Q: We have sold our home to a young couple who keep requesting visits for everything under the sun: room measurements, vendors, showing friends and family, etc. Our listing agent told the buyer’s agent that since their inspections and contingencies have successfully passed, any more access to our home would be an inconvenience. According to our agent, that announcement is unacceptable to the buyers. We have to move in two weeks and do not want any more interruptions. At what point can we as sellers close our doors to outsiders and get about the business of moving?
A: When you are unpacking your belongings at your new home, that’s when. Selling your home is an inconvenience. Having a sale fall apart because of perceived seller slights is a tragedy. Sellers can have a beautiful transaction in progress and the smallest thing can and will create real or imagined problems with unpleasant ramifications. That can include renegotiating or canceling the sale outright. And homes that go back on the market after a sale fails are rightly or wrongly stigmatized. Closing your doors to a buyer and her/his friends, family and vendors will only produce ill feelings toward the seller, the transaction and even the property.
Buyers and sellers are at an anxious time in their lives and bilateral goodwill is critical to demonstrate at every opportunity. Buyers tend not to file claims against people they like and/or purchases they feel good about.
The solution is this: Simply limit the number of these buyer visits, and make sure one or both agents involved in the transaction is or are present. It should be explained to the buyers that because the process of moving has begun, the home is no longer in showroom condition. Do yourself another favor and go one step further: Be present and helpful at a buyer walk-through. You’ll be finishing the sale the same way it started in good faith.
12-5-09
E-mail questions to Pat at
pat@siliconvalleybroker.com
Q: Over a 10-day period we received three offers on the property we are selling. However, each time the buyers and their agent mysteriously disappeared after our counteroffer. This seems unprofessional. What part of “negotiating” don’t these people understand?
A: Oh, many parts that comprise a whole lot of what sellers don’t want to hear. Perhaps they don’t understand why you still have a sign on your lawn. Or why your counteroffer appears to be the opposite of negotiating in good faith. Maybe it’s your listing agent’s attitude, which accompanied your counteroffers to these purchase offers. Since actions speak louder than words, your written response somehow prompted three groups to leave the negotiation table – not scoot up to it.
Any seller and listing agent who receive three offers and are unable to create a dialog – let alone ratify a sale – have only themselves to blame. Sure, there are exceptions to industry rules, but not here. It’s 2010; low-balling offers tend to be at the beginning of a slowdown, not in the recovery stage or in the colder months when inventory is at its lowest. Plus, your attitude that it must be unprofessionalism only that is hindering your move speaks volumes.
It’s time for you and your listing agent to have a serious sit-down. Review each offer carefully. What were the buyers offering in prices, terms and conditions? Conversely, what was the common theme of your opposition to these proposals? It’s even more important to reassess how well each party and their subsequent offer were handled before they were sent packing.The seller is a layperson who can reap benefits when following simple rules, even when surrounded by inept agents. Make sure your home is presentable, marketable and the occupants friendly at all times. Don’t forget that off-putting listing agents kill more sales than do pet odors.
Meet face-to-face with your listing agent to review all offers. If the buyer’s agent is not savvy enough to make a live presentation of his or her client’s offer, then put him or her on the speaker phone. Only then will you begin the art of negotiating.
It’s time to stop hiding behind the curtain. You’re not the Wizard of Oz, you’re really the boss, so act like it.
The June 2010 Completed Sales Report for CupertinoSingle-Family Homes saw a closing of 48 sale receiving 101.22% of list price. These closings represented a median price of $1,023,000 and an average price of $1,042,831. Total Sales: $50,055,900
The June 2009 Completed Sales Report for CupertinoSingle-Family Homes saw a closing of 62 sale receiving 95.52% of list price. These closings represented a median price of $1,062,000 and an average price of $1,112,518. Total Sales: $34,488,073
The June 2010Completed Sales Report for CupertinoCondos/Townhouses saw a closing of 5 sales receiving 98.5% of list price. These closings represented a median price of $660,000 and an average price of $665,600. Total Sales: $3,328,000
The June 2009Completed Sales Report for CupertinoCondos/Townhouses saw a closing of 10 sales receiving 96.61% of list price. These closings represented a median price of $610,000 and an average price of $660,100. Total Sales: $6,601,000
June 2010 ~ Single-Family Homes in Cupertino had an average of 23 days on market (DOM). Condos/Townhouses had an average of 30.
June 2009 ~ Single-Family Homes in Cupertino had an average of 62 days on market (DOM). Condos/Townhouses had an average of 74.
KAPOWICH REAL ESTATE is a leading real estate brokerage for buyers and sellers in Silicon Valley, providing an unparalleled level of research, education and service. The father/son team has extensive experience in single-family and townhouse/condo buying and selling. Their specialty is “move-up” and “down-size” transactions for clients who wish to sell a home and buy a replacement simultaneously.
Q: Over a 10-day period we received three offers on the property we are selling. However, each time the buyers and their agent mysteriously disappeared after our counteroffer. This seems unprofessional. What part of “negotiating” don’t these people understand?
A: Oh, many parts that comprise a whole lot of what sellers don’t want to hear. Perhaps they don’t understand why you still have a sign on your lawn. Or why your counteroffer appears to be the opposite of negotiating in good faith. Maybe it’s your listing agent’s attitude, which accompanied your counteroffers to these purchase offers. Since actions speak louder than words, your written response somehow prompted three groups to leave the negotiation table – not scoot up to it.
Any seller and listing agent who receive three offers and are unable to create a dialog – let alone ratify a sale – have only themselves to blame. Sure, there are exceptions to industry rules, but not here. It’s 2010; low-balling offers tend to be at the beginning of a slowdown, not in the recovery stage or in the colder months when inventory is at its lowest. Plus, your attitude that it must be unprofessionalism only that is hindering your move speaks volumes.
It’s time for you and your listing agent to have a serious sit-down. Review each offer carefully. What were the buyers offering in prices, terms and conditions? Conversely, what was the common theme of your opposition to these proposals? It’s even more important to reassess how well each party and their subsequent offer were handled before they were sent packing.The seller is a layperson who can reap benefits when following simple rules, even when surrounded by inept agents. Make sure your home is presentable, marketable and the occupants friendly at all times. Don’t forget that off-putting listing agents kill more sales than do pet odors.
Meet face-to-face with your listing agent to review all offers. If the buyer’s agent is not savvy enough to make a live presentation of his or her client’s offer, then put him or her on the speaker phone. Only then will you begin the art of negotiating.
It’s time to stop hiding behind the curtain. You’re not the Wizard of Oz, you’re really the boss, so act like it.
Q: We want to move to a larger home, but the prices have dropped in
our neighborhood. I think we should make our move, my husband
thinks we should wait. Who is right?
A: If prices are soft in your neighborhoods, you’re not alone, As a rule,
savvy licensees know that cooler markets are the best time to buy up
or down. When the inventory is at its highest, sellers and their agents
tend to be polite and earnest. For example, they often will have the home
in better condition to be competitive and they’re willing to listen. Sometimes
they will agree to an offer contingent upon the sale and close of your
current residence. However, you’d need an agent capable of presenting a
contingent-sale offer. With the high turnover in our industry, though, many
agents don’t have the skill and experience required to orchestrate
buying and selling simultaneously.
Lacking a contingent sale, there are still many methods available
to take advantage of this excellent move up or down market. Don’t
let your husband wait for a frustrating hot market of limited inventory,
with buyers competing over homes with deferred maintenance and sellers’
agents who don’t return phone calls.
Market Wise Column 3-1-08
by Pat Kapowich. E-mail questions to him at
pat@siliconvalleybroker.com
