Realtor Roulette…
the most expensive game in town and how to avoid
playing it!
by
Bruce Jay, B.A., CRS, GRI
bruce jay
associates
Realtor Roulette…like all games of
chance, can be costly.
This game involves what is, most likely, your greatest
financial asset: the equity in your home. When you sell your home, you
put the stakes – that equity – into the hands of a licensed
Realtor. The Realtor
agrees to sell your home to your best financial advantage within a
definite prescribed length of
time.
If the Realtor you choose is without
the highest qualifications of the profession, he or she, for
numerous reasons may fail to sell your home within the time
allowed. At this stage
of the game, you have lost valuable time and time is money. Disappointed, you spin the
‘Realtor wheel’ again, hoping for better service and better
luck.
This time, another Realtor may affect
your sale. But the job
is more difficult. By
now, your property is no longer ‘fresh.’ Its exposure on the market
may have raised questions as to its value by prospective
buyers. Obviously, you
are at a definite disadvantage but the game can go on…and on. Each time you play until
your home is sold, you lose.
Bruce Jay Associates aims to help you
avoid playing Realtor Roulette. Guidelines are presented
that can help you choose a professional Realtor who can sell your
property at Top Dollar the first time around. With this knowledge, you
should never have to play Realtor Roulette. For it is a game in which
nobody wins.
Q. What
are a Realtor’s obligations to
you?
A. The
Realtor you choose to sell your property is obligated to work on
your behalf not only to locate the most qualified buyer but also to
avoid
innumerable problems and obstacles
that can arise in negotiation and
sale.
Obviously, your Realtor should be
expert and experienced in drawing up legal, binding contracts which
protect your financial interest. Equally important, the
Realtor should be adept at keeping your buyer eager and confident
that he or she is getting satisfactory value for the purchase
money. Nearly all
buyers are torn between desire and apprehension at making such a
major financial commitment.
A good Realtor understands this dilemma and constantly builds
the buyer’s assurance.
Your Realtor must be experienced in
handling scores of other critical details. Getting the most favorable
loan commitment, handling inspections and attending to long lists of
other requirements, major and minor that are obligations which must
receive acute attention.
The very best Realtors accomplish this quietly,
conscientiously and unobtrusively. A professional avoids making
ripples, let alone waves.
If the job is done well, your experience in selling should be
enjoyable as well as rewarding.
Rule #1:
Hiring a professional, experienced Realtor is your best
defense against getting into the costly game of Realtor
Roulette.
Q. Who
is the best Realtor in my home’s
territory?
A. Quite
simply, the best Realtor you can hire to sell your property is the
Realtor who specializes in home sales in your general
locale.
Recently, many Realtors have become
large multi-office conglomerates, or merely franchise owners of a
particular real estate office.
They work on a city-wide or state-wide basis. Only a few have in-depth
knowledge of a single area.
These Realtors, while professionally qualified in many ways,
lack the extremely important understanding of characteristics which
are unique to a particular area.
For instance: the area sometimes referred
to as ‘The Golden Quadrangle’ runs between Beverly Hills and the Los
Feliz District, including the Hollywood Hills and the South
Valley. No other area
in California or in the nation is
quite like it or has the variety of architecture, terrain and
lifestyle. It is
internationally famous;
‘one-of-a-kind.’
Once a prospective buyer decides upon
this area he or she senses immediately whether the Realtor has
intimate knowledge and a ‘feeling’ for this locale. The buyer much prefers to
work with someone comfortable, familiar and knowledgeable – a
Specialist. So
the buyer responds quickly and confidently to the experienced
Realtor and your sale is effected
faster.
Rule #2:
Choose a Realtor who specializes in selling in your home’s
locale. Your odds for a
fast sale are much better.
Q. What
kind of individual is best for my home
sale?
A. The
qualities that attract you about people are the same
qualities that attract a buyer of your home. An intelligent, mannerly,
presentable salesperson gives you a great
advantage.
The best Realtor for your sale is the
one who knows how to sell your kind of home. He or she, from experience,
is quick to observe outstanding as well as subtle advantages: location, privacy,
convenience, view and amenable neighbors. Buy the same token, the
superior Realtor also recognizes disadvantages inherent in every
home and is prepared to present your property so that the good
things win out in the prospective buyer’s
mind.
Prospective buyers, of course, feel
obligated to be very critical, hoping to arrive at a selling price
advantageous to them.
An expert Realtor is well aware of this and is practiced at
‘accentuating the positive.’
Indeed, one of the hallmarks of a really successful real
estate salesperson is his positive, businesslike, creative
enthusiasm.
Ask yourself if you genuinely like
your prospective Realtor; if he or she is attentive, knowledgeable,
pleasant and diplomatic, as well as representing an established
Realty organization, you stand a much greater chance of getting –
and being a winner in the sale of your
home.
Rule #3:
Choose a Realtor who understands how to sell your kind of
home and appreciates that, for you, the stakes are
high.
Q. Where
is the Realtor’s office?
What’s it like?
A. These
questions are more important than you might think. Buyers are put off by a real
estate office that is too large and impersonal. Neither you nor your
prospective buyer should take this impression away after having
visited the Realtor’s office.
Since offices, like homes, reveal a
great deal about the way in which the people who inhabit them work
and live, there is a happy medium. A pleasant,
conveniently-located office, says a lot about the Realtor. If the atmosphere is busy,
but not frantic, orderly, but not dull, chances are that you are
dealing with a successful organization staffed by true
professionals.
And a word about success: today’s accomplished Realtor
must be prepared to invest a considerable portion of his profits in
his staff as well as his quarters. He must promote his
inventory, advertise and conduct effective, on-going public
relations. Most of all
he must involve himself with and in the community where he works and
makes his living. So he
is very much concerned with his quarters – proud of how they work,
look and serve the people who live in his
area.
Rule #4:
Don’t gamble with a Realtor whose offices don’t reflect the
quality of his service.
Q. How
can I be sure of what my home is worth if I
sell?
A. This
critical question should read, ‘How can I be sure of what my home is
worth when I sell?’
Your home, regardless of its size, location, condition or
architecture, fluctuates constantly in prevailing market value. In recent years, the selling
prices of property – like the prices of all other commodities – have
spiraled upward constantly.
However, there is no guarantee that this trend will continue
and no reputable Realtor will tell you (or even imply) anything of
the kind.
The most certain method to determine
the selling price of your home is to call in a Realtor who is aware
of home values in your neighborhood on an on-going basis. By law, he or she is
obligated to sell your house at the price most advantageous to
you. Moreover,
achieving this goal is most valuable to the Realtor because it
results in a larger commission.
Overpricing your home and insisting
upon the price will certainly delay the sale. Other homes in the vicinity
will sell at prevailing prices; the overpriced home remains on the
market. Prospective
buyers, in the face of such a significant investment, usually do
intensive comparison shopping.
The fairly-priced offering, priced consistently with similar
properties in its locale, is a winner and is generally sold quickly
in today’s home-hungry market.
Rule #6:
To determine your home’s selling price, call a Realtor who is
aware of the value of similar property in your own
neighborhood.
Q. Why
are some Realtors more successful than
others?
A.
Essentially, the successful Realtor can attribute
accomplishment to two factors: ‘People’ and ‘Push.’ The ‘People’ part of the
formula: individuals,
who are selected with extreme care, to join the Realtor’s firm. Once chosen, they should be
rigorously trained (or re-trained) in appraising, selling and
recognition of the unique characteristics of their selling
territory. They should
be full-time personnel, not dabblers in the profession. A successful Realtor
continues his workers’ training, seeing that they constantly
garner current information about trends in marketing, appraising and
selling.
All this is backed up with ace office
personnel: management,
executive coordinator, secretary, general duty service and other
functionary personnel who help lift performance to its highest
level.
‘Push’ can be defined as creative
marketing expertise and the drive behind it. Successful Realtors make
advertising their largest budgetary expense. They also are constantly
searching for more effective marketing techniques which involve them
in community activity and development. More than anyone else, the
successful Realtor should know ‘what’s going on’ in the community
where he or she works.
Finally, successful Realtors and
their staffs do their ‘homework’ on every individual listing,
learning both positive and negative aspects of the property in order
to emphasize property strengths while playing down
weaknesses.
Rule #7:
For best and fastest results, deal with the Realtor who has
many years of success to their individual name. There is no substitute for
experience.
Q. Why
not sell my house myself, and save the
commission?
A. The
best way, by far, to get into Real Estate Roulette and its
inevitable losses, is to try to sell your home on your own. No one but a trained,
licensed Realtor can possibly foresee and handle the intricacies
involved in a real estate exchange. Many ‘self-sellers’ discover
to their shock that, to save a commission, they have actually
under priced their property in a sale and could have netted
more profit by paying a Realtor the commission. Moreover, the amateur seller
seldom knows how to play up the qualities of property and play down
its faults. This keeps
the property on the market for extended
periods.
Frequently, when a friend learns that
you intend to sell your property, he or she will say, ‘Listen, as a
favor, why don’t your let me work with a Realtor I
know?’ Beware. Your enterprising friend
will assuredly be paid in addition to the Realtor fee by
complicating negotiations and thereby delaying the sale. Your Realtor much prefers
working with you, personally, without interference from outside
parties who have little to gain while you have everything to
lose. Remember, your
relationship with your Realtor is as personal and private as your
relationship with your attorney or your doctor. Involving friends in such a
partnership can often lose not only significant amounts of money –
but the friends, also.
The old expression, ‘Every shoemaker
to his own last’ applies, particularly, to selling real estate. If you’re not aware of real
estate sales procedure, don’t risk selling property by
yourself. Your Realtor
is well worth the commission.
Rule #8:
Don’t count on ‘beginner’s luck’ if you sell your home,
yourself. Hire an
experienced broker.
Some Comments about the real estate
‘game.’
Buying and selling homes, contrary to
what you may hear, is not a game. A licensed real estate
broker is committed to handling the money of other people, sometimes
vast amounts which represent the bulk of life savings. A dedicated Realtor should
be as trustworthy, discrete, diplomatic and well trained as your
family doctor or attorney.
Selling or buying real estate should
be an orderly, rewarding and pleasurable experience in which
everybody gains. The
price of the property should never influence the service received by
the seller or the buyer.
The seasoned, successful Realtor cheerfully devotes as much
time, effort and talent to marketing a cottage as to selling a
castle.
We, at Bruce Jay Associates, are
proud to be a moving force in the community we serve. We are long-time residents
of this unique, delightful corner of Los Angeles. So while these Guidelines
identify ways to avoid the game of ‘Realtor Roulette,’ we will hope
they also lead you to become not only our client, but our
friend.
Bruce
Jay
Bruce
Jay Associates
Bruce Jay was
honored by the California Association of Realtors with the
Graduate of the Realtors Institute (GRI) Real Estate Designation
(Only the top 5% of all licensed Real Estate Agents
Nationwide hold the Prestigious GRI Designation). Bruce Jay
was further honored as a Certified Residential Specialist
(CRS) with the California Association of
Realtors. Bruce Jay is a Graduate of the University of California at Los
Angeles (UCLA), and was recently honored by the Los Angeles
City Council for 30 years service in the real estate
profession. For more information, he may be reached at Bruce Jay
Associates, 1910 Hillhurst
Ave., Los
Angeles, CA
90027. Phone 323-660-3600 ext. 300,
fax 323-315-1289, email: bruce@brucejay.com, or visit his website at www.brucejay.com.
©2007
Bruce Jay Associates
