"What Realtors REALLY Say After They Leave Your House!"

What do real estate agents actually say after leaving a listing appointment—and what really happens behind the scenes after a buyer submits an offer?

In Episode 47 of Real Estate UnRaked, Eric Rakers, Dane Coussens, and Jaycee Crawford pull back the curtain on the private conversations buyers and sellers rarely hear during a real estate transaction. From pricing and preparing a home for sale to evaluating offers, negotiating terms, communicating with lenders, and solving problems before they reach the client, this episode reveals what experienced Realtors are doing behind the scenes.

We break down why the highest offer isn’t always the strongest offer, what listing agents examine when an offer arrives, and how financing, appraisal terms, inspections, earnest money, closing flexibility, and seller needs can determine which buyer wins.

You’ll also learn the common mistakes that can hurt a homebuyer’s chances, including shopping without a pre-approval, waiting too long to make an offer, focusing on unrealistic interest-rate predictions, and visiting new-construction communities without independent Realtor representation.

For homeowners preparing to sell, we explain why professional photography, curb appeal, cleanliness, lighting, staging, pricing, showing feedback, and online presentation can dramatically affect buyer interest and final sale price.

Our Northeast Florida Community Spotlight takes you inside Laurelton in Green Cove Springs, Florida—a major new master-planned community featuring new-construction homes, trails, parks, outdoor recreation, pickleball, sports fields, gathering spaces, a planned medical campus, and homes from builders including David Weekley Homes and Richmond American Homes.

If you’re considering buying, selling, relocating, or purchasing new construction in Green Cove Springs, Clay County, Jacksonville, or anywhere across Northeast Florida, this episode gives you an honest look at what really happens during a real estate deal.

Need help comparing Laurelton or other Northeast Florida new-home communities? Contact Eric Rakers and the Rakers Home Group before visiting the model homes. The builder’s sales representative works for the builder—your Realtor should work for you.

Subscribe to Real Estate UnRaked for honest real estate conversations, Northeast Florida housing-market updates, new-construction community tours, home-selling advice, and practical homebuyer education.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Have you ever wondered what realtors actually say after they leave your house? Or what happens after you submit an offer? Today we're pulling back the curtain. We're talking about the conversations buyers and sellers never hear. And trust me, some of them might surprise you. So grab your coffee or something stronger and let's unranke it.

SPEAKER_01 0:20

Let's do it.

SPEAKER_00 0:29

All right, welcome to Real Estate Unranked, episode number 47. Here we go. Hello, everybody. Three away from 50, guys. Yeah. And they say this thing doesn't really start taking off until we get to episode 100.

SPEAKER_01 0:48

I know. So well, we have two followers right now listening to this. That's about it.

SPEAKER_00 0:52

No, we got more than that. Okay. We're definitely in double and I think we've hit triple digits, actually. Nice. Excellent. So we're doing good. Doing good. But we do want to see the comments.

SPEAKER_01 1:03

Yeah. And please.

SPEAKER_00 1:04

But anyhow, before we jump into this great conversation piece today, it is dad joke time.

SPEAKER_01 1:10

All right. Well, I'm going to change it up today.

SPEAKER_00 1:12

No wife, huh?

SPEAKER_01 1:13

No wife joke today. I'm going to let her have a break today. It's niece. We still love you, just so you know. Yes, we do. Very much so. So I saw a man standing on one leg at an ATM. Confused, I asked him, What are you doing? He said, I'm just checking my balance.

SPEAKER_00 1:34

Oh boy. That's good. I like that one.

SPEAKER_03 1:37

How do poets say hello?

SPEAKER_00 1:40

I don't know.

SPEAKER_03 1:42

Hey, haven't we metaphor?

SPEAKER_01 1:44

Metaphor. Oh my goodness. Oh my goodness.

SPEAKER_00 1:47

Did you guys know where our IT guy went off to?

SPEAKER_01 1:50

No, where?

SPEAKER_00 1:51

Probably ransomware.

SPEAKER_01 1:53

Ransomware. Ransomware.

SPEAKER_00 1:56

I know that was pretty bad.

SPEAKER_01 1:57

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:58

Sorry. That's why dad jokes are dad jokes. That's why, for sure. You know, I got some good ones when I say at the house all the time, and everybody just shakes their head and they're laughing as they walk away. They just don't want to see them laughing at the stuff they say. I don't get the credit I deserve sometimes.

SPEAKER_01 2:13

This is part of being a man and a husband.

SPEAKER_00 2:16

Yeah.

unknown 2:17

So it makes it a dad joke.

SPEAKER_01 2:18

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 2:19

All right. So today we are going to, it's going to be fun. We're going to give you guys a backstage pass of what is actually really happening during a real estate transaction. No gossip, no drama, just the honest conversations that happen behind closed doors every single day.

SPEAKER_01 2:36

And honestly, if you bought a new home or sold a uh bought a new home, well, if you bought a home or sold a home before, you've probably wondered what are they saying after they leave? Well, today you are going to find out.

SPEAKER_03 2:50

I thought you'd never ask. And don't worry. We're not naming names.

SPEAKER_01 2:56

Yet. Yet.

SPEAKER_03 2:58

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 2:59

All right. Well, you know, HIPAA protects doctors, and unfortunately, there's no realtor HIPAA.

SPEAKER_03 3:04

Don't worry. Your secrets are safe.

unknown 3:06

All right.

SPEAKER_00 3:06

So we're going to be talking about what realtors really say after a listing appointment. So let's set the scene here. We leave the listing appointment. We get into the car. What's the first conversation?

SPEAKER_01 3:16

I'll go first.

SPEAKER_00 3:16

Well, yeah, what do you got?

SPEAKER_01 3:18

The first thing I'm usually asking is, did they actually want our advice? Or are they just looking for someone to agree with them? You know, were they listening to what we were saying? You know, did they interrupt constantly? Did they already have a number in mind? Were they interviewing or shopping for the highest price?

SPEAKER_00 3:36

That's a good question.

SPEAKER_01 3:37

If they start every sentence with, well, Zillow says, I know it's going to be a long appointment.

SPEAKER_00 3:42

One thing people don't realize, we're not judging the house. We're evaluating whether we can actually help. I look and see if they actually do they trust us. Were they realistic? Are they actually motivated? Will they actually follow the recommendations that we suggest? And did they ask good questions? Because if they're asking just basic general questions, that that's not enough to really do that. But there has been some appointments where the house needed almost nothing. It was a great house, great neighborhood, great family. Those are the easy ones, and those are few and far in between. But then there are appointments where you realize they don't actually want advice, they just want someone to validate the price that they've already decided. That happens too. Yeah, that's right. So I tell you, if your CMA is based on what your cousin got three years ago, we might have a problem with this.

SPEAKER_01 4:30

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_03 4:31

I think something sellers don't realize, but we're also asking ourselves can we represent the home well? Is the home clean enough? Is the seller gonna cooperate? It's a penguin.

SPEAKER_01 4:40

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 4:41

Will they stage? Does it need staging? Are photos going to matter? They're gonna matter. If someone refuses professional pictures or doesn't want it to clutter, won't let us schedule showings. That's not us being difficult. That's us trying to figure out how we're supposed to compete with every other listing.

SPEAKER_00 4:56

No doubt.

SPEAKER_03 4:57

You can't hide clutter by turning the lights off.

SPEAKER_00 5:00

No, you can't. And I think just put a brown paper bag over there. No doubt. Just listen to us talk about this. Yeah. The whole thing. Well, anyway, I think one of the biggest misconceptions is people think realtors are sitting in the car making fun of a house or not.

SPEAKER_01 5:16

No, we're usually trying to solve problems.

SPEAKER_03 5:19

Exactly. We're asking how do we get this family the most money possible?

SPEAKER_00 5:23

Because I'm gonna tell you every challenge has a solution. Price, marketing, condition, presentation, timing, those are all conversations that we actually have.

SPEAKER_01 5:32

Right.

SPEAKER_00 5:33

And I'm telling you, I I've walked into million-dollar homes that needed tens of thousands of dollars of worth of cleaning. I've walked into $300,000 homes that look like a magazine. Price doesn't determine presentation at all.

SPEAKER_01 5:45

And let me tell you, buyers will notice everything.

SPEAKER_00 5:48

Yeah. Everything. They will. They will.

SPEAKER_03 5:50

They'll overlook granite countertops, but they'll never forget a bad smell.

SPEAKER_00 5:54

Oh, heavens no. All right, guys. I'm gonna give you a funny rapid fire here, real quick. Um, what's something buyers always notice? Dog smell. All right, dirty baseboards. Yeah, that's that's definite. Uh light bulbs burned out.

SPEAKER_01 6:07

Dead grass. Cerber pill is everything in your first presentation, let me tell you.

SPEAKER_00 6:12

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 6:12

Family photos covering every single wall.

SPEAKER_00 6:15

Oh man, don't forget those ceiling stains.

SPEAKER_01 6:16

Yeah, and again, talk about curbapill, overgrown landscaping, not trimmed hedges, uh, big turnoff.

SPEAKER_00 6:24

Now, here's the funny part of all that. Sellers never notice those things anymore because they live with them almost every single day.

SPEAKER_01 6:30

That's true. It's just natural to them.

SPEAKER_00 6:32

So if you're selling your home, this is what I want you to do. I want you to walk outside, wait, count like 10 seconds, walk back in, and pretend you've never seen it before. You'll notice things you have never noticed in years. Now, that was before the listing agreement is signed. Now, what about after an offer comes in? Because trust me, those conversations are completely different. So, what really happens after you submit an offer? So you found the house, you fell in love with it, you've spent hours looking at homes, finally found the one, and now we've submitted your offer. Most buyers think the hard part is over. Honestly, the work is just getting started.

SPEAKER_01 7:11

This is probably one of the biggest misconceptions in real estate. People think once you hit send on the offer, everyone just sits around waiting. That couldn't be further from the truth. Let me tell you, they could not be further from the truth. No, it's not. Listening, listing agents immediately reviews the offer, check financing strength, reviews the down payment, and make sure it's in within uh three days, reviews closing timeline, considers sellers' needs, sometimes calls a lender before anything else, and sometimes multiple offer arrives at the same time. So they got to weed through and present them accordingly to their seller.

SPEAKER_00 7:47

Very true. Do you actually think the listing agent immediately reviews the offer?

SPEAKER_01 7:52

Immediately, yeah. The listing agent? Immediately, yeah. I don't know if that's even fast enough. People always ask, do they like my offer? Honestly, we're asking, can this buyer actually close? You know, so we got to go through them and make sure that everything looks good, you know, when we present it to them. And if not, we need to explain, hey, this may or may not go through and explain why. You know, a pretty offer with uh shaky financing is like uh putting racing stripes on a lawnmower.

SPEAKER_00 8:22

Or a Kia.

SPEAKER_01 8:23

Or a Kia for sure. For sure.

SPEAKER_03 8:26

The funny thing is, the highest offer isn't always the best offer. Cashing versus financing offer. Cash is going to be less contract contingencies, quicker closings, less risk to the sellers. Another issue they need to be prepared for is an appraisal gap. If you're financing your home, your lender will require an appraisal to ensure the home's value, make sure it covers the loan. It's pretty common that these amounts don't match. The most common contract we use is Nefar as is. There's no low appraisal financial contingency in the standard contract. We personally include the appraisal contingency addendum in these offers. It's just an additional level of protection for buyers. With this addendum, if the appraised value falls below the specified amount, buyers can provide a copy to the sellers. You can cancel a contract, keep your escrow deposit. Without it, there's no protection. Buyers can cancel their default, lose their binder, or the buyer is responsible to pay the difference between the purchase price and the appraisal amount.

SPEAKER_00 9:17

Right. Wow.

SPEAKER_03 9:18

Inspection requests is another big one. Is it lender required? Is it like a structural issue? Because that's gonna be a big one. You're gonna know, you should know what could be popping up on your inspection as a homeowner. Be prepared for that. Listing agent should be able to prepare you for that as well.

SPEAKER_00 9:34

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 9:34

You know the roof sold. If you communicate these things to your agent, they can communicate with the buyer's agent. More communication, the less the issues find out later in the contract, and that's when it hurts most.

SPEAKER_00 9:44

Yeah, actually, based on the kind of financing you get inspections are gonna be super crucial. So you as an agent uh actually setting them up for what they need to know, it is really important.

SPEAKER_01 9:55

Yeah, like a mobile home will require a little bit more inspections in your house.

SPEAKER_03 10:00

Yeah, you know the roof's not gonna not gonna fly. Yeah, if you're gonna tell your sellers a cash offer might be more appealing and also be prepared for that price cut based off of the roof.

SPEAKER_01 10:10

Sure.

SPEAKER_03 10:11

Seller occupancy, that's another one. The post-occupancy agreements.

SPEAKER_00 10:16

Yeah, those are those are coming around. I got one right now. I hate those.

SPEAKER_03 10:20

I feel like there's so much liability there. I haven't been on one, but I'll walk you through it.

SPEAKER_00 10:25

It's pretty easy.

SPEAKER_03 10:26

Not as stressful as it seems.

SPEAKER_00 10:28

No, not at all.

SPEAKER_03 10:29

And earnest money. If there's a risk that it's gonna fall through, maybe ask for a higher earnest money if it wasn't.

SPEAKER_00 10:35

Yeah, you can do that.

SPEAKER_03 10:36

It's just communication. If you communicate what concerns you have, your needs, your agent's gonna be able to help you throughout the transition. Prepared. If seller A needs three extra weeks after closing, and buyer B offers that, sometimes that beats another offer with slightly higher prices. Real estate isn't always about the biggest number. Sometimes a flexible closing date is worth more than another $5,000.

SPEAKER_00 10:55

No doubt. One conversation buyers never hear is between realtors. We discuss about calling lenders, asking about buyer strength, discussing the appraisal concerns, multiple offer strategy, the seller motivation, you know, kind of where they're at with it, and possible concessions that are going to come out and definitely the timeline. You know, I always call the listing agent and ask what's important to the seller. Maybe they need a faster close, maybe they need a you know, rent back, maybe they already bought another home. Those conversations completely change on how we structure the offer for you.

SPEAKER_01 11:26

Yeah, and it gives you a little bit of leverage once you find those things out, too.

SPEAKER_00 11:29

Yep. And you know, sometimes we're negotiating everything except who's mowing the lawn. Yeah, we do.

SPEAKER_03 11:35

But you have to communicate that with your agent too, so they can support you as best.

SPEAKER_00 11:39

What makes an offer stand out?

SPEAKER_01 11:40

A local lender, strong communication, yeah, definitely proof of funds, reasonable expectation expectations.

SPEAKER_03 11:46

Actually answering your phone. You would be surprised.

SPEAKER_00 11:51

I can't laugh at that because that that it's actually frustrating.

SPEAKER_01 11:54

It is, and it happens more often than not.

SPEAKER_00 11:57

It is way more important than people realize, and I don't understand why there's realtors out there that don't understand that's important to answer the phone. I've had buyers disappear right after submitting an offer.

SPEAKER_01 12:07

Then the listing agent calls, we can't keep our buyers either.

SPEAKER_03 12:11

Meanwhile, everybody thinks negotiations have stopped when really we're waiting for someone to answer a text.

SPEAKER_01 12:15

Yeah, that's the truth.

SPEAKER_00 12:16

That's all it is. Answer your phone. Seriously, when you're buying a house, this isn't the week to go off the grid. It isn't. No, it's not. We already have a hard enough time getting a whole listing agent. So if you're buying a house, maybe you don't take that three-day fishing trip with no cell phone service. Not only buying if you're selling too.

SPEAKER_03 12:35

That too. My gosh. I close Friday, my buyers went on vacation for all week.

SPEAKER_01 12:39

What's funny is when you have a buyer or a seller that comes out and says, I don't answer my phone on Sundays.

SPEAKER_00 12:45

Oh, no post on Sundays, Harry. And no show means on Sunday.

SPEAKER_01 12:48

Yeah, so that that's a difficult one to handle. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 12:52

Well, because you may get your offer in. Here's a little mini lesson for everybody. So here's something buyers don't hear. Sometimes your realtor is negotiating for hours and you never know. Not because we're hiding anything, it's because we're trying to solve problems before they become your problems. Speaking of buyers, let's talk about something buyers accidentally do that hurts their chances before they even know they've made a mistake. But before we get into that, it's game time.

SPEAKER_01 13:23

Uh-oh.

SPEAKER_00 13:25

I got a good one for you. This one. You think? I say that every time, don't I?

SPEAKER_01 13:28

Yeah. Have you uh read through it yet? This one? Yeah. The algorithm?

SPEAKER_00 13:32

No.

SPEAKER_01 13:33

We'll see. Let's all find out together, shall we?

SPEAKER_00 13:36

This one is called Would You Tell the Client?

SPEAKER_01 13:39

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 13:39

All right.

SPEAKER_03 13:40

Would you would you tell the client?

SPEAKER_00 13:42

Yeah, would you tell the client? So I'm gonna read something we've all either have thought of or actually said in the car after an appointment. And you guys actually honestly have to say you said it to a client or you thought of it, or you've never thought of it at all.

SPEAKER_01 13:56

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 13:57

You ready for this? Yep. Okay. The seller's price is about $50,000 too high. Would you tell them? Yes. I'm glad you answered that all question correctly. I I I'm glad that you guys did that. All right, next one. Your house smells like dogs. Would you tell them? Yes. Wow, you guys are all over it.

SPEAKER_03 14:15

The buyer feedback's gonna say it anyway, but yeah.

SPEAKER_00 14:18

Meaning you really wouldn't usually blame it on the weather and suggest opening some windows? No, heavy no. If the dog greets me before the homeowner does, we've got a problem.

SPEAKER_03 14:27

Oh no, I have a horror story on that, but I cannot get into a tangent today.

SPEAKER_00 14:31

Let's not, let's not. Huh. How about this one? Please stop talking during showings.

SPEAKER_03 14:36

Oh my god. Well, yeah. If there's cameras, don't I would say it? Like, hey, there's games, let's not talk about this right now.

SPEAKER_01 14:42

Well, I always forewarn, hey, they may have cameras in the house, just be careful what you say. Everyhouse, because you don't know. And you don't want to say nothing to hurt their feelings, even though it may be true.

SPEAKER_00 14:53

No doubt. Yeah, nobody buys a house because they heard where you bought the backsplash from. Or that you've replaced something else in your house. Anyway. All right, ready?

SPEAKER_01 15:04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 15:04

Your family member is giving terrible advice. Would you tell a buyer that?

SPEAKER_01 15:09

No. They're a family member or my family member. No. Yeah, you're gonna tell them that. Hey, yeah, yeah, yeah. If they're a family member, yeah, yeah.

unknown 15:17

No?

SPEAKER_03 15:18

Maybe a little messy. Yeah, I wouldn't. Yeah, I wouldn't know.

SPEAKER_01 15:21

Yeah. I wouldn't think twice about it.

SPEAKER_00 15:22

I know it always starts with what my dad says. Well, guess what, guys? Your dad bought a house in 1994.

SPEAKER_01 15:27

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 15:28

The market has changed a little bit since dial-up internet people. All right, ready? Yeah. You should tell these people, should you, you should probably buy the house. Have you ever told anybody that? No. No? I will not tell them. No.

SPEAKER_01 15:41

No, that's their decision, not mine. I'm not buying it. My job is to tell them the pros and cons and let them make an educated decision on that.

SPEAKER_00 15:48

I agree. I wouldn't actually say you should buy this house or you should probably buy this house. But after seeing a whole bunch and knowing what they want, I would actually tell them, hey, you guys should consider. Probably looking at making an offer on this house. And I would talk about the timing and a few other things of where they're at.

SPEAKER_01 16:04

Pros and cons.

SPEAKER_00 16:04

Pros and cons. We'll just keep it to that. Pros and cons. All right. Well, again, a shitty ass game. But I got a bonus round for you. All right. All right. I'm going to say the first, I want you guys, I'm going to have you guys finish these sentences that I'm going to say. Okay?

SPEAKER_02 16:20

All right.

SPEAKER_00 16:21

Say the first thing that comes to mind. Buyer always. They always wait too long.

SPEAKER_01 16:25

Not always, but um most of the time, wait too long.

SPEAKER_00 16:29

They can fall in love with the wrong things.

SPEAKER_01 16:31

Shoot. No transactions are the same as we discussed. So there's a plethora of different things I could put there, but I'm trying to think about the more common. That's what do you think a seller always says? Uh my house should be priced for this when it should be priced for that.

SPEAKER_00 16:46

I love it. They love their house more than the market does. Yeah. Yeah. Oh, here's one. All right. I think the buyers won't notice that. Oh yeah. Tell the missus, do you remember what they paid for improvements? I don't remember. No.

SPEAKER_01 17:00

No.

SPEAKER_00 17:01

Well, here's one. This is the last one, I promise. What's realtors always say?

SPEAKER_01 17:05

We can negotiate the best deal for you. Check your phone.

SPEAKER_00 17:13

Again, I am striking out. This is almost a month in a row that I haven't had great game. My bad. We won't hold it against you. Not this time. All right, let's jump back into the about things buyers do that hurt their chances without even realizing it. And I don't think buyers wake up trying to sabotage themselves, but sometimes they actually do.

SPEAKER_01 17:33

Yeah. The first one, shopping outside your budget, looking online before lender approval. Won't that one million dollar home when they have a $300,000 budget? Emotional attachment. They see the house of their dreams, they can't afford it. Yeah. Payment shock. Once they figure it out and they hadn't, you know, the lender tells them what the monthly payment's going to be. Ouch. And comparing unrealistic homes, what they can afford. So if you're if your budget is $400,000. Ooh, we're doing some math. I like this. Yep. Please stop touring the $550,000 house because everything after that feels terribly disappointing. No doubt. HGTV has ruined more expectations than it was breakfast.

SPEAKER_00 18:16

That's very, very true. Actually, we need to say that a couple more times with this thing. No doubt. My gosh.

SPEAKER_03 18:22

I think my biggest one is buyers waiting too long. Sleeping on good homes, assuming it'll still be there.

SPEAKER_00 18:29

That is so aggravating.

SPEAKER_03 18:30

Waiting for another price drop, which leads to losing opportunities, especially if we've seen a few. Like we know what is in this market that meet your needs. When we find that out.

SPEAKER_01 18:41

I can feel it for them. Well, I'll tell you what, I've had that actually happen. They waited, and the house went under contract within the hour before they decided to submit the offer after they looked at it three times. Oh my gosh. Then they saw a house, they wanted to think about it for a week, went to put the offer in, and it went under contract two days before no the day. So that is a real list.

SPEAKER_00 19:03

It's a real thing. Yeah. It's a real thing.

SPEAKER_01 19:05

More often than not. So don't wait.

SPEAKER_03 19:07

Don't wait. That house isn't waiting for you to finish dinner.

SPEAKER_00 19:09

Nope. Nope.

SPEAKER_01 19:10

Nope. Nope.

SPEAKER_00 19:11

I'll tell you my biggest mistake buyers make comparing every house to the first house. There's no perfect house, guys. Everything is different. Priorities change. You got to focus on your needs. The long-term thinking thing that comes up too as well. You know, buyers fall in love with house number one. It's always the case. It's funny because my wife and I looked at 32 houses when we bought ours online for the most part. We didn't put our realtor through that. But we always we went back to the first one. The very first one's the one we bought. You know, going back to that house number one, they spend the next four months trying to recreate it. Sometimes the better house is number six.

SPEAKER_03 19:49

If you got to six, something wasn't right about one. You went with it.

SPEAKER_00 19:53

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 19:54

We saw five additional houses. It might not be the one.

SPEAKER_00 19:56

Might not be the one. All right. I'm going to throw some out some mistakes. I want you guys to tell me right away what you think, okay? First thing comes to mind. I'm trying to get you guys to just react to these. I think it's great.

SPEAKER_01 20:05

All right.

SPEAKER_00 20:06

All right. Here we go. We're going to wait till after the election.

SPEAKER_01 20:08

I haven't heard that before. You might, but the market won't.

SPEAKER_00 20:14

All right. How about this one? We're waiting for rates to hit 4%.

SPEAKER_03 20:18

That could be possible. It might. They might not. Don't build your entire plan around predictions.

SPEAKER_00 20:23

No doubt. All right. We don't need to get a pre-approved yet. That's like a wedding venue before you're engaged, right? Buddy, that is 100% right. That is 100% right. How about this one? We'll just make a really low offer.

SPEAKER_01 20:37

That's a real good strategy. Use someone else's offers at the price.

SPEAKER_00 20:42

Yeah. How about this one? We don't need our realtor at a new construction office. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 20:47

And that's how buyers accidentally leave money and representation on the table.

SPEAKER_00 20:51

You ever got a really bad ticket while speeding and you go into court and that other lawyer is sitting across the table from you thinking he's going to help you out?

SPEAKER_01 20:58

Absolutely not. He's got other things on his mind, doesn't he?

SPEAKER_00 21:02

That's right. Well, I think the biggest thing buyers never hear is this. Your realtor wants you to buy the right house and not just any house.

SPEAKER_01 21:11

Absolutely. I'd rather not I'd rather lose a deal than help someone buy the wrong house.

SPEAKER_03 21:17

And that's something buyers don't always realize. Sometimes when we tell you, I don't think this is the right house, it's because we're looking out for your future, not just trying to get you to the closing table.

SPEAKER_00 21:26

We're thinking resale, insurance, the roof, flood zones, the neighborhood that we've been talking about.

SPEAKER_03 21:31

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 21:32

Things that may not matter today, but absolutely will make a change or affect something five years from now. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_03 21:39

And your agent's not emotional in this buying process. Like we know your wants and needs. We say it might not be the right house. We're we're not thinking on emotion. Maybe, maybe listen.

SPEAKER_00 21:48

Absolutely. So we've talked about the buyer situation, okay? And now we're gonna talk about sellers, right? Because there are conversations that happen behind every listing that sellers almost never hear.

SPEAKER_01 22:00

And honestly, if more sellers understood these conversations, their homes would probably sell faster.

SPEAKER_00 22:06

I definitely couldn't agree more on that. So we're we're gonna start with one that surprises people. And where your home isn't selling, our first conversation usually isn't the price is too high. It's why aren't buyers connecting with this home? You know, I I always have those conversations, at least with myself and with the team. Are the photos strong enough? Is the home showing well? Is there enough marketing? Is the first impression good? Is online traffic converting into showings? Are buyers seeing something sellers aren't? You know, I've had homes priced perfectly, but the photos didn't tell the story. I've had homes priced a little high, but still sold quickly because the buyer fell in love with it online. It's a crapsheet sometimes, but the best thing to do is be prepared. But I'll tell you what, people don't decide whether they like your house faster than they decide on what to watch on Netflix. No doubt.

SPEAKER_01 22:55

I always tell sellers the internet gets buyers to the driveway, the house gets them through the front door. Online impressions, that always gets them interested in the home. Kerbapil, as we discussed earlier, landscaping. That is a huge critical point because if it's not well taken care of, they think the house isn't either. Landscaping, same thing. Smells a big one. That's like the hardest thing to get past is the smells. Yeah, the cleanliness of the home, you know, and the lighting. You know, all those make a huge difference in presentation of the house. You can't febreeze 10 years of a window.

SPEAKER_00 23:28

No, no, you no, you can't, and either can you do like you know, 15 years of Virginia Slim smoking with the ashtray you made for them in fourth grade?

SPEAKER_01 23:36

Oh my goodness.

SPEAKER_00 23:38

Ain't that the truth?

SPEAKER_03 23:40

I think sellers underestimate one thing emotion. Buyers buy emotionally, justifying later with numbers, presentation matters, and they need to feel welcomed. They need to feel like your house is for sale and ready for sale. Envision themselves in it. Because when buyers walk in, they're asking themselves, can I picture Christmas here? Can I picture my kids here? Can I picture coming here after work? Nobody has ever bought a house because of the water heater.

SPEAKER_00 24:04

No, nobody has, but they'll they'll walk away from it. That's right.

SPEAKER_03 24:09

No.

SPEAKER_00 24:10

My gosh. Even better when that's like the it's absolutely correct.

SPEAKER_03 24:14

I like when the water heater is like the biggest highlight in the MLS description.

SPEAKER_00 24:18

Oh, yeah. Oh gosh. Hankless water heater. Guess what? Every new home has them.

SPEAKER_03 24:22

Like that's the best thing in the MLS description. You're like, oh gosh.

SPEAKER_00 24:24

Oh boy.

SPEAKER_03 24:25

I don't think we should.

SPEAKER_00 24:26

Well, here's another conversation sellers never have. We're reading every single showing feedback, looking for a pattern. So one opinion means little, five opinions means something. Ten opinions usually reveal the truth. Separate emotion, come emotional comments from the actionable feedback that we get. That is so important. It's hard for me sometimes to send you know these feedbacks to the seller, but I usually give them an upfront, hey, just be prepared. You may not like what you hear, but you got to hear it. And you know, they just kind of brush it off. But you know, I had one buyer saying, I didn't like the paint color. That doesn't concern me.

SPEAKER_02 25:01

No.

SPEAKER_00 25:01

But eight buyers saying that the home felt dark. Now we've got something we need to address. That's right. Patterns don't lie.

SPEAKER_03 25:07

And that's why we encourage sellers not to take the feedback personally. Your house isn't ugly, it just hasn't met its buyer yet.

SPEAKER_00 25:13

No doubt. I think one thing sellers don't realize is we're rooting for them.

SPEAKER_01 25:18

When your house sells, everybody wins.

SPEAKER_03 25:20

Nobody wants a listing sitting on the market.

SPEAKER_00 25:22

We actually lose sleep over listings, seriously. So every realtor has refreshed MLS 400 times, wondering if that showing turned into an offer. I I I I don't know if I do that a lot, but I do worry about that. I don't think I refresh the MLS a lot.

SPEAKER_03 25:37

How much time passes before you reach out to the buyer's agent for feedback?

SPEAKER_01 25:40

Like if they haven't I had a showing yesterday and I didn't hear from them yesterday evening. So I texted them and I still haven't heard from them. You guys wait that long? Uh well, he showed it around uh 1115 to be exact, 20 minute showing.

SPEAKER_00 25:53

Yeah, 20 minutes showing 1115 in the morning. Yep. They're gonna call for me in the afternoon. Yeah, so I'm gonna call him today. There you go.

SPEAKER_03 25:59

Buyers agents, come on, give feedback.

SPEAKER_00 26:01

Yeah, please give the feedback. It's important. Feedback's important.

SPEAKER_03 26:05

You appreciate it as a listing agent.

SPEAKER_00 26:06

So I actually have that conversation with a customer while we're there. Or if I don't do it right after the showing, I will get with the buyers and say, hey guys, what you think about this one? What you think about that one? And then I supply the feedback right after I do it the same day. It's what they need.

SPEAKER_01 26:21

Well, I do it the same day, and it might be because I might have scheduled four or five showings, but I wait till the end of the showings because I'm not gonna do it while I'm driving, because you're gonna drive from you know house A to house B to house C, and I'm not gonna do it right there in front of them either. So right.

SPEAKER_00 26:36

I'm gonna give them honest feedback. Yep. And if I don't, then I don't feel like I'm doing that seller any justice or that.

SPEAKER_03 26:43

And a lot of the times they need someone else to be bad cup. Let the buyer's agent be bad cup.

SPEAKER_00 26:48

Yeah, that's fine. I mean, they're not gonna hold the vendetta against you. No. So I mean, all buyer agents out there because we have quite a few listenings on the team. Please, please leave us feedback. It's important.

SPEAKER_01 26:58

Yep.

SPEAKER_00 26:58

All right, enough about pulling the curtain back. Let's talk about one of the communities everybody's asked about here lately. And this is gonna be our Northeast Florida kind of spotlight section of the show. And we're gonna talk about Laurelton. We've talked about several brand new communities here in Northeast Florida, and especially down in Green Cove Springs in Clake County. So if you've been driving around Green Cove Springs lately, you've probably heard the name Laurelton. This isn't just another subdivision, it's one of the largest master plan communities coming to Northeast Florida.

SPEAKER_01 27:28

And the community, yeah, it does. It has everyone talking. It's unbelievable.

SPEAKER_00 27:31

Yeah, so let's break it down. What is Laurelton? Laurelton is a brand new 3,300-acre master plan community in Green Cove Springs that's being designed around outdoor living, connected neighborhoods, and long-term growth, not just rows of houses. The vision includes an extensive preserved green space, parks, trails, recreation, and future commercial and medical services all within the community.

SPEAKER_01 27:56

Yeah, I saw a little plot or an outline of this community, and they got uh medical buildings, educational buildings right there in the property. So I think that's a pretty neat asset right there.

SPEAKER_00 28:08

That that is. So over that 3,300 acres, they've got planned for thousands of homes over multiple phases. That future village feel, I guess again, the trails, the parks, and the recreation is gonna be cool. The medical campus is gonna be neat and convenient access.

SPEAKER_01 28:22

What I like is they're trying to build an actual lifestyle, not just another place to sleep. And we've been talking about that stuff. Yeah. Yeah. Walkability is a big thing there. Nature, as you were talking about, how they're putting it out. Community gathering, outdoor living, and future growth. You could tell this wasn't designed around squeezing in as many houses as possible. They're putting a huge emphasis on walking trails, parks, recreation, community events. That's where I think they're getting it right. My watch might finally hit 10,000 steps if I was going to live there.

SPEAKER_00 28:54

Finally. Finally. The only time I have mine really does that is when I'm at a theme park.

SPEAKER_02 28:58

Yeah, no doubt.

SPEAKER_03 28:59

Well, families are gonna love this. Parks, playgrounds, future amenities, growing schools, open space, family activities. That's kind of scarce these days. They're gonna be not anymore.

SPEAKER_00 29:08

It's it's it's coming full force over here in Clay County.

SPEAKER_01 29:11

And in Clay County and Greencoat, there's just so many areas that are growing like that. Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 29:15

That's coming. When parents ask us where can our kids finally go outside and play? Laurelton checks a lot of those boxes.

SPEAKER_00 29:21

Absolutely. No doubt. I mean, this place isn't gonna be your typical neighborhood, neighborhood pool and mailbox kind of situation. I mean, they're gonna have a farm stand, there's gonna be a pond, you know, not like retention ponds we see, but it's gonna be an actual legitimate pond. The rear the recreational complex is supposed to be awesome. The practice grounds, I'll I'll talk about that for a minute. That's pretty cool. Medical campus is such a big thing. I can't wait to share more information about that. But miles of trails, they're gonna have a fishing pier, a boardwalk. Wow. And of course your pickleball, your baseball, soccer fields, splash areas. This is cool. Golf practice area. That's gonna be neat. Community gathering spaces, the the future event lawn, that's gonna be neat. The community also plans features like a waterfront front pond with walking paths and a fishing pier, sports fields, the pickleball courts, a short game golf practice area. That that this I've done. And a 24-acre medical complex that's all connected by the trails and green space. Wouldn't you like to walk to work? Heck yeah. You know, they're gonna have a farm standing managing center that's also planned to include pavilions, splash pad, playgrounds with that putting grain and pickleball courts.

SPEAKER_01 30:34

My favorite has to be the golf practice area. It is. Now I can slice into the woods without leaving the paper.

SPEAKER_03 30:43

I like the walking trails. People underestimate just how much that changes everyday life.

SPEAKER_00 30:47

It does make a huge difference, especially evening time, and especially over in Green Cove. Seems like we get to enjoy the sunsets better over here.

SPEAKER_01 30:54

Right. And and the good thing about those walking trails, as you were talking about, you don't have to get worried about hitting getting hit by a car. You can actually walk off the street. Yeah, maybe a golf ball if I'm out there for sure. Yeah, no doubt.

SPEAKER_00 31:08

But right now, buyers can look at homes from David Weekly Homes and Richmond American homes with multiple floor plans, collections that range from roughly anywhere between 1,500 square feet to more than 3,500 square feet, depending on the builder and the collection that they're offering. The additional builders could join us in the future as these phases open up. Homes are currently starting in the upper 300s.

SPEAKER_01 31:30

And don't make the mistake of walking into one of those model homes without your realtor. That's us.

SPEAKER_00 31:35

Exactly. Because we know about it. We have the relationships about it. I know I've been out there a few times already, and I can't wait for Dane and I and maybe some of the rest of the team members to do videos on that. So that's coming.

SPEAKER_01 31:45

Looking forward to that.

SPEAKER_00 31:46

But you know, the builders are the builder contracts are important, negotiation, the lot selection is going to be of important. You're going to have a design center, those builder incentives, resale advice, future value. Now let me think. The reason why it's important to have a realtor to go with you, because those builder incentives, if they get told that day that they can't do it no more, we know what kind of incentives is going on. And we can kind of ask for that, and they're more than likely going to honor it because we know about it. If you don't know, don't ask, get with a realtor that knows and has a relationship with these builders that can that understand the incentives that can get you the most off and negotiate the right price. That is what you need to do.

SPEAKER_01 32:24

Right.

SPEAKER_00 32:24

But people think the sales rep that just works for me. No, they work for the builder. Okay. They're great people, but they are representing the builder's interest. That's why you should always bring somebody like us, especially to new community. So who should buy here? I think Laurelton is perfect for families, people relocating. Anyone really wanting new construction without paying some of the premiums you're seeing closer to the Jacksonville. I also like it for people who want to get into a community early and watch it grow over time. So for you locals, if you've been curious about Laurelton or your or really any other new communities popping up across Clay County, I want you to give us a call. We've toured these communities, we're filming these communities, we're providing you with content on YouTube. We know the builders, we know the contracts, and we'd love to help you compare all your options before you make a decision on these.

SPEAKER_03 33:17

I hope today's episode gave people a little perspective. Buying and selling a home isn't just paperwork. There are dozens of conversations happening behind the scenes, all focused on getting the best outcome for our clients.

SPEAKER_01 33:27

And the biggest take takeaways is this your realtor should be your advocate, not just someone opening doors. The more open and honest the communication, the better the experience, for sure.

SPEAKER_00 33:37

Well, Dane, I couldn't have said that any better, bud. Real estate isn't just about contracts, it's about people, emotions, and timing, and definitely problem solving. Yes. And a lot of what happens behind the scenes never gets seen. And that's why we wanted to make this episode for you guys to kind of really talk about what really goes into helping someone buy or sell a home. So if you got value from today's episode, do us a favor. Okay, like this video, like the podcast, share it, subscribe to our channel on YouTube, subscribe to our podcast, share it with someone who you're thinking about buying or selling. And if you have a question and you've always wondered about real estate, drop it in the comments below. Who knows?

SPEAKER_01 34:20

Even call us, get to know us.

SPEAKER_03 34:22

Oh, we've got to do Bridget.

SPEAKER_00 34:23

Yeah, like no, no, we're we're on every single social media platform. We're on YouTube. Dane always likes to say get to know us. I always say that I got a face for radio. These guys don't give them a call, let them show you these new communities. We know everything there is to know about them and more. Um, and we'd love to show you around. If you got a house to list before you move into the community, give us a call too. But we hope you guys enjoyed this episode and we'll see you next time.