Dan's Papers - September 4, 2009

In the theatre of real estate, there are many people in many roles, but surely two of the leading characters are the agent and the seller, who is otherwise known as the client. (Clients also include landlords looking to rent their properties; customers are those looking to buy or rent.) The agent/client relationship is the basis for all others-the buyers who come to the table as well as the mortgage brokers, attorneys, surveyors, title companies and others who follow. The better the working relationship between agent and client, the better chance of selling the property.

Selling a house is often emotional, and the agent can therefore assume even more roles in the eyes of the seller: friend, enemy, confidant, therapist. But in the final analysis, the agent is a professional whose goal is to facilitate a meeting of the minds between buyer and seller.

Following are suggestions from agents to clients on how to keep the goal focused and the relationship professional.

1. Make it easy to show the house. This may seem obvious, but agents frequently run across the problem of sellers playing hard to get with their properties. Could be the seller is conflicted about selling-best to work that out in advance of calling the agent. "There are a lot of properties on the market," said one Southampton agent. "If a house is too hard to show, the agent has a half dozen others like it to add to the list."

Could be the seller has a tenant who is resistant to having the property shown for sale. My partner and I experienced this with a house in Sag Harbor that caught our eye. The owner was so bullied by his tenant that he walked on eggshells to get her to provide access. We ultimately took the house off our radar. Many sellers wait until tenants are out to actively market their homes-a good idea in many cases. If there is no tenant, the agent should have complete access to the property (key, lock box) with minimal notice.

2. Get out of the way. Most agents will tell you that the kiss of death is an owner/landlord who is present during open houses or showings. Homeowners tend to take things personally. They may hover annoyingly around buyers, trying to get a sense of their interest, or their approval of the décor. Owners may provide information that's unnecessary, or of no interest to the buyer, or make a buyer feel like an intruder. One goal of a showing is to give buyers a chance to feel as though they're already living in the house. It's hard to do that when the owner is cooking dinner, folding laundry, working on the computer, et cetera. In our search, my partner and I went back to one house we liked three times. EVERY time the owner was there. We just never had a chance to envision the home as ours and moved on-as the owners should have.

3. Take suggestions from the agent on how you might stage or position your home to make it more attractive to buyers. Suggestions may range from the pricing of your property (the absolutely most critical issue), to improving curb appeal, to getting an updated C/O, to having underground oil tanks removed, to taking down the 35 pictures of your cat. It's a tight market. Supply is up, demand is not so much-but improving. Agents are on the front lines, and therefore well aware of what is selling and why. If the agent has a good track record in sales, trust that he or she is giving you informed advice.

4. Don't ask the agent for straight out recommendations for attorneys, surveyors, etc. It is recommended to agents that they provide three suggestions-it protects them if things go awry with the person you ultimately choose, and protects them from suspicions that they are in cahoots with service professionals. But don't be leery. Agents working and living in the Hamptons do tend to know the people (from attorneys to carpenters) who are reliable and can help move the deal forward.

5. Don't waste time. A main area of contention here are sellers who are slow to respond to agents' questions. When the agent needs an answer from you-whether on something as simple as the amount of your water bill or your counter to an offer-time is of the essence. If you're selling your property, it should be a priority in your life. In this market, time waits for no seller.

Another time waster? Bad pricing. In boom markets, it's not uncommon for people to put their houses on the market at high prices to see what bites. In this market, that strategy will bite you back. Serious buyers know that right pricing is critical to a sale. Sellers who haven't become realistic to the new market should stay out of the water. This is not the time to go fishing.