You are the seller, YOU are the boss! Your Realtor should listen to you!

I recently spoke with a homeowner who had experienced some difficulty in getting his agent to listen to his concerns, and having that agent do something about it. I truly feel badly for that homeseller, who in his case, was a very well educated man, had great business acumen, and had some very appropiate ideas that his agent did not seem to want to listen to, or implement.

Now honestly, that's not always the case. Some homeowners have some ideas that quite frankly, would not be in their own best interests, and it's up to the agent to explain to them that while they appreciate their ideas in order to effect a sale, that those suggestions would not be of benefit, and in some cases those ideas, if implemented could or would be detrimental to a sale.

What are some appropriate suggestions to give your agent?

Take new photos. After a certain period of time, or a season change, the main picture  for the house can look dated. This is not something that you hsould have to tell your agent, but if you need to, DO IT!

Look at your listing as it appears in the MLS and suggest changes if needed- I am convinced that most homesellers have never seen their listing, because if they had, they would change it immediately. An agent not inputting all of the information fields is sheer laziness on their part. (I'm sorry- I'm passionate about it) I would think that a few minutes to put room measurements in  the listing is no big deal. I always do it. That's only one example- schools are important too, especially if it's a sought after educational system.

Some buyers need certain rooms to be of a certain size, and if it's not  readily listed on th MLS data sheet, or available in any way, are not  inclined to see a house and waste their time for something that could only be a maybe. Sure, maybe a room size that is presented is going to turn off a buyer, but that would only be a showing that went nowhere anyway. My standard operating procedure is  that the seller signs off on the MLS sheet, and OK's it, as well as the brochure.

Open houses- well, that's a mixed bag. A few open houses in the right location can be a good thing. Be careful about overexposure to buyers who look every week to see what new listings there are. Agents have homeowners thinking that open houses sell a house. Agents get leads from open houses, and it is a well known statistic that less than 3% of all homes sell at public open houses. You don't want a buyer thinking, "Oh, that house is STILL available!"

If you have had any offers in the recent past, go back to those buyers and see why they didn't follow through on the transaction, if you don't already know the answer and have done everything you could to effect a sale. Could it have been that their highest number was not what you countered at? If you knew what their highest number was, would you have accepted it, or would you accept it now? 

Is it because the floors need refinishing in one spot, or a carpet needs replacing and they couldn't be bothered? What if you addressed their objection after contingencies were all met, and prior to closing? Could that make a difference? You bet, so why not give it a shot? The worst that can happen is that the buyer says no. So go back to that buyer and find out! The answer could be quite simple, and you can have a sale because your agent was pro-active.  **Think outside the box**

A few years ago, brokers didn't have to try so hard to put a deal together. They came pretty easily.  That's not true nowadays. If you have a buyer, do what you can to hold on to them, and put a deal together- if your agent is not willing to go the extra mile for you, you shouldn't feel stuck. If you are unhappy, you can always request a change. Most agencies will abide by a clients request.

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