A NEW PERSPECTIVE

WELCOME

Oh, my stars and stripes, how is it almost May already? Where did April go? I must be having fun because time is just flying by!

Just before I started this newsletter, I read an article about how real estate commission rates have barely budged since the ruling against the NAR. A lot of people are surprised about this, but we shouldn’t be because we know that selling real estate is about a lot more than unlocking a door and saying, “Here’s the family room.” 

So if the rates are staying consistent, that tells me that we’re doing our job of proving our value in strategy, in negotiation, in expertise. We’re still earning the same because we provide the marketing that actually attracts eyeballs and we give the tough love that comes with leveling with our buyers and sellers and managing their expectations. And you know what? That’s awfully good to hear!

This week’s topic is something I have never before experienced as an agent—seeing a home I previously sold through a buyer’s eyes. So let’s dive right in!

STORY TIME WITH GLENNDA

A Fresh Set of Eyes

I have never lost a listing and then shown it to a buyer… until last week.

Hand to God, in thirty years, this has never happened. So I have always had the seller's interest in mind when I list a house. Like, I know who the buyer is and I know how much the buyer should pay for the house, but I've always ultimately shown it from the seller's interest.

I lost this listing at 123 Banana Street while back. I couldn't sell it because it was overpriced. My pricing suggestion was $1.95M and the seller wanted to list it for $3.5M. There’s a hell of a lot of disparity there, but Bobby and Susie the sellers were resolute. So I gritted my teeth and I listed it at the impossible sum of $3.5M. Eventually, they consented to a price reduction to $2.9M.

I didn't sell it because it simply was not sellable at that price, but we did end up leasing it.

Unfortunately, there was problem with the tenant during this lease. Bobby and Susie felt as though I didn't protect them during the lease application process. The truth was there wasn't anything that I could have done because the tenant had a good credit score and a fine job history. He had money in the bank. Plus, we’d received a rental reference from the agent who had leased him another house. There was no reason to believe he’d be a problem. So we leased this (overpriced) home to this guy and discovered there was only a problem once he became a problem.

Turns out this tenant was being evicted from where he was living and the agent who’d provided the reference wasn’t exactly transparent. My clients felt like I hadn't protected them. While I did everything in my power and within the bounds of the law to take care of them, they felt like I’d not done a good enough job for them.

After they got the tenant out, they ended up listing the house again—not with me. The agent they chose was a jerk, number one. Let’s call him Dick. Number two, I didn't realize they had even listed the property because the new agent had put the wrong school district in the MLS.

My buyers were looking for a very specific middle school/high school combination, so this property didn’t come up in my searches. Actually, it was my buyer who said, “Wait, what about 123 Banana Street?” So I reached out to the owners directly because I knew them and I said, “Hey, I have a client who'd like to see the Banana Street property. Is that possible?” I figured maybe they’d consider an offer if someone were interested.

The sellers told me, “Yes, we've just listed it with Dick, please reach out to him.” I was sort of floored because I didn’t know it was on the market. Then Dick calls me up and says, “Did you reach out to my clients?” And I'm like, “Come on. You know that I’d had that listing previously. I apologize I didn't realize that you that you had the new listing.” I was so confused because the home was in my TMZ and that’s how I found out he’d put in the wrong schools. (For perspective in the school districts, it would be like telling someone you got into some community college in New Jersey when you were really accepted to Princeton.)

What was interesting was seeing this home this time through my buyer’s eyes.

Coming in with a buyer, I suddenly saw all of the flaws. When I’m the listing agent, in my head, I’m always thinking, What are the positives? What can I sell on it? Why is somebody going to buy it? Because I'm looking at it in the interest of the seller, right?

Suddenly, my whole perspective on the place had to shift. I'm now looking at it with buyer’s eyes. So I see the that the cabinets aren't soft-close, that they're cheap. I see that the floor, that Dick told them to refinish, looks like a damn roller-skating rink. It's completely shiny (not in a good way) and I'm seeing the property in a different light.

My buyer asks me, “How much do you think the house is worth?”

I reply, “Well, let me ask you a question. At what price are you a buyer for this house?”

He sighs. “What do you need, Glennda? Just tell me how much you think it's worth.”

I tell him, “No, you're missing the point. At what price are you a buyer for this house?”

He pauses and mulls it over and a funny look crosses his face. He finally says, “Well… I don't know. Actually, Glennda, I don't know that I'm a buyer for this house at any price.”

I laugh and say, “Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding! That’s the issue. You're not a buyer for this house at any price, because the house is functionally obsolete. Dick has the house listed at $2.5M. Are you a buyer at this price?”

He laughs. “Absolutely not.”

“Then what price are you a buyer?” I ask.

He says, “Maybe the lot is worth $1.5M?”

I say, “The lot is worth that all day, every day, twice on Sunday. But to build a house and you want 10,000 square feet, it's going to cost you $300 to $400 a square foot. Now you're in it at $5 million and that's not your budget. So you're not a buyer for this house at any price.”

That’s when I realized that at most people are not a buyer for this house at any price, which I never understood as the sellers’ agent. I’d never taken into consideration that while the house was an impressive 10,000 square feet, the house screams 1996 like a set of shoulder pads. And that was the root of the problem that I’d been twisting myself into a pretzel to sell around.

I swear to God, having that realization made me a better real estate agent. I’m not kidding; it hit me like a bolt of lightning.

If y’all think about it, I've been selling real estate since Jesus was baby. I've been in every kind of situation I have. I have a vast skill set when it comes to real estate. There's not any situation that you can put me in that I can't figure my way out of in real estate, and yet I had never, ever had the benefit of this type of vantage point.

Ultimately, that realization made me feel so much better about not getting that listing again. Honestly, I was so upset, I didn't sleep that Thursday night when I learned that Bobby and Susie had had listed this house with somebody else. I wasn’t upset about the loss of the business; it was the loss of the relationship. I was all torn up over the realization that they didn't feel like I had protected them and I was really devastated by that. I was worried that going into this showing, it was just going to be too emotional for me.

But I went, and now I am so glad that I did.

Because now I have added the skill of altering my perspective to my tool chest.

@glenndabaker

Tell me… Do you agree? I’m not sure if it’s a good thing or a bad thing but what you consume shapes your perception of reality. #GlenndaBa... See more

Win the Listing Before You Walk In — Free Q&A with Glennda Baker

Get chosen before you even step through the door.

I’m sharing exactly how I win the listing before the appointment even starts. From powerful pre-listing packages to authentic video messages, I’ll show you how to make sellers say, “You’re the one.”

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👉 Watch the free Q&A — on demand now!

GLENNDA’S GURU

Welcome, Sharran Srivatsaa!

I am super excited to introduce y’all to Sharran Srivatsaa today! Sharran is the president of Real, which is the fastest growing publicly traded real estate brokerage in the world. He’s a former banker and a sought-after keynote speaker and he’s often called “the Navy SEAL of coaches” as he advises some of the country’s most successful entrepreneurs. So get ready to be inspired!

Thank you, Sharran!

GLENNDAISM

Today’s Words of Wisdom

GLENNDA BAKER & ASSOCIATES

I’m Glennda Baker and I Sell All Kinds of Homes

I am very proud to sell homes of all kinds, from a cozy townhouse to a young couple’s starter bungalow to a sweet grandma-style ranch. I love to sell them all.

Of course, sometimes I have the opportunity to represent a property like this one at 720 Heards Ferry Road, where I need pictures, not words to do it justice.