This Actually Happened to Me in August 2026. I Told Them the House Was About $250,000 Overpriced. I Warned Them About the Kitchen. I Warned Them About the Plumbing. They Chose Zillow Over Their Broker. Then the House Didn’t Sell and Somehow I Was the Problem.
Written by Devone Richard
7
THIS ACTUALLY HAPPENED TO ME IN AUGUST 2026.
Not five years ago.
Not something another Realtor told me.
Not some story I made up to get clicks.
THIS HAPPENED TO ME IN AUGUST 2026.
A seller actually said:
“MY BROKER AIN’T SHIT. HE CAN’T SELL THIS HOUSE.”
I’m the broker.
😂
Now, if we’re going to tell that story, let’s tell the whole damn story.
Because there’s quite a bit missing from that sentence.
The house was about $250,000 overpriced.
I TOLD THEM.
The kitchen was a problem.
I TOLD THEM.
The plumbing had issues.
I TOLD THEM.
The comparable sales didn’t support the number they wanted.
I TOLD THEM THAT TOO.
But Zillow showed them a number they liked better.
So apparently, in August 2026, the computer knew more about the property than the broker who actually walked through the house.
Then the house didn’t sell.
And suddenly…
“MY BROKER AIN’T SHIT.”
Oh, we’re going to talk about this one. 😂
YOU DIDN’T WANT MY PROFESSIONAL OPINION YOU WANTED MY AGREEMENT
That’s what this really came down to.
You hired me as your broker.
You asked what I thought.
I gave you my professional opinion.
There was just one problem.
YOU DIDN’T LIKE THE FUCKING ANSWER.
The data didn’t support what you wanted.
The condition didn’t support what you wanted.
The comparable sales didn’t support what you wanted.
So instead of changing the expectation, you changed who you listened to.
That’s a big difference.
YOU DIDN’T WANT A BROKER TO TELL YOU WHAT THE HOUSE WAS WORTH.
YOU WANTED A BROKER TO CONFIRM WHAT YOU HAD ALREADY DECIDED IT WAS WORTH.
And I’m not very good at that.
If I think you’re wrong, I’m going to tell you you’re wrong.
That’s part of what you’re hiring me for.
THEN ZILLOW TOLD YOU WHAT YOU WANTED TO HEAR
5
Then came the magic sentence:
“BUT ZILLOW SAYS…”
There it is.
Zillow gave you the bigger number.
And because the bigger number felt better, suddenly the bigger number became the right number.
Let me ask something.
Did Zillow walk through the house?
No.
Did Zillow stand in the kitchen?
No.
Did Zillow inspect the plumbing?
No.
Did Zillow sit down and study exactly how buyers were reacting to this particular property?
No.
I DID.
And most importantly:
ZILLOW WASN’T WRITING THE FUCKING CHECK.
That’s the part sellers sometimes forget.
A Zestimate doesn’t buy your house.
A buyer does.
And if the people with the money won’t pay your number, eventually the number on the website doesn’t mean very much.
THE KITCHEN WAS A PROBLEM BEFORE I SAID IT WAS A PROBLEM
6
This is another thing sellers do.
When the Realtor points out a problem, they sometimes act like the Realtor created the problem.
I didn’t create the kitchen.
😂
I didn’t make buyers dislike it.
I didn’t tell them to walk in and calculate what they would have to spend changing it.
I JUST TOLD YOU WHAT THEY WERE GOING TO SEE.
There’s a difference.
You had been living with that kitchen.
You were used to it.
The buyer wasn’t.
They’re walking through thinking:
Cabinets.
Countertops.
Appliances.
Layout.
Flooring.
Labor.
Money.
And if they believe they’re already being asked to pay too much for the house, that kitchen becomes an even bigger issue.
YOU CAN’T ASK BUYERS TO OVERPAY AND THEN EXPECT THEM TO IGNORE WHAT THEY’LL HAVE TO FIX.
AND THE PLUMBING DIDN’T CARE WHAT ZILLOW SAID EITHER
Then there was the plumbing.
Buyers hear “plumbing problem” and start doing math.
How much?
How serious?
What else is wrong?
What happens during inspection?
What happens if we open a wall?
What am I buying?
They don’t say:
“Well, that’s unfortunate, but Zillow says the house is worth more, so fuck it.”
😂
That’s not how buyers think.
CONDITION AFFECTS VALUE.
It affects confidence.
It affects negotiations.
It affects inspections.
And sometimes it affects whether somebody wants the property at all.
Again:
I DIDN’T CREATE THE PROBLEM BY TELLING YOU ABOUT IT.
THE PROBLEM ALREADY EXISTED.
NOW LET’S TALK ABOUT THAT $250,000
This wasn’t a little disagreement.
We weren’t arguing over $5,000.
We weren’t even arguing over $25,000.
WE WERE ABOUT A QUARTER OF A MILLION DOLLARS APART.
Think about that.
You wanted me to take a house with condition issues…
Ignore what the comparable sales were telling us…
Ignore what buyers were likely to see…
And somehow convince somebody to pay roughly $250,000 more than I believed the market supported.
How?
Should I hypnotize them?
😂
Should I cover the kitchen before the showing?
Should I ask the inspector to skip the plumbing?
Should I hide the comparable sales?
Should I call the appraiser and ask:
“Hey, can you do me a favor and not look at reality today?”
I’M A REAL ESTATE BROKER.
I’M NOT DAVID FUCKING COPPERFIELD.
I can market.
I can negotiate.
I can expose the property to buyers.
I can create a strategy.
I can fight for your money.
But I cannot manufacture $250,000 of value because you want it to exist.
THEN THE HOUSE DIDN’T SELL—AND SOMEHOW THAT PROVED I WAS THE PROBLEM
5
This is the part that gets me.
I warned you.
The market responded exactly the way I was concerned it would.
And instead of saying:
“Maybe Devone had a point.”
The conclusion became:
“MY BROKER AIN’T SHIT. HE CAN’T SELL THIS HOUSE.”
Wait a minute.
You hired the broker.
The broker gave you advice.
You ignored the advice.
You followed your own pricing strategy.
The strategy didn’t work.
And now the failure of your strategy is evidence of my incompetence?
😂
THAT’S A HELL OF A WAY TO DO ACCOUNTABILITY.
YOU CAN FIRE ME—BUT YOU CAN’T FIRE THE COMPS
This might be the most important thing in this entire article.
Fire me.
Seriously.
If I don’t communicate, fire me.
If I don’t market your property, fire me.
If I don’t return your calls, fire me.
If I don’t understand the contract, fire me.
If I don’t know the market, fire me.
If I don’t do what I promised you, fire my ass.
But if your problem with me is that I keep showing you sales you don’t like?
Changing brokers doesn’t change those sales.
YOU CAN FIRE THE BROKER.
YOU CAN’T FIRE THE DATA.
Put another sign in the yard.
Take new photographs.
Rewrite the description.
Hire another brokerage.
IT’S STILL THE SAME HOUSE.
Same kitchen.
Same plumbing.
Same comparable sales.
And unless something changes…
Same price problem.
SOME SELLERS DON’T WANT THE BEST REALTOR—THEY WANT THE REALTOR WITH THE BIGGEST NUMBER
5
This is where our industry deserves some blame.
Broker #1 says:
“The market supports around here.”
Seller doesn’t like it.
Agent #2 walks in:
“I can get you $200,000 more.”
Guess who gets the listing?
😂
Not necessarily the better Realtor.
THE BETTER LIAR.
Some agents will tell a seller damn near anything to get a signature.
Then 30 days later:
“We need a price reduction.”
Another 30 days:
“We should probably reduce again.”
I could have done that.
I could’ve told you exactly what you wanted to hear.
BUT THAT’S NOT WHAT YOU HIRED ME FOR.
I’d rather lose a listing telling you the truth than win one by participating in a fantasy.
DON’T IGNORE THE ADVICE AND THEN BLAME THE ADVISER
This is bigger than one seller.
It happens throughout real estate.
A seller hires a professional.
Professional gives advice.
Seller ignores it.
House doesn’t sell.
Then:
“The Realtor sucks.”
No.
Sometimes the Realtor absolutely sucks.
There are plenty of bad Realtors.
But sometimes the Realtor did exactly what you hired them to do:
THEY TOLD YOU THE TRUTH BEFORE THE MARKET FORCED YOU TO HEAR IT.
You just didn’t like the truth.
And there’s a huge difference.
FINAL THOUGHT
5
Let me say this again because I want there to be absolutely no confusion.
THIS ACTUALLY HAPPENED TO ME IN AUGUST 2026.
I told the seller the house was approximately $250,000 overpriced.
I told them the kitchen was a problem.
I told them about the plumbing issues.
I showed them what I believed the market was telling us.
They chose to believe Zillow’s number instead.
That’s their right.
IT WAS THEIR HOUSE.
IT WAS THEIR DECISION.
But here’s where I have a problem:
OWN YOUR DECISION.
Don’t hire me for my professional opinion…
Ignore my professional opinion…
Choose the opinion that makes you feel better…
And then blame my professional ability when your decision doesn’t work.
Because that’s exactly what happened to me in August 2026.
And to the seller who inspired this article:
You said:
“MY BROKER AIN’T SHIT. HE CAN’T SELL THIS HOUSE.”
Okay.
You had your say.
Now I get mine.
THE HOUSE WAS ABOUT $250,000 OVERPRICED.
THE KITCHEN WAS A PROBLEM.
THE PLUMBING HAD ISSUES.
THE COMPS DIDN’T SUPPORT YOUR NUMBER.
I TOLD YOU.
You chose Zillow.
The buyers chose reality.
And when the house didn’t sell…
YOU CHOSE TO BLAME ME.
So if you’re reading this right now thinking:
“WAIT…IS DEVONE TALKING ABOUT ME?”
This happened in August 2026.
You know what you said.
I know what you said.
And you know what happened.
So this time…
YEAH. YOU ALREADY KNOW THE FUCKING ANSWER. 👀😂
— Devone Richard
Written by Devone Richard
Broker/Owner | OYT Real Estate
California Broker #01857383
Nevada Broker #1002115
📞 626-500-1212 | 702-941-0202
🌐 OYTRealEstate.com