Fire Your REALTOR® Now!

January 10, 2013 by Leave a Comment

As an active, full time real estate agent in the Pascack Valley of  Bergen County, New Jersey, I observe that a majority of my fellow REALTORS®  are professional, do good by their clients, and most importantly, get their home sellers’ houses sold. Unfortunately, I also encounter some agents who are incompetent, lazy, just don’t care, or a combination of all those negative traits. If you feel like your listing agent is the latter, FIRE YOUR REALTOR® NOW!

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So what are some warning signs that you need to can your real estate agent immediately?

Lack of Communication-You signed the paperwork, the agent put the sign on your front lawn, and now you never hear from them. A good real estate agent will communicate with you at least on a weekly basis. He/she should be giving you feedback from showings, informing you how many internet hits your listing is receiving, sending new sold comparables/active listings in your neighborhood, and just checking in with you to see if you have any concerns. Sometimes, I am calling listing agents to show one of my buyer clients a home, and the listing agent doesn’t call me back!

Your Home Listing is Lackluster-Did the agent put 15+ pictures in your listing? Studies show the more pictures a listing has, the more likely a potential buyer will click on the listing. Are the pictures reasonably well done? I recently saw a new listing come on the New Jersey MLS that had 15 pictures, but ALL 15 were blurry! There is no excuse for that! Is there a suitable, accurate description of your home? One sentence of some vague details about your home is just not acceptable. Are you handling all the showings? Some sellers may want to be contacted directly, but realistically, your agent should be the go between to handle all the calls and setup the showings.

Your Home is Not Being Marketed Properly-Internet marketing is vital to getting your home shown and sold. What web sites is your house listed on? Again, how are the pictures? Are all your homes features being expressed in the advertising? Is video being utilized in the marketing? Although not as effective as internet advertising, is your listing agent marketing your home through old school methods also like print advertising, open houses, and just listed postcards?

The Listing Agent Has No Justification for the List Price-The listing agent is doing you a great disservice overpricing your home. I had a listing last year in Westwood. It was previously listed with another broker. The seller explained to me how the agent came up with the list price.  She took what they paid for the house (back in 2005) and added in the cost of the upgrades they made and boom, there is the list price! That isn’t the way to price a home. That home ended up being overpriced by almost $100,000! The list price should be based on homes similar in age, condition, style, and location. The agent should perform a Current Market Analysis (CMA) using recent sold homes (less than 6 months old if possible), under contracts, and active listings from your neighborhood. Sometimes using expired listings is useful, as they can show a home possibly being overpriced and the reason why it didn’t sell. Also,remember, the actively listed homes are your competition.

The Listing Agent Isn’t Adapting to Current Market Conditions-Pricing a home isn’t an exact science. Some homes are so unusual, there really aren’t any comparables. So its up to your agent to keep abreast of the market and speak to you about adjusting your list price. Think of your list price more as the initial price. If a comparable home recently sold across the street for $50,000 under what your home is listed at, its probably time to reduce your price. If you aren’t getting many showings or any offers, its time to adjust your list price. Your agent needs to be proactive and not let your house linger and while you have to fork over your monthly mortgage, property taxes, and home insurance.

This is just scratching the service but these are basic things your listing agent should be doing and if not, FIRE THEM and hire a real estate agent who will do everything they can to sell your home in a timely manner and for the most money possible.

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Did your listing expire? Ready to change agents? Then contact me!

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Filed Under: Bergen County, Listings, Marketing, New Jersey, Pascack Valley, Real Estate, Sellers Tagged With: , , ,

Buying a Home and You Don’t Have a Buyer’s Agent?!?!?

February 16, 2012 by 3 Comments

Huh? Why don’t you have your own buyer’s agent?

It amazes me how many buyers out there don’t have their own real estate agent working on their side. New Jersey, among other states, allows dual agency. Dual agency means the real estate agent represents both the buyer and seller in the same real estate transaction. Both parties must consent to this dual agency relationship.

With the dual agency, the agent cannot diclose any information about either party to the other, including details on the condition of the house, financing, or any of the motivations of either side of the transaction. This makes it tough to negotiate, as the agent can’t tell you what you should offer or give an opinion on what repairs should be made or credit given. They can give you comparables, but it would be up to you to interpret the information and come up with your own offer price. It really handcuffs the agent and I believe it does a disservice to both sides. Now some Realtors love dual agency, because instead of having to split the commission with the buyer’s agent, they keep the entire commission. With this double payout for the agent, I might be a little nervous as a consumer that, whether intentional or unintentional, the agent in their excitement to close the deal, may do something unethical to make the deal happen.

I recently heard a story from one of my buyer clients, where their friends used the listing agent they met at the open house to represent them. Well they ended up paying an above market price for the home and were unpleasantly surprised when the light fixtures and kitchen appliances were missing, as they were lead to believe by the listing agent they were to be included in the home sale. Another fellow agent in my office told me how their cousin bought a home through the listing agent and they not only overpaid for the house by $50,000, they were never informed the house was located in a flood zone!

Even with all the research buyers can do online through Realtor.com, Trulia, Zillow etc, in their home search, it still makes sense to have a buyer’s agent represent you. It costs you NOTHING. You aren’t going to get a better deal because you are using the listing agent, they are just going to keep both ends of the commission. The buyer’s agent will guide you through the transaction (which understandably, can be intimidating), line up referrals such as the home inspector, contractors, or a loan officer for you, inform you of the market trends, neighborhoods, negotiate the sales price, and basically help you achieve your goal, finding the right house, at the right price, and in a timely manner.

Need a GREAT buyer’s agent on your side? Contact Kevin Hill, REALTOR®-Sales Associate with Keller Williams Realty-Village Square now!

Search for homes in Bergen County, New Jersey here!

 

 

Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2012 Kevin Hill
Filed Under: Bergen County, Home Sales, Pascack Valley, Real Estate Tagged With: , , , ,

Needed Pronto! New Listings in the Pascack Valley-Signed the Buyers

March 7, 2011 by 1 Comment

Searching for New Listings! Where are they????

The well qualified buyers are out there, problem is, there seems to be a lack of quality homes available in the Pascack Valley and surrounding Bergen County towns in New Jersey. The bad winter we experienced in North Jersey, seems to have delayed some sellers from putting their homes on the market. I have active, motivated buyer clients looking for new inventory, but many of the homes available have been sitting on the market for one reason or another. Many current listings are overpriced, have inferior locations (main road, near railroad tracks, or next to a commercial property), or in need of some serious updating. And most buyers won’t even touch a short sale due to the months of waiting to hear back from the banks and the uncertainty of waiting around and not knowing exactly when the closing will be. They do make sense though and worth the wait if you are in love with the house and/or getting a good, under market price.

I have talked to some of the high profile listing agents in the area and they too seem to be not getting consistent, new listings so far in 2011. There appears to have been a slight uptick in activity on the New Jersey MLS, but many are homes that were previously available, expired, and are now back on the market.

The price ranges I have been working with from $400,000 to $525,000 mainly has buyers who are purchasing their first home or stepping up from owning a condo. This range definitely has a dearth of good homes and when a good one does come on the market, there are multiple offers.

The spring market seems to have started early this year for the buyers, but the sellers never received the memo. Hopefully the potential sellers are getting their homes ready to show and will have them on the market by April. So lets so sellers! LIST NOW!

Filed Under: Bergen County, Home Sales, New Jersey, Pascack Valley, Real Estate Tagged With: , , , , ,

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