A Bad Agent Can Leave Serious Money on the Table
2015 vs 2023
That also, turned out to be wrong. So what was actually going on?
The Tale of Woe
We got over our concerns eventually. And after two months of discussion, we struck a deal at $2,600,000, all cash. It didn't hurt that the seller would be losing $400,000-500,000 after their costs. We aim for win-win situations, but information like that tends to give a buyer some confidence that they are scoring a good deal.
The Truth Comes Out
Only then did we discover what had been going on all along. It wasn't the building, nor the apartment, nor bad luck. It was the listing agent. She was a disaster! Here's how:
The Pressure - The agent started pressuring the buyers to sign a contract two days after it came out (it usually takes a week or two to finalize)
The Pointless Drama - The agent almost submarined the deal again when we told her the buyers wanted to take a small mortgage, but only if time permitted and would not slow down the sale. The agent refused to even consider this. Strange.
Threats - The agent threatened not to allow the buyers access to the unit for a measuring visit if the purchase application (which was being prepared very quickly) wasn't submitted by the end of that week. Speaking of the purchase application...
The Most Pointless Drama - With a condominium, very few things can derail a deal from after a contract. Yes, a building can decide to exercise its right of first refusal and buy the unit. This almost never happens. And a buyer can back away if a contract is contingent on getting financing and they don't get a mortgage. But in this case, there was no contingency. So when the agent reviewed our condo application, and noted that the buyer hadn't accounted for $20,000 of the funds for the downpayment (of more than $2 million), she again threatened that the seller would cancel the deal or sue the buyer for misrepresentation. That was a real head scratcher, since the entire application process is but a weird and occasionally annoying formality.
The Final Walk-Through - when the agent showed up with a full facemask, gloves, and booties at the walk-through, we weren't sure what to make of it. This wasn't a HAZMAT site. This was a gorgeous 2-bedroom apartment!
What Became Clear
The "bad luck" stories the agent had told were true, except that it wasn't luck at all. The agent had simply scared buyer after buyer away. I am not quite sure how we held it together ourselves! Full credit does to our amazing agent Chloe Chasanoff for doing so. It took a lot of buyer handholding, attorney interface, and patience, not to mention a little threatening ourselves to walk this agent off the ledge.
It was clear that with another agent, that unit would have gotten another $150,000-200,000 for the unit. That's a shocking amount of money to leave on the table.
As listing agents, we track our sales prices relative to others in the building, and try to understand whether we outperform, or underperform. Sometimes the market makes things challenging. And sometimes you do get some unfortunate things from time to time.
But you never want your agent to be the problem.
Congratulations to our buyers who are so happy with their apartment! Just another day in the life of a Magnetic agent...
If you want to make sure you get the best deal possible, be in touch! - Scott & Magnetic
