Secret Agent, Man, The Piedmont Perspective, May 13, 2009
What's New?
Rummaging through my kitchen cupboards last Sunday morning, I couldn't help but notice a big bold recipe on the back of the Kosher Salt box entitled "Secret Spice Rub." Really? I mean how secret can the recipe be if it's published on the back of a box in GIANT FONT, no less? Ask my teenage son what he did on Friday night with his friends and you'll get nothing but cold stone silence. As soon as I inquire, he's on lockdown. Now, that's how you keep a secret!
It might surprise you to learn that some homeowners prefer to sell their homes - secretly. No For Sale sign, no MLS, no Sunday Opens, no overt marketing of any kind! Strictly a covert operation and their agents are known as . . . you guessed it, "secret agents." Secret sales are the homes you hear about every once in awhile that exchange hands without ever coming to market; the few private sales with happy endings that encourage others to shoot for the same outcome - usually with less successful results.
While there can be good reasons for the "off market" listing - one where the secret agent keeps the news "in-house" - typically the loss of market exposure vastly outweighs any gain in privacy. In an era where more than 85% of buyers begin their search on the Internet (complete with pictures, video tours, school information and neighborhood demographics) opting to keep your sale under wraps carries tremendous risk - risk that the perfect buyer will never even know your home is for sale.
Obviously, "Secret Agency" eliminates the buyers in New York and North Carolina or London for that matter, who may well be searching the Internet for a home in the Bay Area, but it also eliminates the buyers just down the street. The neighbors who, quite frankly, don't even know they are real buyers -until they walk into a Sunday Open and literally, fall in love (the emotional close).
The neighbors who like their current home, but have always wanted a family room or a level garden. The neighbors who hate their kitchen and covet yours. The neighbors who are downsizing (or upgrading) and find your home meets their needs better. The neighbors who have friends who are relocating. The neighbors who always thought "If that home ever comes on the market, I'd move," and so it goes . . .
The secret listing eliminates everyone who isn't already represented and actively seeking a home with a qualified agent. "Secret Agency" eliminates the CHANCE BUYER!
While it is still true that your home is more likely to be sold by another agent or a broker than at a Sunday Open, it is also true that the vast majority of buyers today, start on the Internet, well before contacting and selecting a local agent. (I recently represented buyers who had spent two years going to Sunday Opens before finding the "right" house and only then, did they make contact with me!)
If your goal is to get top dollar for your home and to sell it as quickly as possible, than full exposure to the marketplace which includes Internet saturation, photo tours, AND Sunday and Broker's Opens, are respectfully, part and parcel of the process.
As for secrets? I still don't know what my teenager did last weekend and maybe I'm better off not knowing. Certainly, he won't be telling me. That kid knows how to keep a secret!
Feel free to visit my website at JulieGardner.com
Rummaging through my kitchen cupboards last Sunday morning, I couldn't help but notice a big bold recipe on the back of the Kosher Salt box entitled "Secret Spice Rub." Really? I mean how secret can the recipe be if it's published on the back of a box in GIANT FONT, no less? Ask my teenage son what he did on Friday night with his friends and you'll get nothing but cold stone silence. As soon as I inquire, he's on lockdown. Now, that's how you keep a secret!
It might surprise you to learn that some homeowners prefer to sell their homes - secretly. No For Sale sign, no MLS, no Sunday Opens, no overt marketing of any kind! Strictly a covert operation and their agents are known as . . . you guessed it, "secret agents." Secret sales are the homes you hear about every once in awhile that exchange hands without ever coming to market; the few private sales with happy endings that encourage others to shoot for the same outcome - usually with less successful results.
While there can be good reasons for the "off market" listing - one where the secret agent keeps the news "in-house" - typically the loss of market exposure vastly outweighs any gain in privacy. In an era where more than 85% of buyers begin their search on the Internet (complete with pictures, video tours, school information and neighborhood demographics) opting to keep your sale under wraps carries tremendous risk - risk that the perfect buyer will never even know your home is for sale.
Obviously, "Secret Agency" eliminates the buyers in New York and North Carolina or London for that matter, who may well be searching the Internet for a home in the Bay Area, but it also eliminates the buyers just down the street. The neighbors who, quite frankly, don't even know they are real buyers -until they walk into a Sunday Open and literally, fall in love (the emotional close).
The neighbors who like their current home, but have always wanted a family room or a level garden. The neighbors who hate their kitchen and covet yours. The neighbors who are downsizing (or upgrading) and find your home meets their needs better. The neighbors who have friends who are relocating. The neighbors who always thought "If that home ever comes on the market, I'd move," and so it goes . . .
The secret listing eliminates everyone who isn't already represented and actively seeking a home with a qualified agent. "Secret Agency" eliminates the CHANCE BUYER!
While it is still true that your home is more likely to be sold by another agent or a broker than at a Sunday Open, it is also true that the vast majority of buyers today, start on the Internet, well before contacting and selecting a local agent. (I recently represented buyers who had spent two years going to Sunday Opens before finding the "right" house and only then, did they make contact with me!)
If your goal is to get top dollar for your home and to sell it as quickly as possible, than full exposure to the marketplace which includes Internet saturation, photo tours, AND Sunday and Broker's Opens, are respectfully, part and parcel of the process.
As for secrets? I still don't know what my teenager did last weekend and maybe I'm better off not knowing. Certainly, he won't be telling me. That kid knows how to keep a secret!
Feel free to visit my website at JulieGardner.com
posted by Julie at
1:07 PM
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