Sales agents I’m told make ~ 6% in commission on the sale of a property. Depending on the price 6% can be pretty nice. But, that is 6% that comes out of the sellers pocket and it’s probably a 6% that they don’t want to give up, so do they really need the agent? Maybe some sellers don’t, they have enough real estate savvy to figure out how to market, and price their property. But some do. Exhbit 3C at 25 Bergen Street folks.
We knew something was afoot when we arrived at the address and there wasn’t even a glimmer of an open house. We rang 3C, “open house?” and were greeted with a slightly annoyed “come up”. Buzz. The building was modern looking and sunny, but no lobby to speak of and no doorman / concierge or anyone else to give you a smile because the owners of 3C surely would not. We arrived were greeted by a smile too stony to be an agent — we quickly realized these must be the owners. She pulled back the door, nodded her head tightly at our introductions and offered us to “look around”. We were definitely getting the home invaders special.
We noticed her husband / partner was on the couch, he didn’t bother to get up — just gave us a similarly tight smile, and she sat back down at the table in front of her computer. We noticed a couple print outs from their streeteasy page, I suppose their attempt at marketing materials. So we slowly walked around. There’s definitely a lot to recommend this place. It has many windows — though none are that generous, a nice terrace just big enough for a couple of chairs, and the center piece of the unit was the kitchen with its inviting island. The bathroom finishes were mediocre at best, and the bedrooms well sized and well lit, but rail roaded together. I noticed a couple soft spots in the hardwood flooring which otherwise looked like it’s held up well, “what kind of flooring?” I asked tentatively. The guy just looked at me blanking, “flooring?” I prompted. “Wood“. He answered. Was he kidding? No. I laughed uncomfortably, “no.. I mean what kind of floor..like what kind of wood.” “Oh!” He said surprised, he looked briefly at his wife before answering, “I don’t know.” Interesting. “Well… is it natural or engineered?” but I should’ve known that if they didn’t know what kind of floor they had they wouldn’t know if it was engineered or not. “It’s the floor that came with the unit” he answered.
My husband at this point pulled me aside before I could continued asking more awkward-ending questions. “They think this place will sell itself.” He whispered. Still puzzled. “They think it’s like 2007 like when they bought this place.” Ah. Well someone should tell them that the market’s changed. You might actually have to do a little work to sell your place. At least a little more than sitting on the couch and reading a book. But if you really don’t want to hire an agent to get it together, at the very least make people feel welcomed, I mean you ARE trying to sell them something. One would think.
The Queen Bee. She rules over the Flatbush Riviera. All of Downtown Brooklyn and Fort Greene is her domain. 
