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What do you do in a market where there aren’t enough homes for sale and too many buyers?
In the age of electronics, texting, social media and all non-intrusive, passive forms of not putting yourself out there to be rejected, cold calling is definitely not the most popular form of sales. But there is a time and place for everything… as much as I hate it some days!!!
My first time ever knocking on doors was when I was a brand new agent (8 years ago), young(er) and ready to change the world. Okay, not really. But I was desperate to sell something and find some buyers! I decided to invite the neighborhood to my only listing’s open house. I bought some Lindt chocolate to bribe all of my visits with so that I’d appear welcoming, and not-so-secretly hoped that none of them were home and I could just leave my little flier that I had made. At the first house that opened the door, I lunged by chocolate into their face, forgot to introduce myself and threw the flier in their direction leaving them completely baffled and confused as to who the heck was this random woman throwing chocolate their way. Each house got a little bit easier and I learned to introduce myself and not waste the moment. Was it a success? No. Did I score a new client? No. But I got over the fear. Nobody flipped out. Nobody slammed the door. Nobody chased me off their property. I’ve been told that anybody that does those things are the ones with the problem and are over reacting… but all it takes is one crazy person…
I met one of my favorite clients during a door knocking session. I had sold a home on a street in Steinbach, and their family also wanted to live on the same street so I prepared my letters, loaded up on the chocolate and set off on my way. It was her due date with her first baby and they had been thinking about selling. That began our first transaction. 8 years later, we are just in the midst of finalizing our 4th transaction together! We’ve seen each other through some major life changes, and she has been with me from the very beginning of my career when not a ton of people were willing to take a chance on a newb (as charming as I was).
So, 8 years in, why am I knocking on doors? Honestly, it’s not a regular occurrence. I’m lucky enough that I have a solid client base where a lot of my business is referrals from previous clients… something I do NOT take for granted and am super proud of! Here are a few instances when asking your realtor to knock on a few doors could be worth while:
- You are wanting a specific neighborhood and nothing is on the market.
- You need a specific home or amount of acreage in a certain area.
- You have a certain home in mind.
Things to keep in mind when you are looking for specific properties and have asked your Realtor to knock on a few doors/tap some shoulders to see if they might be interested in selling:
- Be ready to pay a premium. Your negotiating power is decreased to some degree when you are letting the potential seller know that it is THEIR specific property that you are interested in. Of course it is my job to show you comparables and give you a reasonable fair market assessment on the home’s value, but there will not be a lot of “low ball” offers that would be considered at this point. As my brother (and boss/broker) has said, “if you’re looking for a needle in a haystack, know that the needle could be made of diamonds”. Wisdom from Adam Neustaedter…
- It is a long shot. We are approaching someone that may not have considered selling, and could very well be settled on staying. We don’t know their financial situation, their family situation, or if they are even in a position that would work for them to move at this point in time. Unfortunately as bad as you may want the home, you can’t force somebody to move. lol.
- It could take some time to put the deal together. If they hadn’t considered the possibility of selling, they would need some time to see if it works financially for them PLUS they need a home to go to! Your possession date could be further out, so if you are in a rush, this is a tougher situation to navigate.
That’s all the wisdom I have on this topic! One of my favorite buyers of all time couldn’t find a home in the area they wanted for their family. I had showed them over a dozen homes. She eventually took to Google Earth and started sending me images on places that had fabulous backyards- not knowing what the interior of the homes looked like. We still laugh about this… and we DID find them a home! It was NOT one of my many door knocking homes. Usually with my buyers, I set up a search for them online and it auto emails them, and then I’ll send them random “wild card” homes (after I have shown them properties and have a feel for what they really love) that are outside their criteria. These guys ended up purchasing my “wild card”. It’s actually crazy how often that happens! Anyway! That’s all for today!
