Brian Copeland

By Brian Copeland

I love reading warning labels.  One of my favorites is “For external use only,” which has been spotted on numerous curling irons.  Another favorite is on a child’s Halloween superman costume that says “Wearing of this garment does not enable you to fly.”

Wouldn’t it be great if homes came with warning signs posted with the true warnings that buyers may need to know?  Here are some of the signs I’d recommend.

“Warning!  This house is overpriced by $30K because the seller has been under a rock for the past 18 months.” Real estate practitioners carry the power to prevent this label, but find that getting the sign in the yard, getting the bragging rights that he/she “won” the listing, or getting to put it in an internet lead system to get more buyers is more important than being honest with the seller.  The same holds true for a buyer’s agent who is too concerned about a paycheck to pull true comparatives for a buyer.

We have the responsibility to point out the pricing warning sign to today’s buyers and sellers.  We need to tell sellers, “Oh, and by the way, if you think that you should price it higher because you need negotiation room, you may not see any showings and your home may become stigmatized as a stale home.  This could cause buyers to question their ability to resale the home in the future.”  As a buyer’s agent we should pull comparatives for every home that has landed in the client’s top five for consideration before going to contract.

“This house is lipstick on a pig.” It’s one of my favorite pulled quotes that the local CBS affiliated pulled out of an interview they did with me when I THOUGHT the camera was off.  It holds true though.  Some renovated homes are pretty, cosmetic make-up put on a trash of a structure.  Be super cautious of renovated homes.  If someone is renovating homes in this market, likely they are smart, conscientious and know what they are doing.  Only the best try this buy, remodel, resale market of 2009 and 2010. Continue reading »