Honestly, it’s honesty

When a seller calls me to discuss listing their house, I ask if they have some time and then conduct a pre-listing interview.  I ask questions like the reason for the sale, amount left owing on the mortgage, personal opinion of value, etc.  I also always ask, “What three things are you looking for in a Realtor?

I get all kinds of answers; “Someone who is aggressive in marketing the house…”,”Someone who isn’t going to just put my house on the MLS and do nothing else…”, “Someone who is going to return my calls!”  The other day I asked a gentleman who called and he said he wanted, among other things, honesty.  Then, he turned the question back on me.  What three things did I want from a client?

Wow. No one before had asked me that.  So, I had to think…what DID I want from a client?  I wound up stuttering something about honesty.  There is a saying in real estate…”Buyer are liars…” because a buyer will say they want a two-story with 4 bedrooms and they’ll wind up buying a 2-bedroom rambler.  I don’t think they’re liars so much, as just uncertain about what they want.

But, the more I thought about it, the more sure I was that honesty was what I wanted.  TELL me if you feel I’m not doing a good job for you.  I can’t change and become a better agent unless I know what you’re really thinking.