Playing Devil’s Advocate.
The last thing a serious seller needs- especially in a buyer’s market- is to hire a “yes” Realtor. If your Realtor can’t play devil’s advocate in private with you, and provide objective advice on the vulnerabilities buyers and agents will take advantage of, you may as well hire a parrot who repeats your mantras and hopes.
A Realtor worth their salt must be confident in their knowledge, experience and instincts to tell a client what they NEED to hear.
There’s an old saying in the real estate business that 'buyers are liars and sellers are tellers'. What it actually means is buyers will tell an agent what they're looking for, but what they actually buy is more often than not quite different from what they start out saying they want. Sellers are tellers in the sense that they want to be told what they want to hear. My response to sellers who are tellers: Do you want to be right or do you want to be sold? I've seen sellers who are still convinced they're 'right' about the value of their home, even after the notice of default arrives in the mail. A devil's advocate agent has the confidence to look a seller in the eye and say, "This is what the market says your house is worth. Buyers and recent sales determine values, not sellers."

Puppet or parrot agent, both experienced and new, are dangerous and time wasting. Personally I prefer not to follow a puppet agent's listing because so much damage has to be undone in a seller's mind about the realities of market values, the detractors of value of their home, additional costs for repairs and sprucing  up, etc.

This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it is a 10 year real estate veteran in St. Helena. Reach her at 707 235-8585