It’s happening more in today’s shifting market… you get your client under contract only for it to fall apart days or weeks before closing. Nothing is more frustrating to a buyer, seller or an agent than that. So, how can we move contracts forward? In Gary Keller’s bestselling book SHIFT: How Top Agents Tackle Tough Times he says, “When the market shifts buyer concerns often linger to some degree all the way to closing and possibly for months afterwards. Buyers are simply more open to any opportunity to rethink, renegotiate, or even break their contract. As they listen to the media, fellow coworkers, friends and family, buyers are likely to question their own judgement.”
In today’s Team Meeting at Keller Williams Realty Cary, I asked to of our top agents to share their tips with everyone on how to keep contracts together and get it to closing. Doris Vaughan and Joanne Martin both said it starts with keeping communication open between the client and the co-op agent. Agents should remember it’s their job to help the client get it to closing and to keep emotions down. The seller wants to sell and the buyer wants to buy. Too often the emotion of the process can upset the buyer, seller or co-op agent and the deal starts to fall apart.
Doris and Joanne also talked about the importance of setting an expectation on price. Sellers may want to sell their home for more than the market will allow and buyers my be looking for a “deal.” Joanne said agents should make sure sellers have a lot of data on home values. You can find great information on inventory, sales data, sales price and more from the Triangle MLS. It gets updated monthly and is even broken down by town. Joanne and Doris say it is important to share this info with buyers and sellers.
Doris said negotiating repairs is a huge step in getting a home to closing. She suggested that buyers and sellers look for a win-win when working on repairs and to find out what is really important to the buyer. Said said including a home warranty during the listing period is also a good idea. It can help sellers save home with it comes to expensive repairs.
Gary’s book SHIFT is full of great ideas to help any agent in today’s market. Let me know if you need a copy.
James Shaw 