SethMathers.com

There is something that I have been noticing more and more recently.  Seller’s markets make listing agents lazy.  Let me say that again, seller’s market make listing agents lazy.

Over the past 90 days, the average number of days it takes to close on a single-family property in Utah and Salt Lake Counties are 41 and 45 respectively.  In a lot of cases, if a home is in a good location, priced right, and in decent condition, it will sell fast, possibly with multiple offers.  Here is the kicker, the marketing doesn’t need to be good!  Every day I see homes, which normally are the biggest asset anyone owns, being marketed with blurry cell phone photos!  I see it in all price ranges, even homes in the millions of dollars.

I think the public is on to something when real estate agents don’t take their job seriously and the consumers start demanding them to discount their commissions.  Cell phone pictures, horribly designed flyers, yard signs falling down, lag in response time from listing agents, short uninteresting property descriptions written in all caps, Comic Sans fonts, agents more interested in getting their name out there than selling your home, and I could go on.  I can see how someone would want to sell their home without the help of an agent.  I mean cell phone pictures?!  Anyone can snap a few pictures, write a half-assed property description and put in on Zillow.  That takes 15 minutes.  It’s laughable that agents then demand the same respect as a doctor or a lawyer.

All this sounds easy and makes agents look like they are overpaid.  I’ll be honest, in that model it is and a lot are!  Pretty much anyone can sell a home and make money.  For me, the hardest part of real estate is finding the person that wants my help.  You see, I’m changing the way that I do business.  I’m working hard not to be a human spammer.  Gone are the days of calling For Sale By Owners and begging for their business.  I no longer hound Expired Listings like some telemarketer with a canned script trying to convince them that I’m not like the last agent they used.  I no longer want to be the agent that harasses my family and friends with an impersonal phone call trying to get my next lead like some zombie looking for brains.  I’m trying something new.  I’m a person doing business with people the way I would want them to do business with me.  Are there going to be bumps along the way?  Yes!

For now, I would encourage all of you to DEMAND more from your agent.  They represent you in one of the biggest financial transactions of your life!

I’m self-imposing a new minimum standard for my business.  Notice I said MY business.  From now on every home that I put on the market will receive the following from me:  A pre-listing home inspection, a home warranty that covers the home during the listing time frame, professional high-quality photos and all the bells and whistles my brokerage offers, which right now is pretty impressive.  At what cost?  You’ll have to talk to me.  I assure you I do not work for free.

I believe in marketing your home to make it as appealing as possible to buyers.  Like the way I see cooked bacon and get hungry.  If you want the most out of your home you need to make it a big deal.  When you make it a big deal you are giving buyers a reason to justify your asking price.  Asking an agent to cut $2,000 off their commision isn’t going to do that.  Marketing a home with horrible cell phone pictures won’t do that.  Comic Sans font definitely won’t do that.  Are you missing out on equity because you didn’t properly prepare your home and your agent didn’t properly market your home?  I don’t have the research and statistics to tell you, but my gut says you’ll miss out on more equity than you saved in decreased agent commission.

If you have any questions or would like to talk with me about the possibility of selling your home call me at 801-472-6405.