Hi Kim,
We are currently not representing sellers in Passaic County, but I do wish you the best of luck. I did want to comment about your statement concerning price adjustments. A Realtor is doing you a disservice if he/she does not provide you market feedback and advice on the necessary adjustments needed to secure a sales contract. I acknowledge that there is a difference between informing and pressuring.

Obtaining a contract will result from proper pricing and aggressive marketing. Make the price too high and it reduces or eliminates the goal of a sales contract. Also, minimal marketing will also negatively impact your ability to get highest and best price. You will need to pay enough to a Realtor to obtain high caliber and aggrressive marketing.

Open houses are part of a full scale comprehensive marketing program. I generally recommend sellers allow a few. Mulitple open houses make you appear desparate and overpriced.

Best of luck to you. You will probably meet a few prospective listing agents here on Trulia. If you post your email address on your profile, Realtors will be able to reach out to you that way. Totally your choice, of course.

All the best.
Deborah

Sat Jan 5 2008, 11:03

Just to give you an update. We will be cancelling my contract with our realtor today by mutual agreement. We will be looking for a more internet savvy realtor and one who will be able to work with us (no open houses and no pressure to lower price) and who is from the area and doesn't charge large commissions.

Thanks, Kim

Sat Jan 5 2008, 10:47

Thanks for your answers. Just to note...my agent/broker is avoiding my IDX requests. We have a contract with him until Feb 11th. After that, we will probably look for another agent that has a reasonable commission rate and is willing to work with me. Thanks for your input. Hope you have a great holiday!

Thanks, Kim

Wed Dec 26 2007, 06:10

Buyers usually ask that question to measure the motivation of the sellers as a negotiation tool. Other reasons are to uncover problems. Buyers wonder if your reason for not wanting be there might be cause for them to not want to buy there. i.e. The neighbor has loud parties. I don't find it an irrelevant question. Understanding the other parties wants, needs and motivation is taught in many negotiation strategy classes and books. The fact is, though, you don't ferret out that actual real answer that easily. When you don't get to the heart of that matter, and you don't know the real reason, then the given answer is irrelevant.

As a seller, any communicaiton provided that screams motivation tells the buyer that he/she has some leverage. Any communication from a seller that shouts, "I don't have to sell." may disuade real buyers in search of an alternative who they deem more realistic.

And, as an aside, Kim, can you send me some of those people who don't care about price. I have sold from the under 100K to over 5M and haven't found those clients yet. Just kidding, it is my job to get the best highest price/best terms for my seller clients and I pride myself in doing that well.

Fri Nov 9 2007, 09:09

You are correct, Kim, buyers want to know why people are selling, but you know what? THAT is irrelevant also! Buyers always ask me why, in the hopes they can find out if a seller is desperate or how motivated they are. When they say why are they moving, I answer "Probably for the same reason YOU are moving, they either want a bigger house or a job transfer....what difference does it make". I have said in the past there must be some "secrets to negotiating" book I haven't read, but yes, buyers are very interested in some things that are irrelevant to them, but it's usually in the quest to pay LESS, not help the seller out.

Fri Nov 9 2007, 08:56

JR and Deborah,

Thanks for your responses. I understand that people don't care why BUT I also have known that buyers also like to know WHY someone is selling their house. I have been asked by many people why we are selling our house and that is why I stated what I did to JR. I understand that price is very important in the current market and the buyer doesn't care that I would need a bigger house. I also have done my homework for similar houses and watch the market almost daily. I am also a buyer so I understand how important price is. People buy for a variety of reasons and living in Northern New Jersey there are people who don't care about price and others who really do. I, as a buyer, care about price. I was just explaining my position. If it doesn't sell then we will take it off the market until the situation improves. As long as my daughter gets into the school we need her to, we can live there for another school year.

Kim

Fri Nov 9 2007, 08:37

HI Kim,

I just read JR's recent post. I don't think JR meant to offend you. Neither is that my intent here, either. JR is correct in the post just written.

Any sellers’ need for additional dollars does not create a willingness for a buyer to pay more. Buyers are looking to pay the least and get the most. All of the advertising and marketing this side of the moon won't sell a listing if the price is too high for the buyers in the market. Absolutely no offense meant; nor am I indicating that your price is too high. I haven’t looked at your property or the comps. It is a fact in the marketplace that buyers buy based upon the best value for their dollar, and their personal wants and needs.

It is certainly your choice to sell or not sell in a given market. There are some sellers who say they would rather stay in their home vs. selling. It is your right to make that choice, if appropriate for you. If you are committed to selling, the price is set by the market, not what you want or need to get out of it at closing.

You need price and exposure. Right pricing and broad exposure to find those buyers who are active in this market. Broad exposure at too high of a price helps to sell the competition, not your property. When a property is advertised and the price is high, it reinforces to the buyer that the neighbor who is selling has a good deal for them. Right pricing without exposure will not bring potential buyers to your doorstep. They must know about it in order to act.


Deborah

Fri Nov 9 2007, 08:11

Kim wrote:
JR,

I think you should find out the REAL reason I have to sell my house before you just assume that the sole reason is due to just the price. My daughter has autism and we want to move to a township like Pompton Lakes that has an autistic preschool for her. We figure if she is living there that they need to take her versus fighting with our current school district to get her there. Also, we need a bigger house because our original plans to keep both kids in one room won't work due to my daughter's autism. She is very distracted by others and if my other daughter slept in the same room, she might not sleep. THAT IS THE REASON WE NEED TO MOVE. So maybe you shouldn't just judge me based on a single statement and find out all the facts before you pass on a possible sale....
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kim I am very sorry for your situation, and the fact your daughter is autistic.... This is what you wrote previously: "We can't afford to lower the price too much more or we won't be able to afford another larger home. " --------------- Whether the reason you can't afford to lower the price is because of illness, debt, divorce, family size, or just because you want more money--those reasons are still IRRELEVANT to what your house is worth. I'm sorry my answer offended you, do you understand what I am saying? The reason you need a bigger house is not going to make someone pay more for yours than it is worh.

Fri Nov 9 2007, 06:19

Kim,
Thanks for providing your MLS #, I will look at it later. Chances are minimal that I have a buyer, but I will look. Good luck on a move to Pompton Lakes!

As far as IDX and lawsuits..........As a broker, yes, I keep up w/ those developments. It is our judgement call in our office to participate in IDX feeds, cooperate with all brokers, encourage sellers to pay /include competitive buyer agent splits, and post on multiple real estate sites/portals. Yes, you have to price competitive to sell. Buyers buy by comparison, and if the competing property down the street offers more power for the punch, the buyers will gravitate toward the competition. You need to price right (I have no comment that you are or are not priced right, I have not looked at your property or the comps). And, you need to be broadly eposed to reach buyers directly or through their agents. When we represent sellers, we stress the imporatnce of both in order to achieve a contract at the highest price and best terms.

Deborah

Fri Nov 9 2007, 05:39

Marc,

Our Garden State MLS number is 2434453 in case anyone is interested. It is also zoned for business use so if anyone has clients that may want a home and a business, this is a possibility for them.

Thanks, Kim

Fri Nov 9 2007, 05:20

JR,

I think you should find out the REAL reason I have to sell my house before you just assume that the sole reason is due to just the price. My daughter has autism and we want to move to a township like Pompton Lakes that has an autistic preschool for her. We figure if she is living there that they need to take her versus fighting with our current school district to get her there. Also, we need a bigger house because our original plans to keep both kids in one room won't work due to my daughter's autism. She is very distracted by others and if my other daughter slept in the same room, she might not sleep. THAT IS THE REASON WE NEED TO MOVE. So maybe you shouldn't just judge me based on a single statement and find out all the facts before you pass on a possible sale....

Fri Nov 9 2007, 05:10

Oh and here is a link to the "lawsuit"

Thu Nov 8 2007, 17:28

Hi Kim,

There is no problem with agencies using IDX. He's talking about a longstanding anti-trust action that involves the National Association of Realtors and control of listing data. This has nothing at all to do with day-to-day use of IDX as it is now implemented. 90% of all active listings in Bloomingdale are presently IDX'ed. There is no reason to wait for the outcome of any lawsuits.

As far as lowering price, it can't hurt if you are not getting any showings. The market is obviously much slower and we are getting close to the holiday season, which is traditionally slow aside from the problems in the market at large.

I would get IDX'ed, and try 2 more weeks at your current price. If you still get no showings, you can try a lower price. Also, internet syndication would be a good idea. Aside from the MLS and Realtor websites, there are a whole host of sites where consumers search for real estate. For example, Google, Yahoo Real Estate, here on Trulia, propsmart, edgeio, oodle, craigslist, ebay homes, nytimes.com, real estate advisor, Homescape, backpage, Vast, etc. Internet syndication is the process where your listing is fed to all of these sites along with pictures and descriptions. Have your agent get to work on this also. You never know where your buyer is coming from. You want your listing to be displayed on every possible home search website.

-Marc

Thu Nov 8 2007, 17:20

Just to let everyone know. My broker called me and told me that the reason he is not using IDX was he was in some sort of real estate conference last week and they said that there may be some lawsuits as a result of misuse of information through IDX listings. He said he is waiting for the outcome of these lawsuits. Has anyone heard of this? He also asked me to lower my price a little bit. He is concerned that no agents have even requested a showing.

Thu Nov 8 2007, 13:00

Hi Kim,

If you want, contact me through my website. I know of a really neat program that will stitch photos together perfectly to achieve a wide angle look. It's perfect for small rooms and digital cameras without wide angle lenses.

Also, go online and take a look at the pictures for 96. They were pretty good and made me want to look at the inside. You want to shoot for that effect. Sort of like a good movie trailer - the pictures should make you want to see the movie.

-Marc

Thu Nov 8 2007, 09:22

Marc, that is our house. 96 is smaller than ours on the inside and their yard is not as nice and they had to sell quickly due to a divorce. I will take your suggestions into consideration. We were trying to take more inside pictures but pictures like the bathroom were hard to take due to its angle. Thanks for your assistance.

Kim

Thu Nov 8 2007, 09:07

Kim,
I think that you hit the nail on the head - if you agent is the broker and he doesn't even have a website then you are probably right about not being interent savy - the