HELPFUL HINTS

·        Let the agent price the home:  Do NOT tell the agent what you think the home is worth.  There is a training seminar that teaches agents to price the house at whatever the seller want and lower the price every 10 days.  This is not honest.  If you can not trust your agent at the beginning of the process how can you trust them to advise you on an offer?

Hint: In smaller of low turnover communities where prices may be suppressed, an agent may look to other communities in the area with similar homes for price comparison.

·        Do not sell a model: Some agents want your home to show like a model.  The reason for this is the lack of confidence by the agent in there marketing ability.  A home MUST be presentable and should be in a well maintained condition.  However there is no need to spend $10,000 in improvements without a realized gain.  Offer allowances!!  This not only mitigates the objection but it gives the buyer an opportunity to select colors and materials suitable to them or allows them the ability to use the allowance as a closing credit thus saving you the money.

Hint: If they want a new house then they should buy a new house.  The reality is new homes cost much more than resale.

Hint: 2/10 warranty offers a mitigating factor to objections based on age and/or condition.

·        Do not buy a pig in a poke: When an agent fails to leave you information, such as listing, marketing plan etc… this is usually a sign of that they do not want you to read the documents too closely.  Without you having everything the agent has, you are at their mercy.  The agent should ALWAYS provide you and encourage you to review all documents that you are about to sign with sufficient time for review and questions.

Sample marketing materials should be left with you and a commitment on behalf of the agent to provide the same for your home.  Look for quality!!  Commit the agent to a time frame of materials and events.  Write into the listing that the attached (and attach it) marketing plan will be performed to.  If they do not want to do it, then you have the wrong agent.

·        Compensation: Watch out for hidden fees, administration fees and transaction fees.  These fees are usually a way to get you to pay for regulatory tasks on behalf of the broker.  They are also a sign the broker/agent is financially strapped or encumbered by overhead (to many employees).  Pick lean and mean!!  This will give you the best chance to reduce your costs.

      Benefits of franchise:  Franchises offers reduced management structures and therefore offers you a chance to reduce your cost.  The lack of various layers of management reduces overhead significantly.  Franchises also offer the widest range of brand name marketing and exposure to your property.  http://www.remax.com

     Technology: Also offer you the ability to reduce your commission.  An agent who employs automated processing and   marketing plan does more work in less labor hours thus reducing the cost of sales.  In a typical office an agent will fill out a case sheet for the listing and turn it in for processing.  An administrator will then data entry the information while the agent enters it into the MLS.  The result of this is a duplication of effort by the agent and the administrator      which in turn increases cost.   

    Where as an agent who automates processing simply uploads the information and the data entry part is eliminated.  The actual time to upload the required information is a small fraction of the time it would take the agent to fill out the case sheet thus saving a lot of time, money and labor.  This offers you the best opportunity to negotiate your fees and commissions.  The agent’s ability to automate routine tasks saves you money!!  The ultimate question you need to ask yourself is; why should I pay for inefficiency? 

REMEMBER, YOU ARE THE CLIENT!!  THE AGENT MUST EARN YOUR TRUST AND DEMONSTRATE THEIR ABILITY!!