Expired Real Estate Listings in Hendersonville, North Carolina

     Mr. Owner hates it when six months go by and his house that he listed with a Hendersonville Realtor did not sell.  It expired in the Multiple Listing Service.  The big question is why did my  real estate listing expire?  Was it because the real estate agency did not advertise it enough?  Was it because I have a cement plant next door?  Was it because the house was a little messy?  Was it because my agent did not return my calls so I assume he did not return other calls also?  Was it because of my functional obsolescence?    http://www.rondclimer.blogspot.com/2015/01/with-hendersonville-north-carolina-real.html   If you have forgotten what functional obsolescence is, read use this link to read about it.  Functional obsolescence  is in a lot of Hendersonville houses.

     Probably, most likely, I'm pretty sure that the reason your property did not sell after being exposed to the marketplace through the M.L.S.  for six months is that the price is too high.  Did you turn down any offers?  Did you have a lot of showing that did not turn into offers?  Did you have only a few showings?  When a house is for sale in Hendersonville at a too high price, a good Realtor can often get an offer at the right price from a buyer.  A mediocre Realtor has no chance.  It takes a lot of sales skill to get a buyer to make an offer on a house that the buyer and the Realtor recognize as being too much.  Also, if that Realtor is experienced, he knows that he will have to do an equal amount of salesmanship on the listing agent and the seller before we get to closing.  Why not just go show a right priced listing to his potential  buyer?   The over priced listing just sits on the market and expires in six months.

     We had an excellent sales trainer at Keller Williams Realty Mountain Properties  ( www.hendersonvillekw.com ) that taught me a new phrase.  She said,"Mr. Seller, You are the high bidder for your own property.  You get to keep it."   Isn't that a great thought.  Picture this.  You just got a new job in  Atlanta.  You listed your Hendersonville house with a Hendersonville Realtor for $300,000 even though the Realtor recommended a $285,000 price based on his research.  Then you get a $280,000 offer.  You decline that offer and buy your Hendersonville house back from the buyer that wants it.  You are the high bidder.  You get to keep on making payments on a house in Hendersonville while you are living in Atlanta.  Six weeks later it expires in the M.L.S.  If your listing has expired in the M.L.S. , it is likely overpriced.

     If your motivation to get rid of your Hendersonville house has increased during the last six months, here is a couple of things you can do to get it sold.  Pay the Realtor a commission.  In Hendersonville many Realtors list houses at 6% commission.  They advertise  your house in the Hendersonville Multiple Listing Service at a 3% commission split with the co operating agency.  This is a wonderful system that has been around for over fifty years. Realtors call this co operating .  It is the most powerful tool a Realtor has for selling houses.  It works like magic.  It is the backbone of the real estate business. Picture this.  Mr. Realtor has a buyer client looking to buy a $300,000 house.  He looks in the M.L.S. for $275,000 to $325,000 houses.  He finds six houses  that meets his client's  needs.  Five of those houses have a 3% co op fee.  Mr. Realtor glances at that as he is doing his research.  One of those six houses has a 3.5% co op fee.  Why is that?  That is because that listing agent listed that house at a 7% commission.  When he advertised it in the M.L.S. he offered the co op agent 3.5% .  The co op agent quickly does the math .  If he sells his client a $300,000 house with a 3% co op fee , he will have a $9000 check come into his office.  He probably has a fifty fifty commission split agreement with his employer which means that he will earn $4500.  If he show s the house with the 3.5% co op fee, $10,500 will come into his office and he will earn $5250.  Do you think he will certainly show the 3,5% house?   He will.

     There is a great book written by Michael Leboeuf  titled ,"The Greatest Management Principle In The World."   The basic premise of the book is that people do what you pay them to do.  If you want you Hendersonville house to get shown and therefore sold, raise the commission.  This is human nature on display. No matter what business you are in, I highly recommend Laboeuf's book.  It is worth reading.

     What else are you looking for in your next Realtor?  Find a Realtor that has knowledge and enthusiasm.  I have knowledge.  I share that knowledge with my peers and the general public through this and other blogs and through You Tube. .  Google my name, Ron Climer.  I also have enthusiasm.  I have enthusiasm for real estate.  This is not a hobby for me.  I have been selling real estate for thirty years.  I work at getting my listings sold.  If you are looking for a Realtor to get your property sold in western North Carolina, contact me at 828 755 6996 or www.ronclimer.com

With Hendersonville, North Carolina Real Estate, If You Buy Functional Obsolescence, You Have To Sell Functional Obsolescence

       Functional obsolescence is the name that real estate appraisers give to weird features in houses.  There is a principal of value called the law of conformity.  This law states that if all the houses in the neighborhood "conform" to an accepted standard, it enhances the value of that house and all the other houses in that neighborhood.  If a house has "off the beaten path features" it decreases the value of that house.  An eight by eight hot tub installed in a ten by ten bathroom would be an example of functional obsolescence. 

     When you buy that house with the indoor atrium in the middle of the living room, be aware that five years later you will be selling a house with an indoor atrium in the middle of the living room.  Your buyer might not think it is as cool as you thought it was when you bought it five years earlier.  Functional obsolescence decreases value. 

     Often, Functional obsolescence is created by age.  Consumer's desires and tastes change as the years go by.  A four bedroom, one bath house would not be unusual in 1940.  Today that house is functionally obsolete.  It would lose value because the average, ordinary consumer today would want at least two baths.  Often, when a handy buyer is looking at that functionally obsolete house with only one bath, he knows that he can spend $5000 and install another bath and enhance the value by $10,000. 

     When you buy that house with the bowling alley in the family room, know that one day you will be selling a house with a bowling alley in the family room.  Your buyer will buy in spite of the bowling alley not because of the bowling alley.  Functional obsolescence decreases value. 

     Functional obsolescence is part of Hendersonville, North Carolina real estate.  If you buy that house where you have to walk through one bedroom to get to another bedroom, you will soon be selling a house where your buyer has to walk through one bedroom to get to another bedroom.  It will lower the value when you sell.  Govern yourself accordingly when you buy. 

     Please don't be an ostrich.  Put your head in the sand and pretend it doesn't matter.  It matters to your potential buyer. Real estate brokers hear this all the time, "We would buy this house if the refrigerator were not in the living room."  What the buyer really means is is how much will it cost to get the refrigerator out of the living room and into the kitchen.  Mr. Buyer will buy this house for the value minus what he believes it will cost to fix the functional obsolescence, if it can be fixed. 

     Be aware of functional obsolescence when you buy real estate in Hendersonville.  If you need any help buying or selling real estate in western North Carolina, contact me at www.RonClimer.com  or www.hendersonvillekw.com or 828 290 1000