Is Your Agent Working For You?

By Fred Bruen, Realtor

Have you ever had a neighbor list his property for sale - watched the sign go up, noticed a few people viewing the property, and then - low and behold - the “SOLD” rider was hung on the yard sign! Neighbor Joe sold his house. Good for him.
A month goes by – two, maybe three. The sign’s a leanin’, “SOLD” is water stained from the sprinklers and neighbor Joe shows no sign of moving. What happened? Thought it was sold?

Next thing you know, the “SOLD” rider is gone, the sign has been straightened and people are looking at the home again.   Looks like neighbor Joe’s escrow crashed for one or more of a myriad of possible reasons and he’s back on the market looking for another buyer.
Unfortunately for Joe, he became the one-out-of-five escrows that fails to close successfully.  That’s right -market averages indicate that 80% of escrows close successfully leaving 20% that don’t. Certainly some agents close a higher percentage than others which is a great indication of hard working, good communicating, great contract writing and transaction management skills. But some things can’t be helped. I’ve been selling real estate since 1987 and in that time I’ve seen two escrows fail because the buyer died just days before the scheduled close. Now nobody wanted this to happen (especially the buyer), but it did and the sellers lost a sale.

The first thing Joe should do is to have his agent call all the buyers and agents who expressed an interest in the property while it was in escrow to make them aware of the property’s availability. But how many potential buyers did Joe miss out on because of the “SOLD” rider in his front yard? Statistics show that better than 30% of inquiry calls into a real estate office are generated from the signs on listed properties. Buyers still drive through neighborhoods in which they have an interest and call on properties with signs. These are better qualified buyers because they have seen the house and area where it is located. The probability of this person buying is greater than someone who saw a few words, and maybe a picture, in a newspaper. How many of those buyers kept driving because the property was sold? That’s hard to say. Have you ever been a buyer, seen a property with a “SOLD” sign on it, expressed disappointment and kept on driving? I’m sure it happens.

So why was the sold sign so prematurely installed? It certainly doesn’t benefit the seller to stop marketing the property in this way. Whose interest does it serve? Who put the sold sign up there anyway? Bet it was the seller’s agent. How does the sold sign benefit the agent? The agent is now advertising the fact that he/she can sell homes. This is an effort to generate another listing from surrounding property owners. Now whose best interest is the agent representing? Not the seller’s - only their own.

I believe in maintaining a positive attitude and working toward closing an escrow successfully. However, we know that not all escrows do, so why not continue to at least take names and numbers of people who have called on the property?  This would give the seller and the agent a place to start in the event that disaster should strike.

I also believe in the power of a “SOLD” rider on a property sign and the benefit that it affords the agent. I ask the new owner to allow me the opportunity to leave the sign up for a couple of days after the close of escrow and then continue to advertise the sold property. Just a couple of days gets the message across. Any earlier than that and you’re turning away potential buyers.

“Sold” “Sale Pending” “In Escrow” they all do the same thing, deter prospective buyers, the best buyers. When interviewing agents to hire to assist you in the marketing and sale of your home ask if they use these riders. If they do, consider where their priorities may be and if they are really working for you.