Real Estate Experts Answer What Are The 3 Top Qualities And 3 Red Flags When Working With A Seller

It’s our first RealSatisfied Experts Club Answer Time! Recently, we asked our RealSatisfied Experts Club Members to provide their answers to the following questions: 

‍What Are The Top 3 Qualities You Want To See In A Seller? What Are Three Red Flags That Would Stop You From Representing A Seller?

Here are their answers!

The Top 3 Qualities:
‍Realistic about the market, listening to broker’s advice, great rapport. 

3 Red Flags:
‍No motivation to sell, will not listen to advice on pricing, not properly preparing the property for the market.

‍Jeanne Spurlock, 20+ years of experience

The Top 3 Qualities: 
I want to see a seller who is open to listening to advice, understands the market (may require some explanation), and is motivated. 

3 Red Flags: 
3 red flags that would stop me from representing a seller are a know-it-all, someone unmotivated, or someone who ignores the facts.

‍Julie Harris, 15+ years of experience

The Top 3 Qualities: 
Honesty, respect, and at least some flexibility. 

3 Red Flags: 
Lying, disrespectful (especially of your time), and inflexible (must adapt to the market to win).

Jim Acklin, 20+ years of experience

The Top 3 Qualities: 
Trustworthy, open-minded & takes your advice.

3 Red Flags: 
Wants to do things their way, is not flexible & takes advice from friends & family instead of the one they hired.

Misti Ray, 15+ years of experience

The Top 3 Qualities: 
Honesty, transparency, and timely responsiveness. 

3 Red Flags: 
Lack of follow-through, mixed messages, and rudeness/lack of respect.

Debra (Debbie) Covington, almost 2 years of experience

The Top 3 Qualities: 
Pride of ownership, flexibility, and realistic expectations. 

3 Red Flags: 
They want me to perform tasks that would be against Fair Housing Guidelines or our Code of Ethics, ask me to misrepresent their property, and insist that they must get an unattainable price for their property.

Michelle Smith, 20+ years of experience

The Top 3 Qualities: 
Realistic with price, wants to present home favorably to sell, and good chemistry between Realtor and Seller.

3 Red Flags: 
Unrealistic with price. Unwilling to make the home presentable to sell. Knows it all and does not respect the Realtor's advice.

David K. Knudson, 20+ years of experience

The Top 3 Qualities: 
Ideally, a seller is realistic with price, extremely flexible in allowing all showings even if it is inconvenient as anyone could be the buyer, and respectful in understanding that market conditions aren't always predictable, so patience and trust are important. 

3 Red Flags: 
A significant over-valuation. A seller who, early on, is questioning your every comment or recommendation. And most importantly, one who appears to have any desire to want to have a say in who buys their house other than a pre-approved qualified buyer.

Jim Streff, over 10 years of experience

The Top 3 Qualities: 
Trust, partnership, reasonableness.

3 Red Flags: 
Unreasonable, telling me how to do my job, and disrespectful.

Kimberly Pearson, almost 2 years of experience

The Top 3 Qualities: 
The willingness to make changes, declutter, and accept that their home is not necessarily the mansion they think it is. 

3 Red Flags: 
Tax records and deeds not adding up. Being set in stone what they want. And being very pushy about their property.

Terri Jackson, 15+ years of experience

The Top 3 Qualities: 
I want my seller to be willing to ask me all the questions that they have and all the questions that all "their people" are asking them. I would rather answer the questions they have than have my seller lying awake at night wondering why I haven't already addressed a concern.
I want my seller to trust my expertise.
I want my seller to tell me if they don't agree with me or can't complete an item on our listing plan.

Michelle Romero, 20+ years of experience

The Top 3 Qualities: 
Equity. Motivated. Reasonable. 

3 Red Flags: 
No equity. No equity. No equity.

Jamie Smith, 20+ years of experience

The Top 3 Qualities: 
Buyer's agent compensation. Buyer's agent compensation. Buyer's agent compensation.

3 Red Flags: 
No buyer's agent compensation. No buyer's agent compensation. No buyer's agent compensation.

William Anderson, over 3 years of experience

The Top 3 Qualities: 
Market knowledge. Communication skills. Integrity and honesty.

Mitha Sun, almost 2 years of experience

The Top 3 Qualities: 
The top three qualities I like about the sellers I work with are decisiveness, possessing a realistic understanding of market conditions, and knowing they trust my methods to make the best outcomes for them. 

3 Red Flags: 
Three red flags that would stop me from representing a seller would be asking me not to disclose material information to buyers, not respecting my boundaries, and unrealistic expectations.

Heather Holmes, 20+ years of experience

The Top 3 Qualities: 
Someone who will listen and ask questions. Have a positive attitude to suggestions for repairs and corrections. Willingness to pay reasonable commission.

3 Red Flags: 
Price expectations way above market. Unwilling to compromise on price suggestions. Unreasonable demands for marketing property. (Knows more than a realtor will ever know about how to sell property).

William L. Patton, 20+ years of experience

The Top 3 Qualities: 
Respectful, realistic, being open-minded to learn the Market.

3 Red Flags: 
Unrealistic with listing price, disrespectful to realtors, and dishonest.

Gergana Androva, almost 7 years of experience

The Top 3 Qualities: 
Motivated. Realistic. Cooperative.

3 Red Flags: 
Sellers not willing to make necessary repairs to their homes before listing. Too many family members involved in the decision-making. Indecisive people.

Kerry Wolfson, almost 7 years of experience

The Top 3 Qualities: 
Realistic with pricing in the marketplace. Willing to discuss decluttering if needed. Willing to address possible lender-required repairs.

3 Red Flags: 
The desired list price above the marketplace. Unwilling to address repair items and, if so, not considering this in the list price. Considering the opinions of those they know outside the real estate industry.

Debbie Figueroa, 20+ years of experience

While each Expert had a slightly different opinion on the desired qualities and red flags in a Seller, most of our Real Estate Experts believe that the best qualities a Seller can possess are being respectful towards the agent and valuing the agent’s expertise (especially when it comes to pricing). And we cannot agree more! 

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Regarding the red flags, most Experts agree that the biggest flag is being unrealistic with the listing price. The market has its own rules, and working with Sellers who are unwilling to accept those rules and trust real estate agents can cause a lot of negative emotions on both sides. 

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Thanks to all our Experts for sharing their invaluable advice! We are optimistic that their insights will help other real estate agents in their customer service battles and empower them to set better boundaries with certain clients.