We all know that lots of people don't listen very well. It's also true that sometimes others talk about things without knowing much about the subject. And sometimes, you may know more about something than the person who is trying to educate you. However, most of the time when you hire an expert, you do so because you are interested in what they have to say about their field of expertise. Part of why you have engaged them is so that you can benefit from their knowledge, even if all you are doing is confirming your own hypotheses.
As Realtors, our job is to give people the best advice and information we have about how to sell or buy a property. What we tell others comes from experience, from "inside" information from within our companies or our industry, and from the collective wisdom of those in our firms and contacts. It may not always be correct, but it usually has some data points behind it, and it is gathered and disseminated with the best of intentions. Often it is more up to date than what is available through public records, or even appraisal firms.
Therefore, it's always surprising to us that people who come to us for help then ignore advice, or even argue with us. I've been working in real estate for a long time, and the following have all been said to me within the fairly recent past:
"I'm going to tell you what we should do, that I heard from a person next to me on a plane yesterday, but I don't have time to listen to your answer";
"You might learn something about your field from me";
"Do you have anything to say that is worth my listening to? I'm busy doing something else right now." (This from a person who picked the time of the call).
"I hear you, but I'm depending upon the statue of St. Joseph that I buried in my backyard". (This house did sell.)
And the most common: "This isn't what happens in Austin/Boston/Charlotte/Denver...." or "I've done this before, and you need to ask more and leave room to bargain" or "offer less, and leave room to bargain".
You get the idea. One of our key tasks is to listen closely to your wants and needs, so we aren't asking you to do anything we shouldn't also be doing ourselves. We don't claim that we are infallible or that we have all the answers, but it's usually worth listening to your Realtor, and being sure that you heard what he/she said, and not what you wanted to hear, before you decide that you know better. We do have recent market data and statistics, lots of experience, and are clearly vested in the success of the transaction, since that's how we get paid. The final decision is always yours, but it's best to make it with the most professional input at your disposal.
