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Setting the Bar (Way) Too High

One of my favorite Op-Ed page cartoons shows an unconscious patient being operated on by a team of doctors.

Suddenly, there’s a spike in the patient’s vital signs, whereupon he bolts upright, and loudly announces to the laboring surgeons:  “You should know that I’m the most successful personal injury lawyer in town.  If you screw up, I’ll have all your licenses — and your houses, too!”

Then, he lies back down.

The last panel of the cartoon shows a light bulb simultaneously going off in the heads of the doctors . . . whereupon the patient’s vital signs suddenly go flat.

Home Seller Hubris (make that, “Would-be Home Seller Hubris”)

What recalled all that was a would-be Minnetonka home seller I encountered the other week.

In the course of a two-hour meeting to discuss listing their home, the prospective client announced that they wanted to list for more than 25% over my recommended price range; “didn’t believe” in staging — or any other prep, for that matter — and therefore wouldn’t be doing any; and informed me that they wouldn’t sign any piece of paper, at any point in the process, unless/until it had been reviewed by their estate attorney, financial planner, and out-of-state lawyer son.

Seriously.

What did I do?

I, um . . . decided to pull the plug.

P.S.:  In Realtors’ parlance, the foregoing attitude/behavior is known as lack of cooperation/motivation.

See also, “The Serenity Prayer ” Realtor’s Version“; “Perils of Overpricing Even (Especially) in a Rising Market”; “Perils of Overpricing“; and “If I Can’t Be Your First Realtor . . . Maybe I Can Be Your Last.

About the author

Ross Kaplan has 19+ years experience selling real estate all over the Twin Cities. He is also a 12-time consecutive "Super Real Estate Agent," as determined by Mpls. - St. Paul Magazine and Twin Cities Business Magazine. Prior to becoming a Realtor, Ross was an attorney (corporate law), CPA, and entrepreneur. He holds an economics degree from Stanford.

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