One Chance For A First Impression

Sellers: Assuming you have priced your property with your head, not your heart - "Image is Everything"

I had some serious buyers here in Palm Coast this week. They had sold their home in Massachusetts and had cash in hand. They took a big hit on their sale and were looking for a bargain on this end. They had done a lot of homework on the Internet and had really appreciated the website we gave them to do their searching: www.frankzedar.remax-florida.com. I'll put in a shameless plug here. When it comes to national websites, www.REMAX.com blows them all away. (A recent comparison showed that the RE/MAX sites were more productive than the sites of Century 21, Coldwell Banker, and Watson... combined!) I can only guess that comes from the brand recognition and national advertising campaign, where RE/MAX spends more than all the major brands combined - where it counts - on national prime time TV. That big red, white, and blue RE/MAX hot air balloon is powerful stuff.

• We did a more focused search when they got here and we found a whopping 80% of what fit their criteria was up for "short sale." (That % includes all the ridiculous efforts on agent's parts to "hide" the fact that it's a short sale property). Come on - it is what it is. Short sales are fine for investor buyers... or for those who have time on their hands, but these folks were living in a motel and needed a quick sale.
• Here was a great question they asked (pay attention, sellers): "Why are prices all over the board for basically the same type house?" (3 or 4 Bedrooms, 2 car garage, 1600-1900 sq. ft., built since 2002, no pool, no water frontage, shingle roof, no gated community... you know - just a nice, average smaller home in a nice Palm Coast area). "What does it mean to see a range of between $135,000 - $299,000 for very similar homes?" What I told them is this: There are really two MLS's... One is where sellers are living in a mid-2005 fantasy land, where they say things like, "We don't want to give our house away" and "If it's meant to be, it will happen" and "If you'd just run more ads, people would buy it" and "There's a buyer for every home" and "Our house is better than the rest because......" The other MLS is where the realists live - the ones who understand the market and have let reason replace their anger. (This MLS, by the way, is the one where homes actually sell).
• OK, so we get out there to look. Wow... Wow... And "wow" again. Every lawn needed to be cut. All the bushes needed trimming. Every bed needed weeding and mulching. Every palm tree needed the dead, brown fronds cut. Every carpet needed shampooing. And how do you effectively show a home with no lights? And sellers ("Bank owned" property included), is it really cost-effective to leave the A/C off in Florida, so mold and mildew can have a field day?
• Bottom line for today's Blog? As agents, we have a responsibility to our sellers. It's called "brutal honesty." If they really need to sell, tell them where to price it and how to present it to the buyer. Sellers are in shock and are looking for strong, experienced, confident agents to take them by the hand and lead them through this mess. If they don't need to sell, advise them to get off the market and wait a year or two.