BOOK REVIEW: Buyers Are Liars & Sellers Are Too!
Quick Skim
As emotions kick in, buyers and sellers often turn into their own worst enemy. Where does that leave you? In the middle, trying to sort out the half-truths and translate what your clients really mean. Veteran real estate broker Richard Courtney helps decode a language he calls “Buyerese” in his new book. Using a humorous approach, he uncovers the big “lies” of buying and selling a home from four perspectives: the buyer, the seller, and the real estate agents who represent each of them.
Tips from the Book: 5 Buyer and Seller Misperceptions
In Buyers Are Liars & Sellers Are Too! (Fireside Books/Simon & Schuster, 2006), Courtney points out some of the following popular misperceptions of clients and offers suggestions on how you can get them closer to the truth:
1. Ma and pa approval. Warning about meeting the parents: They can spot a nail hole from 70 feet away through two sets of windows, Courtney writes. When working with first-time home buyers particularly, expect the parents to meddle, to be overly protective, and to question how in the world their little boy or girl will be able to afford such an expense! For a positive working relationship, correct parents gently when they’re wrong, reinforce their ideas when accurate, and thank them for their insight in areas you may have overlooked.
2. Popped nail — the house is falling! Don’t let home inspections scare your clients. Some home inspectors will note every nail pop, paint chip, settlement crack, and squeaky faucet. Encourage clients to educate themselves on what’s major and what’s not. After all, most repairs that inspectors consider necessary are inexpensive and easily fixable. When the inspection is done, work with the sellers and their agent to decide who will pay for the repairs.
3. The dream house, without compromise. Courtney once worked with a couple who adamantly wanted a ranch home, but not on a corner lot, and definitely not near a street with a
yellow line (which they equated as too busy). What’d they buy? The house they claimed they didn’t want. Many buyers haven’t viewed enough houses to be able to know exactly what they want, Courtney says. Point out benefits and features of a home or neighborhood, any deficiencies you know of, and reasonable expectations and costs of the features your clients want, backed up with comparable sales information.
4. The first offer is always too low. Contrary to popular belief among sellers, most buyers do not purposely lowball them with the first offer to start negotiations. Sellers shouldn’t automatically reject or counteroffer, because they may miss out. Clients should be encouraged to take a good offer, whenever they get it.
5. Foreclosures are great deals. Many buyers may be attracted to foreclosed properties, believing they’re underpriced and represent a good deal. But Courtney cautions: The reason the previous owners allowed the foreclosure to happen is because they couldn’t sell the property. Courtney recommends practitioners provide a CMA and explain the value of the property to any prospective buyers. As for the seller agent, Courtney suggests not marketing the house as a foreclosed property.
Sneak Peek
“Most homeowners put great stock in that old adage, ‘There’s a sucker born every minute,’ and most real estate agents seem to have a big ‘S’ magically tattooed on their foreheads so that it appears only at listing presentations. No matter how competent or experienced the agent, the seller is determined to bamboozle him. Caution, comparable-sales information, current marketing conditions, and reason are thrown to the wind. These potential sellers have decided for some reason to move, even though they are leaving the best house ever designed and constructed. The Taj Mahal pales in comparison with this place, so chock-full of amenities and representing a value so great that to sell at true market value (plus about 25 percent) entails a sacrifice assuring the sellers of sainthood. Many sellers seem to believe this. That’s when it really gets scary.”
About the Author
Richard Courtney, CRB, CRS®, ABR®, is a broker at Fridrich & Clark Realty LLC and has more than two decades of experience in the real estate business. He is the 2007 president of the Greater Nashville Association of REALTORS® and a member of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS’® Board of Directors.
Courtney will respond to submitted questions on Monday, April 23.
Comments
Author Richard Courtney is ready to answer your questions about the misperceptions that buyers and sellers often have about real estate. Submit your questions for him to bookblog@realtors.org by Thurs., April 19.
In the meantime, let's chat here: What are some misperceptions about real estate that you've heard from buyers and sellers?
Posted by: Melissa Tracey | April 16, 2007 09:59 AM
This is a great book. While reading this book, you will be inserting your clients names into the story line. Make sure you have a conversation with your home inspector prior to them meeting with your buyers.
Posted by: Jason Whaley | April 16, 2007 12:34 PM
I'm sorry, what????
"Make sure you have a conversation with YOUR home inspector prior to them meeting with YOUR buyers"????
The home inspector is hired by, and works for, the buyer.
What kind of "conversation" are you suggesting you have with the home inspector? Something along the lines of, "I really need this commission, so try not to find anything wrong with it, okay?"
You sound very shifty.
Posted by: John K | April 18, 2007 12:35 AM
I agree with Jason! Don't get in the middle of it! Talk to the inspector before???? The only conversation, I would have would be, what are your qualifications and are you bonded and licensed? I usually have the client there during the last hour (alone) of the inspection. I do not show up at ALL!!!!
Liablilty..........
Posted by: Susan W. | April 18, 2007 02:13 PM
Loved your description of sellers about to leave the best property ever built; how comps and market conditions do not affect pricing, etc. I really am still smiling as it is so true. A house being marketed based on comps is like saying 'your child is ugly!'
I have been educated by some of these sellers who had 'real brass switch plates' - which we all know is item numero uno on a buyer checklist. I also never realized a garage has no value, as 'people do not use them' and square footage really does not matter - we love our buyers and sellers. What a country!
Posted by: Andrea Heil | April 18, 2007 06:51 PM
I always have a conversation with my client's home inspector with regard to the scope of their work. I once had an inspector make undesirable remarks to the buyer about my seller's neighborhood which were untrue and only his perception. That is not his job. Inspectors are hired to do only one thing and opinions of value, the school district, etc. are unwelcome.
Posted by: Janet Miller | April 18, 2007 10:27 PM
I think a common misperception is that with all of the information easily available on the internet or in books...that our buyers and sellers are highly educated about the process. It surprises me how little the general public really knows about the intricacies of buying or selling real estate. It is up to us to educate our clients and most of all, to listen to what they are saying so that we know that when they say, "I will not buy a house with wallpaper" that they are really saying "I've had a horrible experience removing wallpaper in my last house." Empathize with them, let them know that you hear them, and discuss possible solutions should they find the perfect house, except for the fact that it is covered in wallpaper! Thanks for putting a funny spin on this!
Posted by: Kelly Sibilsky | April 19, 2007 08:46 AM
Wow, I can't wait to read this. Sounds great! I had a seller once tell me that they should get $20K more b/c they had telephone & cable in every room! I also had a seller tell me that they WERE going to leave the "linoleum rug in the kitchen" (that is rolled vinyl flooring!) This is definitely not a boring business!
Posted by: Libbi Logan | April 19, 2007 11:29 AM
Very interesting... as always! Cheers from -Switzerland-.
Posted by: Dog training | November 23, 2007 07:51 AM
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End ^) See you
Posted by: shadowbo | January 29, 2008 02:37 AM