What Is The #1 Thing An Agent Will Say To Get Your Listing? Watch Out, This Could Cost You

It happens way too often that when sellers are talking to agents and trying to figure out who to use, that their judgement becomes clouded by hopes of a over-inflated selling price of their home promised by an agent.  I have lost listings to agents that have promised super high selling prices to get the listing and just about every agent out there has been through the same thing.  But the market doesn't lie....and when homes that are similar to yours are selling at a certain price, don't be fooled that yours may be able to sell for a much higher amount.  As a seller, you should do your own home work and find out what the last 2-3 houses in your neighborhood sold for in the past 4 months.  Look at the photos online and compare the size of the home, the upgrades and amenities.  Now, let's say I tell you your home's true value is about $1 Million.  And you have another agent that comes in to meet with you and tells you your home is worth $1.3 million dollars (even though you've seen the sales nearby and they are closer to my estimate)  If you choose to list your home at $1.3 million there are a number of things that could cost you big time and here are just a few:
   First and foremost, you've chosen to work with an agent that isn't upfront with from the start and that is just a sign of where things may go as they move further along. And you have just signed a contract under this agent that is binding you to them for months.
   Next, if your house is prices too high, the initial boom of interest in a home that just hits the market, will sail right past yours.  Other brokers will know before even seeing your house that it is over priced and most won't even bother to come to the broker's open for that reason alone.  And as for buyers, you will probably get an open house or two where people stop by to see the home, but buyers will be looking for similarly priced homes in your area and quickly see that yours does not compare.  The lack of interest will either keep your home on the market at this high price for a long period of time, or the agent that you signed with will then convince you to drastically lower the price to attract offers.  Either of these are not in your best interest.  See, when a home first hits the market, if it is priced and marketed well, it should attract a good amount of attention.  This is the best time for your agent to do their job and try to get a flurry of buyer's and buyer's agents interested enough to make offers...and hopefully you will get a great one quickly, if not more than one.  If you pass this initial excitement phase, you may be expecting low offers, even after you lower your price because sellers will see how long your home has been there and they will come in low, knowing they are probably the only interested party actually writing an offer.
Lastly, unless someone is willing to pay all cash for your home, your home can only be sold at a certain price that an appraiser working for the buyer's loan officer says it is worth.  It is not uncommon that a buyer will put an offer on a house of $1.1 million knowing full well that the house will appraise closer to $1 million.  And when that appraisal comes in, the buyer will have kept your home off the market for a couple weeks at that point, then ask you to lower the price so that they can get the loan to buy it.  Some sellers won't do this and put their home back on the market, which then makes the next buyers ask what happened with the first buyer.  Or, the sellers feel that is their best option to lower the price and get the home sold...which to a seller can feel like a defeat after being promised by their agent they would be able to sell it for a much higher price.

So, when thinking about listing your home, ask yourself...is it worth it to gamble with an agent who sounds to good to be true, or are you serious about selling your home and doing it well with the right agent?