What can get in the way when selling a home?

 

Life is filled with obstacles.  Obstacles are best to be viewed as challenges, as opportunities to make things right. It’s a mentality, a mindset, a preparedness that can get you through it. You just have to anticipate it, plan for it and be ready to take the bull by the horns when obstacles are thrown your way. You will find that in Real Estate, you aren’t immune to obstacles either. How you handle the obstacles that are thrown at you in Real Estate, will spell out what value you can bring to any Real Estate transaction, what value you can provide the home Seller or home Buyer as their Realtor.

 

Today, I thought it would be great to hear how other Real Estate Agents handle the obstacles thrown at them along the way instead of simply getting my take on them.  With this in mind, I reached out to veteran, top selling Real Estate Agent, Bill Gassett, a top Franklin MA Real Estate Agent who has been selling homes for 27+ years to find out his thoughts on the subject for our interview.  I interviewed Bill and found out about how Bill grabs the bull by the horn, as you can imagine, with his experience he’s likely seen it all.

 

Question #1

 

Lynn Pineda:  

 

“What are some of the obstacles that you encounter as a Real Estate Agent when representing a homeowner to sell their home? There are likely many possible obstacles, yet perhaps you can tell us about the ones that you run across the most or are worthy of mentioning”.

 

Bill Gassett:

 

“Lynn first let me say thanks for the opportunity to share my expertise with your audience – it is much appreciated. You are correct when you mention the word obstacles in plural Lynn! If there were only one obstacle to selling a home our job as real estate agents would be a whole lot easier.

 

To me there are two types of obstacles to overcome in real estate sales. The first kind is before the sale takes place and the second is during the process. Issues prior to a home sale generally involve the marketing process. Problems encountered during the process are almost always condition related. I will tackle each of these separately.

 

I am sure it will come as no surprise to you that the #1 problem I see as a Realtor is getting a homeowner to understand just how important pricing a home can be right out of the gate. Like most real estate agents, I am sure you have encountered that stubborn seller who thinks they know more than you do.

 

We all have heard the standard homeowner way of thinking with things like “we can always come down later”, “we have all the time in the world”, “we are not desperate to sell”, “we need to have negotiating room”. Once you have been in the business for a number of years these statements become commonplace. The key of course is getting a seller to understand that pricing their home higher does not mean it will sell for more. In many circumstances the exact opposite occurs. An agent who knows exactly what to say when a seller wants to overprice their home is one of the keys to being successful in this business.

 

This kind of situation is compounded even further when a seller is interviewing multiple agents and they happen meet a Realtor who will give them an unrealistic market value. Sometimes in these circumstances there is nothing you can do but walk away. Sometimes the seller and this kind of agent deserve each other. While it is always hard to turn down business the best of the best understand that walking away is the best move.  It is always best to be honest and in many circumstances you will end up being the second or third agent in who actually ends up with a sale.

 

The other marketing problems I see every so often I would group into the top home seller mistakes. They include making it difficult to see the home or even requiring accompanied showings, not presenting their home well and having ungodly odors present. Lastly, as already mentioned they choose the agent for all the wrong reasons.

 

The second set of obstacles has more to do with the property itself than it does with the seller making things more difficult than it has to be. There are a number of things that can cause a home sale to fall apart most notably common home inspection issues. Sometimes these issues are fairly apparent before the home is listed for sale. It becomes crucial for the seller to understand that many buyers don’t react favorably to finding major issues with a home they don’t own. In fact it can be the difference between the buyer wanting to move forward with the transaction or not.”

 

Question #2

 

Lynn Pineda:

 

“What would you say is the most difficult obstacle to handle?”

 

Bill Gassett:

 

“Without question I would say that getting the seller to price their home appropriately is the top obstacle. You can have the greatest marketing in the world but that will not sell an overpriced home. In an extremely competitive business there is a balance between losing out completely on getting a listing and making sure the home is not inappropriately priced. This is something that takes great skill as a Realtor. It can take many years and loads heartaches for real estate agents to understand that walking away is sometimes better than selling your soul to the devil. At this point in my career I only take listings that I am confident will sell. The real estate sign being put in the yard is my brand and reputation. The last thing I want is to have another agents sign in the yard after I failed because I took an overpriced listing. No thanks!”

 

Question #3  

 

Lynn Pineda:

 

“In your 27 years experience in selling homes, how do you work to resolve these obstacles you mentioned earlier?”

 

Bill Gassett:

 

“Getting the seller to understand proper pricing takes a lot of time and effort. You can’t expect to just throw out your market evaluation on the sellers kitchen table with your opinion of value and expect the seller to just be in full agreement with you. Rarely does that ever happen especially when they have met with three other real estate agents already who have given them three different values! Going through an appraisal report step by step, detail by detail is super important. Sellers appreciate the time and effort when it comes to the market value of their home. An agent who takes the time will get more consideration than someone who is not careful and just throws out a value with any substantiation.  When the seller is not in agreement with the value you have presented it is a must to find out why. Carefully going over the data with them again is important. One of the things I always tell sellers is real estate data never lies people do!

 

I find home inspection issues not that difficult to resolve as long as you have two level headed people. Of course there are times when both the buyer and seller are not reasonable. They both dig in their heels and the transaction goes South. This is very rare though. Working out problems from a home inspection is usually a meeting of the minds. One of the things that sellers need to understand is if there is a major problem discovered it is their issue to deal with as the next buyer is going to feel the same way.”

 

Question #4  

 

Lynn Pineda:

 

“Do you ever feel like just throwing in the towel?”

 

Bill Gassett:

 

“Lynn that is a really great question and it brought a smile to my face! I am sure you would agree real estate can be a very stressful business. One day you are on cloud nine as everything is going super smooth and the next day everything is blowing up in your face. So my answer is a definite yes:) That never happens though as most of the time problems can be resolved. Issues that cropped up in real estate deals used to bother me a lot more than they do today. I try to take everything in stride knowing there is not much I can do but try to resolve the problem.”

 

Question #5  

 

Lynn Pineda:  

 

“I imagine that once you overcome any given obstacle during the home selling process, that your customers are most grateful for the service you provide them. Do you find this to be true?”

 

Bill Gassett:

 

“Without question Lynn! I find that generally speaking most of my clients are very grateful for the advice they receive. It really helps being in the business for as long as I have. There are not too many issues that I haven’t seen. Experience really helps keeping things on track. I cannot remember the last time I had a sale fall apart. Sellers will usually look back on the situation and realize they got good advice.”

 

Question #6  

 

Lynn Pineda:  

 

“What traits do you find to be most valuable for Real Estate Agents in order to have success in overcoming Real Estate obstacles?”

 

Bill Gassett:

 

“The top traits in my book would be patience and understanding. As Realtors, we need to realize that real estate sales come second nature to us. We do it every day, whereas a buyer or seller may do it once every decade. Buying or selling home can be extremely stressful. Keeping in mind that we have to represent our clients well is important. You should always put your clients needs before your own. It is really easy to spot a Realtor who cares more about their own pocketbook than they do their clients. If you have any interest in getting referrals from your clients this should be paramount.”

 

Lynn Pineda:

 

“Well said Bill, and you close our interview well in stating that we should always put our client’s needs at the forefront before anything else. If we were ever to set our desires ahead of our clients, than that in itself can become an obstacle, and likely one of the worst obstacles ever encountered when selling a home.

 

Bill, it’s been great to hear from you today and I appreciate you taking the time to talk obstacles in Real Estate.  You’re right that obstacles are plentiful and it’s all about knowing the right steps to take to resolve them to get our client’s goals of selling a home or buying a home met. Getting good advice is what will make the difference when obstacles are encountered when selling a home.”

 

Please share this interview if you enjoyed it!  Obstacles encountered when selling a home.

 

 

Lynn hopes you enjoyed today’s interview. You’ll find Lynn selling homes in Southeast Florida in the cities of Coral Springs, Parkland, Margate, Tamarac, Coconut Creek, Boynton Beach, Delray Beach, Boca Raton, Sunrise, Plantation, Ft Lauderdale, Pembroke Pines and Miramar areas within Broward and Palm Beach counties.

 

Real Estate article written by Lynn Pineda, a licensed Southeast Florida Real Estate Agent since 2005 serving home Sellers and home Buyers from Boca Raton Florida, Coral Springs Florida and surrounding Southeast Florida.  eXp Realty Boca Raton Realtor.   . Real Estate Promises Delivered.  You can speak with  Lynn by calling her at 954-464-1100 or you can email her at: LynnP@ImagineYourHouse.com if you need to sell or buy your Southeast Florida home. Your local, trusted professional when it’s time to sell your home.

 

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