I love helping home buyers and home sellers around Pasadena with their real estate needs. My passion, though, is helping sellers market and sell their homes for the highest possible price and in the quickest possible time.
An unfortunate real estate trend for me personally in this real estate market is that I have been walking away from listings. It seems like there are a lot of unreasonable sellers in the Pasadena market place recently.
I had 3 listing appointments over the last two weeks and decided NOT to work with any of these home sellers.
Here are the top 7 reasons for me NOT to list your home:
- Unreasonable sales price: It seems that there are a lot of uneducated or oblivious home sellers in Pasadena. Let me say this – NO REALTOR EVER SETS THE PRICE FOR A HOME! A final sales price is a function of the real estate market. It’s what a home buyer is willing to pay and a home seller willing to accept. There are clear real estate market statistics and indicators that drive the suggested price of a Pasadena home. I do not make them up. I can not change them at will. Multiple Listing Service and companies like Altos Research can provide comprehensive market statistics. OVERPRICING a home will only ensure that your home will sell for much less than what it is worth. I refuse to take a home listing that is overpriced and offer home sellers false hope. There are enough real estate agents out there that are willing to do that.
- READ MORE: Pasadena Real Estate Market Report
- Sellers refusal to Stage their home: Homes that are not staged properly will not sell for the highest possible price AND they will sit on the market, and sit on the market, and sit on the market. Did I make my point yet? I do not want to waste my time or the seller’s if they are unwilling to stage their home.
- SEE MORE: Staging! It Works!
- Sellers that refuse to clean their homes and keep them clean during the listing agreement. That’s pretty self explanatory. Some people are willing to spend more time on getting their car ready for sale than their house.
- Sellers that refuse to give access to showing their house. So… what you’re saying is that you want to sell, but show it only when it pleases you? Selling a home is quite frankly inconvenient. If you live in the house that you are selling, it’s even more difficult. You lose a lot of your privacy. But, to sell the home successfully, easy access is needed to the house.
- READ MORE: Make a Great First Impression
- Sellers insisting on paper advertising. Most buyers now come from the internet. I spend a lot of time and money optimizing my seller’s home listings so that these homes are found quickly and by many potential buyers. I refuse to placify sellers who just want to see their home photo in LA Times or Pasadena Star News. Did you know that LA Times is no longer publishing a Real Estate section? Why? Because it doesn’t work! When you hire me to sell your job, trust me to do just that. I am fully incentivized to sell it quickly and the highest possible price. After all, I do not get paid, until you do!
- Sellers insisting on continuous Open Houses. Open Houses do not work effectively. Some Open Houses, especially at the beginning of a home listing period are absolutely necessary. For example, broker’s open house, twilight neighborhood open house. Consistent open houses are only good for realtors. They are ways to find buyers – not for your home mind you, but for other available homes. Open Houses can lead to theft as in the recent number of San Marino home thefts during Open Houses. Again, Mr. & Mrs. Seller, please trust me to do my job and protect you and your investment.
- READ MORE: Open Houses are NOT All the Same
- Sellers that argue with me over commission and contract period of the listing. Now… I can write, and probably will shortly, an article on commissions. Let me suffice it to say that you as a seller have options. You can choose to sell your Pasadena home yourself. You can sell it with a discount broker. Or, you can sell your home with me and get more in your bottom line. My home listings consistently sell for 3.1% more than the Pasadena Foothill Board average and sell 12% faster than the average*. I leverage the latest technology and social media marketing to ensure that your home sells quickly and for the most money. And, you can cancel your contract with me at any time with 24 hours notice. I take the risks, not you Mr. Home Seller.
So if you are a serious and motivated home seller in or around Pasadena, please call me @ (626) 629-8439. I’d love to work with you. Or you can feel free to email me.
* Statistics based on 2004 and 2005 data
