I think I've said before that when you work in real estate, you encounter similar situations and questions often. Don't get me wrong, at Century 21, as I imagine it would be for any real estate agent, every day is different, but there are aspects that crop up time and time again. In regards to the questions a realtor is often asked, one of the most common I have to admit I think is one of the most silly. Basically, we as real estate agents are constantly asked how much we think a seller will take for their property.
Now, I think if most people put themselves in the shoes of the vendor, they'd actually realize there's no need to ask this question. The seller will most probably accept the list price, thank you very much. However, this question is often followed by a statement along the lines of how a buyer is interested but doesn't want to waste the real estate agent's time with an offer.
Now, as a real estate agent myself there are two lines of thought that come up here. One is if you honestly believe your offer is a waste of time, are you really a serious buyer? The other is, as a realtor acting for a client, it's never a waste of time to take an offer back to a customer and review it. It may be embarrassingly low, but our job as a real estate agent is to take offers back to our clients. Experienced real estate agents know if a buyer is serious or just a tire kicker, but the best real estate agents never consider an offer a waste of time. And if your agent does, maybe it's time you spoke to your local expert at Century 21.
Disclaimer: The opinions posted within this blog are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views of CENTURY 21 Australia, others employed by CENTURY 21 Australia or the organisations with which the network is affiliated. The author takes full responsibility for his opinions and does not hold CENTURY 21 or any third party responsible for anything in the posted content. The author freely admits that his views may not be the same as those of his colleagues, or third parties associated with the CENTURY 21 Australia network.