A little white lie never hurt anyone, right? Well, whether you agree with that statement or not, there’s something to be said for learning tact and when it’s appropriate to share information and how much. If you’re showing a house or property for an expired listing in Manhattan or Brooklyn, over sharing or being too forthcoming could actually hurt your chances of selling or getting the price you want. You can also coach the expired listing seller on how to do answer these questions themselves if they’ll be helping with showings or open houses
If the information is none of the buyer’s business or the seller would honestly rather keep that private, nothing wrong with that. You can talk around it without giving too much away and without lying. Here are some examples of what you could say to potential buyers when they ask about a seller’s reasons for selling or how the process is going.
“It’s time to downsize.”
This could be because an expired listing is having financial difficulties, but guess what? That’s none of their business. And you don’t have to broadcast that at all and can still be honest. Put it this way, “it’s time to downsize,” and it could be any number of reasons behind that. Unfortunately, people do sometimes try to take advantage (although we hope not) and giving this information away could leave the seller vulnerable to low ball offers.
“It’s time for a change of scenery.”
This one is a great alternative to “they’re getting a divorce.” Again, no one’s business (except in certain states where you do have disclose legal proceedings going on that could affect the sale). But you don’t need to get into this right away, regardless.
It’s also a great line to use if there are personal issues going on in the seller’s life such as a death in the family, a job loss or an illness. Perhaps these reasons are part of why the listing expired in the first place. There was just too much going on for the seller and they became overwhelmed. Your job is to help them sell without giving all that information out.
“They’re looking.”
When asked about the status of finding their next home, a great answer is, “they’re looking,” or for the seller themselves, “we’re looking.” It doesn’t give too much away. It’s noncommittal and doesn’t allude in any way to there being a rush or desperation. The truth may be they’ve found the house they want but are waiting on this sale to go through. Don’t share that. It makes them seem desperate. Which they may be, but have a little patience and they’ll be able get more for the home.
“We’re expecting an offer soon.”
Use this phrase when buyers prod you for information about any offers on the home. It’s not lying. If you haven’t gotten any yet, but don’t want to put it that way, say you’re expecting one soon. You are hoping and expecting offers so that’s true. It steers buyers away from lowballing you if they think there’s no interest.
Keep a few of these phrases in your back pocket when dealing with potential buyers in Manhattan or Brooklyn.
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