Agent Strategies for 
Inspiring a Bidding War

Including "Bribing" the Children 

By: Linda O'Koniewski

Okay, the seller has been super cooperative and has totally taken direction and advice to maximize their equity.  The sellers’ agent has a critical job ahead to create the perfect storm of real estate.  The agent can’t be a slacker and just throw the home in MLS.  A lot of work and strategy is required.

First, positioning the home on the internet is critical.  Sellers should demand good descriptions of prerties and and expert marketing and photography.  All are worthy topics in themselves, Sellers need to realize that their first showing is on the Internet.  If you don't pass that initial viewing you won't have anyone visiting your property for their "second look."

To inspire a bidding war the agent needs to make sure the listing can easily be found by potential buyers. Uploading the listing, photos, video or visual tour to MLS is just the beginning.   Good agents have enhanced listings on Realtor.com.  I’m not getting kickbacks, but the power of having every listing in one place by every company cannot be ignored.  Besides, other sites rely on Realtor.com feeds, so paying for upgrades on Realtor.com ensures great exposure for the seller.  Great agents have their own websites to promote their properties and may also have blogs.  

Although I do advertise homes in the local newspaper on occasion, it is not with the intention of selling them; it is with the intention of letting the local homeowners know I sell a lot of homes.  It makes the phone ring for future listings, it does not ring with buyers who want to purchase the home I have listed.  I painstakingly tell every seller who commissions me to sell their home that print advertising is a dinosaur and will not sell their home.  Sellers love seeing their home in print, but that is not how buyers are searching for homes, so that is not how savvy agents market homes today.

Now that the home is positioned well on the internet to attract buyers, a good agent has worked with the seller to make showing the house easy.  A good agent has a lockbox on the door and a service that can set up the appointment so that the process happens seamlessly.  The last thing a seller wants is for a showing agent to have a hard time obtaining an appointment to show the property.

Sellers have two choices about how a home can be shown if they live in the property.  When an appointment is requested it can require confirmation by the seller, or, and we recommend this if possible, that all requests for showings be granted unless the seller cancels the appointment.  Great agents make sure their sellers are maintaining the home in “show shape” and are ready.  This can be difficult on the seller but the risks of losing an appointment are too great.

One way we help a seller who has children is to bribe, (incentivize sounds so much nicer) their children into keeping the house clean and picked up for a showing.  We promise each child in the house $100 at closing if their parents report at the end of the transaction that their rooms were cleaned up, bed made, toothpaste out of the sink, book bag, snacks, clothes and shoes were put away for every showing.  We make a big deal out of this with youngsters old enough to understand the concept.

“Listen, we need your help to sell your house.  Your parents need your help.  So here is our offer. If you are always ready for every showing, meaning your room is immaculate, and there is no evidence of your toys, school and snack stuff, then we will give you $100 on the day of the closing.  But here is the catch, this is an all-or-nothing proposition.  If you aren’t ready for every showing, you get nothing.   If you are only ready for half the showings, you don’t get half the money, you get nothing.  But we can’t wait to write you a check for $100 to reward you for helping with the sale.” I can assure you every kid wants to list with us.

In all my years of real estate we’ve only had two instances of four children and one with six who needed a check, all other sales had fewer kids.  But I know that having six children invested in the success of the sale skyrockets the chances that the home will be presentable when it is shown and will help sell the home more quickly than if buyers happened upon a home fully in use by six normal kids.

Tune in next week for Part 4