Service Industry Workers Get It
It’s pretty well known that the best tippers are those that also receive tips in their line of work, particularly service industry workers. They know how hard it can be to spend north of eight hours on their feet, dealing with challenging customers, getting yelled at by the kitchen, all while often working for minimum wage.
They know what it’s like, they intimately understand it, and as a result they happen to be some of the best tippers out there. I say ‘they happen to be’, but it’s not an accident, there’s a direct correlation between experience and behaviour.
What Happens When Realtors Sell Realtors’ Homes?
Similarly, we’ve now had the privilege to sell a number of other Realtors’ homes, and we’ve noticed the same correlation between experience and behaviour. Each time we’ve been hired to sell a Realtor’s home it’s a real compliment, they could hire anyone within the industry and they’ve chosen to work with us. Like a server knowing intimately what’s involved in a shift, they know what’s involved in a real estate transaction because they’ve lived it out dozens or hundreds of times themselves.
So, how has that experience influenced their behaviour? And how should that inform our sellers in this market? These are my top 5 observations:
They Trust Our Professional Opinion
Whatever you do in your day to day vocational life you’ve probably had an experience with someone that knows better than you, or at least thinks they do. It’s what psychologists call the ‘Dunning-Kruger Effect,’ the flaw in our thinking when we know just enough about something to produce an overconfidence in our understanding, but not enough to realize what we don’t yet know. This is something we come across in real estate on a daily basis, especially in a shifting market. Discussing real estate seems to be the Lower Mainland’s favourite hobby; as a result the majority of homeowners, and even renters, have some understanding of real estate but often fail to recognize some of the complexities that come with exposure to hundreds of transactions and boots on the ground experience.
You’d think that when a Realtor hires another Realtor to sell their home that they’d be the worst clients, they know far more than the average home seller, but that’s not been our experience. This has been particularly pronounced when it comes to determining a sale price; every Realtor knows a seller almost always disproportionately values their home, it’s their home after all, it’s been good to them! Knowing this to be the case they lean on us for our objective, professional opinion:
‘Yes, you might like the proximity to the disc golf course, but that’s honestly not going to matter to 99.9% of sellers;’
‘No, you’re not going to get a dollar for dollar return on your new lighting, part of the value was in your enjoyment;’
‘Come on, we both know I can’t call that closet a ‘bedroom’!’
Once the comparable spreadsheets and market statistics come out everyone around the table recognizes that each buyer’s agent is also going to be looking at the same data, and the market is what it is. We have literally never had a Realtor fight us on the list price, and as a result we’ve always been able to sell their home in a timely and successful fashion. They’ve asked us what to list at, not told us. That doesn’t mean we bulldoze them by any means, it’s always a discussion, but where there’s a difference of opinion they trust our professional judgment – that’s what they hired us for!
They Maximize The Home’s Potential
Honestly, this one has had me laughing more than once. I’ve stood outside with a Realtor preparing their home for market breathlessly reciting all the tradespeople that have visited in the days prior; and I’ve walked in on one frantically scrubbing their kitchen faucet because the ‘cleaner missed it’ (it was spotless!).
Even when we’ve sold Realtors’ homes in hot sellers’ markets they’ve prepared as if it’s a buyers’ market, seeking to maximize as best they can. They know showing 10/10 can be the difference between one offer or four offers; an immediate offer above list or a delay leading to a lowball; or any number of scenarios that could earn them hundreds of thousands of dollars extra.
When they say ‘showroom condition’ they generally mean it, and every little detail is taken into account. Obviously they ask our opinion and sometimes we’ll tell them not to do something. One recent example was potentially ordering river rock for an R/V parking space, we didn’t think it necessary, we told them so, and the property sold without it being an issue.
They Don’t Get Offended
Oh goodness, there are offers that have dropped in our inbox that immediately spike our heart rates. Hundreds of thousands under list price, endless subjects, nonsensical terms, terrible dates… you name it, we’ve seen it. Legally, we need to present all offers to our clients. No matter how much preparation goes in, sometimes these kinds of offers still come as a shock. Not for our Realtor clients, often they recognize the name of the buyers’ agent and even laugh about it. They don’t take offence, they just instruct us to let the offer expire and to tell them to come back when they’re serious; or they consider it and instruct us to send a reasonable counter.
It’s not just the original offer either, it can be home inspection results that turn up more issues than expected or a buyer has an unexpected situation come up with their financing. Our experience has been that Realtors generally don’t toss their toys out the stroller (metaphorically, of course), but that they consider the requests unemotionally and weigh the consequences of their response. It’s not that Realtor sellers don’t care, it’s that they understand the temptation to let their emotions get the better of them, because they’ve seen it so many times, and they refuse to torpedo their own best interests.
They Meet Their Contractual Obligations
The most common stage of a real estate transaction we’ve seen this play out is in remedial work following a home inspection report (see ‘What To Expect From A Home Inspection’). If repair or replacement has been the preferred course of action over a price reduction, which is often in the sellers’ best interests, Realtors in our experience have not only met these contractual obligations as per signed addendums but have done so immediately and without temptation to cut corners. They have provided updates, pictures, and receipts, from the appropriate licensed and bonded tradespeople. They do this because they are trying to avoid any issues at completion, which could include holdbacks by the conveyancing lawyers or notaries, leading to any number of issues including potential financing challenges on their own purchase.
They also make sure any ‘clean condition’ clauses in the contract are responded to appropriately. Many of us are giving keys to buyers every weekend, there’s nothing worse than arriving at a home to see the previous owners’ contents still in the driveway or immediately realizing the appliances are still filthy. Realtors know how special a possession day can be and they want to do everything they can to help those new owners enjoy their new home as much as they did.
They Recognize The Value
Perhaps the biggest surprise in this article would be that Realtors hire other Realtors to sell their homes! We’ve all seen those FSBOs (For Sale By Owners) from people that rightly or wrongly believe they can do it themselves; well, there’s no doubt a Realtor could sell their own home! Sure, there are some additional processes to walk through, like having all parties sign a ‘Notice of Interest in Trade,’ and there are liabilities to take into account, but that’s not the reason most Realtors hire other Realtors to hire their homes – they actually recognize the value!
In our experience that recognition of value has led to smooth processes, respectful relationships, and successful sales. Similar to servers being the best tippers, Realtors have been some of our best clients because their experience has influenced their behaviour. Hopefully you’ve found these observations helpful and if you’re considering selling your own property don’t hesitate to reach out to us to discuss how we can work together for your successful sale too.
Feel free to reach out at david@davidsmithhomes.ca, on Facebook or Instagram, or at 778-246-4344.