Monday, January 21, 2013

Another Year, Another Realtor

 

I generally don't show our house from this angle, it's not exactly our abodes best side, but who knows maybe this is the side our farms NEW owner will see and fall in love with. Who knows?

Almost two years ago (has it been THAT long?) we decided it was time and put our farm and its entire organic meat business, up for sale. We used a local realtor who did a terrible job. Had to call several times to get signage or ads posted. He didn't answer phone calls or emails. He showed the house once in 4 months.

We kissed him goodbye but without a single smooch. Then we went the For-Sale By Owner route. Our farm is still listed THERE,  (If you love to snoop inside folks houses like I do then by all means click on the link!)  I was happy with what we got for our money and we did show the farm to 12 interested individuals. But, no offers. At first we listed it as a total turn key business, home, land livestock and inventory plus all equipment and the farm store for just $417,000. Then we dropped it to $410,000. After 6 months we decided to list just the house, 10 acres and buildings for $199,00. The livestock, etc, could be added on a la carte if desired.

It was not desired.

Don't misunderstand. They are many who want to do what we are doing but few who have the finances to do so. Or they had the finances but their health was poor and they so did not undertand the work load of a real farm.

So we're back to the Realtor Route. This  time though, we know what we want. I was on the phone last week with 10 realtors and could not believe the total apathy I heard. Statements like "well I could list it if you want me too but don't expect much" and " If I don't understand what organic means then no one else in these partswill either." Some would not even tell me their commission rate over the phone, instead saying "We'll see."

One even came to the house and practically nodded off during our conversation with him.
You would've thought I was asking them to sell our farm Pro Bono. What am I, Cher?!?

Finally, I found a woman who after listening to me explain our business said "You've come to the right realtor." She asked several questions and then had the nerve to ask me to prepare several things for her like a profit and loss statement. Obviously she understood the word business .

I fell in love immediately.

She comes here on Wednesday. Wish us luck. We are so ready for the next phase of our lives to start.

21 comments:

  1. Glad you found a Realtor that knows what she's doing! Wishing you the best of luck :)

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  2. I am sure that your farm will sell, and to the right person so that it can be carried forward from where you stopped. Hope this new realtor helps you to do just that.

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  3. Are these all specialist 'Farm agents'? They sound not!

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  4. Bingo! You might also want to use your networking to market the farm. Your listing is highly specialized with a target market that goes beyond a buyer who wants a farm, it's also an income-producing business. The government might have connections to people wanting to buy an established organic farm.

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  5. Sending all my best wishes that finally you've found the right realtor for such a beautiful farming business.

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  6. Lots of luck wishing happening for you here. Sending you amazing farm business-selling mojo too xxx

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  7. Thanks for the interesting post. Having bought and now sold a house in the last 4 years I can wholeheartedly agree with you. The majority of the realtors that we interviewed seemed to think that they just list the house on the MLS and then come collect their commission when\if it sells. Folks, that's not how it works. So we ended up selling on our own through a blog listing and saved the 6% (our buyers didn't have a realtor either).

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  8. Carolyn,I HOPE she knoes what she's doing. But at least so far she shows more effort than many before her

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  9. Vers, we beleie the right buyer is out there somewhere...over the rainbow, playing around with Aunty Em when she should be making us an offer.

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  10. Cro, I did call those who listed themselves as Farm Specialists but few have ever even heard pf an organic farm and in these parts mose farm realtos want to deal with HUNDREDS of acres not just the 10.88 acres we own

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  11. Lana, we have spend thousands, literally, advertising our farm. It is in 100 publications and has its own website, I talk about ti at every farm type mtg I go too (lots) but then when you mention I might want to use "networking" it tells me I've done a very poor job or promotong it if my blog readers are not aware of what I've done. So, time indeed to call a professional. I need help in a major way. I'm excellent at selling t-bones. I suck at selling real estate

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  12. The broad. Thank you. We do love it too. But it is too much. Hopefull it will be the exact right sixe for Goldilocks and her 3 bearish farmers

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  13. Cranky puppy. We had hoped to save that 6% as well. Bravo to you for getting the job done. How long did it take?

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  14. DFW. Luck is good. I hope our realtor brings skill as well

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  15. I hope this agent can indeed be The One to bring seller and buyer together.

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  16. Donna, the right buyer will come. Ask me how I know...I have sold 3 houses in the space of 5 years all in down markets. You are correct you need to stay on top of the realtor and make them earn every penny. Sounds like the realtor you are speaking with just might be the one. Spring time is the best time to list and sell - your timing is perfect. I am sending you lots of realtor "dust" to help things move along smoothly.

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  17. We are in the same boat. Waiting for the right buyer for our place in Indiana. So is my daughter's family.

    Hopefully, the farms will sell before the farm we found in Kentucky sells. Sigh....

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  18. Hi Donna,
    Hope all works out for you this year and you get your farm sold. You seem to have found the right woman for the job.

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  19. How did the meeting with the new realtor go? I hope you found one who you could trust. Dealing with houses and estates can really be overwhelming. There are lots of things to consider such as who are the best lenders, what are the important community information and the potential value of the real estate.

    Brian Quarnstrom

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