling........ EXPOSURE, EXPOSURE, EXPOSURE.

So when choosing an agency(to work for) or a realtor(to represent you) make sure it is one that understands the importance of this.

When it came time to pick an agency to work for I knew it was 1 of 3 companies. All 3 are national companies who are great, but I went with Century21 for reasons including these 3......

1) My Broker

2)Market Share

3)EXPOSURE, EXPOSURE, EXPOSURE!

I am excited about a long awaited closing happening today! I actually called my buyer after previewing the home and told her that I found the one! She agreed! Tip for my fellow Realtors - if you arent previewing the homes you take your buyers to, you should start. 2 reasons - You can see 10 homes by yourself in the same time it takes to see 5 with a client, and you are informed and familiar with the property plus its easier to talk to neighbors(pass out that bus. card) which makes you a better informed agent!

So 1 thing I have noticed in shifting my target demo from Fine Homes and Estate to foreclosures is that the banks do not have a clear understanding of what an expired offer means! TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE! This means if you do not accept or counter by stated time the contract is no longer valid! HELLO!

I have started having my sellers sign a second and third final sheet of contract with extended dates. I then check with buyer before current contract expires and resend to keep it valid.

You might ask - Why not just take the date out 6 wks instead of doing it in three 2 week increments.

This is pretty simple. The buyer might find something else they like in the meantime and want to put an offer on that. This way if the bank doesn't respond in time, we have other options.

All of this could be avoided however, if the banks would learn that TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE!

I wonder how many invalid contracts there are out there right now which are proceeding to closing.

Not just once but 3X! Different agencies sometimes! Never Century21 but I digress!

If I was a seller and was calling IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DAY and geting a machine I would PULL my LISTING!

Even the agents went to voicemail.

Very SLoppY InDeed!