Real Estate Watch: Relationships important for brokers

When a seller or a purchaser takes on an agent they may have a preconceived idea of what the normal everyday broker or salesperson service does — talk with you for a very short period of time, get the basic information, search for a bunch of homes,

For condos, coops or commercial properties, the broker may email those listings and then set an appointment to take you out to view these specific properties.

That is your typical scenario of majority of agents showing property.

However, the way I see it, one needs to develop a rapport, a connection, a dialogue and a relationship with all your seller clients and buyer, customers.

In my eyes, the days of just presenting yourself and talking about how many properties you have sold and that you are the No. 1 listing agent, blah, blah, blah and hustling buyers out and showing, negotiating and selling are gone!

My firm belief has always been, show, advise and consult, through, ones, efforts,

Disciplined actions and sacrificing of time.

It really is all about developing relationships with your clients and customers and I do not mean a short term, slam, bang, thank you mam, found the house, can’t wait to collect your commission relationships!

What it is about, are long-term relationships, whether it be a measly rental for $900, that could eventually lead you to a larger deal or a multi-million dollar home sale or commercial property transaction!

That initial check on your first deal with your agent or that first sale of your home with that broker or agent is really just the beginning!

Yes, they “broke the ice,” you trusted them whether it be in the buy or the sale!

Did they communicate with you on a regular basis, provide you the information that you had been requesting? Listened to you carefully and did they truly understand “Your Needs and Wants” in your search for that “Place to Call Home”? Many in our industry have five mouths and 1/4 of an ear.

Listening is an art and extremely important to be able to zero in on what you want as a customer looking to buy or rent or if you are an owner, looking to sell now or in the future.

Listening also must be fine tuned to be able to not waste the time of the buyer and seller as well as the time of the broker or salesperson and properties that are emailed must address the specifics of not only what the customer can afford to buy, (the Needs) but also, some of the wants (champagne tastes and beer pockets!), again, if they fall within the price point and budget of the customer buyer.

Are they providing you the information as to the differences in the types of homes, styles, heating types (gas or oil ), conditions, prices of available, under contract, sold and expired and withdrawn properties, so that once you locate a property to purchase, that you can make a conscientious and pragmatic and well thought out offer, knowing you have the necessary information to do so?

Have they educated you on the neighborhoods, school statistics, transportation, crime, if any, what there is to do in the towns that you are considering living within?

How about the parks, entertainment during the summer months, children’s programs, day and sleep away camps, etc.?

Do they ask you how far you wish to travel from your home to your job or business? Do they guide you to just any town or do they ask if schools are important, whether you have children still in school or not?

When you are an empty nester like me and my wife, my firm belief is that schools are still tantamount to getting the highest resale value, once the day arrives that you will be selling and moving on or when your spouse or children are in a position to have to sell your property.

I have said it before, location, location, school district!

Buy the best location and school district you can afford whether or not you have children; for the end result is, you will get the best resale price in the end, providing you maintain your property and keep it in the best shape you can.

I attended the first Zillow Conference in October of 2014 and they provided us with very important and pertinent information about agents.

They did an exhaustive survey and found that the majority of agents (80 percent) after the sale or rental, never call or contact their customers or clients again.

This appears to be a major mistake that the many, many salespersons and even associate brokers and brokers make.

I am not sure why this is so; but my feeling is that if you have worked, toiled hard and spent whatever time with your customer buyer or client seller, why wouldn’t you want to stay in touch with them?

Laziness, non-commitment to their business, is a serious mistake that the majority of agents do! I am not sure why this is, but, from my experience in observing people in Real Estate and businesses in general, it is a fact of what occurs on a daily basis. I have seen this in the retail environment too and I have asked do you have a list of all your current and former customers who have bought from you? Home or email addresses?

Phone numbers? They say, no, I don’t! I ask Why not?

Many times I get this blank stare, like I have two heads!

When you are selling are you hiring the agent and their expertise or the company they represent? You want a combination of both.

However, a superior broker or salesperson is one that is backed up by a strong company; however, you are engaging the broker, who is the one that is marketing and merchandising your home, condo, coop or commercial property.

He or she should have all the necessary tools in their bag of tricks to be able to Search out, entice and grab the maximum number of

“Qualified, Credit Worthy and Income Capable or Cash buyers for your property.

This can only happen, first off by having the websites to promote your place on, which ranks on the first page of Google.Com (85+ percent of all searches are done on Google) and also be seen on Yahoo.com,

Msn.com, Facebook.Com, Twitter.Com, LinkedIn.Com,(social networks do really work!) Zillow.Com and Trulia.Com and many, many other sites that will catch the attention of buyers who will be looking for your property.

The description and how it is presented and most importantly, taking high definition (HD) photos, using drones to take interesting views, virtual tours and videos are extremely important today for maximum exposure. The search engines as well as YouTube.Com are so crucial to maximize the number of buyers or tenants (if you are a landlord), so it will increase the potential number of people who will buy or rent your property.

Moreover, providing accurate precise information in an interesting way, with great pictures and videos will do the trick in attracting the audience, leading to the one winning purchaser.

I always say, “spark curiosity, but don’t satisfy It” will generally, get your agents phone to ring!

However, are all these things being done? Do you check and verify, once they say it will be done, are they really performing in your best interest or the buyers?

In the current market, with inventory at a 14-year low, with many more purchasers than sellers, it is a seller’s market.

You will still have to price your home properly; overpriced homes, no matter how many buyers there are will not sell; the unfortunate buyers who bought their homes in the market in 2007-2008, had a long wait to regain their lost equity.

But many had to sell sooner, with short sales and foreclosures crowding the market over the last four to six years!

Price it correctly by understanding the comparable sales and it will sell; price it like “pie in the sky” and you will sit with it, so don’t blame your agent, unless they convinced you that they could sell it at a higher price than the comparable sales, just to get your signature and your listing!

However, if you insisted to list it above where your professional told you to do it, that is a major mistake that owners continue to make.

You will eventually sell; but the question arises, how long (months or years) are you willing to wait for the market to catch up to your price? Don’t tailgate the market, it just doesn’t make any sense and it rarely ever works! “Feelings are never relevant to market value!”

Sometimes, agents should walk away from an overpriced listing, but with such a tight market, we tend to take those listings that we know need price adjustments.

However, this needs to be explained to the client right at their presentation and setup a time line in which the price needs to be lowered, especially when the traffic isn’t materializing and most importantly, no offers are being presented. Lastly, especially at this time of the year and winter is approaching in the next few months; one must calculate the costs in keeping a home, taxes, heating, maintenance, etc. Would you be better off selling and taking the money and buying something else out of New York where the cost of purchasing is much less and taxes are, in some really nice areas two thirds less?

I just came back from a business trip in Atlanta, Georgia, where my sisters live. One lives in a community called Roswell, a suburb of Atlanta.

The price of her Georgian Colonial home built in 1950 and is approximately $600,000 with $5,200 in Real Estate Taxes! (3,900 sq. feet/four bedrooms & 3.5 baths).

Also with a three-car garage and a huge rental loft above the garage, which pays all their taxes and then some.

That home would be $1.7 million to $3.2 million in certain communities on the North Shore of Long Island!

It was real sticker shock, making the comparisons between the South and the Long Island housing market.

However, the one major drawback is the schools in Atlanta are not comparable to Long Island schools, which, has an effect on prices in Atlanta.

But land is really inexpensive, whereby the homes in many communities are more valuable than the land they are situated upon.

However, in Long Island, it’s the opposite, whereby, the land, in most communities, is worth more than the home. This has more to do with the lack of buildable land here; but in Atlanta, there is a huge amount of available and buildable land to purchase.

Supply and Demand will always rule the market!

If you have any subject matter or questions that you would like addressed or answered, please feel free to contact me….

Next week I will discuss the subject of relocating here in the U.S. or abroad in various other countries and what to be aware of when renting or purchasing.

Enjoy a healthier, happier, and more prosperous 2015!

Philip A. Raices

Pres, G.R.I. (Graduate Realtor

Institute)

Licensed Real Estate

Broker Consultant

Past President of the Rotary

Club Of Great Neck 2011-2012

Turn Key Real Estate

7 Bond St

Great Neck N. Y. 11021-2414

Mobile: (516) 647-4289