On Malarkey
One thing that brokers are afraid to say to you: I don't know. I think they fear this will make them seem unknowledgeable or even incompetent. So what you get instead is some complete malarkey. I have seen buyers and sellers do the most ridiculous things based on this problem.
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The Fear:
Seller: Why is our house not selling?Broker: I’m not sure.Seller: What do you mean you’re not sure? We are paying you to know!
The Result:
Seller: Why is our house not selling?Broker: Hmm, maybe you need to paint the exterior.Seller: But we just painted it last year.Broker: I mean…the interior.Seller: Really? What color do you suggest?
The Truth:
Seller: Why is our house not selling?Broker: You know, I’m really not sure. I think we’ve done everything and then some. We might just have to wait.
(Back to) The Fear:
Seller: You know, we’ve waited long enough…You’re fired.
The Lesson: Have an answer for everything. Or if you have to, make one up.
The Malarkey:
Seller: Okay, we took your advice and painted the interior, but why is our house is still not selling?Broker: Have you considered new shrubbery?
Sometimes this is about pricing. And the broker just does not want to ask you to lower the price (again). There is an old expression in the real estate business: Price cures all. Sometimes you’ve done everything that can be done. If you are getting showings, your house is probably priced correctly and you just need to wait for the right buyer to come along. But if you have done everything you can, and are still not getting showings, odds are you need to lower your price.
One other scenario to watch for: Your broker is not getting the house sold, so you fire him. Then you hire a second broker, and at the same time substantially lower the price, and the house sells quickly. The first broker is a bum and second broker is a genius. Right?
The real lesson: Hire someone not afraid to tell you the truth, even if that truth is, in fact, I’m not sure. Even if the truth is: We need to lower the price. And if what they are telling you sounds like malarkey, it probably is.