Debunking Two Myths About Our Company

Jan 18. 2011

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Myth Number One - We're Expensive

I received a call today from a gentleman in Fairview who's considering listing his home.  He told me he'd hesitated calling us because someone had told him "we were expensive."  I asked what gave him that impression.  He  said he'd been told we charge a 10% commission. 

I thanked him for following his instincts and contacting us despite what he'd heard and assured him we've never charged more than 6% to sell a property.  How rumors like that get started I'll never know, but unfortunately, I can't address them until someone asks me about them.

By the way, I have no idea what other Realtors charge for their services, nor do I care.  They have the right to charge any fee they feel they deserve.  We charge 6% and I know we earn it. 

Furthermore, we always pay the buyer agent 3% out of our 6% total fee.  If the buyer comes to us without representation, we'll find a Realtor to represent them and we'll pay their 3% of our total commission.  You bet it  costs us money, but we won't walk that fine line of allowing the same Realtor to work both the buyer and seller side on a sale.  Other agents do it, and that's their business.  But we believe it's a disservice to both parties, not to mention the potential of some real liability issues.

Myth Number Two - We Only List Expensive Homes

I can see how people might come to this conclusion looking at our inventory.  We're are always heavily loaded with expensive homes.  In a way, that perception is a good problem to have.  It means we've been successful in our business plan.  We want to be the ones sellers of expensive homes think of when they're ready to sell. 

But in another way, this perception also hurts us.  If sellers of less expensive homes aren't calling us, not only are we losing business, those sellers are missing out on our marketing expertise and exposure.  Let me explain how we work and it will shed some light on how we end up with our listings.

We spend our time, energy and resources marketing the homes sellers call us to list.  We might receive three calls in a row to list three homes from $800K to $1.5 million.  But we could just as easily receive three calls to list homes priced from $300,000 to $400,000.  We have virtually no control over who calls us, so in a way, we're always just playing the hand we're dealt. 

But I can tell you this ... nothing excites Pam, Erin, Rhonda or me as much as a new listing on a very well cared for home where the pride of ownership is evident ...   No matter where the home is priced.  In fact, the very first thing we all talk about with each other when any of us receive a new listing is the condition of the home and its features. 

Every single home in our inventory is a reflection of our company and we take that very seriously.  We don't want to list everything, just the best ... and in every price point.  Of course, that's impossible, but it's a nice goal to have.

In addition, we have never had different levels of service depending on the price of the home.  I don't know how other companies can get away with that, but in our way of thinking, if we list your home, it's going to receive the exact same care as every other home in our portfolio ... regardless of price.

This one's Not a Myth - We do turn down quite a few listings

You might have talked with or known someone who owns a home we had to decline listing right up front on our initial listing appointment.  It's awkward, I don't like to do it, and I'm fully aware it might even lead to hard feelings towards us  by those homeowners.  But we have to march to our own drum and follow the business plan we put in place many years ago. 

If you're wondering why we would ever decline a listing opportunity, even one we know we can sell and make a commission on, let me try to explain.  We have to be excited about a home in order to do a great job for the sellers.  If we can't get excited about a home even before we list it, there's a problem. 

In cases like that, we'll thank the seller for calling us, respectfully decline the listing opportunity, and suggest they find a Realtor who might not have the same criteria we use for our listings.   We never want to be hurtful and we try to do it graciously, but I'm fully aware how that can come across with a seller. 

We don't list "fixer uppers" or homes showing neglect.  There are thousands of agents out there who will take those listings.  If they can make a sale, they'll list the home ... regardless of condition.  That's just not our style.  I don't ever want one of our sellers looking at our inventory and questioning our commitment to listing other quality, well cared for homes. 

I also believe homes in disrepair tend to attract buyers looking for the deal of a century.  That's just not our typical buyer profile.  In fact, I can't recall ever selling a home to an investor, so that tells you a little about how we price them.

Again, this has nothing to do with the price of the home.  We've turned down more than a few million dollar plus listings over the years for these  very reasons and I'm sure it will happen again.  If the homeowner can't be proud of their own home in the way they have maintained and cared for it, how can we take pride in marketing it?