The High Road Papers - Latest Comments in Turning Away “Business”…

Re: Turning Away “Business”…

Chantal — Wed, 07 May 2008 21:53:56 -0000

Well done Jay. I love that you don't take on any agent with a pulse...there are too many agents with the higher than thou attitude out there. To me it's about the client and just having as much fun as possible doing the job. Not taking on the listings was a bit of a no-brainer, but turning down an agent that performs took goals and guts.

Re: Turning Away “Business”…

Ricardo Bueno — Wed, 07 May 2008 03:22:51 -0000

If it ain't sellin' there's no point in taking it on :-/ It's like you said, they'll find someone to list at the price they want. Maybe they'll come to their senses, maybe they won't and as cruel as it might sound of me to say, I'm sure you can expend your energy and knowledge elsewhere (right?).

Re: Turning Away “Business”…

Milan Cole — Wed, 07 May 2008 02:56:32 -0000

That's awesome, that you just told them the truth... I say you're contributing to improve the reputation of Realtors, one client at a time.

Re: Turning Away “Business”…

Going Public — Tue, 06 May 2008 12:45:06 -0000

Sometimes you have to make smart business decisions and let clients go that are just going to waste your time in the long run. It's a shame that people are so unrealistic about the real estate market, like it's not already apparent that home prices are down the tubes right now.

Re: Turning Away “Business”…

Tucson Michael — Tue, 06 May 2008 00:46:42 -0000

So true, I seem to turn away just as much if not more business then I accept. The market in Tucson (as well as Phoenix) is not a "testing" market as a seller you can only hurt yourself by having to constantly accept less for your home then the day before, and as a real estate agent you will burn through advertising money never to be seen again. It's just bad business all around. However like you said there will always be 20 agents for every overpriced listing thats also the exact reason why only 95% of agents are "still in the business" (in any facet) 5 years after they get into it, they have no concept of money making business practices or ability to assist clients with what they actually need help with. Anyway let's let the thousands of other agents spin wheels just to say they have a little inventory.

Re: Turning Away “Business”…

ines — Mon, 05 May 2008 22:38:37 -0000

We're turning them down too - plenty of our competition will take overpriced listings to add to their inventory. We like to sell them, not hold them.

Re: Turning Away “Business”…

Landflip — Mon, 05 May 2008 21:48:39 -0000

I think that more agents need to be honest with their clients and give them a true value of their property. The agents need to determine the price not the sellers. This approach will help keep market prices realistic, and it only takes one to ruin the market. We sell land and we are having this problem with a local agent. He is listing everything above market price. This isn't good for the market or the seller. Overpricing a property is an injustice to the seller.

Re: Turning Away “Business”…

sfvrealestate — Mon, 05 May 2008 21:41:58 -0000

I'm a So. Cal. Realtor who comes to Phoenix often -- I was born and raised there. Anyway, I loved this post. You might enjoy my Saturday post on my blog at http://sfvrealestate.blogsp.... It's called "3 Ways Sellers Sabotage Their Sale." Yup, the first is in overpricing.

Re: Turning Away “Business”…

Alex Aguilar — Mon, 05 May 2008 19:53:47 -0000

Hey Jay, I really like this site and wanted to let you know I created a new blog to feature some quality real estate blogs. http://www.teamaguilar.com/...

I will continue to comment on your articles because I enjoy reading the information about your local market. Thanks,

Alex

Re: Turning Away “Business”…

Charleston Real Estate Blog — Mon, 05 May 2008 09:05:00 -0000

Jay, the reality is that you are not turning away business, you are turning away problems. Great post, good advice, well said.

Re: Turning Away “Business”…

Jayson — Mon, 05 May 2008 03:55:50 -0000

Yeah it's a shame that other agents will take a home listing that is ridiculously over priced. IMO, it's contributing to our real estate dilemma.

I just don't think it's professional -

Re: Turning Away “Business”…

Gregory Bain — Sun, 04 May 2008 23:28:58 -0000

Jay, I haven't been turning anyone away. Still I only have three listings on hand. I tell every home owner I interview with (and I get interviewed quite a bit) what their house is worth in today's market. They thank me and show me the door. A few days later the house is on the market for the amount they seemed to think it should be worth.
I go into great detail about the "game" of taking overpriced listings and show them stats of various homes that go on at one price and drop and drop and drop until they sell for less than what they could have gotten if they had listed it at the right price to begin with. Funny thing about the Code of Conduct - other agents don't seem to know the Standards of Practice 1-3. I just can't play that game.
And, I don't understand why a broker or agent would want to spend all that time and money advertising a house that is so over priced. This business needs more people like you. Just say NO!

Re: Turning Away “Business”…

Karen Rice — Sun, 04 May 2008 15:42:58 -0000

Excellent blog. I turned down one listing two weeks ago - not only did the seller want $40,000 more than the home was worth, but she wanted me to drop my commission on top of it. Sorry - under certain circumstances I will negotiate some of my commission but not right off the bat. Yesterday I was interviewing with a seller and gave him the straight story: His appraisal of $220,000 from almost 2 years ago would not stand up to today's market atmosphere. His home would probably sell somewhere between $170,000 and $185,000. He was not too happy but he did appreciate my being honest with him. He said he'd think about it. He may list with someone else who "buys" his listing but I've given him the comps first...lol. Another agent may say I don't know what I'm talking about but we'll see....