Agent tips – Page 5

NHAR New Agent Training Program

October 5, 2007 by Monika McGillicuddy

The New Hampshire Association of REALTORS QuickStart Program is geared towards newer agents but would be a great refresher for even the most seasoned agents. Interested in learning some of the latest web 2.0 marketing techniques as well as those tried and true methods. Real Estate 2007 is a real estate year like many have never seen before and you’ll need to take advantage of all the tips available to thrive or simply survive in this market. Besides…guess who is teaching it??? Me…

QuickStart: Last Chance for 2007

The final 2007 session of QuickStart is scheduled for Oct. 23-24 and Nov. 1-2 at the New Hampshire Association of REALTORS® office in Concord. Sign up now to reserve your space, as the program will not be offered again until March 2008.

Offer in hand…why wait?

October 2, 2007 by Monika McGillicuddy

This is a cautionary tale for all Real Estate agents and home sellers. Sadly, this is a true story one that I think we can all learn from. This took place this past August. After every thing that happened the seller in this story never ended up selling his house and now it is off the market.
I’ve reprinted that article below as written in August of 2007.

Is a Bird in the Hand better than Two in the Bush? The answer is yes!

Times have changed, the market is no longer a Sellers market. I know you all know that, have heard it on the news, read the articles in the papers…all the doom and gloom but even so many sellers are acting as if it is still a sellers market. As if willing it will make it so! So are many real estate agents! I’m all for being optimistic and positive but I’m also realistic.

And REALISTIC is where you need to be and you need me to be… if I were your agent.

I know it hurts, you bought your home, cherished it and now it’s time to sell and the American Dream of making big bucks quickly by selling your home is NOT going to happen for you.

What that means for you as a home owner is simply that it will be harder to sell your home and you’ll realize less of a profit. But… you still can sell it!!!
You need to adjust your mind set. You need to act fast when an offer is received. Dragging out a presentation or a decision on an a valid offer in hopes another offer will materialize creates anxiety and stress not only for you but for the buyers. Two years ago the buyers would have waited it out…hoping that you would decide in their favor. They had no choice but to wait.

Today Buyers do have choices and that is the BIG difference! They don’t have to wait for you.

Sellers run a big risk by delaying…the longer a seller puts off making a decision the further away the buyer becomes emotionally from the home.

That emotional distance can be a killer…while the seller is deciding or waiting for an other offer the buyers with an offer in hand are starting to look at other homes. Just in case they can’t get the home they put the offer in on…buyers have choices today.

Daily more homes come on the market…more choices for buyers..as inventory increases the chance of competing properties being listed at a lower price than your home increases.

A bird in hand is better than two in the bush. Recently to be fair a seller put off having an offer presented to them, simply to give another set of buyers time to also make an offer.

That seller felt in control…maybe it took longer to get an offer but suddenly they had not only one offer in but an other coming in. So they waited and waited. They felt in control…maybe even had dreams of a bidding war.

By the time they decided to stop waiting for the second offer to materialize they lost the first buyer! Prior to the presentation they withdrew their offer and pursued another home.
Those sellers went from one solid offer in hand and another in the wings to NOTHING. You see the second offer never materialized! The cost of being fair and delaying in making a decision cost the seller. Both buyers??? They found other homes that suit them just fine.

My advice:

Price your home aggressively, there are lots of homes out there. July and August are traditionally great months to sell as many buyers want to be settled in their new home in time for school to start. Look around and see which home in your price range is your stiffest competition and price your home lower. Get a list of competing properties from your agent and drive by them. If you were buying which one would you look at first? Yours or your competition?

Make sure your home shines both inside and out! Curb appeal is crucial.

Check out the photos of your home that are on line and in MLS. Do they represent your home correctly? Does your agent have a virtual tour posted?

Make sure your home SMELLS nice as well as LOOKS nice, walk in your home the same way a buyer will…what do you see when you enter your home? Be honest with yourself. Would you buy your home all over again at the price your asking?

When you do get an offer in…a valid offer in writing and with a deposit check…act on it. Think seriously and consult with your REALTOR before making a counter offer. Re-analyze the market…maybe your CMA is a few months old. The market changes rapidly and you must have current data to make a good decision. And lastly home selling and buying is an emotional business…you need to try and put your emotions aside and think clearly.

Hire a REALTOR, one that you trust and work well with…work together…and the end result will be worth it. TEAM=Together everyone achieves more.

I don’t trust you

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CMA Tips

October 1, 2007 by Monika McGillicuddy

Preparing a proper market analysis is more crucial than ever. Not only do we need to worry about over pricing but under pricing as well. No one wants a home to just sit on the market and become stale or become stigmatized. All the more reason to clearly understand the guidelines behind pricing. Underpricing a home without the sellers informed consent just so it won’t sit on the market is a violation of Article 1 of the REALTOR Code of Ethics. Make sure your client clearly understands where the market is at and where their home should be priced at.

How did you come up with that price…anyway?

When preparing a Comparative Market Analysis, CMA, recently I was trying to determine a good listing price. It’s not an easy job!

I had to put more weight on the “on markets” than the “sold” comps.

Traditionally real estate agents are taught to put more weight on the “solds” when trying to establish a property value.

After all, the “solds” tell us an important story. They tell us what a property actually sold for!

Not the pie in sky hopes that the listed price usually indicates but what a buyer actually paid. Very important data for sure. And in the old days that piece of data was the most important piece.

Not anymore…

When agents prepares a CMA they usually select homes that are comparable to the subject and they rate the homes they selected.

A typical rating system is much like this;

1. Equal (=)

2. Inferior (-)

3. Superior (+)
If there are comparable homes on the market that are priced at 399,900 (-), 389,900 (+) and 384,900 (+) and they have been on the market 129, 95 and 80 days respectively.
Would it make sense to price your home higher or the same as ones that have not sold especially if they are superior or equal to your home? If you were a buyer and looked at nearly identical homes in a similar neighborhood and setting…which would you buy?

Now understand that the average sold prices indicate a value of 409,000 to 419,000…but nothing has sold in the last 4-6 months. The sold data is very old in terms of market movement.

It is very important to make sure your agent has analyzed the whole market. The Days on Market are very important.

If the average days on market “DOM” is 118 days…should a seller be panicking 60 days out without an offer? Depends on the seller and their needs.

Some questions to consider…How quick do you need to move? What is more important money or time?

Do you really need to sell? If not perhaps it would be better to wait the market out and list your home at another time.

Here in lies the dilemma.

Do you test the waters, list on the high end, play catch up and run the risk of stigmatizing your property?

Do you list below your best competition and hope your home sells first?

Do you list at a fair market price and do everything possible to make your home shine?

Only you can answer those questions. Make sure the agent you are working with understands the market and is realistic…you don’t need an unrealistic overly optimistic agent. You need sound market advice and an honest experienced REALTOR.

Pricing to sell is a must in New Hampshire.

Read everything you can, there are a lot of good New Hampshire real estate blogs full of excellent information available. Education and a good agent is the key to market success.

Customer Service…more crucial than ever!

October 1, 2007 by Monika McGillicuddy

Service… What does it really mean? Do you know that even the little things we do impact how others perceive us. I wrote this post this past August and it obviously impacted me… in a negative way. Real estate is very much a reputation business and your reputation is very important now more than ever. Think about the little things we do each day and how we can do them better…

How about a tip…Lady??

Sometimes I have to wonder what our society is becoming! What is it with people today?

Recently I went to a small farm stand to buy some fresh produce. When I entered, there was a young woman sitting on a tall stool behind the counter.

She neither looked up nor acknowledged my presence in any way.

I was the only customer she had and I had never been there before. We’re camping at the beach and traveling back and forth to work each day.

This place is right on my way…a place I can conveniently stop in daily to pick up fresh veggies.

I carefully selected 6 ears of fresh local corn…already imagining how they would taste after soaking in water for a few hours and then grilling them with the husks still on! Simply yummy.

Satisfied with my corn, I glanced over at the girl, she still didn’t look up. I was going to ask a question about Romain lettuce…instead I took a little red basket, put my corn in it and went to check out the fresh tomatoes.

The tomatoes were plump and looked just awesome. I knew by the feel of them that they were perfect. I added one to my basket and then since she had not yet acknowledged my presence I decided to interrupt her and to ask if she had any Romain lettuce as I couldn’t see any.

She looked up and said they only had what was out on the counter, pointing to where I was standing. Iceberg I stated…I was hoping for fresh Romain.

She then pointed to a refrigerator in the back corner of the store…“what’s in there?” she asked me...she asked me the customer what was in her refrigerator and then she immediately looked back down!

Feeling pretty stupid thinking I missed seeing the lettuce, I walked to the refrigerator. I saw a bunch of spinach…but no Romain lettuce.

The young lady at the counter…she never inquired if I found what I wanted or offered me any assistance at all. She didn’t move.

I really wanted a salad with dinner so I decided to get one of the fresh heads of iceberg lettuce instead. Not what I wanted but it would do.

When I got to the counter, she never asked about the Romain lettuce, she never even looked up as I walked up to her.

She expertly rung up my 6 ears of corn, one tomato and a head of lettuce… grand total of $5.29 cents. I handed her a 10 dollar bill and notice the large tip jar sitting by the register.

She handed me back my change…just the bills and she had to reach over the tip jar to give it to me.

The coins…she held in her other hand. She looked me square in the eye as she held open her hand with my coins in it …her hand was just above the tip jar and stayed there! She never moved it in my direction…as if to say How about a tip lady?

I was dumb struck…what did she do to deserve a tip? I know I’m talking a small amount of money here but did she give any kind of service at all? She never even smiled at me!

I wanted to lecture her on customer service but instead reached over and slowly took my change out of her hand and said thank you very much and have a nice day… she didn’t say a word.

It got me thinking about service and how we are perceived by others. Do you put a smile on your face and acknowledge people when they walk in your office? Even if you are not the “Up Agent”, if you’re busy doing something else and the receptionist is there? Do you? Do you take the time?
How do you make people feel?
How about the mortgage officer that stops by hoping to drum up business or the appraiser that might stop by needing assistance? Do you take a few seconds and make them feel welcome even if you don’t feel like it at that moment?

That young lady at the counter lost business for her boss that day…word of mouth…10 days of repeat stops ( I love fresh veggies) and if she treated me that way and expected a tip for it I have to wonder how many other people she treated the same…how much business she lost due to her lousy service?

It doesn’t take much effort to smile and be polite.

I always smile before I answer the phone…no matter what because I know people can hear my smile.

People can hear yours too…make sure you have one for them.

Jay and Monika McGillicuddy

Jay and Monika McGillicuddy

Serving Southern New Hampshire and Rockingham County

Monika McGillicuddy Real Estate Training Website

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603-548-7728

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Offer in hand…why wait?

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Customer Service…more crucial than ever!

How about a tip…Lady??

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