Here is the second part of Stefano Petri’s article. The GE CEO is offering to our readers some “advices” for the selling of their prestigious property: why choosing a My Agent contract (click here to read the first part of the article).
As already said, every vendor, while thinking to sell his/her property, ask him/herself different questions. Previously, I have analysed the doubts and their implications relating to the possibility of selling a property by your own. Now, let’s talk about the second point:
2. GIVING A “NON-EXCLUSIVE” ASSIGNMENT FOR SALE TO DIFFERENT REAL ESTATE AGENCIES IN ORDER TO HAVE MORE POSSIBILITIES TO SELL.
Whoever takes this decision should immediately stop to think about this idea as an easy and valid way out. Giving the assignment for sale to different agencies generates numerous relations-management problems: the buyers’ market, indeed, seeing a home advertised by different agencies and often through the same channels, convinces itself that the seller has to sell necessarily and quickly.
A very few agencies will answer you when contacting them to receive some information about your sale progress, and no one will give you a real consultancy. It is also true that you are pretending to receive a consultancy from different organizations and professionals, even if you are the first who does not trust them: how can you pretend to obtain the best from the others if you are giving them nothing to return? Substantially, you are like them: who will come first and if he/she is the best will be able to sell my property!
Good, well done.. do you know how many times we, as real estate agents, have heard that? So, do you know what we do? We enter your property at the bottom of the list of the properties to advertise and, proposing it as our “last resort”, we work on your home when we have already sold all the others.
So, are you sure about this solution? Could it be true, instead, that, in this way, the interest on your property may decrease?
The answer is clear: you are the first asking for a non-consultancy through a “spot” commitment, so this will bring to a selling off of your property.
Why am I talking about a property selling off?
- Property for sale promoted by different agencies and at different requested prices: the problem
At the beginning of the selling process, you will communicate the same price to everyone but then, during the following months, two situations may occur. The first is that one of the agencies decides, without consulting you, to decrease your requested price and that, by seeing this price reduction, the other agencies will phone you to ask for explanations. From here, phone calls, explanations requests, threats about a possible assignment for sale annulment, excuses like “because there were a system error” “tam-tam” starts.
Meanwhile, the buyer will see your property at different selling prices.. the consequence? Your property will have lost its credibility on the market, the same credibility you had already lost by advertising it through different structures.
Now you are probably thinking:
“it is not possible.. an agency would never change the requested price of my property without my authorization”
I am really sorry to inform you that, unfortunately, this is the normality. Systematically, many agencies put in place this marketing behaviour which we, Great Estate professionals, do not share and, instead, consider deeply disrespectful both towards the owner and market. However, there are thousands of similar situations. In any case, even if wanting to exclude a fraud hypothesis, it may happen that, a few months later, one of the agents owing your assignment for sale may be able to convince you to modify the requested price and.. what will you do? Will you remember to phone at every agency advertising your home?
In 50% of cases you will not do it while, in the other 50%, not all the agencies will modify the requested price on all the advertisement channels used for your property, coming back so to the before mentioned problem.
The consequence:
In the eyes of the buyers’ market, your property will be seriously compromised. Because of the many alert tools offered by the different portals, this market is extremely focused on this kind of things.
- The managing of a property assignment for sale given to different agencies: the consequence
The potential buyer starts asking him/herself why this managing decision of the property. He/she will often compare or even contact every agency: everyone will give him/her different news about it.
Who should that client believe? Surely, he/she will be suspicious and start to think about the possible problems of the property by asking him/herself:
“why is it advertised by different agencies?”
“if with all this visibility no one is purchasing it, maybe it is true that this property has some problems”
“Is the requested price out of the market? Is there something going on?
This not-so-clear behaviour will make you look bad in the eyes of a potential buyer and, even if the property would have been the right one for him/her, he/she will not do an appropriate offer compared to the one you imagined. His/her approach will be “suspicious” and not “exclusive”.
In the same time, what will the other agencies do?
A little, a very little: indeed, being them not sure about the sale of this property, in 90% of cases they will not invest any time or energy on it. Moreover, it is highly probable that, if a buyer will do an offer, they will not motivate him/her to do a best one but.. just an offer. This is to start the negotiation before the other agencies and being so able to sell a property in which, even if not having done so much, they have invested time and energies.
Summing it up:
A suspicious client, agencies that want to sell as soon as possible, a non-exclusive and low-profile property exposure. If you think that putting different agencies in competition may allow you to shorten the selling time, you are doing a great damage to your free time and your wallet.
This unhealthy competition will decrease your property price because, in order to sell it as soon as possible, the agencies will try to “grasp” every offer and convince you that t is the best choice to make.
In this false competition among real estate agencies, the only CERTAINCY is that YOU ARE THE ONLY ONE WHO IS REALLY LOSING, THE OWNER OF THE PROPERTY TO BE SOLD!
3. IDENTIFYING THE RIGHT SOLUTION FOR YOUR PROPERTY AND ENTRUSTING YOURSELF TO A SPECIALIST OF THE SECTOR BY GIVING HIM/HER AN EXCLUSIVE ASSIGMENT FOR SALE.
By giving you different elements to take the best decision regarding the sale of you property, I have explained you the general situation very well. For this reason, I suggest you to create an “healthy competition” among two/three agencies which you consider proper for the commercialization of your home.
For this purpose, you should analyse:
- The brand and/or agency history. An agency which, during the years, has been achieving great results is statistically more probable that will continue doing the same in the future too. (look here at the Great Estate successes)
- The service offered. Today, a consolidated and performing working methodology is very important for an agency. Ask about the promotion activities, market analysis and property redemptions which may be used for your home.
- The agency structure. Today, an agency composed of less than 5-6 professionals will hardly be able to give you a real consultancy. This is because skills have to be every day more specific, while time is always more imitated.
- The MLS – the collaboration with other agencies – typology used by the agency. By entrusting yourself to a unique professional enjoying of some innovative collaboration systems, you will be able to obtain the best consultancy, have a unique referring point and the possibility to rely on many agencies proposing your property. Remember that owing the right advertisement and proposing your home at the right clients is the only important thing for you.
Last, but not least, suggestion.
A proverb says: “penny wise and pound foolish”.
Identifying, through a right fee, your agent’s or agency skills will allow you to motivate the professional or the organization to invest on your home at their best: remember that, often, in view of a 1-2% more in a “intermediation investment”, some 15-20% higher goals including a concrete profit of 13-18% can be reached. So.. “penny wise and pound foolish”.
Entrust yourself to those that you consider the best professionals and agency for you. Start a mutual trust and consultancy relationship with them and, together, propose your property in an exclusive way in order to reach the best goal possible. You can do it through a “My Agent” contract: the innovative assignment for sale of Great Estate.
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