Sellers Beware
AM 570 Podcast
Column from The Wave
Ten years ago I decided to transition from real estate investor to real estate salesperson. When investing, I always sought win/win situations where I could acquire a property at a fair price and add value through improvements. I never strove to take advantage of uninformed sellers by stealing their equity to pad my checkbook. In my mind, if everyone couldn't win, the deal wouldn't work. Eventually I was motivated to become an agent because I wanted to protect home sellers from the many agents and investors looking to exploit them. The broker who recruited me made a convincing case that I could use my experience and expertise to help people while earning a decent living for my young family. The real estate market in 2011 was still struggling from the mortgage meltdown of 2008. Regardless, I decided that protecting sellers from savvy opportunists was a noble and worthwhile endeavor so I immediately threw myself head-first into a profession that I admittedly didn't respect or appreciate. My original goal to protect sellers hasn't changed.
Whether it's self-dealing agents, professional home buyers or a "neighbor" looking to buy a house for their relative, unsuspecting sellers are routinely exploited by wolves who come in all different kinds of clothing. In my 20+ years of tracking property sales, I've observed countless instances of shameless profiteering at the expense of naive sellers when their properties that originally sold at ridiculously low prices were quickly resold, untouched, at a much higher price.
Sadly, many unscrupulous agents selfishly undersell their listings for an easy commission check; However, the most outrageous sales I see are those sold "off-market" by unrepresented sellers directly to savvy opportunists. Somehow, professional home buyers manage to sometimes convince people that selling their home to an audience of one is actually better than presenting it to the entire market. Even a bad broker will bring a seller a better price than any professional home buyer would ever pay. Understand that these people, regardless of what they say or how friendly and neighborly they present themselves, are simply out to exploit sellers. These scoundrels typically use scare tactics and misinformation to make folks think that their home is less desirable, and less valuable, than it actually is. They even go so far as claiming to be helping the seller by saving them the broker's commission. They're well aware that people sometimes waste dollars while trying to save pennies. Remember, professional buyers aren't surviving by avoiding commissions; They're making a small fortune by quietly acquiring properties, uncontested, for the lowest possible price.
I've personally sold houses in every different condition imaginable; From empty shells to near-perfect gems and everything in between. Every one of my listings were sold in a reasonable amount of time and for the highest possible price. Under no circumstances should sellers ever accept the notion that their home is unsellable or unmarketable, or that an opportunist will pay anything close to true market value. With a real marketing campaign and professional representation, every house, anywhere, and in any condition, will sell when properly presented to the market. Regardless of what those friendly wolves would have folks believe, the primary rule of marketing is maximum exposure equals maximum price. It's extremely unlikely that a quiet, off-market sale could ever produce a price even close to full market value. I've rescued many sellers from door-knocking, cold-calling professional buyers looking not for a house like theirs, but for the best opportunity to make the highest profit margin. Remember, the promise to purchase "any house in any condition" is only made possible by ridiculous profit margins based solely on the exploitation of naive sellers.
