Showing Feedback & Real Estate "Glass Slippers"

"It's too, too . . . ."

After almost 9 years selling real estate, I've probably been on the receiving end, conservatively, of perhaps 10,000 showing feedback forms (and probably generated an equal number as a Buyer's agent).

So, what do they say?

Usually, not much.

However, on the relatively rare occasions when the agent includes a comment, here's a partial compendium of what they say:

"It's too . . .

--Big
--Small
--Expensive
--Not expensive enough (they can afford more home)
--Open
--Not open enough
--Pink/White/Yellow/Blue/Brown (pick a color)
--Soon (the Buyer just started looking)
--Dated
--Updated (the Buyer wants to do their own remodeling)
--Vertical (they don't like stairs)
--Horizontal (they don't like ramblers)
--Close (to the elementary school/busy street/ugly neighbor, etc.
--Far (from shopping, schools, etc.)
--Contemporary
--Traditional
--Plain
--Loud
--Dark
--Noisy
--Quiet (Buyers from Manhattan)

Suffice to say, this list could be quite a bit longer.

Which is why my listing clients know one of my favorite lines (and hear it often): 'the only feedback that really counts is a good offer from a well-qualified Buyer.'

Finding "The One"

So, what do I tell my Buyer clients?

That I seldom see -- or sell -- a home that's a "10" on a scale of 1-10 (and if it's a bona fide "10" -- you probably can't afford it!).

But I've sold lots of "7's" and "8's" that, over time, my clients have turned into "10's" . . . for them.

And that, for most Buyers, it's simply the case that there are usually at least a couple homes that conceivably would be very good choices -- vs. "the (elusive) one."

"The Lights On - Lights Off" Indicator

Gauging Buyer, Seller Seriousness

The eyes are the window to the soul.

--New Testament

Want to know if a home seller is serious about selling?

They turn on all the lights before a showing.

Want to know if the showing went well?

The Buyer's agent turns them all off afterwards (yes, they should anyways -- but they don't always, especially if they're in a hurry and know they're not coming back).

Insult . . or Courtesy?

Realtor-to-Realtor Courtesy

Normally, you'd think pointing out that someone tracked dirt through your home, or that a window was covered with a certain bird "souvenir," would be an insult.

When isn't that the case?

When a Realtor doing a preview or showing encounters those things, and lets the listing agent know.

That's especially the case when a home is unoccupied, and the offending condition would otherwise go uncorrected -- until the next prospective Buyer came through.

The same courtesy applies -- only more so -- when a Realtor encounters a home with an unlocked (or open!) front door (not common, but it's been known to happen, especially with unoccupied homes).

Then, alerting the Listing Agent not only serves to protect an otherwise vulnerable home owner, but takes the agent reporting the problem off the hook for any security-related problems on the premises.

Buyer's Agents & Networking

Peeking Under the Curtain

Last Sunday I showed my clients five homes in the west suburbs that all met the profile of what they were looking for: within 20 minutes or so of downtown Minneapolis; around 3,500 FSF; at least 4 Bedrooms; a nice master Bath; price between $600k and $750k.

So what?

Only one of the five homes I showed was already on the market.

The other four were either pre-lists or one-time showings.

Missing Out

One of the things prospective Buyers not represented by agents don't know is that homes are often quietly for sale well before "the curtain goes up," i.e., they formally debut on MLS.

Behind the scenes, Buyer's agents are busy broadcasting their clients' criteria, while listing agents are busy promoting their upcoming listings through a variety of pre-list marketing.

Not surprisingly, technology and social networks make this kind of pre-list activity easier and cheaper than ever.

And therefore more important . . .

"Just-In-Case-You-Have-a-Client" Email's

Do-it-Yourself Marketing?

One of the email's I regularly get are from acquaintances -- or acquaintances of my wife -- whose homes are on the market, and who shoot me their listing info "just in case I might have a client."

I really don't mind, because: a) I already get 100-plus emails daily; b) I'm glad to have people associate me with real estate; and c) it's like chicken soup, i.e., can't hurt, might help.

That said, it does reflect a little naivete about how modern real estate works -- and just a tad of desperation. (It also makes me wonder who their Realtor is.)

Wanted: 'Not Already on MLS'

If I'm representing a Buyer, it's a given that I have an automatic search set up with my client's preferred geographic area, price range, desired square feet, and other home preferences (rambler, Colonial, newer construction, not a rambler, etc.).

If it's out there . . . . it's a pretty good bet that I already know about it, virtually in real time -- and therefore, so do my clients.

The flip side of that is, if you're listed and I haven't already shown your home, the odds are about 98%-plus that it's because it doesn't match any of my existing clients' criteria.

That's why Realtors, in the course of broadcasting their "Buyer needs" to other Realtors, will often preface that they're "looking for something not already on MLS."

P.S.: In contrast to getting a heads up about something that's already listed, getting tipped about something not yet on the market is VERY much appreciated. Which goes back to my not discouraging folks who want me to know about their homes . . .

Showing Feedback & "Minnesota Nice"

"Minnesota Nice" for Non-Minnesotans

For non-Minnesotans reading this blog, first a definition:

"Minnesota Nice" refers to the locals' custom of being preternaturally pleasant on the surface . . . and seeming to be chilly and unavailable just below.

Non-natives, especially from bigger cities (like New York) invariably find the practice off-putting if not outright annoying; the most common complaint I hear is, "you never know where you stand."

The runner-up? 'it's passive-aggressive.'

Meanwhile, natives like myself understand "Minnesota Nice" for what it is: a collective agreement to . . . be polite, at least on the surface.

How different in principle is that, really, than 100 strangers jammed into a subway car all tacitly agreeing not to make eye contact?

Ultimately, "Minnesota Nice" is really just a regional preference -- a "default mechanism" -- for managing social interaction on a mass scale.

As such, it's no better, no worse (and certainly much less confrontational) than social styles in other parts of the country . . . or world.

What would you expect from a couple million, *stoic Scandinavians?? (still the most dominant ethnic heritage locally).

Minnesota Nice & Showing Feedback

So how does "Minnesota Nice" play out between Realtors?

A good example is the showing feedback form that Buyer's agents are asked to complete after taking a client through a home.

I would say that some variation of the following easily represents 25% of the responses I get from Buyer's agents on homes that I'm listing (representing the Seller):

How did your Buyer like the home overall? "Good."

On a scale of 1-10, what was your opinion of the home's condition? "7"

Floor plan? "8"

What did you think of the home's price (pick one): Above market/at market/below market (this one always cracks me up) "at market"

Any future interest? "No"

Social Conventions

Obviously, anyone who had continuing interest in my client's home would be communicating that, in a variety of ways.

So, I don't take umbrage at the above, or email or call the other agent hostilely asking for more.

I understand it for what it is: a "no thank you" -- politely conveyed, to be sure.

*the joke about the long-time local Congressman (and quintessential Scandinavian) Martin Olav Sabo was that he once got so worked up over an issue that . . he almost spoke up about it!

Seller's Comp's vs. Buyer's Comp's

"East is East and West is West"

From experience, here are two good rules of real estate negotiation:

Rule #1. Never argue the "comp's" with the other side.

A comp, or comparable sold property, is a similar, nearby home that has sold recently.

To determine fair market value, Realtors and appraisers alike typically look for three good ones, then go through a "compare-and-contrast" process with the subject home to arrive at an adjusted value.

The first person to do the comp's is the listing agent, in the course of preparing a "market," or Comparative Market Analysis, for the homeowner.

Subsequently, the prospective Buyer's agent will also scrutinize the comp's.

Then, once there's a deal and the Inspection Contingency has been removed, so will the appraiser hired by the Buyer's lender (unless it's a cash deal).

In almost nine years of selling real estate, I've yet to encounter a situation where the Buyer's agent, in the course of negotiating an offer, made the case that the Seller's comp's were unrealistically low.

Nor have I seen an instance where the Listing agent, representing the Seller, readily conceded that their comp's were too high ("You got me! What was I thinking!?!").

In fact, the agendas of each side are so manifestly clear and self-serving -- not to mention transparent -- that it's almost always a waste of breath to engage on this.

Rule #2. If you're going to break Rule #1, you'd better make sure that you know the comp's -- or comp, if there's one in particular that looms large -- better than your negotiating counterpart.

I recently had a deal where the other agent was adamant that, "based on the comp's," my Seller's asking price was out of line.

He placed particular significance on one property in particular.

It turns out that the other agent had never been in the home.

Guess who had?

In fact, I'd shown the home to 3(!) clients, and knew every square foot of the house by heart.

So, I knew that the flattering Kitchen shots masked what was easily $100k in needed updating; the floor plan was off; and that the master bath was tiny -- and couldn't be expanded.

The upshot?

The Buyer significantly raised their offer, and ultimately reached agreement with my client.

P.S.: Trial lawyers have a saying, "never ask a witness on cross-examination a question that you don't already know the answer to." Good advice for Realtors "debating" the virtues of various comp's!

Keeping Other Agents "In the Loop"

"Enabling" Non-Committal Buyers?

One of the things that invariably happens in the course of representing a Seller is the Listing agent gets a request from a Buyer's agent to "be kept in the loop."

Translation: 'let me know if someone else is about to buy the home, so my client at least knows about it.'

Some Listing agents will agree to do that, because they figure competition will help their Seller's price.

Other Listing agents decline, because they figure it lets an indecisive Buyer lurk, non-committally, in the background (note to Buyers: waiting until you have competition virtually guarantees that you'll pay more).

Enabling Non-Committal Buyers?

I handle the request on case-by-case basis.

If the agent's client is showing serious interest, and there are three second showings scheduled in the next day, I'll typically share that, to let the Buyer's agent know that time (potentially) is of the essence.

If instead my vibe is that the Buyer's agent (and Buyer) just want to hover, I'll decline.

The only parties I promise to regularly update are . . . my Sellers.

Vanishing FSBO's

The Mysteriously Disappearing FSBO

One of the less-remarked developments in today's housing market is the relative absence of FSBO's ("for sale by owner" homes).

As recently as two years ago, more than 10% of all listings were; now, I'd guess that number is less than 5%. (Note: there are actually two kinds of FSBO's: the "pure," sign-in-the-yard, no commission-to-anyone kind; and the FSBO offering a "payout," i.e., a commission to the Buyer's Realtor, but bypassing the listing agent, and typically paying a flat fee to list on MLS).

What accounts for the shrinking number of FSBO's?

Maybe it's because if the pro's (professional Realtors) are having a hard time selling homes, the odds of an amateur succeeding are pretty low.

The fact is, selling a home involves dozens of judgement calls concerning marketing, pricing, negotiating, etc. A FSBO seller just needs to make one mistake to more than offset any money they may have saved on commission.

Realtor Tips

So what's an example of something that a Realtor knows that a "layman" wouldn't?

Yesterday, a client just about to put his house on the market wanted me to take photos while (the previous night's) fresh snow framed his home. His logic was that the snow made the home look more aesthetic -- especially compared to the brown grass underneath.

While he's undoubtedly right, the problem is that the Multiple Listing Service ("MLS") is cluttered with literally thousands of "stale" listings now -- homes that have been on for months (in some cases, years) without attracting a Buyer.

How can you tell? Amongst other things, they have out-of-season photos (many quite flattering, by the way).

I told my client to use the less flattering -- but seasonal -- photos to avoid the negative association, and not risk losing prospective Buyers.