Baffling Agents
Posted Oct 24, 2008 @ 8:53 am, Viewed by 431 Visitors, Read 439 Times.
You don't normally see this side of me on my blog, but I'm going to get it out of my system and get on with selling real estate.
Sometimes the actions of some other agents in this market baffle me.
Recently I've been working with a great out-of-town buyer looking for a home with a starting price of $1,000,000. Every time I browse the MLS for this price bracket, I'm floored by the lack of professionalism that many agents are showing when they try to sell these beautiful houses. I can't believe how many listings I've gone through that don't have any pictures! Or how many don't bother to spend money on a virtual tour! A multi-million dollar home and you can't put together a virtual tour? Even worse are agents who don't even put any remarks, or if they do it's two sentences of information that doesn't really say anything. I'm sure many of these properties are great homes but I skip them completely because my buyer only wants to see homes with photos and virtual tours.
I just can't imagine what these sellers would think if they realized the complete lack of effort that their agents are putting in for their $30,000+ commission check. When the listing expires and another agent comes along and shows them the job their first agent did, they're going to be shocked and, I imagine, pretty angry.
If you're selling your home, please take some time to understand exactly how your agent plans to market your house and what they will do to earn their commission. Also, make sure to review all MLS sheets for accuracy. With home prices going down every month, the last thing you want to do is spend a few wasted months with a lazy agent.
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My name is Lee Cameron. I have lived in the Orlando area for the last 36 years and have been selling real estate for 14 years. Read More
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Those agents you refer to may be dazzling their listers by purchasjing expensive print advertising. Many times it is the older more established agents that have worked their way into the higher end market over the years. Unfortunately, while these agents have great paper advertising that they are willing to pay mega bucks for, they are missing out on the best option for their client and the most cost effective for themselves. And that would be doing exactly as you say - more pictures in the MLS equals more pictures to entice buyers when they are in the company of a buyer agent searching the MLS and also more pictures in the IDX of every agent in the market. Blogging and social networking can get the message out in even more directions.
The old way equals large expenditures and a very time limited benefit. The new ways equal instantaneous exposure, potential to build excitement, and the ability to attract potential buyers that would never see the printed ads or postcard campaigns.
A good friend of mine is owner/agent selling his own lake house. List price $1,800,000! He called and wanted help getting internet exposure. Guess what? In the MLS he had 3 pictures of the exterior of the house and nothing more. No pictures of the lake view, no pictures of the boat house, no pictures of the cathedral ceilings and over the top moulding and mill work. All he needed to do was put more pictures up on the MLS to make his home more interesting to 1)agents, 2) clients viewing mls with agents, 3) buyer surfing a huge number of websites in the Atlanta metro area.
He's a great guy, and not old either. He came into business when it was their plan to buy the back or front cover of the Real Estate Book and watch the phone calls pour in for buyers and sellers. It doesn't work like that these days. Don't forget that the 3 pictures and poor descriptive text about details from these old schoolers also cause the agents that may be bringing them buyers to do a bunch of running around to find that the property was not what the buyer was looking for. Old schoolers do your clients, fellow agents, and buyers a favor - honest descriptive text and lots of pictures!