Expireds Guide - Authorify

2. They also listed a lot of expireds because that’s what they focused on. At the same time, sellers whose listings expired naturally sought out and listed with the few agents who were left standing. But here’s what else is interesting: expireds were also the best way to list more short sales. Remember when the short sales were happening in 2010 and 2011, when every agent wanted to list as many short sales as possible? Often, the easiest way to list short sales was through expireds. A lot of people who put a house on the market as a regular seller realized they couldn’t sell, then decided to short sell their home — after it expired. With that in mind, it’s easy to see that expireds can be your ticket to survive and prosper during a slowdown in the housing market. #5. Even inexperienced agents can list expireds. If you believe you have to be awesome or super slick to get listings, then you’ve been the victim of one of the biggest lies in real estate. The reality is that even an average agent can get listings — as long as there isn’t much competition. For example, I once listed a house where the seller was an immigrant. He had lived in America for 20 years, but he couldn’t speak English well. I remember setting up my first tentative appointment with the seller. The appointment was informal — something to the effect of “Hey, are you going to be around tomorrow? Let me check my schedule, and I think I can meet you at 9:00 a.m.” Then, I set up a better-quality appointment with another seller for the same time. I didn’t go to the first appointment. I didn’t even call him back. Yes, I actually stood up the seller! It’s embarrassing to even admit it. I’m ashamed of my rudeness. My only excuse is that I didn’t think the seller was serious. After my other appointment, I checked my voicemail. It was the seller I had stood up. He said, “Hey, I’m at the house. We were supposed to meet today. Please call me back.” Immediately, I realized I had messed up. I called him back, scheduled another appointment, and met with him. Despite his challenges with English, I got him to understand that I could sell his house. He told me he’d have me meet with his daughter, who would be in town a few days later. When we all met, his daughter translated for us. She realized that I would do a good job selling the property, and they hired me to list the house.