listing agent

“Customized” Buyer Feedback Forms

by Ross Kaplan on April 26, 2012

Generic Answer:  ‘It’s None of Your Business!’

First, a confession:  when I’m swamped — as I am now — promptly turning around listing agents’ “showing feedback forms” is not my highest priority.

Taking care of clients is.

That said, “customized” feedback forms which pose open-ended questions – and lots of them — certainly don’t help matters (the standard format is multiple choice, or ranking a home’s various attributes from 1 – 5).

Questions such as:

“What aspects of this property worked for your Buyer?”

“What aspects of this property did not work for your Buyer?”

“How does this property compare to other, similar properties?”

“What is your Buyer’s timeline for a purchase?”

What, no question about price??

I can certainly understand why listing agents (and their clients) would like all that info.

I just don’t see why it’s my job — in my capacity as a Buyer’s agent — to provide it.

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“Do You Have That in a Bigger Size? Different Color?”

by Ross Kaplan on March 29, 2012

Working With Buyer Objections (Or Not)

One of the things that happens when you list a home is that you find out all the reasons it doesn’t work for a given Buyer.

So, the home’s too . . . big/small/expensive/cheap/dated/updated, etc.

When that’s the case, a good Realtor — with extensive local market knowledge — will frequently either know of something else on the market that’s a better fit, or, may have an upcoming listing that is.

Happens to me all the time . . .

See also, “Proper (and Improper) Purposes of Realtor Previews.”

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Phil Dunphy’s “Modern Family” Rival: “She Lied. She Cheated. She Won.”

by Ross Kaplan on March 15, 2012

Who’s the “she?”

Phi Dunphy arch-rival Realtor Mitzi Roth, played by a very believable Ellen Barkin.

In this week’s episode, “Send Out the Clowns,” Mitzi outmanuevers Phil for a choice listing by showing up at the Seller’s home at the same time as Phil’s listing appointment, then weaseling her way in by claiming she has a Buyer.

On the way into the Seller’s home, Mitzi fakes a fall into the bushes, blaming Phil’s “anger management” issues.

She gets the listing.

Act 2:  with help from his son, Luke, Phil resolves to bust Mitzi by showing up at her office, confronting her, and recording their talk on Luke’s spy pen for the “benefit” of the new clients.

Except that Mitzi sees that coming and wrests the pen from Phil.

What is Phil’s Plan C?

Does Mitzi keep the listing?

You’ll have to watch for yourself!

P.S.:  This show is just too attuned to real estate not to have a ringer on — or close to someone on – its writing staff.

Best guess: one of the writers has a Mom/best friend/in-law who is a Realtor.

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Listing Agent Refrain: ‘Put it in Writing’

by Ross Kaplan on March 10, 2012

Permission to Lowball . . . Denied

As a listing agent (representing Sellers), I sure seem to be parrying a lot more of what I’ll call “verbal probing” these days.

The gist of all the questions being lobbed by Buyers’ agents:  “would the Seller consider an offer significantly below the current asking price?”

Thrust — and Parry

As experienced agents know, the only appropriate response to such a question is, “please put it in writing, and I’ll do my best to get a serious, prompt response.”

That’s because verbal agreements aren’t binding, and signalling that your client will in fact accept a discount from the list price virtually ensures that any written offer will come in  . . . even lower.  

Hence, rule of negotiation #1:  never give away anything for free.

Three Theories

Which still begs the question, why are so many Buyers’ agents wasting listing agents’ time engaging this way?

I have three theories:

One.  More inexperienced agents. 

“Newbie” Realtors still think that verbal probing is effective.

And I suppose if the listing agent happens to be a newbie, too . . .  they may even be right!

Two.  Buyer’s market.

By now, most Buyers have been conditioned that it’s a Buyer’s market, where they call the shots.

Except that in many Twin Cities neighborhoods these days, that’s no longer true, thanks to tightening inventory, a firming economy, and rock-bottom interest rates.

Bottom line:  many Buyers are “singing from the wrong hymn sheet,” as they used to say.

Three.  Overpriced listings.

Which isn’t to say that there aren’t overpriced listings out there.

In fact, the Twin Cities housing market this Spring is as sloppy as I’ve ever seen it:  lots of stale, (still) overpriced homes, mixed together with well-priced, well-marketed homes destined to sell quickly (note:  of course, none of my listings meet the former profile). 

If a home is dramatically overpriced, an offer substantially below the list price isn’t a lowball.

However, it may still offend the (unrealistic) Seller.

So, the Buyer’s agent engages in verbal probing, futile as it may be.

P.S.:  In my experience, it’s best to waive Buyers off of obviously overpriced homes.

When a Seller is truly ready to sell, it’s usually pretty apparent.

And engaging with them prior to that point is simply a recipe for frustration and wasted time.

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One More on Multiple Offers . . .

March 9, 2012

What Should the Runners-Up Agents Say to the Listing Agent? Assuming that the listing agent (representing the Seller) conducted multiple offers openly, fairly, was communicative throughout, etc. — vs. selling the home to their own Buyer* at midnight for $20k less than the highest offer — what is appropriate for the runners-up agents to say [...]

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Realtor Interview Question #7: “How Many Other Clients Do You Have?”

February 23, 2012

Translation:  ‘Are You Too Busy For Me?’ One of the questions that often comes up in a listing presentation — basically, a Realtor job interview – is some variation of, “how many other clients do you have right now?” The subtext — at least for a veteran agent — is, “do you have time for me?” [...]

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“Please Keep Me in the Loop” (and Other Dumb Things Buyers’ Agents Say)

February 15, 2012

“Powell Doctrine” vs. “Kaplan Doctrine” Military action should be used only as a last resort.  However, when it is used, it should be overwhelming and disproportionate to the force used by the enemy. –Powell Doctrine (my paraphrase) Buyers who have serious interest in a home should stay off the listing agent’s radar until such time [...]

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Political — and Real Estate — Incumbents

January 23, 2012

Politics isn’t the only field that has incumbents and challengers. Real estate does, too. The “incumbent Realtor” is the Realtor who helped the now-selling homeowner buy the home, however many years back; the challengers are all the other Realtors vying for the listing. Average Realtor “Career”:  < 2 Years I’d guesstimate that something like one-third of [...]

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