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Yep. I've learned a lot the hard way on this. I've asked her to add some more pictures of the back yard as it appears now. I asked her to add the pic of the front yard updated and she did but there is still one that is an older one, I would have thought she would have updated the back yard pictures. That's where it's really pretty! The MLS listing isn't showing all the text in paragraph form under the property details. I brought this to her attention. It appears on some of the listings of homes but not others, so i don't know what's up with that. There isn't a home too comparable to mine in my general area. They are all basically much older ranch homes. I have 1 1/2 story cape cod. There are a couple home somewhat similar but they aren't for sale and haven't sold to get a comparable. My agent keeps saying it's not the house that's the problem, its the market and people wanting something for nothing. And certain areas around here run hot for awhile, while others don't sell and vice versa. I'm working on meeting with her and getting a better market value and adjusting accordingly so I don't end up sitting on this house for another year!
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Originally Posted by sware2cod
She placed 6 months in the listing contract to get the listing a long time. She did not ask you because she wanted you to sign 6 months. You could have scratched out 6 months and noted "3 months" and they would have agreed. She purposely did not mention this because she wanted the longer listing. You sometimes have to negotiate with the agency to get the listing terms that you prefer. Now you know (lesson learned the hard way).
What you have now is a home that is listed in the MLS. Most homes sell this way. Here is what you need to do:
1) make sure home is properly priced. Ask the agent NOW to pull comps of homes sold and go over them with you. You are giving several hints that your home is overpriced. Maybe it is priced properly and maybe it is overpriced. You must learn true market value. Many buyers think all the recently sold comps are lesser than their homes due to condition/custom features. Or they think others dumped the sold homes cheaply and your home is better kept and doesn't need to be dumped, thus is worth 15% more. Bottom line, you must realize sold homes of similar age/sg footage ARE your comps...even if you think they dumped them cheaply. This IS the new real estate market...the deals get sold and everything else sits on the market because is is overpriced for the market.
2) Make sure photos are excellent for your home. POST THE MLS link here. Folks will critique for you and you can pass this to the agent. You might need photos retaken here and there.
3) review every single part of the MLS listing. Make sure no mistakes.
When your 6 months is over, get another agency. Or, as someone noted, you can attempt to pay a lump sum to the broker to get out of the contract now. Offer $500 so you can cancel the listing and list with someone else. Get this in writing. They will probably counter offer. Or they will maybe say that they want to keep the listing for 6 months.
Honestly if she isn't doing real estate regularly, she probably can't give you a realistic market value because she doesn't know. Just sayin'.
She does it regularly as the market allows. She's involved in different real estate activities, she's just not one of the better agents i guess In hind sight I probably shouldn't have worried so much about "neighbors" feelings and trying to give her a shot at supporting her family, and went with the top agent in the area to insure selling my own house. I guess that's what I get for trying to be nice and make other people happy at our own expense.
Call her managing broker, at the brokerage office, during business hours.
Tell the managing broker that you have been on the market for two months, and that you have had x showings. You would like to schedule a meeting with them and your agent - you would like to review the comparable for the house, the MLS listing, the marketing plan and you will bring new photos to upload into the MLS.
Then either take digital photos or hire a photographer to do it. And attend the meeting as a willing participant.
Sometimes when you hire your neighbor, and they are inexperienced, you need the time and attention of the managing broker, the BIC, or the owner. You may need to ask that another agent in the office take over the listing contract.
It sounds to me like you hired her because you didn't want to offend her and she accepted whatever price you wanted because she didn't want to offend you. You are both so caught up in being polite to each other that you aren't getting the job done.
Sit down with her and tell her it isn't going as well as you had hoped and would like to discuss what can be done. Better pictures, a better description, and a better price, may all be factors in the equation.
Also, are there any factors that make the house difficult to show? Do you have a lockbox, or are you by appointment only? Does the listing say xx hours notice required? Or is it set as a call and show type? Different MLSs have different options, but you don't want to make it difficult for buyers.
Finally, how is your market in general right now? In my area, if the house is priced right, it is getting offers quickly, usually more than one. So if yours is sitting for two months, that would mean it was overpriced for sure. But if you had asked me that question 6 months ago, I would have said sitting on the market for 2 months wasn't all that untypical, and while you MIGHT be overpriced, there also might just be no buyers in your market. The market has changed here substantially in the last 2 months, but yours might still be a slow market.
You will have to look at her office's web site to be sure but whoever is listed as "principal broker" is the boss. If she has broker after her name, it might be different in your state and she IS the boss.
It's hard to tell from what you have written but you might have the oddball house in the neighborhood or be in a vacation area or a sparsely populated area, etc. All factors that can influence how fast your market moves.
Thanks for all the replys. I am definitely not in a vacation area! Lol! I'm in Illinois where everyone is trying to get out of lately, including our last two governors who are currently in prison for corruption, so if that is any help. Not a lot of reason to move to my area of Illinois so it's just people whom already live here that are trying to take advantage of our area market, no one new moving here!
Nothing unmarketable about the house, we've always had nice compliments on it actually. Beautiful yard. Well taken care of, so I'm sitting down with the agent. And we're going to discuss this whole situation and adjust price accordingly. I've asked her to take her fancy camera and take a couple updated photos to add to the other nice ones.
I think the price is within 10k of what it would end up selling for from what other homes that I think are somewhat comparable, so I don't feel we're ridiculously out of line. If someone really wanted it they could always offer that. Everything is always negotiable.
So we'll see how these changes go. Thanks for the input folks. All food for thought..
She is a broker, at least that's what's written after her name. You mean her boss or owner of the listing agency?
Gee, I could get into that. Many states are now calling all real estate licensees "broker." This is bull and you just got bit by a sick but well intended change in their laws..
Yes, we mean the "managing broker," "principal broker," or whatever your state calls the in-charge individual.
Illinois just changed about two-months ago. The minimum license category is now a 'broker' and the higher category is now 'managing broker'. So someone who is brand new in the business and never sold a house is still a broker.
It used to be that there was a 1 year minimum of experience to become a broker. That was a better idea because at least you knew that the broker was able to sell enough houses to survive one year in business and likely had some experience.
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