Marketing and Real Estate Selling Tips
When you choose a professional real estate agent to help you sell your home, it’s really like hiring a marketing firm. My job is to know the best way to reach those buyers out there, how to make your product shine, and how to help you offer it at a price that entices the right purchaser. I have previously been a licensed Realtor in California and have a good understanding of contract law, real estate ethics and the service industry. Below, I will go over the open listing, the exclusive agency listing, the exclusive right-to-sell listing, the pocket listing, the Costa Rica MLS system and finally a couple of tips.
Open Versus Exclusive – Part 1
The question
The question: What is your advice regarding putting it out there with everybody vs. exclusive. Several people know it’s for sale, including Guy X, Guy Y and Gal Z who do sell properties “on the side” Is there no exclusive at all down there?
Open Listing
An open listing is a non-exclusive real estate contract in which more than one broker may be employed to sell a property, including the owners themselves. The owner of the home agrees to pay a commission to whoever procures a ready and willing buyer first, according to the agreement. Homeowners will offer this type of listing to as many brokers as possible in the hopes that they may have interested clients. But an open listing is not exclusive, making it extremely difficult for any one broker to make the sale, or show much interest. In fact, most brokers won’t bother listing the property on the MLS (see Costa Rica MLS below) if it’s an open listing, as it’s perceived as a waste of time and money.
Exclusive Agency Listing
An exclusive agency listing is similar to an open listing except the major difference is the broker will represent the owner. The owner still reserves the right to sell the property themself and not pay a commission. The broker is free to cooperate with another brokerage, meaning the second brokerage could bring an able buyer whose offer the owner accepts. Typically, the broker is paid a listing commission that is shared with the selling broker, so the owner pays both fees.
Exclusive Right-to-Sell Listing
An exclusive right-to-sell listing is the most commonly utilized instrument. It gives the broker the exclusive right to earn a commission by representing the owner and bringing a buyer, either through another brokerage or directly. The owner pays both the listing and selling broker fees. The owner cannot sell the property themself without paying a commission, unless an exception is noted in the contract. It is hard to understand how Costa Rica real estate works when all one has ever known is the ubiquitous Multiple Listing Service (MLS) model of the US and other developed nations.
Pocket Listings
When is a house for sale — but (sort of) not for sale? When it’s what’s known in the real estate business as a “pocket listing,” a house that may be marketed by an agent, though it’s not to be found among other homes for sale in a multiple listing service — it’s in the agent’s “pocket,” instead. They’re more common than the average consumer might think. They can be tricky for both the agent and the homeowner. Homeowners try them out for various reasons, but mostly they’re motivated either for reasons of privacy or because they’re not terribly serious about selling. A true pocket listing is when a homeowner and an agent have a casual agreement that if the agent comes across someone who might be a candidate to buy, the agent will bring that person to see the house. Some sellers are more intent than those “maybe, someday” pocket listings, but they’re still not ready for all of the commitments of being listed. Then there are the cases where there’s a signed listing agreement and the homeowner wants active marketing but still doesn’t want to be in an MLS. Pocket listings can have their advantages, but generally they’re not the best tactic for most sellers — or for most agents
Costa Rica MLS System?
Trying to establish comparable values is VERY difficult to do without a good MLS system that does not exist in Costa Rica. Try and search for a property in Hacienda Pinilla at MLSCostaRica – Costa Rica’s official property and broker database or at Costa Rica MLS or here at Tierra Max. It is quite understandable why pocket listings exist. In Costa Rica, when you list with an agency, you are simply enhancing the inventory of that one agency. AND, you are not getting any sort of representation in the deal. The agency will likely put you on their website, and they may even print out a flier for the wall or marquis outside of their office. If they sell it, they will get the full commission. Then, you go out and give your listing to as many agencies as you can and each one of them hopes that they are the one to sell your property and get the whole commission. Later on, if you want to know what the reaction is to your listing among the prospective buyers who have viewed it, you will need to call or e-mail each of the agencies and ask how it is going. This is recommended anyway since regular communication helps the agencies to keep your listing in mind. (to be continued in part 2…)
Tip
Potential buyers need to be able to see themselves living in your home. A key to helping them do that is to de-personalize your home; this can involve everything from removing family photos to putting heirloom furniture in storage. This will allow mental space for them to “plug themselves in” to your home.
Tax Tips
I recommend McGladery, for professional tax services.
