If I Were a Listing Agent (or 8 things to remember when listing property)
Actually I am a listing agent. I also work with many buyers. When representing buyers it baffles me when basic professionalism is lost on listing agents. Some listing agents do a disservice to their clients and waste a lot of their own and buyer's agent's time. So, here are 8 reminders for some of the listing agents out there to improve their representation.
1. All available information in the MLS should be included and be correct.
This sounds so obvious yet there are so many mistakes, missing data, and unprofessional presentation of the listed property. First, spelling should be checked and double checked. If you're not good at spelling, ask someone else to look over the listing. It really isn't difficult to see that "pols" should really be "pools." Second, make sure there is no conflicting information. If you say that the property is vacant and I should just go, it confuses me if another area says that there is a tenant living there and I must make an appointment. Which one is it? Third, include what type of financing will be considered. Several buyers right now have FHA or VA financing, and some sellers don't want to consider that type of financing. When the financing isn't listed I have to call and/or email to get the information from you. If it's already there it would save all of us a lot of time. Fourth, please update the listing as needed. I enjoy reading that an open house is scheduled for "this Sunday" four months ago. One of my favorites is, "This home will go fast," and the listing has been on the market for 200 days.
2. Numerous, quality photos should be included in the listing.
As we all know buyers love photos. Why not include as many as your MLS will allow? Our MLS just began allowing us to include up to 20 photos. Buyers lose interest if there are only a couple photos. Worse buyers become suspicious that the home must really be in bad shape since photos aren't there. In addition, please use quality photos. If the television is on while taking pictures, turn it off for the photo. Dirty dishes can be removed from the kitchen sink for the few minutes the kitchen is being photographed. Underwear and socks thrown around a bedroom probably doesn't make for the most impressive picture. Turn on lights and open blinds for more lighting. Because there are so many bad photos included in listings, the website Lovely Listings, was created to document some of them.
3. Be available to talk to agents about your listing.
If I have a question about your listing, returning my phone calls or email about your listing would be most helpful. In San Diego many listings are selling quickly with multiple offers, well over list price. Sometimes there are so many offers that a seller no longer will accept offer submission. If I knew that in advance, I wouldn't need to show my client the home and write up an offer. With many listing agents handling numerous foreclosure listings, the ability to reach anyone is sometimes impossible. If you're too busy to actually talk to the buyers' agents, maybe it's time to hire an assistant.
4. Make it easy to show your listing.
Before even listing the home, counsel your client about the importance of making the home available to show and look for ways to help them understand that it may not always be possible for a prospective buyer to see the home only on Tuesday and Thursday between 4 and 6 pm. If my client wants to see a home and the small window of time allowed by the seller isn't workable they'll probably skip the home altogether. Sometimes a seller is very insistent on when a home can be shown, and no amount of counseling or recommendations by you can change their mind, or a tenant living in the home requires 24 hour notice, or other types of issues exist. I'm not talking about those instances. I get the sense, however, that many sellers just haven't been educated on some basic concepts of home showing.
5. If I send in an offer please let me know the status.
This goes back to communication. Most agents are great about letting me know that they received my offer. Other agents won't return a call or email just to let me know that they received the offer. I want to make sure the offer was received. Next, let me know the status of my offer. If you won't be presenting the offer to the seller until after the expiration date just let me know so I can tell my client what is going on. If the seller has accepted another offer I would like to know that my client's offer is rejected. Who likes to get a call from a client that they saw that the home they made the offer on went into escrow when I didn't even hear anything back from the listing agent?
6. Read the purchase agreement and understand it.
It shocks me whenever I meet an agent who has never read the entire contract, or doesn't have an understanding of it. These are the terms that the clients are agreeing to. Changes to the terms really do need to be discussed, agreed-to, and put in writing.
7. Remember that buyers have the right to do the inspections that they want.
Some buyers opt for a physical inspection only. Others want ten more done. Guess what? If they have the right to inspect, then the home needs to made available to them. I've known agents who are upset if my client's physical inspection runs longer than they think it should. Sellers will sometimes get irritated if they have to open their home for more than a couple inspections. It doesn't help the transaction if buyers can't do what they need to and what they have the right to do, if the seller and seller's agent gets upset. Counsel sellers early on that the buyer can do inspections they need. While this may be inconvenient, it is all part of the process of selling their home.
8. Remind the sellers that they must provide disclosures.
Not only those specifically listed in forms, but more. Disclosing the good and the bad helps the seller to possibly avoid future lawsuits for non-disclosure, and, besides, it is required. Even if a disclosure form doesn't have a space for a specific disclosure have the seller put it in writing and give it the buyer. If the buyer asks questions, have the seller answer them, even if they seem trivial to the seller. In addition to discussing the disclosure requirements when talking with a seller I tell them that if they don't want to disclose something because it may "ruin the deal," they better disclose it. Seller disclosure requirements can be expansive. Recently a California appellate court ruled that where a seller of a condo disclosed previous water intrusion and repairs but didn't disclose the previously settled lawsuits by the condo association over the water intrusion, he may be held liable for the non-disclosure of the lawsuits. (Calemine v. Samuelson (171 Cal.App. 4th 153)).