PLEASE LET US SHOW THE HOME!

Too much information can be a bad thing. There are times when less is more. When it comes to the sale of your home less can be more. We have had two of our sellers learn this point the hard way. In both cases our sellers chose to stay in their home while it was being shown by a buyer’s agent. In the first case our seller spent more than two hours with the potential buyers. She earned their trust, their friendship, and probably had some influence on the buyer’s ultimate decision. Our seller told them all of the things she had done to the home, how wonderful the neighborhood was, and how happy they would be living in this home. She also said that she would offer a lot of the furniture and the golf cart as part of the negotiations. This is where the trouble began! The buyers had been interested in this home for over two years! When it appeared on the market they were ready to go. They sent us an offer. A very good price to start but......they wanted the golf cart and a lot of the furniture for free.! (Rough estimate was $15,000 in cost). Our seller was not very pleased with this initial offer. As we talked further with her she told us that their two hour meeting was productive, they had developed a friendship, and yes she had offered a lot of the items to go with the home. What she meant was that the items were for sale! Oops! In the second case our seller let the agent show their home. As he spoke with the potential buyer he mentioned that he wanted $400,000 for the home. At this time the home was listed for $469,900. The buyer interpreted this as his bottom line. However the seller meant this amount after the commissions were taken out of sale. As we received our initial offer, the buyer's agent repeated what our seller had said:"I want $400,000 out of the home". That is not exactly what our seller mean but that is how the buyer interpreted the conversation. The only thing that needs to be said in both of these incidents is the same: Please let your agents sell your home, represent you, and do the negotiating. We politely ask that you do not do our job of selling your home. In the end it opens up a lot of potential problems. Trust your agent to market your home, sell your home, and represent in the best way possible. It will be the best decision you ever make!

If you dont want to hear answer

Feedback is an important tool in the marketing and sale of a home. The Wells Team places a lot of importance in feedback as we work with our clients. We work hard to get feedback from other agents while we are very forthcoming with feedback on homes that we show buyers.

Recently we were showing higher priced Lake Lanier properties. ($450,000 to $650,000). My partner had a request to give feedback on one such property. Her answers were honest and professional based on her buyers opinion.


Comments included:
•Hand prints, from finger paint, on the garage doors
•Kitchen Counter tops with a lot of clutter


Not horrible comments but enough to have our buyer lose interest in the home. Not just any home but a lake home priced in the mid $500,000 price range.


The selling agent was very upset with the comments taking them very personally.


It is a buyers market. They expect a lot, continue to have a lot of choices, and have foreclosures as options.


Bottom line: Don't ask the question if you don't want to hear the answer.

Covenants:A Binding Agreement?

Covenant-A binding agreement. Usually formal, solemn, and binding agreement.

References have been made in the bible to covenants between God and his people.

In an neighborhood in Atlanta covenants are 50 plus pages of restrictions!

A quick story that relates to the subject. I recently received a phone call from some close friends that live in a covenant protected neighborhood in Atlanta. This neighborhood has held its home values despite the local market. They are also located in an area with a top ranked public school system.

They told me they wanted to move. Matter of fact they had found a home with two acres in the same school district. The land was beautiful, the home was definite step back, but this represented a new lifestyle.

Why the change? Neighbors and covenants!

Neighbors: We have no power to select our neighbors.

Covenants:They followed the covenants. Unfortunately other neighbors felt differently.

My take: I own properties in Georgia and Florida both of which have covenants. They are a necessary evil. Unfortunately trying to keep 500 individual homeowners on the same page, without the written word, has been a failure. Covenants became a necessity.

We make sure that our clients have a copy of the covenants to review during due diligence. They need to read them and make a commitment to abide them. If they are too much then we need to look elsewhere.

Bottom line:THEY ARE FOR EVERYBODY IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD NOT EVERYONE ELSE BUT YOU!

If you are looking for properties in the North Atlanta area let us know. We are The Wells Team of The Norton Agency. A combined 42 years living in the North Atlanta area!

THE WELLS TEAM FEATURED IN TOP AGENT MAGAZINE!

We are proud to be featured in the latest edition of Top Agent magazine. This magazine highlights top real estate agents in the Atlanta and Los Angeles area.

The Wells Team has been very successful the last five years. We owe our success to our clients who have place their trust and confidence in us.

Enjoy the article.

(We are page 26)

http://www.topagentmagazine.com/TopAgentATVol6.pdf