Firing Your Realtor - Part 2

[Note: Please go to Firing Your Realtor - Part 1 to see the beginning of this post]

Three. Poor or no feedback from prospective Buyers.

As I like to tell clients, the best feedback any home seller can receive is a full-price, non-contingent offer from a financially qualified Buyer (even better: several of them!).
However, in the meantime, a proactive Realtor will elicit and make the most of feedback from non-Buyers.

If prospects are balking because the mechanicals are old, savvy sellers may want to consider buying a home warranty (or, if the asking price warrants it, replacing an ancient furnace, water heater, etc.)

If Buyers are turned off by old paint or carpeting, cosmetic updated may be in order. If the curb appeal is a turn-off, flattering interior shots — and lots of them — can help compensate.

If you don’t know what Buyers’ objections are, however, you can’t counter them.

Even if the problems cannot be easily remedied, it is important for Sellers to know so that their asking price can be discounted appropriately.

Four. Inattention.

It is never a good sign when your Realtor takes days to respond to you (or doesn’t respond at all). Even a Realtor in the middle of multiple deals will find a way to fire off a quick email or leave a voice mail.

What if your Realtor is guilty of none of these sins?

On the contrary, what if they continue to aggressively market your home to fellow Realtors and the public, hold open houses, refresh the marketing materials, track nearby activity for trends and developments, etc.

In the words of that famous real estate observation: “the fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves.”