There are many different real estate agents in the world with varying degrees of experience. These Realtors come from different training and different backgrounds but I want to give your 2 of the stupidest pieces of advice you’ll get from Real Estate Agents. Here are the two dumbest things they will tell you:
Every Realtor has a different opinion but in my opinion, here are the two stupidest pieces of advice a Real Estate agent will give you.
1. No Escalation Clauses Allowed.
In my opinion this is really just saying, I’m too lazy to get you the most money. An escalation clause is when someone says “I’m offering $400,000 but if someone offers more I’ll beat that offer by $1,000 up to $420,000. So basically, the buyer is giving you their top amount.
Some Realtors don’t want escalation clauses because they just want you to give your highest and best offer right off the bat. People don’t want to over pay so they are hesitant to go with their highest unless they have to.
The right way to handle an escalation clause is to go back to the buyer with a counter offer and get a clean showing of the purchase price. This is a little more work than just signing the original offer so that is why some agents will tell you not to except these clauses but in my opinion it is not in the sellers best interest.
2. Pricing Your Home on the Nines
This is also a big mistake that real estate agents make. Let’s say you look at the comparable sales and come up with a price around $450,000. Some agents will tell you to price it at $449,900. I think this is a huge mistake. Everybody knows that is $450,000. Nobody is fooled by the $100 off. That is how Wal-Mart sells dish soap, that is not how you sell a house. People start their home search online and will put in a range of $400,000 to $450,000 or $450,000 to $500,000. The person putting in $450,000 to $500,000 won’t see your house.
More people will see the house if you are prices on the $100,000s or $50,000. In fact, research shows that homes priced on the 50 or 100s get 18% more showings than other homes.
Don’t make these dumb mistakes. If you want to get the most money for selling your home reach out to me with your real estate questions.
*Andy Hawbaker is a licensed agent with 8z Real Estate in Windsor, CO
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