December, 2020 | POSITION REALTY

A lot of sellers don’t listen to their real estate agents, so we’ll tell you what your agent wants to say, but can’t say to you and this is it – your agent can’t get you the price you want unless your home is in pristine move-in condition.

That means no sticking drawers in the kitchen. No leaning fences. No rust-stained plumbing fixtures. We could go on, but maybe we need to make it clear. If you have even one of following “turn-offs,” your home won’t sell.

Buyers can get instantly turned off. Here are their five biggest turn-offs:

1. Overpricing for the market

2. Smells

3. Clutter

4. Deferred maintenance

5. Dark, dated décor

Overpricing your home
Overpricing your home is like trying to crash the country club without a membership. You’ll be found out and escorted out.

If you ignored your agent’s advice and listed at a higher price than recommended, you’re going to get some negative feedback from buyers. The worst feedback, of course, is silence. That could include no showings and no offers.

The problem with overpricing your home is that the buyers who are qualified to buy your home won’t see it because they’re shopping in a lower price range. The buyers who do it will quickly realize that there are other homes in the same price range that offer more value.

Smells
Smells can come from a number of sources – pets, lack of cleanliness, stale air, water damage, and much more. You may not even notice it, but your real estate agent may have hinted to you that something needs to be done.

There’s not a buyer in the world that will buy a home that smells unless they’re investors looking for a bargain. Even so, they’ll get a forensic inspection to find out the source of the smells. If they find anything like undisclosed water damage, or pet urine under the “new” carpet, then they will either severely discount their offer or walk away.

Clutter
If your tables are full to the edges with photos, figurines, mail, and drinking glasses, buyers’ attention is going to more focused on running the gauntlet of your living room without breaking any Hummels than in considering your home for purchase.

Too much furniture confuses the eye – it makes it really difficult for buyers to see the proportions of rooms. If they can’t see what they need to know, they move on to the next home.

Deferred maintenance
Deferred maintenance is a polite euphemism for letting your home fall apart. Just like people age due to the effects of the sun, wind and gravity, so do structures like your home. Things wear out, break and weather, and it’s your job as a homeowner to keep your home repaired.

Your buyers really want a home that’s been well-maintained. They don’t want to wonder what needs to fixed next or how much it will cost.

Dated décor
The reason people are looking at your home instead of buying brand new is because of cost and location. They want your neighborhood, but that doesn’t mean they want a dated-looking home. Just like they want a home in good repair, they want a home that looks updated, even if it’s from a different era.

Harvest gold and avocado green from the seventies; soft blues and mauves from the eighties, jewel tones from the nineties, and onyx and pewter from the oughts are all colorways that can date your home. Textures like popcorn ceilings, shag or berber carpet, and flocked wallpaper can also date your home.

When you’re behind the times, buyers don’t want to join you. They want to be perceived as savvy and cool.

In conclusion, the market is a brutal mirror. if you’re guilty of not putting money into your home because you believe it’s an investment that others should pay you to profit, you’re in for a rude awakening. You’ll be stuck with an asset that isn’t selling.

Position Realty
Office:480-213-5251

In a real estate transaction, there are typically three main parties involved. There are the real estate agent, the buyer and the seller. The takeaway for the agent is a commission, but many people experience confusion about things like how much it is and how it’s paid. They also wonder if they can negotiate a commission.

What is a Typical Commission?
Most people think there’s a standard percentage across real estate for commissions. There isn’t a fixed price. There is an average prevailing fee in most states that’s around 6% of the final sales price of a home, however. If an agent sells land, they may get a higher commission of anywhere from 10 to 20% because it takes more time and a larger marketing budget to sell land.

The seller of a property is typically the one who pays a commission. It goes to the listing agent, and then the listing agent gives a portion to the agent representing the buyer. The home buyer doesn’t pay anything.

Most real estate agents only work on commission and don’t earn a base salary.

So what it might look like if you were to sell a $200,000 home is that the listing agent would charge a $12,000 fee. That would be a 6% commission. Then, they would split that with the buyer’s agent, so the agent representing the buyer gets $6,000, and the listing agent gets $6,000.

Then the agent has to share part of that 3% with their brokerage office. Sometimes that amount could be as high as 40% of the 3%.

Agents also pay for a lot out of the fee, including their marketing and insurance costs. Commissions are paid at the time the title transfers for the home.

Can a Seller Negotiate?
Legally, a commission is negotiable. However, sellers have to be careful here. While an agent might be willing to negotiate in certain circumstances—for example, the property is high-end or it may help them break into a great neighborhood, in many cases, they wouldn’t be.

If a real estate agent is too willing to settle for a lower commission for seemingly no reason, you have to think about how their negotiation skills will look later on when they’re working on a deal for you.

The entire goal of hiring a real estate agent is to get the best price for your home, along with the best terms. A real estate agent who quickly agrees to take a lower commission may not achieve those goals. Also, the marketing costs will come from that commission, so in taking a lower fee, will the agent be cutting corners on their efforts to advertise your home?

It’s not unusual for an agent to be unwilling to negotiate their commission simply because they don’t have to. They may be so busy that there’s no reason for them to take a lower commission. They can simply move onto other sellers.

What if the Same Agent is Handling Selling and Buying?
If you’re going to sell your home and then the same agent will help you buy another one, they earn both commissions. It’s possible that you could get a discount in this situation, but again, maybe not. Both transactions are separate from one another, and both require their own work. It doesn’t matter to the agent if the seller and buyer are the same people because the workload would be the same as if they were different people.

What if the same agent represents you and the buyer?

This is a situation known as dual agency, but not all states allow this.

In this case, if it’s legal, an agent could earn the listing and selling fees. You might ask a listing agent if they will lower their commission fees, although again, there’s no obligation on the part of the agent.

While negotiating is possible for real estate commissions, it’s not always the best idea nor will it always result in a discount for you as a seller.

Position Realty
Office: 480-213-5251

Results, No Excuses

Monthly Archives: December 2020

The Five Biggest Turn-Offs For Homebuyers

Can You Negotiate a Real Estate Commission?