Charlotte Property Management Weekly: The Top 3 Reasons Why Good Property Managers Matter More Now (Reason #3)

3. The skills needed for selling a home have (and will continue) to trend to more of a solution-based, “cash now, sell later” approach; outright sales are becoming scarcer as there are less qualified buyers available in the market


Consumers are having a more difficult time selling their homes. More people want to sell, but the weak market is not allowing them to at retail prices. 50% of all sales in 2010 have been either short sales or foreclosures. Now that the Obama tax-credit has gone away, first-time home buyers will become an even smaller percentage of buyers; the trend that will continue is discounted home sale prices.


So what does this mean to real estate brokerage? It means that the promise of “list, market, wait, and hope” (then repeat) formula will continue to be a less effective one. Consumers are going to want more. They are going to ask questions like:

1. Why will your listing strategy work?

2. The definition of “insanity” is to do the same things and expect different results. What are you going to do differently?

3. I don’t want to ruin my credit through a short sale and want to stop hemorrhaging cash from an empty home. What else have you got?


This is where having a good rent-to-own or creative financing plan is place is paramount. And this is where a good property manager becomes even more important. Banks have made it clear that they consider most consumers “too risky” to extend credit (and this is before upcoming extensive Congressional regulation!). As the FHA (the savior of the market for the past few years) keeps losing billions of dollars, they are going to tighten standards as well. Uh oh!


But people need to do something now! As the oft-repeated Wall Street mantra says, “The market can remain irrational longer than you can remain solvent.” Where can sellers go to find a solution to ensure cash-flow on their vacant properties with the hope of selling them?


Property managers have been executing solutions in the rental and rent-to-own arena for years! While some real estate agents have seen the trend and have educated themselves in this arena, a good property manager has been analyzing credit and creating solutions for homeowners since they’ve been in business. They know how to screen tenants and have the infrastructure in place to ensure cash flow to home owners during tough real estate markets; and this market, unfortunately, is not close to returning to good and “normal”.


In short, having experience in creating “cash now, sell later” solutions for cash-strapped homeowners is becoming more valuable. And this is why a good property manager is more important then ever!

Brett Furniss is the President & Owner of BDF Realty (“Charlotte’s Most Innovative Property Management & Investment Company”), and Rent-To-Sell Realty (“When You Need a New Solution to Sell Your Home”) which specialize in rent-to-own (lease options) and rent-to-sell homes. You can contact him directly at Brett@BDFRealty.com.