Why should a seller's sole purpose be to sell quickly?
By now the mantra is always the same.
Want to sell your house in 3 months? Call me.
And then comes the 90-loads as well:
"if I don't sell it to you within the three months, I'll sell it to you for free!"
It is always the same chant. Seasoned, disguised, sugarcoated, but always the same soup. Reheated soup moreover, because it comes from "methods" taught by certain "trainers" who educate their followers, to make short-term promises to customers , offer something that others do not propose ... that meanwhile you make leads.
It's an open secret, because when you homeowner, you talk to home sellers "speedy gonzales"
In the end, it's always the same old thing:
- Professional photo shoot
- Commissioning at the price "set by the market"
- Targeted advertising
- Database entry of archived requests
- Collaboration with other colleagues
All very fair and agreeable. It is the correct method of working.
Maybe there could be other ways of communicating this. Leveraging the speed of sale ( which I then want to see what they mean by sale: the deed? the acceptance of the proposal? the preliminary? ) is like trawling:
You know those huge Chinese ships with nets Kilometers and Kilometers long, pulling up tons of fish? That's the concept.You pull up everything. Then you stand there sorting the fish you need, the rest you throw overboard.
But what happens when you don't want to ( or can't ?) sell your property at the price deemed appropriate by fast&furious real estate agents?
-Bye bye-
You are that fish that, having no market, is discarded. And you are left with the house to sell and everything that goes with it.
When I talk to a salesperson, one of the questions I always ask is:
But why do you want to sell?
The answers are always varied and variable:
Some people no longer use the property and want to dispose of it.
Some people have to move.
Some people need money, some need more space.
Some have health problems and the house they bought is no longer habitable given their physical condition.
Today I am telling you a story.
Through friends I go to see a property. Quite a bit out of my operating area. We are talking about an almost mountain location, 45 min drive from the center of Verona, in the middle of a valley--you know Heidi's village? An old rural courtyard with lots of exposed stone, the fountain for water, and lots of greenery around it.
Particular property. Difficult. Not for everyone.
BEAUTIFUL
A local market of mostly second homes, but a low-tourist area--these are the classic homes that Veronese buy to escape the mugginess and heat of the city.
Yes, but it is not Saint Tropez there. To stay cool, the Veronese do not want to spend more than 100,000 €.
Unfortunately, these friends of friends bought houses in 2009. Full real estate "bubble".
130,000 to buy it ( completely to be redone ) plus 80/90,000 € of renovation.
A beautiful conservative restoration, enhancing and respecting the nature of the house.
Local woods, cherry doors, the cleaned stone, natural breathable plasters, and state-of-the-art technological systems.
15,000 € of wood-fired heating system with solar panels for summer, just so you know.
If math is not an opinion, the total makes 210/220,000 €. But the market does not absorb.
The judgment is arduous. The house is worth €130/140,000.
But they are friends, plus they find themselves selling the house for health reasons--the house is on 3 levels and they, shortly, will not be able to do all those stairs.
In short, not an easy thing. Their lifelong dream of a home in the middle of nature, away from everything and everyone, smog, chaos, and traffic has turned into a trap.
I like the house, though.
It has a style that I love. Rustic with a poor art decor, but authentic. It's a piece you don't see frequently on the market, not with a renovation like this then.
A challenge. But I accept it. Against all advice, against all predictions or market analysis.
They say to sell you have to love what you sell....
asking price 190,000 €. Shit....THOUSES!
A few appointments I manage to make--the clients all remain enthusiastic about the house but the distance from the urban center and the inconvenience scare.
Months pass, a few reductions-but still no bids.
179.000 €
in the meantime, the sellers send me names of hikers who frequently go into the woods nearby...they tell me that, often, those who go into the woods to take walks ask about the sale directly to the inhabitants of the quarters coming directly to the owners, but they prefer that I do the negotiating. It happens in small localities.
Then I play the final card. Last drop and we offer the house at ZERO commission for the buyer. Given the aforementioned dynamics.
150.000 €
When hopes are about to fade, a couple returns, who had seen the house 12 months earlier always with me, although they had tried to jump me (by contacting the owners directly). I manage to get them back, dispel all misgivings about the house, and concretize their interest in a proposal. Scandalous, but the only one. And we close it with no small amount of difficulty.
Almost 2 years of work.
All this is to say that there is not only speed in selling a house, there are many components that come into play. Each house as well as each seller are unique. Unique the property, unique the history, unique the events that lead to a sale.
In this case we could do nothing but work on price. Seller dynamics have changed over time. Price is one of the main factors in selling a house, but it does not have to be the mainstay of our work.
Believing in real estate. Believing in what I do and conveying these beliefs to the people who entrust me with their assets and their lives.
This makes me proud of what I do. This is what I want to do.
