often the 1st is best

Often times Realtors see that the first offer is often the best offer. There is an understandable tendency for sellers to think "that was too easy, my home must be undervalued" if they get an offer shortly after listing.

Let me relate a true story: a few years ago a colleague of mine at another brokerage listed his uncle's home. (Always tricky dealing with family and friends...but that's another blog.) Anyway, shortly after listing, he received an almost full price offer on the home. He presented the offer to his uncle. Because it happened so fast, his uncle not only rejected the offer outright but withdrew the listing and asked his nephew the Realtor to re-list it at a considerably higher price. The uncle was convinced that his nephew had severely under priced his home to have fetched such a fast offer.

You are smart, so you know what happened. The home sat and sat on the market and eventually dipped in price by reason of reductions way lower than the original list price until it expired unsold.

While there is not a perfect science, a great Realtor will study comparable sales (not what is listed; you can ask any price you want -- we go by proven results) to suggest a price to you. A great Realtor will also showcase and launch your listing in style and for a brief period of time you enjoy the spotlight of being the new kid in town.

If a buyer has been watching and waiting for a home like yours to come on the market, they'll jump. Make no mistake -- if your home was overpriced, they would not jump! They proceeded with an offer because your Realtor did a great job.

A great Realtor will share with you how they arrived at their pricing, so you don't need to fear being under priced simply so that your Realtor can line their pockets.

And, for every quick sale there are many more sales that take much longer. Over time this balances out for Realtors. When asked the question, "are you going to cut your commission because it sold so fast?" the answer should always be "as long as I can raise it if your home takes a long time to sell!"

Good things do happen! So, if you're lucky enough to get an offer quickly just know that lady luck has conspired with a great Realtor! Take the money and move on with your dreams!

We're Better Together

A year and a half ago when I joined Sutton, it was a fledgling group of half a dozen Realtors or less. It had been at one point a far larger company in the Vernon area, but had wound down over recent years so that at the point of selling the company in mid-2010, there wasn't much left. Enter Tamara Cinnamon, an earnest and ambitious gal with a new broker's license! Tamara bought the company in part after collaborating with some colleagues to see who would be drawn to work at a different sort of real estate company.

I, for one, was all in! Here is what I wrote for a newspaper announcement shortly after choosing the new Sutton as my office: "It has been a dream of mine to work with a select group of colleagues known for their creativity, hard work, ethical and fun-loving approach to the real estate business. A group is assembling at Sutton that speaks to this dream and it is with great delight that I make this move to be a part of this dynamic office." It really was a leap of faith! But we would tell each other in the early days, "we're going to be the best real estate office anywhere!"

Early on we adopted the tag line, "We're better together." It's so true. Each of us (up to 14 now!) works quite independently but thrives on the supportive nature of the group. Together we've got over 100 years of combined experience so there aren't many questions or dilemmas that we encounter that one of us hasn't experienced. We are genuinely glad when a colleague has a success story and genuinely sorry when a colleague has a story of frustration. We brainstorm ideas to improve each other's listings and endeavour to bring buyers to each other's listings.

When one of us has to be away, there is no fear of anything being missed -- there is no one here that I wouldn't trust to act first and foremost in the best interest of my clients. I fill in for my realtor friends here with the same passion that I handle my own business.

Together we're able to shoulder in to many community projects and to date in our little history have benefited: Habitat for Humanity, John Howard Society, Gateway Shelter, Vernon Food Bank, Winter Carnival and numerous other charities supported by us individually. A few weeks ago the "Sutton Scoop" also started broadcasting on YouTube, highlighting other people and activities that enrich the North Okanagan. When there is a need in the community we're able to be counted on.

It is incredibly heart warming to see the success of Sutton, to see the leap of faith landed those who took it not only onto firm ground, but into great atmosphere! As broker/owner Tamara consistently encourages the best in performance and life balance in herself and in all here. Any suggestions about how to make the company better are met with welcome and exploration. Being in a high stress industry, what an incredible gift to have an office to walk into like this one. It's the professional version of Cheers! (Remember the Boston Bar's theme song, "sometimes you like to go where everybody knows your name; and they're awfully glad you came...")

We are better together in house, and we are better together with all like minded individuals and business we deal with. Never let anyone tell you that a real estate company can't be as full of love and warmth as it is full of drive and professionalism.