are buyer's just wasting our time?? (agents, prices, brokers, value)

[baystater]

Originally Posted by Grass Is Greener

Hum interesting, it's not like that here in NC but the market here is not as bad as it is over there in New Jersey i guess.

Originally Posted by njkate

No your market & SC seem to be pretty hot!!!
I was looking at townhomes in Bluffton and if I didn't have my wits about me I would have been signed, sealed and delivered back in May

Njkate is right. NC and SC are hot, hot, hot. Actually njkate. What is your take on the Jersey market?

[CouponJack]

Originally Posted by momoffive

Lowering your list price by 4% imo does not really help much.
/QUOTE]

I know you think it is not that much BUT think about if someone had started 80,000 highter??? at some point, they just cannot go down any more...it is not being greedy, just ..thats it...that is all they can do...
so buyers, please remember that when you are lowballing...some people have priced their house "accordingly" and are not overpricing at all ... some of us DO listen to our realtors and price accordingly..... sometimes i wished we hadn't brought the price down by 30,000 .... cause now people are bidding below that....before it was above...kind of crazy...

priced "accordingly" is subjective and many factors go into what is the right price for your house. I'm not being mean, just trying to advise the hard truth. I know you'd prob hate to hear this, but maybe your house isn't worth as much as you think...."comps" don't mean squat now. In major mkts like Mass. we don't know where the bottom is....sorry

[VMH2507]

I am presently living in the 6th house that I have bought and have never been asked for a pre-qualification letter. That is why I have to laugh when I hear realtors say that they pre-qualify people before they will show them a house. The houses that I have owned were in Georgia (1), Louisiana (1), Texas (3), and now Alabama (1). Maybe I just have that "pre-qualified" look when I walk in the realtor's office.

[Greatday]

Just because someone can qualify for a certain price and payment, does not mean they want to pay that amount.

Buyers today are looking for a "bargain" - and many are finding that bargain. In many markets today, the listed price is merely the starting point - Heck, I was a buyer recently - I went back and forth between several properties quite a few times - this was going to be a "big move" for me and I wanted just the right property. Then, when I had made the decision, I offered far less than what the property was listed for - AND GOT IT!

I can understand a sellers frustration and feeling that their home is the best one on the block - it is not overpriced etc. But, value is very subjective - and particularily so today!

If an offer comes in less than what you want - counter it. Dicker. It actually can be part of the fun!

[momoffive]

Originally Posted by baystater

i don't think we are overpriced (we are using the realtors opinion as to what it should be priced at and ARE NOT adding a "commission" to the price as so many homeowners have done) as we have received many offers to date... some have fallen thru for financial reasons on their part, others changed their minds about living with their in-laws (we have a home with an in-law)... others were not able to come up to the price (we have found many, many people looking who cannot even afford close to what we are asking) that doesn't mean we are overpriced ... just people trying to "get something for nothing".....anyway, like i said i guess i am just frustrated as we were "not going to continue once the children are in school" and here we are showing the house again!!! lol!!

I'm sorry to be rude to you but. I'm going to set you strait right now. There are no acurate Comps in Massachusetts. right now. Nobody actually knows how far the MA. market is going to fall.
Just remember this. The market dictates what your house is worth, not you. Get use to those low-ball offers because it is a buyer market MA. It's going to be a buyer market for the next 2 years. So if you don't have to sell, then don't. Otherwise your going to have to put up with all the showing and the low ball offers that will be coming in. In fact in a year if you have not sold those low-ball offers my look pretty good by then.[/quote]

yes, i agree with you, BUT if the real estate agents are saying hold off, don't accept these offers (and, like i said the ones that were on target where both sides have negotiated some, fell through) shouldn't i listen to my realtor?? isn't that what she is getting paid to do?? give me a professional opinion?? should i listen to what someone who cannot afford my home tries to buy it for??????????????????????????????////

p.s. i don't think you are being rude....

[bluesea718]

Originally Posted by jimj

If he is so hot to do the deal he can share in the pain a little since he will share in the rewards!

Thanks, your post made me feel better about asking my agent to lower her commission. If she's doing the dual representation thing, then I think that 6% is steep and she can afford to hack 1.5-2% off. That means she'd be getting 4-4.5%, which is 1-1.5% higher than she would have gotten if another agent sold the house.

My house started out at $368K - I "fired" that Realtor later because his idea of marketing was to stick a sign in my front yard and sit back & wait.

When I hired the current Realtor, "S", at the end of May, I re-listed the house at $357,900. The commission was set up at 5% (3 to her and 2 to the buyers' agent). She suggested going a little bit lower on the price, but I balked because I wanted to see what would happen with the $10K price drop. Showings picked up right away. I got one incredibly low ball offer (somewhere in the 330's, but I don't remember the particulars) from a buyer who hadn't even listed their current house for sale yet. We could not come to terms - as of today, they STILL haven't sold their current house and they still want my house.

"S" held a Realtors' open house in June, where about 30 agents from her brokerage came and walked through. What she heard from most of the agents who visited: It's a lot of house for the money, it's priced right, etc., etc. There was no negative feedback in regards to the price.

In mid-July, I lowered the price to $350K ($8K drop). After that, I had three weeks with NO showings.

She suggested lowering the price again - so I did, as a test. I lowered the price to $348,900 and raised the commission to 6%. I told her that, I would give it 2 weeks and if activity did not pick up, I was raising the price back up because I did not think that the price was bringing sellers in or keeping sellers away. 10 days went by, ghost-town, so I raised the price back to $353,900.

There have been a steady flow of showings since the commission was raised to 6% - NONE of the agents who have shown the house have had any negative feedback about the price.

I know....KNOW....that I would have sold this house 3 months ago if it wasn't for the stupid slope. I bought this house 3 years ago, when it was brand new, in a sellers' market, and I didn't even blink when I saw the slope.

UPDATE: "S" just called me - she is only willing to go to 5% commission.

[jimj]

bluesea,
How do I start this... It's easy for me to sit here and tell you what I would do, I'm not in your shoes and don't know how fast you HAVE to sell.
I guess what I would do is ask for a meeting REAL quick with you, the agent and the agents broker. I would suggest that since the agent is doing both sides and since this agent had suggested that YOU lower the price instead of raising the commission to the buyers agents (which IMO is the reason you have had issues selling to this point) that it sure makes them look VERY greedy and in that light you would like them to drop the commission to 4% which is more than they could've expected from a straight deal.
If the broker balks and says no then I would suggest that a complaint will be filed with the board and the BBB and they will end up getting NOTHING but a bad reputation out of the deal. I would lay out that you are already taking a hit on the house (due to them) and they should make it right. You have been willing to do your part, now it's time for them to step up. I would follow that with "I can always let the agreement expire" and get a new agent that will have MY interests in mind instead of their own and you'll get nothing.
If they don't agree to anything at this point, I would probably counter 3 thousand less and that's it. If it does not make sense to you don't do it.

[Northwoods Voyager]

To sellers: Buyers do NOT always even know what it is they want. I have had buyers ask to see 2 story home w/3-4 bedrooms, 2-3 baths on 10-20 acres on a paved highway, only to have them look on their own and turn around and find a 2 bedroom 1 1/2 bath single story on 3 acres on a gravel road. Why the difference? We talked about this and they told me, 'we just fell in love with the setting and the gardens'.

It does take buyers many times to make a decision of how they want to spend their money. There are so many homes for sale at this time. Buyers may be pre-qualified for a certain loan, but that does not mean that things won't change overnight. It's great to have a 'letter' in your hands, but not always is it the final say so.

it is a big inconvenience to have people come in to your home. But when you put your house up for sale this is what you have to expect. At least your agent is making appointments. Just imagine what it would be like if you were trying to sell your home on your own. People stopping by at all hours and you having to open your door to strangers.

Buyers will also make all kinds of excuses as to why the home(s) they have/are looking at do not suit their needs. They sometimes do not want to offend anyone and will just say something that sounds reasonable. So you hear what the buyer wants you to hear and it may not always be how they truly feel. I now it's frustrating and I , as others before me on this thread have said, wish you the best of luck.

[CouponJack]

Being at 353K or 363K is not a good idea IMO. You need to capture the 300-349,999 buyers who scan the MLS.

If you are lowering your sell price in drips and drabs you must not be that desperate to sell.

Also, please note we have past the "peak" selling season. Kids are already in school so buying activity will/has started to slow down. I'm not in your position, but I would cut to the chase, lower the price to the low 300's and see if you can get a bidding war going...

If your house is worth it, you will get multiple serious buyers....otherwise trying to find that sucker who will overpay most likely will not happen

[bluesea718]

Originally Posted by CouponJack

If you are lowering your sell price in drips and drabs you must not be that desperate to sell.

otherwise trying to find that sucker who will overpay most likely will not happen

Jack:

Is there any reason why you are attempting to push my buttons and offend me when you don't even know me? Your post is offensive-sounding - rude and brusque - and I don't think you should treat people that way....you've done the same thing elsewhere in this thread to other folks, if my memory serves me correctly.

BlueSea