How do I let my agent go? Termination? (agents, commission, contract)

[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!

[oldmanbob]

Hey Sim2009. sorry you have not sold and sounds like its priced correctly, and with your agent incurring his fees, for staging and advertising, you should at least cover his expenses. The market is so flooded, the timing is bad for you and one thing left to do, is offer it as a presale, as that sometime gets the attention of the buyers, and what have you got to loose?

[slm2009]

Thanks. yes, it is flooded, but each time someone came to look at the house we found out they bought down the road, so that is even more frustrating! I have never heard of a presale - and my agent hasn't said anything about it. What is that?

[Brandon Hoffman]

If you've been on the market that long without an offer and your agent is competent enough to stage and pay for it himself, then you are probably overpriced. If you really want to sell reduce the price.

[Austin-Willy]

I wouldn't feel the need to pay your agent any money. He chose the compensation model he wanted, which is high risk, high reward for him. Theoretically it all evens out - when the market is going strong he might make a nice commission for relatively little work. No sale, no pay.

[Brandon Hoffman]

Originally Posted by Austin-Willy

I - when the market is going strong he might make a nice commission for relatively little work. No sale, no pay.

Maybe in a bubble market and I don't know where the OP is. In my market 90 DOM in normal in a "hot" market.

[Silverfall]

Originally Posted by slm2009

Thanks. yes, it is flooded, but each time someone came to look at the house we found out they bought down the road, so that is even more frustrating! I have never heard of a presale - and my agent hasn't said anything about it. What is that?

What did the 7 people say? Is there something different about your lot/location that would cause people to buy down the road? What did they pay for the town homes down the road?

[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.

[Mike Peterson]

Originally Posted by Austin-Willy

I wouldn't feel the need to pay your agent any money. He chose the compensation model he wanted, which is high risk, high reward for him. Theoretically it all evens out - when the market is going strong he might make a nice commission for relatively little work. No sale, no pay.

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.

[Austin-Willy]

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.

And sellers may list with a particular agent because they expect their agent to make a sale, but it doesn't always happen and agents don't typically compensate the seller for their lost opportunities.