How do I let my agent go? Termination? (agreement, foreclosure, terminate)

[Silverfall]

Originally Posted by slm2009

It is listed at $180K which is on average about $5-10K less than other comps. The realtor has suggested dropping to $175K (it has appraised at over $190K), but then I owe more than what the eventual sale price would be. Other people have bought townhomes closer to the mountains. However, they're further from amenities such as shops and restaurants and further from Denver by about 20 min. They're paying more for the homes near the mtns.

Yes, mountains have sway with people. 90 days just doesn't seem like a long time on the market to me, but obviously I know nothing about your area. You seem like you need to do some financial number crunching...

Have you calculated how much you would lose if you have a tenant for a one year lease or so? I mean does it make more sense to just drop the price now and get the pain over with, or just bleed a little bit every month? If you have to rent at a loss, is that financially better than dropping the price?

[BootStrapTX]

Originally Posted by Mike Peterson

He also did these things with the expectation that the seller would allow him the full contract length to sell the home.

Sure if it does not sell within the time frame of the listing contract i wouldn't expect the seller to reimburse but if the seller cuts the listing short then it would be fair or maybe even contractually obligated that the seller reimburse.

Yes, but the conversation about the sellers financial needs was made clear up front:

I told the agent at the outset that I can't hold on to the home for very long since the payments were so high and I had no income since January. I still do not have a full time job and will face foreclosure if it doesn't sell.

That statement calls for an agressive plan. The buyer is willing to walk away with nothing so rather than staging and gift cards that Realtor should be in contact with the lender with the appraisal they ordered and negotiating a short sale.

Pick the furniture and buy the gift cards after the fire is extinguished, not before.

SLM - you owe the Realtor nothing. You might want to check out this information from HUD: Guide to Avoiding Foreclosure - HUD to find out what your optins are regarding foreclosure. If the agent won't release you from your contract without consequences, consult a real estate attorney to figure out what your liabilities are regarding your listing contract.

[slm2009]

All very true - I will definitely pay him back for the staging and inspection he paid for. He stated when we sigend the contract that it was for a year, but that had no doubt the house would be sold well short of the contract term. As you stated Austin-Willy, I listed with him because of what I heard about his capabilities.

[Mike Peterson]

Originally Posted by BootStrapTX

Yes, but the conversation about the sellers financial needs was made clear up front:

I told the agent at the outset that I can't hold on to the home for very long since the payments were so high and I had no income since January. I still do not have a full time job and will face foreclosure if it doesn't sell.

That statement calls for an agressive plan. The buyer is willing to walk away with nothing so rather than staging and gift cards that Realtor should be in contact with the lender with the appraisal they ordered and negotiating a short sale.

Pick the furniture and buy the gift cards after the fire is extinguished, not before.

SLM - you owe the Realtor nothing. You might want to check out this information from HUD: Guide to Avoiding Foreclosure - HUD to find out what your optins are regarding foreclosure. If the agent won't release you from your contract without consequences, consult a real estate attorney to figure out what your liabilities are regarding your listing contract.

She doesn't have very long and you mention a short sale.

Somehow those 2 just don't seem to go together.

[slm2009]

I guess I really don't know what a short sale is and how that would help me at this point? My big issue is taking half of the money I have left to live on in order to pay the realtor. Thank you BootStrapTX for the link, I will check it out for sure. I am a little irritated by my realtor's lack of help with alternatives. He just keeps telling me to keep the faith. Colorado's market, especially norhern CO where I am really isn't that bad compared to other places in the country. When I came on the market the average DOM was 114days. When we reduced the price the first time it was down to 96.

[MikeJaquish]

Originally Posted by BootStrapTX

SLM - you owe the Realtor nothing. .... If the agent won't release you from your contract without consequences, consult a real estate attorney to figure out what your liabilities are regarding your listing contract.

An absolute definitive statement, followed by a modifying separate statement that an attorney will be needed to parse an accurate response.

Which is it? "Nothing" or liabilities that need to be figured out?

[c21boquetebocasgold]

Originally Posted by slm2009

I have had my townhouse on the market since the beginning of Feb and have had maybe a total of 7 showings and zero offers. I was really confident in my agent and with the nice area I'm in and the condition of my home (and the low price) I thought for sure I'd have the house sold by the end of March. I told the agent at the outset that I can't hold on to the home for very long since the payments were so high and I had no income since January. I still do not have a full time job and will face foreclosure if it doesn't sell. If it does sell in the next couple of months I will be completely broke due to having to pay his 6% fee.

I am thinking of taking the house off the market and trying to rent it at a loss. I have moved away to find work and have lost $6K in mortgage payments already with the house just sitting there. At least that loss is way less than having to pay a huge mortgage each month and a realtor fee. My contract has no termination language. My realtor and I have a good relationship though; he's super nice and had my home inspected and staged on his dime and gave me a gift card. Can I walk away? If I do, should I compensate him somehow?The price of my home is below others too, so I have no idea what's going on. Please Help!

I still own a house in the Denver metro area with views to mountains, large corner lot across from open space/resevoir, etc - rented it for 4 years, on and off, but still not selling. Market is horrible around there. Maybe talk to your realtor about adjusting their commission (still keep it on the market)and maybe even a rent to own scenario or straight rental like other's have said (or even have your realtor, if he's experienced in that area, try to short sale it) Bottom line is it's better to have to pay a bit to adjust rent vs the mortgage, but anything is better than foreclosure. Plus, in my case, when last set of renters moved out and it was vacant for a month+, vandals came in and trashed it; so keeping your house empty isn't good financially in a lot of ways (& check your insurance policy! If it's unoccupied it most likely will NOT cover damage). I have someone working on it for me back there to get the thing sold and literally do whatever it takes. No gift cards, no staging, just get that darn thing sold.

Originally Posted by Silverfall

Yes, mountains have sway with people. 90 days just doesn't seem like a long time on the market to me, but obviously I know nothing about your area. You seem like you need to do some financial number crunching...

Have you calculated how much you would lose if you have a tenant for a one year lease or so? I mean does it make more sense to just drop the price now and get the pain over with, or just bleed a little bit every month? If you have to rent at a loss, is that financially better than dropping the price?

Totally agree with your post and that mountains do have sway with people - just like my house. My pseudo ex lives up in Summit where values are - least last time i checked - increasing, but where I bought mine is suburbs ('bout 20 minutes from Boulder) it's totally tanked. 90 days on the market there is nothing - unfortunately for a lot of us.

[Austin-Willy]

Originally Posted by MikeJaquish

An absolute definitive statement, followed by a modifying separate statement that an attorney will be needed to parse an accurate response.

Which is it? "Nothing" or liabilities that need to be figured out?

Perhaps the first statement was referring to a moral sense of entitlement, while the second is referring to legal obligations. See how, if you try, you can interpret a post to be consistent? Or does that type of interpretation only apply to posts that support RE agents' interests?

[slm2009]

It would probably be decently ok to take a loss on the monthly mortgage by renting (for instance mortgage is $1500/mo I could rent for $1000). The reason being, I don't have to pay out nearly $11K in a realtor fee in cash now. When I eventually sell it hopefully I'll be in a better financial situaiton to pay out that fee. But renters can be a risk both in and out of (as mentioned above) your house. I would potentially leave it partially furnished and I've heard stories of good renters stealing the furniture in the house when they leave. Would the realtor still get the fee if I short sell it?

[Brandon Hoffman]

But if you lose 6k over the next year by renting, the place then needs to have 4k worth of work done, and you still sell at an 11k loss...You are now at a 21k loss next year vs. 11k now.

And bootstrap, that's a very definite statement when you don't have the terms of the contract in front of you. It does sound like the Realtor hasn't aggressively gone after price adjustments for a quick sale but I've only heard one side. Also, a short sale isn't always the answer so don't assume it is on this one. Perhaps the poster should consider it but I wouldn't ever tell someone that is what they need to do. Bad advice from you on on 2 fronts for this one.

OP, discuss the fact that you can't afford to go lower and really need to SELL or RENT now, not 3 months from now. Your Realtor is there to help with solutions and they know the situation better than we do.