This is a great topic for discussion given the current market. As a seller in today’s market… you have more leverage than you’ve had in years. But…how much leverage do you really have?

The first thing you have to realize is that rumors are just rumors…if you heard through the grapevine your neighbor down the street had 24 offers… it doesn’t actually mean this is true. Secondly, not all subdivisions or properties are created equal. The demand can vary greatly. So with that in mind…you have to be realistic with how much leverage you really have in your specific situation. If you’re asking…”Andrew”, why the buzz kill? The Answer – I want our sellers to understand when they have the substantial upper hand and when they do not.

Two examples – Seller “Don” lives in the community of Summerlin with a SFR 4/2.5 bath home. The home is priced competitively at $399k and is well taken care of. Seller “Andy” resides in the same city of Las Vegas but lives in the the far NW corner of the city. (past Ann/95) Andy is priced near the top of the market in order to try and break even after purchasing the property at the peak of the market.

In these examples – Don can expect to receive multiple offers. Possibly 10 plus offers over the first weekend. Don has leverage. Don has the ability to ask for highest and best, send multiple counter offers, ask for appraisal contingencies to be waived, etc… Seller Andy will benefit from the current market in that he will most likely be able to get out of his bad investment w/out a substantial loss, however, he may only see 1 offer over the course of the first month. In this example, Andy should be aggressive in his negotiating, however, it may not be in Andy’s best interest to be overly aggressive and potentially run off his 1 offer.

So why this blog entry?  We want our sellers to be informed and making the best choices for themselves. If you have a question about your subdivision and what is really happening out there…give us a call. We can pull your subdivision and give you the average DOM and LP/SP ratio for your area. Don’t rely upon hearsay. Call us and ask for the facts.

Multiple offers – It’s becoming a common comment/question from our clients.  How do I acquire multiple offers? Why am I not receiving multiple offers? What do I do when I receive multiple offers???

How do I acquire multiple offers – First and foremost, price the property accordingly and offer a co broke that is competitive with competing listings. Secondly, give yourself at least one entire weekend to receive multiple bids. Thirdly, make the property easy to show. Use a lockbox – Do not rely upon making appointments yourself if you are expecting 25 plus showings over a given weekend. Lastly, the market will do the rest. If the property is in demand and you have the previous steps complete…multiple offers will follow.

Why am I not receiving multiple offers – : 1)Market condition in your immediate area. 2) Price 3) Commission being offered 4)No lockbox

What do I do when I receive multiple offers – There are many different techniques when receiving/reviewing multiple offers. The key thing to remember is that not every buyer wants to compete with multiple offers. As a seller, you want each and every buyer to feel comfortable and confident in submitting their bid. If this is your first time to handle multiple offers, consider our full service option. We have extensive experience with multiple offers/multiple counters/asking for highest and best/etc…

If you want to sell your home….and I mean if you REALLY want to sell your home…1 piece of advice… make your home easy to show. The absolute worst mistake you can make is making your home difficult to show for other Realtors(R). Seems obvious right? Here is the catch… the idea of “easy to show” is in the eye of the beholder. I’ll give you an example… I just got off the phone with a gentleman who is frustrated about his showing activity. He assured me his home is easy to show, etc… Thus, I pulled up his listing to check things over. This particular seller has a 3  call system in place to show his home. The showing instructions give the Realtors(R) instructions to call either him or his wife. Then, the seller has to call the tenant to confirm the appt. Lastly, the seller has to call back the agent to confirm the showing. Once the showing is confirmed, the Realtor(R) has to hope the tenant is actually at the home to let them in…b/c the seller does not have a lockbox on the property…. In the eyes of the seller, this is easy to show. In the eye of every Realtor(R), this is miserable.

Certain circumstances can prevent a seller from simply putting a lockbox on the property and allowing Realtors(R) to come and  go as they please. That is understandable. Not every situation is going to be ideal, however, you must put yourself in the shoes of the Realtor(R). Look at it from his/her perspective. In my example above, how could we make things easier for the Realtor(R) and increase showings? 1) Put an E box on the property. To do this, you simply need permission from the tenant. 2) Only list 1 phone # for the owner in the MLS. 3) Get permission to list the tenant phone # in the listing. Thus, you will have showing instructions like this: Call owner at XYZ phone to confirm appt and then use lockbox. If owner is unavailable, call tenant at ABC phone # and then use lockbox.

Simple and Easy.

EA listings are the absolute kiss of death for any seller. Under no circumstance do you want your listing to show EA status in the MLS. It is imperative that your listing be an ER listing in order for other brokers to feel comfortable showing and selling your listing.

EA  - Exclusive Agency

ER – Exclusive Right

If you were to list your property with any local full service brokerage, the listing would always appear as an ER listing. A full service brokerage would almost never list any property under EA status. Most MLS’s set the default search to exclude EA listings. This means that a broker has to go into the search module and physically add EA listings to their search in order to see EA listings. Lastly, Realtors(R) are creatures of habit. They don’t like change. Realtors(R) are used to seeing the ER status and understanding what it means. They feel comfortable with the status b/c they have shown and sold ER listings before.

Every late November and throughout the month of December, we talk to sellers who plan on listing a property in early January. Our List Now requests during the month of December always rise b/c of this. So why not wait until after Jan 1? It’s completely up to you and what works best for you, however, you must keep in mind that if you wait until after Jan 1, you will be competing against increased inventory. It never fails, every year b/w Jan 2nd and Jan 15th, inventory numbers rise in almost every major market across the country. This is magnified in warmer climate communities for obvious reasons. The advantage to listing in Dec is that you have less competition and you are trying to capture corporate relocations before the start of the year.

Does this actually work ?

A few years ago I owned a property in Idaho that I tried to list in June. At the time, 24 homes were on the market in that specific subdivision. (Kuna, Idaho) The competition was simply too much and I withdrew the property from the market in Sept. Later that year in December, I noticed that only 3 properties were active within the subdivision. None of these 3 listings matched my floorplan or featured a 3 car garage. I listed the home for the exact same price I did in June. The home sold in 3 days and closed in late Dec. (the buyer had to close on something prior to Jan 1 for tax reasons) I learned an important lesson that December. Focus more on price and competition and less on when the media reports the best time to sell might be.

Alaska, Texas, Colorado, and Idaho have very strict rules concerning how an offer is presented when the offer involves a Realtor(R) representing the buyer. Basically, the listing brokerage can not force the other agent to present an offer to the seller. What makes Congress Realty different is that we give Realtors(R) the option to fax/email the offer to Congress Realty and we will forward this to the seller as an email. The other option for the Buyer’s Realtor(R) is that they can present the offer to the seller if they wish/prefer. We are obsessed with making other Realtors(R) comfortable when it comes to showing our listings and presenting offers.

Why do we do it and why is this important to the seller?

It’s not an accident our listings sell and other flat fee companies can’t sell listings. By making other Realtors(R) comfortable, they are more likely to show and sell our listings. They know if something goes wrong in a transaction, they can pick up the phone and talk to the listing broker. We return calls to Realtors(R) unlike every other discount brokerage I know of. While rare, when a Realtor(R) does call us, we call them back. As a seller, this is important. Flat Fee Companies that list a property in the MLS and then completely disappear risk being treated “differently” by other full service Realtors(R). Simply put, by making other Realtors(R) happy to work with us, the seller benefits.

Any advice on this topic for sellers?

Yes, remember, the goal is to sell your property. It doesn’t matter if the Realtor(R) presents the offer to Congress Realty or yourself directly. We do not charge you for this service, thus, if a Realtor(R) wants to present the offer to Congress Realty, let them. The goal is to sell the property, not to make the Realtor(R) representing the buyer uncomfortable. Let them do whatever makes them happy and then go from there. If the Realtors(R) wants to meet the seller in person and present the offer, Fantastic, if not, we will fwd the offer to the seller via email as a PDF file upon receipt.

How often do you forward offers?

Literally, 7 days a week. If an offer comes into our office on a Sunday, you will get the offer that same Sunday.

How does this differ from state to state?

Regardless of what state your property is located in, we will always make ourselves available to every Realtor(R) to receive and present an offer to a seller. Alaska, Texas, Colorado, and Idaho are simply more strict about the process. Regardless of what state your property is located in, always try to make the showing Realtor(R) comfortable with presenting an offer.

It is ALWAYS best to add your photos BEFORE you send in your paperwork.

How do I accomplish this?  You can add your photos before sending your paperwork by visiting the Congress Realty Pre listing manager or by emailing your photos along with your property address to info@congressrealty.com.

What is the direct link to the Pre Listing Mang? http://www.congressrealty.com/Flat-Fee-MLS-Listings/PreListing/default.aspx

Why can’t I add my photos after my listing is activated? You can do this, however, please understand that by delaying, your initial listing will be broadcast to the MLS w/out photos.

How do I add my photos if I failed to add them before I sent in my paperwork? Once the listing is active, we will send you a confirmation email with access to the private client area. This will include a login and password for you to utilize. From this interface, you can add your photos.

Why is Congress Realty so aggressive regarding the timing of my photos. After all… it’s my property? We want to sell properties, not just list properties. By adding photos with your initial listing, we increase the chances of ALL 3rd party websites picking up and displaying the listing correctly from the start. This GREATLY increases your positive exposure.

We currently offer boxes in the following markets:

***Remember – these areas below include all surrounding areas, not just the city listed below***

Austin/Round Rock

San Antonio

Houston

Dallas/Fort Worth

ABQ

Phx/Scottsdale

Tucson

Bisbee, Sierra Vista

Green Valley, AZ

All of Nevada

Western part of Washington State (Seattle, Olympia, etc..)

San Diego

Boise and Twin Falls

Santa Cruz County, AZ

Prescott

Bullhead/Lake Havasu

***If you do not see your area listed – Call us. We can typically order a box and have it to you within 7 days for every area we service with our MLS listing package***

One of the most common questions we receive is why can’t I just provide your with my generic property information online like so many other websites? Simple answer – We want you to sell your property, not just list it. We provide the exact MLS profile sheet that traditional 6% Realtors(R) fill out for each of their own listings. This profile sheet is very detailed and matches the actual MLS data input screen perfectly. By filling out this form, you are giving your property the absolute most exposure possible.

How does this get me more exposure? The MLS is a searchable database by key terms and key words, not just price. The selections on the MLS profile sheet match up with these searchable key terms. By filling out the profile doc, you ensure that your property will come back in the most possible searches on the MLS.

We believe in attention to detail. It can be the difference in selling your property and just listing your property. If you come across another MLS service website that allows you to simply input generic info into an online form… stay away. If they aren’t willing to take the time to acquire the proper MLS forms to help you maximize your exposure, move on to a company like ours who will.

How important is this really? On a scale of 1-10, I’d give it an 11. I’ll give you an example… a generic online form might list the term waterfront under lot. The MLS profile sheet might list Lake Front, Ocean Front, Ocean View, Lake View, etc… you get the idea. If I am a buyer in France searching for Malibu ocean front property… I won’t find your property under the generic term water front.

Directions – Always include directions with your MLS listing. Over half of the MLS applications we receive have the directions field completely blank. Directions are a required field for every MLS listing. The problem with leaving the directions blank is that is makes the listing appear unprofessional. A typical Realtor(R) who is inputting an MLS listing would never leave the directions blank. As a seller, you want your listing to appear exactly as every other listing in the MLS.

How to fill out directions – It’s actually really easy to do. List two major cross streets first. Then simply write out basic directions to the property from these major cross streets. Typically, the MLS will allow you anywhere from 150 – 250 characters to accomplish this.