This weekend I had a situation where I was searching for properties on MLS. My family is moving and as usual we are looking for a dog house in a nice neighborhood to purchase. This way we can benefit for our skill sets and others who don't understand how important it is to have a home in 'move in ready' condition. As I ran through the properties I found a few that I liked and sat down to narrow down a showing list when I noticed that one of the properties was that of an agent who was familiar with our services, has had it highly recommended to her by another top producing agent (co-listing agent) but has yet to use our services. With a little trepedation I shot off an email to her letting her know that her clients really needed our help. Her response back was pretty typical of other agents who just don't know how staging works, hopefully this will help shed some light...
"I couldn't agree with you more regarding the look of (insert street address)! But I don't know how to handle a client that doesn't really want to move (hence they can't live without their precious wallpaper in case they never sell) and one that loves every treasure they possess.
It's a great house and I think the price is pretty good so it's hard to just not take the listing but when the client doesn't hear "you need to have someone else love your house and this stuff and look is only good if the next buyer is you"... I'm not sure what to do with them.
Husband is disabled and pretty much sits home on the couch and computer all day so getting him to work is not going to fly.
Have you had luck getting the "i don't care if I sell" people to take your advise and suddenly sell?"
As a professional home stager I know this is one of those questions that no one ever really asks us, but the problem is across the board. Here is one of the appropriate responses to this burning question.....
"Thanks for the GREAT questions. I find this fairly common and depending on a few factors sometimes we have great success overcoming it and sometimes we don't and the property ends up sitting either unsold, sold below what it should have sold for, or sold after multiple price reductions.
The first question I have is why are they selling? What is their motivation? You said that they don't really want to move and yet the house is for sale. Do they have to sell? Do they need to downsize? Are they selling to move into the new Del Webb community or something similar? So long as the reason isn't that they just thought they would try the market and see how it goes then we usually have something to work with here.
If they need to sell then we need to remind them that if they don't sell the home then they will..... (whatever will happen if they don't sell). That this may be difficult but they will still have all of their belongings, they will just be already boxed up and ready to be moved into their new destination. Since they don't want to move, but have to move, breaking the emotional connection will help them let go of the home. As we change it to a property that is more set up for the buyer than the current owners then it will be easier to let it go and move on to where they need to be.
If they are downsizing, then helping remind them that their home is already full of their belongings but a smaller home probably won't fit all of them may be helpful. This is when suggesting that things they want to give away to family members begin to happen now. This way they get to enjoy their family enjoying the pieces and it helps make moving easier. Again, because they really don't want to sell, reminding them that they need to begin breaking the emotional connection to the home is key.
If they are moving into a new adult community then help get them excited about getting there. Get them to detach from this house by getting them excited about that house.
I think it would also probably be helpful to show them either in person (if you can arrange it) or at least the photographs of the homes in that neighborhood that are currently under contract. Of the 6 properties currently under contract in (insert neighborhood), 4 of them are in great condition - no wallpaper and completely updated. They are all selling for close to or over $100 sqft. Two properties remain. One of them is (another address) - which then would right next door - from MLS they look very similar (although your clients does look cleaner and slightly more updated) the other is (another address). Both of these properties are listed for around $55 sqft. Your clients home is listed at $90.56 - which is very close to the value of the fully updated homes, but measures more closely with the lower end homes (based on what I see in MLS). If your clients spent a little money stripping wallpaper, painting and removing the excess furniture, art and accessories, it would probably not only be worth it's current list price but possibly be worth slightly more based on the other properties currently under contract.
Please understand that I'm not trying to tell you how to price the home, or do your job. I only contacted (co-listing agent) because she typically brings us in on all of these type properties because she knows that they need us. I only ran across this house because we are downsizing and looking for another home - a fixer upper that we can kind of live in and flip and as I looked through the photos this home quickly went on my list. When I saw (agents' name) name at the bottom I knew this was not a home I wanted to go in offering a lowball figure (which based on the other comps I would have gone in around $60sqft) but rather to recommend getting it staged.
Also, we are always happy to meet with the homeowners when we do the consultation to help them come to terms with what needs to happen. This doesn't have to be your job. You just need to get us in the door so we can help do ours. (insert co-listing agent's name) has just always been great about doing all the dirty work for us in most homes so we just had to say what needs to be done, but we can actually be the bad guy telling them what really is going on - except for the pricing thing - we don't touch that with the sellers. We always defer that to the agent. I only know these numbers because I'm actively looking for a house for us to purchase and fix up."
You see, it is important to put the whole thing into perspective and show the reality of the situation. What I found out later, from the co-listing agent was that she had already recommended us to this agent for this house three time, once when she became the co-listing agent and the other two times when they took a $5000 price reduction. She advised that staging would have been less than either of those price reductions and they would have made money on the deal.
Now, as an agent consider if you are really doing your best job if you aren't providing this information to your clients.
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Melissa Marro, a published artist, now turned staging advocate and national speaker speaks her mind about real estate and the home staging industry. In her 'no holds barred' approach, audience members find real answers to the industries pitfalls and learn how to overcome them with tried and true information and guidance. With marketing as her passion, she turned a small home based business into one of the nation's largest home staging and training facilities. Selling her successful home staging company in January 2012, Marro is now a full time speaker and instructor for Staging And Resign and Real Estate Staging Association (RESA)'s trade events.
For more information on having Marro speak at one of your real estate functions, please contact her at 843.619.1593 or email at marro.melissa@gmail.com
Sometimes after determining that a buyer doesn't really want to sell, it's best for the agent to wish them well and move on to other ventures.
Richard - I actually couldn't agree with you more! If you aren't able to get them to do the things that need to happen, the home will not sell and you will waste precious marketing time and money dealing with a bad situation.... but, not all agents are willing to walk away and when they get stuck with these listings, hopefully this will help them help their clients!!
I can't understand any Realtor who would take a listing for someone who 'doesn't really want to sell'. Heck, I don't even want to take listings until they are 'very motivated to sell', because I am in the business of SELLING houses, not just listing them.
My fear is that people like this unmotivated seller, eventually find someone who will list and market their house without results and sometimes even find a stager who will stage it on spec, and who will never get paid.
I don't work with anyone who is not ready to do a deal TODAY!
Robert - there will always be an agent who will take the listing - unfortunately there are too many hungry, undisciplined agents afraid of not getting a good listing and they will take whatever listings they can hoping to sell them. The odds are low however, particularly in this market. What needs to happen now is an education to not only the sellers but the agents who take these listings - helping them help their clients.
Maybe a question for those of you who have (or will) said/say, would you recommend staging to these clients, or would you just have told them to lower their price?
I once took a listing for a house that although unoccupied was in terrible condition. I was promised faithfully that if I took the listing then they would hire comeone to come in and do the repairs and that it would be ready for viewing in two weeks. Six weeks later it still wasn't ready so I approached the owners and told them that either we lower the asking price and leave the house in the condition that it was in or if they didn't fix it then I really couldn't effectively represent them. They refused to lower the price and I refused to take any more of their promises. So we both amicably agreed to void the listing agreement.
Now at eight months later, the house is still unoccupied, still in disrepair and the owners are still paying the monthly house note. Although I was unsure about it at the time, choosing not to take anymore of their promises was the best move I could have made.
Hey there Melissa,
Excellent post.
Determining the motivation is the winning ticket to handling objections regarding preparations to sell a house. When the client balks at a suggestion, it is so easy to simply remind them why they are selling.
"This strong wall color may very well prevent the sale, and since you really want to move closer to your grandchildren, a coat of paint is what I suggest to get you where you truly want and need to be."
Most people aren't putting their houses for sale of of curiosity. They are doing it because they want or have to move. But emotional attachment can blur their vision and waste a lot of their own money and time.
Taking the initiative to discuss their motivation is time well-spent, as you can use it again and again when fog of nostalgia starts creeping in.
~Michelle
I attended a WCR luncheon of high producing REA's earlier this year. The moderator's first question was "What are you doing this year different from last year?" All 8 of them whole heartedly agreed "Not taking listings of non-motivated sellers, waste of time and money for all parties"
Excellent post Melissa, I did a consult a few weeks ago and the owner is being transfer...OK THAT MEANS YOU ARE MOVING, LIKE IT OR NOT! But the husband didn't want to remove a huge TV and entertainment unit that took up an entire wall. He couldn't do with one of the smaller TV's (4 all together that they had). I just don't get it sometimes.
If they really don't want to sell why are you wasting your time. Move on and get a good client
They wouldn't have it on the market if they didn't want to sell. People say it all the time that they don't have to sell, but do people really enjoy having strangers walk through their house day after day, week after week, and MONTH after month?
Find the motivation!
Connective Realty - certianly clients need to be honest and do what they say they will do, just as agents should do the same. Leaving a listing sometimes is the best thing you can do to help everyone involved.
Michelle - 'people aren't selling their homes out of curiosity' - this is dead on! We need to know WHY they are selling in order to help them move on
Cathy Lee - I agree IF you can't get them motivated
Donna - it is frustrating certainly! Finding the key trigger point to getting them to understand is key. find their pain and make it real....
Russ - what if they HAVE to sell? Who helps them? I'm not advocating working with tire kickers or those trying out the market, but who helps those in need?
Donna - YAY!! Thank you!! Finally a Realtor who actually seems to get it!
because I felt like the overall message of my post may have been lost by many agents, I have written a follow up... Motivation, Education, Helping others move on & Creating Unlimited Opportunities
Back when I was listing and selling and I had a client like that I would say something like....Mr & Mrs seller let me get this straight
You want me to list the house
You are not in a hurry or you don't NEED to sell
You want me to list the house higher than I recommend
Then
You realize that I don't get paid until I close on the house
The price of being in business is $3,000 per month
You want me to work for you by taking photos, putting in the MLS, advertising and maybe holding open houses.
So you are asking me to work for you for FREE while you are not serious about selling. You want me to spend my money and time for FREE.
We have two options. One is payment up front of $? for my time and effort and when the house sells it will be deducted from the final commissions. If the house doesn't sell in ? months you will make another payment.
I'm sure Mr seller that you didn't go to work for free and get paid only if the client was happy
Melissa - great post.
We have all met up with unmotivated sellers. It sounds like a contradiction but just because you need to sell your house does not mean you are motivated to do so! Many people are unable to cure their habits of a lifetime even though there is a sign in the yard and people walking through their house. In a way it's a little passive-aggressive. "I'll put it up for sale but I won't help sell it" This is one of the reasons home owners go into foreclosure. They deny the inevitable until the day comes when the notice is on the door.
Let's face it moving is stressful under any circumstance. I just think some people go into denial/head in the sand mode when faced with the reality of moving/selling.
Have compassion but..... I say move on to other clients who will appreciate your efforts and talents!
Melissa, this such a great exmaple of the "real world" and better yet, it is from the point of not only the LREAbut a Co-Listing Agent, the Seller and the Stager but most importantly, the BUYER (you)! Your responses were spot-on and very professional as I would expect nothing less from you. =)
These are tough ones to deal with for sure. If I were an agent though, I don't think I'd give up on sellers like this right away, I'd do everything in my power to make sure that people like this understood the probable outcomes of resisting a sale. It's usually not a good outcome and definately a reality check.
I wouldn't be able to live with myself knowing that I let these people down, whether they realized it at the time or not. I've staged numerous homes where the sellers didn't want to move (but had to) and they were unpleasant to work with to say the least, but the agent had done a great job of showing them what would happen if they didn't.
Sellers like these remind me of a little kid being told what to do and if they don't do it then there will be consequences, so they stomp off and do it, but they don't like it. Later on though, when they grow-up, they'll look back and realize that you were only doing what was best for them.