Closing Days, Full Circle Moments, and What It Actually Means to “Save” a Seller Money

Yesterday was closing days for one of my sellers. I have two “types of sellers”. Both examples are perfectly distilled at my two listings in Innerarity Point, a small gated island community right next to Perdido Key Beaches. Both of the sellers have two very different homes, each with very different vibes. The seller who gave me this gift, was the ideal seller. This is the seller I immediately feel connected to. I understand why she needs to sell because I will be there in her situation one day, when I have my own grandchildren. She was kind, extremely respectful and loved her house. I absolutely loved the house too and her belief in me. She unfortunately didn’t have a ton of equity, and was sad to be leaving. She knew the value of a good realtor, she needed me or she would lose money with the sale of her home. We took our time selling this property. I had to keep encouraging her to stay strong and hold fast. I knew there was going to be someone who absolutely loved the house and would offer a fair price. Because her house was so lovely it got showings consistently but no offers. Some of the “features” it had were things that are hard to put a price tag on. Some homes just make you feel good when you step in. The Light? It was excellent beautiful abundant in each room. Pride of ownership was evident-every part of the home was just meticulous, it had beautiful curb appeal, lovely trees, feminine modern finishes and gorgeous furnishings. It showed so well. I didn’t want to lower the price. I knew we would get an offer and this was a house that was just waiting for the “right buyer”. It was consistently described as in the top 3 by the agents who showed it.

The second house, had been on the market for a year before I arrived. The situation surrounding the need to move was filled with stress and the relationship I had with my seller was rocky, lets just say- at first. He needed to sell quickly, but he wanted to stay at his price and resisted almost all of my advice. I felt like I was always on the verge of being fired pretty often, lol. But I loved his home, more than I liked him to be honest, and I knew I could sell it- if he would just listen. I remember we had a come to Jesus kind of conversation and I stood firm and told him what number he needed to be at to get the offer. I think he hung up on me at that point. Well, that number was the exact amount his offer came in at, and was exactly what he needed to walk away with. He was happy. I gained his trust after a lot of resistance and I also started really liking him, even though he insisted he could do it with out me initially. He finally started trusting me and we started getting lots of showings. As soon as he got under contract- he realized I was completely competent and he trusted me 100%. I had finally gotten him under contract, he had just been let down for a significant amount of time by his other realtors. There was a lot on the line and I had to do a lot of handholding and reassuring. I remember him telling me- I am relying on you. Both of these sellers ended up becoming my favorite types of sellers- people who trust and value what I do.

Over the past few years, I’ve saved my sellers hundreds of thousands of dollars in commissions. Last time I really sat down and looked at it, it was over $600,000. At this point, it’s probably closer to $700,000. That’s money that stayed with them, not me. That means something, the seller who gave me the wine to me when we closed said “what you’re doing with that 1% structure is kind of like a ministry to people.” That’s an incredible compliment. I think people misunderstand what I mean when I say that I list for 1% full service to save people their equity. It doesn’t totally register that someone is on their side. It’s not about discounting or doing less because I am desperate or inexperienced. I am not. If anything, these listings require more work and more expertise because they weren’t moving before, there are serious timelines and very little margin for error. It’s about being efficient, being strategic, and not taking more than I need to for the job. There’s a different kind of trust that comes with that. This job is a huge privilege. I bring sellers to market who otherwise would be sitting as a FSBO- until they fail. I connect them with buyer agents who benefit from more inventory and working with me versus directly with the seller, which they appreciate. Everybody wins actually, when sellers have more options. If you’d like to know what your options are give me a call or check out how it works here: www.https://forsalebymiriam.com/1-percent-listing-agent-pensacola