Agents: WHITE Lies and LYING

I just read this article from KCM Blog and it really rings true. A great agent will tell you the truth even if it is not what you want to hear. Because it is what you need to hear. A personal example, I was called out to list a home the thad been on the market with another agent for a few months. After preparing the CMA it was very clear the home was very over priced. It was hard to tell the owner, it harder for him to hear. In asking the owner how the original price was selected he told me the agent just asked him what he wanted for the house and that is what they went with. That did not do anyone any good.

We priced the home properly, I secured a buyer, but the question from her thatI had to overcome was: " I heard at church that this home had been on the market a very long time, is there something wrong the home that I am not seeing?"

I have not taken listings when sellers are not being reasonable, I want the most for my sellers as well, but pretending a property is worth more than the market will support only hurts the seller. Sometimes I feel that I need to duck when I tell the truth, but I am glad and eventually my sellers are glad I do!

The article follows.

Growing up it seemed ‘white lies’ were okay while lying was a sin. As children, we sometimes had difficulty understanding where the line was. As we matured, we realized there most definitely was a difference.

If a husband or wife asks if it is okay to invite their parents over for dinner, the spouse would probably say ‘sure’ even if it wasn’t 100% the truth. That was a ‘white lie’. If a young boy dresses up as a monster on Halloween and asks his father if he looks ‘really scary’, it was okay for his dad to say ‘YES’! That was a ‘white lie’.

In both cases, the person telling the ‘white lie’ was saying what the other person wanted to hear. In both cases, there was no harm in not telling the 100% truth. In both cases, it was a ‘white lie’. However, if we are not telling the 100% truth in order to save someone’s feelings AND IT HURTS THEM, we are lying.

What does this have to do with real estate?

We believe there are some in the real estate industry more worried about a homeowner’s feelings than they are about telling the truth about the current value of their home. These agents are not necessarily malicious. They just realize they may disappoint a seller at a listing appointment by telling the truth about what the house will sell for. They find it difficult to deliver tough news. To make sellers feel better, they lie.

Good agents can deliver good news. Great agents know how to deliver tough news.

In today’s real estate market, you need an agent that will tell you the truth, even when you don’t want to hear it. You need an agent more worried about your family than they are about your feelings. You need an agent who can get the house sold!

What this means to you

If you are interviewing potential listing agents, demand they tell you the truth. Don’t hire the agent that tells you what you want to hear. Hire the agent that tells you what you need to know. Reward their honesty.