As the recent economic woes become a distant memory, and consumer confidence rebounds, the buzz about business is doing it online. While selling and buying a house is done in real time by real people, with real documents, cyber selling is making inroads, while still resorting to real things like the rest in the industry. With all that the web promises, the agent’s practical know-how, and active involvement is a must. Thus, “I Sell Real Estate” isn’t just a sort of announcement of our work, rather a testament to how it’s done. To that end, this is how I do it.
Most home buyers learn the breadth of what’s involved weeks or months before they buy. This, regrettably, doesn’t leave much room for a good agent to fully immerse a would-be buyer in the nuances, without appearing to be the harbinger of bad news. No one likes hearing that there are hurdles to overcome, they just want the house.
Waning inventory and fierce competition imposes advance preparation, a once common practice in the industry that went by the wayside in days past when all you needed was a good credit score, a job history and sufficient income; verifiable or “stated,” to buy. That practice resulted in the pendulum swinging in the opposite direction, making it doubly hard to get a decent home loan easily.
But, lest I digress, let’s continue. Traditionally an agent finds a buyer for a house for sale, and what follows evolves behind the scenes. Social media and other such cyber strategies are notably absent at this stage, not because they aren’t important, but because they are perfunctory to the topic at hand.
Find a willing seller…
This part of our job is a constant, be on the lookout for opportunities where you find homeowners that need to sell. Who might that be? Anyone with a reason, e.g,
- can’t afford the house anymore
- about to go into foreclosure
- looking to leave an area to go elsewhere
- outgrown their present home
- needs something smaller
- inheritance and needs to liquidate
- rental property tired of land lording
- investor looking for greater returns
- a condo owner who now wants a house, etc…
As you can see, there are numerous possibilities, and securing inventory is just as important as getting the qualified buyer.
Following this, you proceed to attract a likely buyer by marketing and exposing the house to a large enough pool through various media, e.g., internet, newsletters, homes magazines, fliers, mailers, signs, open houses, word of mouth, and so on. The object here is to expose the house to enough people to interest them to come and see it, and ultimately to buy it.
Creative agents have used strategies to entice people by “staging” a house – making it look like a model, and while this is an excellent strategy, it isn’t without its logistics and added costs. Others advise to do cosmetic improvements, where possible, to present the house in its best possible condition. Another common practice is to under price to create an over demand, and thus, multiple, and higher than asking price offers.
Having secured an interested buyer, (remember, the majority of sales takes place with cooperating agents, where one agency represents the seller, and the other, the buyer), you proceed to negotiate price, terms and conditions, and reduce this to writing (another contract).
If you’ve gone through this experience before, the process is second nature. If not, you’ve got to make sure to literally dot all the “i’s” and cross all the “t’s”. Remember to understand what each party seeks in the agreement, besides buying or selling the house. Who will be responsible for inspections? Who will pay for damages, if found? What will the terms of the financing be? When will things come to a close (time)? What happens if there are disagreements? When do you expect to have all things completed and the process come to a successful close? When will possession be delivered? What happens if the dates are not kept? What should a seller expect? What should a buyer prepare for, and so on.
There are many “contingencies,” but the best you can do, is a thorough job of understanding each party and their respective wants and needs. Consider everything, from the sublime to the ridiculous, especially if either party is a neophyte – these require that you educate them along the way – a little challenging even for the most seasoned professional. You are not a mind reader, so don’t pretend to know what someone is thinking. Ask many questions, and take copious notes about what is being discussed – this will save you heartaches, and aggravation later on.
Once an understanding is reached, remember nothing is cast in stone. However, the less you have to go back to “fix,” the better. A sale takes place on paper only after you’ve understood and reduced the understanding to writing, and, can outline the same (conditions of the proposal/offer, which will be the contract upon “ratification”), to the respective party.
The agreement is the basis for what follows, and while the ultimate goal is to complete the process and deliver a check to the seller, and the keys to the buyer, (and get paid, of course!), if it were that simple, these parties wouldn’t need you (your services). All contracts have certain essential elements:
- Meeting of the minds
- Legally binding
- Consideration
- Lawful
- Capacity to contract
- Consent
And all “standard” agreements used by the practitioner, leave little room to digress from these standards. Structured into all contracts is the element of time… “time is of the essence,” which means that you have to exercise due diligence in securing and completing all the necessary contingencies (a condition to be met for the agreement to be completed, e.g., inspections, review of disclosures, securing financing, etc.).
If all marches along without incident, then you reach a conclusion, as agreed, and you complete your role as the intermediary/agent. However, there are many variable and other services providers to deal with, e.g., the title/escrow; the lender; the appraiser; the inspectors; etc. Your agreement should allow for sufficient time and outline the possible expectancies of these “contingencies”.
In all, if you’ve done your job correctly, you will have addressed as many of the variables as possible, and where there are discrepancies or changes, you’ll manage these via addendum or separate codicils. Remember, agents are not attorneys, or accountants, so don’t pretend to be one and start throwing darts at a topic you don’t understand or know. Your job is to sell real estate, and to that end, this outline gives you a glimpse of how to do that.
I Sell Real Estate
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