Sometimes I just feel sorry for sellers out there. Why? I look at their home listed in the MLS, and it has Realtor repellent written all over it. I suspect they must not know. After all, if they have listed the house they must want to sell it, right?
What exactly is Realtor repellent? I'm glad you asked! I'll give you some examples I saw tonight while browsing the Upper Cumberland MLS for homes to show tomorrow.
1. Only 1 picture. This absolutely screams that the inside of the house must be so terrible that the listing agent was ashamed to include pictures of it.
2. No description. Really? If the listing agent couldn't find a single positive point to talk about, why do I want to waste my buyer's time coming to look at it?
3. 24 hour notice. I know that life keeps you busy, and 24 hour notice would be great. Here's the thing: My buyers didn't give me 24 hour notice, and that happens a lot. If your listing says 24 hour notice, I'm skipping it since I can't comply with that request. Wouldn't it be better to just say appointment only, so that I'll at least TRY to show it?
4. "No Lockbox, Seller will let you in". No thank you! I want my buyers to have a great experience buying a home. Nothing is more awkward than having the seller home during showings. Unless the buyer specifically tells me that it's OK for the seller to be there, we won't be stopping in.
Any listing agent worth their salt would explain to a seller that the above mentioned things result in Realtors avoiding their home like the plague. Yet, a quick scan of the MLS tells me that some sellers must not know. If you have your home on the market and aren't getting any showings, maybe it's time to look it up in the MLS and see if you have Realtor repellent written all over it.
Virginia Kail
Realtor®
Cookeville TN native. A full time, full service agent for the entire Upper Cumberland region of Tennessee.
931-260-4729 cell
American Way Real Estate Co.
931-526-9581 Office phone, 931-528-6569 Office Fax
Virginia Kail- real estate agent, Cookeville TN
Well put Virginia, and your bang on too. I always put interior photos up, unless I think it will discourage showings!
is this repellant?!! I liked the pictures and the price of a listing for my client and scheduled a showing(lockbox) for today. walked into the vacant house and there was a HUGE very dead rat with flies in the living room! i am usually a professional, but when you are caught off guard and your reflexes take over and a 4 letter word may fly unexpectadely!
Debra, it's rare that I don't include pictures. If I don't, then it must be bad!
James, I would absolutely die! I'm laughing right now, but would be mortified if it happened to me.
I so agree with your points. I always take a lot of pictures inside and outside. I always do some staging to help the picture. Thanks for sharing! Happy Holidays to you and your family!
Perfect Analogy, Virginia. Thank you.
Some of the Repellant is obvious - "Guard Dog" or "Day Sleeper" in the Showing Remarks.
But some Repellant is more subtle - for example, "Alarm System, Call for Code", in a neighborhood with a dozen similar houses to show. Maybe the Real Estate Agents will show the other houses that don't require calling for an Alarm Code?
Most areas of the Nation are saturated with Houses For Sale ... We Realtors should not be spraying Repellent on our Listings!
Great post Virginia!!! Some agents just don't get it. Do everything you can to make your listing showing friendly if you want to get it sold.
HaHa! I originally was laughing at the title & thinking it was referring to bad Realtors in general. We need a repellent for those bad/lazy agents on the other side of the transaction! But then again...they're proabaly the same ones!
Thanks for the comment and the holiday wishes Lizette. The same to your and your family. Since you are just up the road from me a bit, maybe we will both have a white Christmas this year.
Fred - Those are certainly a couple more obstacles that don't help the sellers in the least. Most buyers choose a house out of the first 10-15 they see. Sellers should do everything they can to be in those top 10 houses shown.
Samantha - I get that the pictures and description are likely because of a neglectful agent, but I don't get how the seller doesn't notice! That just astounds me.
Virginia, love your title and suggested. Your right of coarse, It's not just a neglectful realtor at play here but a lax seller.
HI Virginia,
Well said, I hate to say it, but you're right. It amazes me to see how cruddy some of the work is by "professional" agents. I get mad because lazy agents give us all a bad name.
Listings like these are baffling to me. It's such a disservice to any seller and and an embarrassment to our industry.
Virginia - Love the title! I couldn't agree more with your list. :)
Oh, you forgot another one, call first so that large dog can be removed! I've worked with buyers who don't want to see any home that has pets.
Virginia...we couldn't agree more. The actual first showing of a home is when the buyer or a Realtor see's the listing on the mls, not when they go for a viewing. It sure makes us look great when our competition doesn't do their job!
Good list Virginia. All of those things kill sales and it is a wonder more agents don't realize it and take corrective actions.
THANK YOU! That is exactly the sentiment. Many times sellers don't seem to realize that the buyer's agents actually have opinions about their listing and those opinions can affect their listing. After more than one seller tours -- I tend to avoid those entirely. Too awkward!
Hi Virginia -- Sellers can be their own worst enemy. Gotta love the remarks/text (that the public can see) that says:
Hurry, will sell fast...
And you see it's been on the market for 433 days!
Oi!
I agree but I also wonder if those agents aren't trying to get both sides of the deal. A listing with one picture (or NO PICTURE) and no description to me just says the agent wants to keep it as a pocket listing. Just my opinion.
This is really true. You cover some valuable turf here, The 24 hour notice one is a skipper almost every time.
Love it when we are all in agreement; sometimes I am amazed at what is put into the MLS.
I always wonder, Virginia, why some real estate agent do not fulfil their obligation. Nice title for your post - Realtor Repellent..
Virginia,
Oh my goodness I cannot agree with you more on #3 ... I question why someone needs 24 hour notice for a showing ... is the home that much of a mess that they need a full day to clean it??
However, #4, I don't agree with ... the only reason I do not agree with this is because I have a particular listing in which the seller-husband is immobile and has 24 hour home health care. I have it noted in the private (agent) remarks in MLS and with the showing service though, that the health care attendant will wheel my client outside while the buyer is there. That is really all they can do since he is immobile. Sometimes there are reasons why the seller (or someone else) will let you in ... it doesn't mean that they're going to stay inside and hover over the buyers while they're there though.
These are definitely things that could repel an agent and a potential buyer. Many buyers won't even consider homes without pictures.
Around this neck of the woods, we unfortunately have our share of lazy listing agents that just don't bother taking a picture or if they do, it's from their car window. As for descriptions and spelling, well, that's unother storee.
Either way, good stuff. Thanks for sharing it.
I think in fact I will be printing out your post and using it as a reference for clients who fight me on each/any of these issues. Proof is in the pudding.
Catchy title, however I do believe that it is a misuse of the trademark.
Great post...Some of us need photography 101 too. I'm always amazed at the photos of
the bathroom featuring the toilet...or the kitchen with loads of dirty dishes in the sink or front
photos where all you can see is a big 'ol garage door...they are often too dark or too blurry. Some have made me LOL they were so bad.
Photos should invite us in not compel us to click to the next home. Truly not a service to the seller.
Virginia, very good points. Seller who put up hurdles to show their property are going to miss a lot of potential buyers. Thanks.
Kevin and Victor - That's exactly it. Some sellers assume that all agents are the same, so I feel bad when their "example" has such a low standard of service.
Tamara- It's even worse when they don't remove the large dogs. One of the houses I showed two days ago locked them in the garage. They barked the entire time, and we couldn't look in that portion of the house.
Tni- I am the same way. If I have a bad experience showing a house, I won't be showing it again to any of my other buyers.
Chris- You made me laugh. It's a good point, and I see it a lot.
Bob- I'd never considered that the listing agent might actually do it on purpose. That's even worse!
Great post, love the title. These situations don't help the seller or the realtor. It is OK to turn down a listing or give a checklist to success on the listing appointment to ensure the seller understand what it takes to market and close a transaction!
Wow I hope this stuff is not guey or sticky !!! We might need to buy a Sham Wow to get it off the listing !
It breaks my heart when I can look at a listing and, in 30 seconds, tell someone why their house hasn't sold. Among the other things that you didn't mention is mapping. We've got a lot of agents in our area that either don't bother to map property or, when they do, consistently map homes wrong. In fact, as I write this, I'm thinking of a fantastic home that's listed in the wrong subdivision and is not mapped in our MLS. Since it sits in the back of the neighborhood, agents and buyers don't ever drive by it. I've shown it twice and the sellers have called me both times to thank me and have told me I'm the only agent (the listing agent included) that's shown it. I know why, but I'll wait until it's expired before I tell the sellers what the problem is.
Clients always seem to find these listings, too. There's usually a reason there's only one picture, its been on the market forever, and it's the lowest priced home around. Something is seriously wrong with it.
Excellent post! I love your term 'realtor repellant'! I would also say those types of listings are buyer repellant as well! Since over 90% of buyers are also shopping online and viewing those same ads, not showing well online is literally the kiss of death.
If your realtor doesn't have anything nice to say or has no interior photos to post as the home doesn't show well then its time to find a new realtor AND time to fix up the condition of your home! Its why some houses sit and other houses sell!
Virginia, great post and so very true. The only thing worse than no pictures are bad pictures of things like the dark corner of a closet or kitchens with dishes piled high in the sink. And sellers present, 24 hour notice? Big turnoffs too.
As a home stager I see this all the time. You've got one shot to make a great first impression, and photos are what is going to get potential buyers in the door. Then once they are in the door they better fall in love with the home....We are not just selling brick and mortar we are selling an emotion, a dream if you will. Thanks for the post!
That is a great list and so very true. Another one, seller will handle all offers and negotiations.
Chris (#21) - I really feel for you! That is just terrible.
Praful - Thank you. :)
Monica - That is a tough situation for your seller. I feel for him.
Larry - I couldn't figure out how to get the little trademark symbol. If you know how, please share.
Jonathan - You are so very right about turning down a listing if it's clearly not going to work out. I have a "red flags" list that will cause me to walk away from a listing if I can't work the issues out with the potential seller.
Michael - I think they might need a new agent to get it off!
I am in total agreement with 1 and 2. I was actually bitching about the same thing in my office yesterday.
#3 - I will usually call anyway, apologize for the short notice and ask. Figure nothing to lose.
#4 - Lockboxes are not the norm around here. Usually only on REOs. So a seller being home is not unusually. I find a well-taught seller (who makes herself invisible) to be better than a listing agent who comes and takes over the appointment,
#1 is one of my pet peeves. Seriously -- you can't be bothered to take more than one photo? And that one is a driveby with the car's mirror in the shot?
Great post. I hate seeing photos of dishes in sinks, cloths on the floor or people in the back ground. Take the photos like they were going to be on the front cover of Time magazine. Merry Christmas........Oh by the way Mr and Mrs Seller I love your Christmas decorations but I'd rather not see them in July.
I agree with all of your repellent items. Especially the No Lockbox, Sellers will let you in.
Virginia, the one picture is 99% terrible view inside. 1% LAZY agent.
The no lockbox does not help accessibility at all. Great thought with the repellent. TRUE.
Virginia,
I hate when the seller will let me in. It's a scheduling problem if is not the first house on the list. The seller is anxiously waiting for you to get there, and then they drive away somewhere. Most times I block an hour per house even if I don't need that much time. If the buyer likes a house and we stay awhile, no sweat. If they hate the house, we're outta there real quick. So sometimes we can be early or late within our alloted time frame.
Virginia, I really like your blog and the way you described the 'affliction'. I might just print it and put it on my bulletin board. I always said that you have to sell the buyer-agent first before selling the buyer.
Happy Holidays.
What a clever title and then excellent points in your post! Seems like it is so basic for a listing agent to create enough interest through remarks and photos for a buyer or agent to consider showing the home. And then making access as easy as humanly possible is just crucial - unless the seller wants to prolong the selling process even longer...
Love your title, congrats on the feature! Another, more subtle, repellent is the "offers encouraged" comment in the description, usually on the most overpriced listings! My translation of that goes something like this: "we know our price is too high but we don't want to lower it to encourage showings, and, well, really, we're just not that motivated, so actually, ya know, just don't bother to show our house at all. We sorta just enjoy saying that it's on the market for xxx price". Gag.
Not leaving a description is horrible. Even if there is one picture, a well written description may entice a tour. But no description = no sale. Period.
Thanks so much for your comments everyone. I'm thrilled to have my first feature, and to have so many of you share your thoughts on the subject. Well, except for #54 that is.