Mar. 17, 2006: Home sellers, don't tell the buyer's agent your reason for selling
"My goodness! This house is gorgeous. I don't know how you can bear to leave it."
That's me talking to a seller - while I'm in the home representing buyers.
It sounds like an innocuous remark, effusive small-talk, but what I'm doing is probing for motivation.
The most important fact is this: The seller should not be in the house while I'm there. It's a kindness to the buyers to get out of their way so they can confer in comfort. But if you hang around the house, I'm going to talk to you and I'm going to extract every bit of information I can from you.
So the seller says, "Yes, we love it, but the payments are killing us."
Excellent! We have financial pressure, leverage for my buyers in negotiation.
Or the seller says, "We'd love to stay, but my company's transferring me."
Almost as good: time pressure.
Or the seller says, "We're building a home we love even more in Surprise."
Financial pressure and time pressure. I'll follow up to find out the deadline. If it's relatively soon, we're in the catbird seat.
So what should you say when I start asking questions?
You should not be there at all, but if you give me a chance, I'll pull the information out of you. I have dozens of ways of getting to the underlying motivation behind the sale of the home, plus I have all the facts in the listing, the comparable listings and the condition of the home to tell me what's going on.
So what should you say if I manage to put my questions to you?
The best answer would be something like this: "It's just time to move on."
No emphasis, maybe even a hint of indifference in your voice. If you are truly in a hurry, if you're under the gun from financial pressure or time pressure, it should say so in the listing.
But if you have the time to wait to get the best possible price for your home, don't tell a buyer's agent why you're moving.
Greg Swann is the designated broker for BloodhoundRealty.com, a full-service Metropolitan Phoenix real estate brokerage. This article originally appeared in the West Valley regional sections of the Arizona Republic.
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