So…what did they think???? When an agent shows your home, they will receive an email requesting feedback immediately after the showing. They receive this email request daily until they respond. It has specific and general questions to help us know how the market is responding to the price, condition, and location of your property. Upon receipt of the feedback, it is sent to you. We cannot alter it before sending. Here is what you need to know about feedback…
- Some feedback is not helpful. “They just started looking” tells us nothing and we hear it all the time. The agent might still be trying to figure out what the buyer wants.
- Some feedback can be HELPFUL. “The bedrooms are too small.” “House needs work.” “The road/ wires/ train tracks are an issue.” “The house was dirty.” To better interpret, please add “for the price” to the end of each sentence. Buyers that have seen the current inventory and send us this feedback could be telling us that the market cannot bear the price we are asking with the product we are selling AND/OR we do not compare favorably to our competition. Three things sell a house: Price…Condition… Location. You cannot change your location and you may not be receptive to changing the condition. REMEMBER: Everything sells at the right price and there is a bum for every saddle.
- We can call agents who do not respond. If several attempts to get feedback have been made with no response, we may call the agent and ask what they and their buyers thought of the house. Typically, no news is not good news and agents do not welcome multiple calls asking for feedback. (The pervasive attitude is “Don’t call us. We’ll call you.”) I abide by the Golden Rule and provide feedback on every home I show in a timely manner. My broker colleagues tend to return the favor and send me their feedback.
- We rarely get feedback on the weekends. Weekends are prime showing time. It is common to show property all weekend and respond to feedback requests on Monday or Tuesday. So…if you have a Saturday morning showing and you text me, “Have you heard anything?”, the answer will usually be “Not yet.” Chances are that I will be out showing and will have less time to respond to you. I know this is frustrating.
- Why is feedback vague and so difficult to obtain? If you went dress shopping and visited 10 stores, imagine every salesperson calling you to get feedback on every dress you tried on. There will be dresses you cannot remember, only that they did not work for you. I realize that you kill yourself to prepare for every showing and that your home reflects you, your family, your style, your hard work, etc. It does not make sense that these agents and buyers don’t appreciate all you did to present this amazing product. Plus, you drove the dogs and the kids around for two hours, stopped doing laundry, turned on every light, shoveled the walk, and feel like you ran a marathon. I get it. Please know that we do our best to get as much pertinent input as possible.
- It’s a numbers game. The more showings you get, the faster your home should sell. The faster your home sells, the sooner you can stop “living on stage.” Don’t focus on feedback if you are getting great activity.
- Do not take feedback personally. Homes are very personal. Just because your house doesn’t work for one buyer doesn’t mean the next guy won’t love it. It is extremely rare for an agent to know everything that is going through their buyer’s head because buyers don’t always share everything. They either like the house, or they do not, and we will try to figure out why they feel the way they do.
- If the feedback includes questions, we will get the answers! Agents may ask questions. (“What are the average utilities?” “What is behind that wall?” “Have they ever had water in the basement?” “How old is the roof?” “Have the owners appealed their taxes?”) We love following up on these questions and will jump on the opportunity to answer them with your help.
Feedback is a necessary evil in the home-selling process. Thank you for being patient with the feedback process. Please know that we do everything we can to collect as much information as possible to ensure a swift and painless sale. The next time someone asks you for feedback on anything, give it to them!
