We have a followup meeting scheduled with one first thing in the morning, then we're headed north to camp with our Winnie buddies for the weekend. Along the way, we'll mull over our choices and pick one of these two to work with. Both are professional and personable. And, they are different.
Candidate 1 has been in real estate for 20-ish years. She and her company have been involved in 40% of the home sales in our neighborhood since the beginning of time. If experience was our only criteria, this candidate would be our pick, hands down. She seemed to like us and our house. But, of course, there would be a few things she would change. She quoted a specific paint color to go on our accent walls. (I got the idea that all of her listings have this color in common!) She referred to another neighborhood listing as "a good house". (And, what are we? Chopped liver?) Her motto is "if it hasn't sold in three weeks, we reduce the price." When it comes to price, she doesn't talk about it in the first meeting. She said she has a price in her head but wasn't ready to share it. (So, that's why we have a follow-up meeting.) We definitely got the feeling she was trying to prepare us for disappointment. We sense a lowball on the way. She also talked about how August is a dead time, and we need to prepare for that.
Candidate 2 left a marketing position in a Fortune 500 company six years ago to begin her career in real estate. If smarts were our only criteria, this candidate would be our pick, hands down. We met her two years ago when she held open a house almost identical to ours. We were very impressed then. And, we were even more impressed when that one and only house she's listed in our neighborhood sold in short order for significantly more than the listing price. Now, we know the likelihood of being in a situation where we receive multiple offers or even one over our asking price these days is very remote. Times have changed, indeed! But, within a few minutes of meeting us, hearing (and loving) our story and our future as fulltimers, she was talking price. And, we were happy to hear that she was in the same ballpark with her thinking as we are. (Of course, we all wish we had met in this ballpark a year or two ago, but I digress.) She seemed to connect with us and the house. She thought the accent walls might work just as they are. And, in light of today's economics, she has cut a percentage off her commission. She seemed very confident that we could sell this place by the 4th of July.
Officially, we're reserving judgement until we have our followup meeting with Candidate 1 in the morning.
Care to weigh in? Your insights and comments are most welcome!
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5 comments:
You'll make the right choice, I have no doubt about that!!!
Again, I can relate . . . we interviewed 3 realtors. 2 of the 3 were very similar, and both really told a story of doom and gloom "Oh, we can sell it, but you won't get what you think you should for it", and you need to change your kitchen floor, and maybe those solid brass doorknobs. Both were very experienced, high VOLUME realtors in our area. The 3rd had a much more positive, although still realistic, outlook. His company believes in getting the price right from the start, so that there are no reductions needed. Negotiations, yes, but price reductions, no. His company sells the majority of the "luxury" homes in our area, which is the category our home falls into. We have a target date of next June to be on the road, so have the flexibility to take our time with selling the house - although if it sells this summer, we're gone! We chose this 3rd realtor. In the end, we liked his positive attitude and genuine excitement about our home. The other two treated it like "just another home" - and we felt that that attitide would come thorugh to potential buyers. Good Luck with your choice!
B&N,
Go with your gut on this one.
Not having been there, I like the agent that can visualize selling what you have already prepared for the market.
I would also steer clear of any agent who is already making excuses about the market...blah, blah, blah....
It is just possible that the agent making excuses is just being more realistic, but I like a person who is going to go out and find that one special buyer, regardless of market conditions.
Don't get discouraged at this point and KYEOTP!!!!!
Da Godfadda
with fingers and toes crossed...maybe eyes too!
I am more likely to vote with my heart than with my head, so my choice would be realtor #2, no question about it. I chose my own realtor because she was enthusiastic about my house nearly just the way it was, and suggested very few changes. Whenever she came into my house she raved about how clean it was, and I am certainly not known to be the world's best housekeeper, but I did try extra hard when selling my place. She was so positive it would sell in a short time and worked with me to come up with a good price - it got me what I needed and the buyer was happy with his end of the deal as well. Go with enthusiasm and positive vibes, and you can't go wrong. Keeping my fingers crossed for you.
Was the first realtor with R*M*x? Sounds like the two we had in our house and property sales--more willing to discuss the negative than positives. The second realtor sounds like she's confident, realistic and willing to try to work with you instead of insisting on the opposite. Good luck!
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