Choosing a Listing Agent: Price or Performance, Part 2

Remember my last post? This one, which I posted in October, about a client who listed their house with another agent who charged them less than I would have.

The house she was trying to sell has since sold and closed, and so I asked her to recap her experience.
She summed it up this way – “He was ok. You get what you pay for.”

Basically, she said saved a lot of money, but there were numerous frustrating things. The agent encouraged her to lower the price of the house instead of fixing an item called out on the home inspection report. He also told her that the item in question was water damage when it was actually a siding issue, which, if left unchecked, could, years down the road, POSSIBLY, lead to water damage. She repeatedly requested a copy of the inspection report and only after she got a copy did she discover the true situation I outlined above.

The details weren’t taken care of, either. She still had some keys to hand over to the new owners WEEKS after it had closed.

You know how if you don’t get a job, you’re supposed to call and ask the hiring manager why you didn’t get the job? Let me tell you a secret…I HATE to do that, and therefore usually don’t. However, I took a deep breath and asked Theresa the following – “Quick question – if someone asked you who they should use for their Realtor, would you still recommend me, or would you say it doesn’t matter, just price matters?”

She responded that she’d ask the person which was more important, price or service, and respond accordingly. And if the person was a buyer, she’d definitely recommend me (the seller pays for the Realtors involved in a sale).

I am so thankful I had this experience. I learned a lot about my business, my brand, and the perception of real estate and real estate agents by the general public.