This week was a difficult week. My heart ached for a few sellers that I came across, that were in the depths of learning the lessons of why having the proper Real Estate agent is important.

Having no Realtor® or the wrong Realtor® can make for hard lessons to learn.

While showing buyers a house for sale, I learned that the homeowner had just entered into a contract to sell the adjoining lot for less than ½ its likely market value. She had gotten something in the mail from an investor, and when the pushy buyer came over with contract in hand, she signed it. Now, she may be obligated to sell the lot for well below the quick sale (5 days) price, and 70% below what she could have potentially received if it was placed in the hands of a professional for up to 210 days. Now, she’s speaking to an attorney, trying to find a way out. I wished her the best, but it doesn’t sound good.

Another homeowner, who wanted a quick sale, due to severe medical issues, placed their home in the hands of a real estate agent. Unfortunately, the price was set lower than it needed to be. What’s worse, investors (potential buyers) backed away from making offers, upon hearing that there were multiple offers already on the property. What’s more this was all occurring on a weekend. Though, it hasn’t closed yet, so I don’t know for certain what it’s selling for, a mutual friend told me a selling price that I believe could be nearly 10% below a quick sale price. According to the mutual friend, the Seller didn’t even know that there were multiple offers on the property.

I plan on following up on this, just to check the accuracy of this report. I assume that it will close in a few days.  Once closed, the County will record the price in public records. So, I’ll know soon know the accuracy of this account. For that type of property in this market, to save about 80 days in the total time it might have taken to receive full market value and to close, the Seller’s apparently gave up nearly 25% of the funds they would have received at closing. That’s a lot of money!

To make more money, Investors seek advice during every phase of the investment process.

On a happier note, we closed on an investment home that the investor purchased to flip. Even though I had no input on the purchase of the home and many of the repairs; in the final analysis, it turned out okay. They received the proceeds they counted on. But, the funds could have come quicker. The house was two-bedrooms, which is okay. Especially since it was purchased near the beginning of the winter season, the best time to sell a two-bedroom home. Unfortunately, they made many repairs themselves and they missed placing the home for sale in the quick selling winter season. Thus, it ended up taking much longer to sale.

Investors; seek out third parties with experience in every phase of the investment process. Then, seek their advice all along the investment process. You’ll likely make more money and the process will be smoother.

What are some of your experiences of buying or selling a house that you would do different the next time?

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