Selling? Then pick up the phone!
Last Sunday, I conducted an improvised poll by calling people who sell “By Owner” just to see how quickly sellers respond. I have made 20 calls and in 14 cases nobody was there to pick up the phone. If I were a buyer or a buyers agent, 70% of the seller would have missed a chance. So, the first question: who’s supposed to sell your home? Your voicemail?
When you are selling your home in this market, you have to understand that Buyer is the absolute King! Yes, some of them will leave you a voice message but by the time you call them back there is a good chance that potential buyer has already forgotten what your home looks like and where it is. Because you are not the only seller in your area.
What about real estate agents showing homes to buyers? To start with, if your home is not listed on the MLS, the chance of getting a call from an agent who really has a potential buyer and not just a listing pitcher, is fairly remote. And, if you are not there to answer the call, the agent will most likely move on because he/she has 10-20 more homes to show to his/her clients. Still, a chance for an agent to earn a commission and one less chance for you.
You MUST be easily reachable! Because, if you are not there, your neighbor will be.
More wisdom to follow.
Technorati Tags: for sale by owner, selling a home, fsbo
A seller that can’t be found easily, can’t be sold easily. In today’s COMPETITIVE market, there is no room for being difficult to contact. A real estate broker will have someone staffing the phones to make sure no showing opportunity is missed before the buyers move on to the next house.
Comment by Maureen Francis — December 12, 2006 @ 9:59 am
[...] Third, the blogger over at the new Haven Realtors blog posted that he called lots of FSBO’s recently and nobody even picked up the phone. How can Realtors sell houses if the owner does not respond to calls? [...]
Pingback by miOaklandCounty » Blog Archive » The Curse of the Unrepresented Seller — December 13, 2006 @ 3:01 pm