When I first got my real estate license in 2004, my broker advised me to advertise someone else’s listing because I didn’t have one. The strategy would help me kick start my business! It was a win for the agent representing the seller because they could say the ‘company’ was advertising the property, and they didn’t have to spend the advertising dollars. I had no idea this would become my first significant failure in real estate sales. Not only did I learn my lessons from the experience, it got me on the fast track to success.
The property I chose was a true fixer in the San Geronimo Valley. It needed everything, which was why it hadn’t sold. The price also had something to do with it. I can’t remember if I advertised the property in our local Marin Independent Journal or the Marin Homes Magazine, but I was pleasantly surprised when I received several calls. Suddenly, I had clients! Or so I thought. Unfortunately, that’s not really how it works in real estate sales. Sometimes it’s a game, and I was about to get played.
Because it was basically the lowest priced house in Marin at the time, the people calling on the property were contractors and dreamers. The lowest priced properties always bring out the buyers who are looking for a way into the market, trying to turn a profit or both. I connected with several contractors and began showing properties. One of the contractors told me he had his own agent after I showed him a few places, which it would have been nice to know up front. Another contractor wrote several offers with me, but after they were rejected in multiple offer frenzies I realized I was on the wrong end of the business.
Yet another buyer I picked up had me drive her all over Marin. We probably went out a dozen times. When we finally found the property she wanted, I told her we needed her pre-approval letter so we could write the offer. She had told me repeatedly that she was pre-approved. It turned out she wasn’t. That was a total rookie mistake, you should always get pre-approvals before your start showing houses.
There was another reason I was failing miserably. There’s an old saying in real estate sales, ‘list to last’. After two months in the business, I completely changed my focus and began working with sellers. A house has kind of a one-to-many relationship in a seller’s market. There are many potential buyers for any house that is on the market. A buyer has the opposite, many-to-one relationship with the market. It didn’t make sense for me to build my business competing against all the other buyer agents out there for the homes that came on the market. The most efficient use of my time was representing sellers.
I’ve become very selective about the buyers I work with over the years. I work mostly with family, friends, neighbors, and referrals. Unless if I feel like there is a real connection with a buyer, I won’t create the bandwidth to work with them. Representing buyers can be very time consuming, especially on nights and weekends. So I don’t try to get phone numbers or email address when I meet potential buyers. I leave the buyers to other agents. Like nature, real estate abhors a vacuum and there are plenty of Realtors out there who will do whatever it takes to track down those buyers and strike up a relationship. My loss? Sometimes ‘yes’, more often than not I like to think ‘no’.
I never have represented many buyers. I like working with buyers because it can be fun and fulfilling. The bread and butter of my business is representing sellers though. Always has been, and hopefully always will be.
---Thank you for reading my blog! If you or any of your friends ever have any real estate questions please feel free to contact me.