How To Avoid These Problems When Listing With a Realtor? (commission, sale)
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I agree-in your case it's best to move out first.That is primarily because your hubby sleeps during the day.
If you can't do that, then you should consider other things.
1-declutter the house- yes,you're still living there but get everything of value out of it. Clear stuff off walls, out of cabinets, off end tables, etc. Pack it and store it. Get prescription medicines /personal papers/financial info out of cabinets/drawers and into a heavy locked safe, .etc.
In other words, give your home the minimalist "staged" look. Rent a storage unit or box stuff neatly in the garage. This is all part of prepping for sale.
2) Compromise --If your home can't be shown during the workday, then bend over backwards to let buyers in during the evening. Yes, it's a pain to have dinner disturbed but it's an inconvenience for a purpose.
3) Keep the dogs locked in crates when you're not home so the house can easily be shown. Or lock them in a pen in the yard -not loose in the yard.
4) Ask your agent to show the house only to those with a pre-approval letter from a lender. Although agents usually already do this-they don't want to waste their time either.
5) Assume your house might be shown any time from 8:00 AM or so until last light on weekends and just deal with the inconvenience- you do want to sell the house .
6) If you're really worried about people taking things,then rent interior security cameras (with no audio ) .You can't put them in bathrooms and you serve notice that they area there. People will think you're paranoid but have your agent explain it's just nanny cam. You might lose some buyers but these systems are so common place today, maybe most won't care.
Keep reminding yourself that the annoyance of people trooping through the house is only temporary. Your house can't sell unless buyers see it. The more accessible the house is, the faster it will sell. Good luck
The market is hot now so my friend held an open house, after moving out anything of value. She stipulated in her ad that all offers must be submitted by Tuesday. She closed escrow a few weeks later above her asking price. No need to mess with the commissions, fraud, lockboxes as her RE lawyer managed the process for much less.
The market is hot now so my friend held an open house, after moving out anything of value. She stipulated in her ad that all offers must be submitted by Tuesday. She closed escrow a few weeks later above her asking price. No need to mess with the commissions, fraud, lockboxes as her RE lawyer managed the process for much less.
Not all markets are hot, right now. And sometimes it comes down to the neighborhood and even the street.
Part of what happens depends on the local real estate culture. Out here the norm is to call the night before for showings. It is pretty rare to get those last minute showing requests out here.
I handle all appointments for my clients. Find an agent that will do that. The reason I do it is because most agents are quite reasonable people and when you explain that so and so is a day sleeper so you need a later showing time, agents will accommodate. That has been my personal experience over the past 11 years. I find that sellers either accommodate too much and stress themselves out beyond belief, or they are too harsh and make it difficult to show.
My system is that my sellers and I go over their schedule and what their needs are. Agents call me, I reference the schedule and make an appointment that best meets the needs of both parties. Then I tell my clients the appointment time. 24 hour notice is a killer in my market for non-tenant appointments. Makes the seller look like a difficult person to deal with.
Yes. You find an agent you trust, who understands your concerns, and turn over control of your home to them. Let them do the screening for you. So, in the past, how many agents did you interview before you hired the ones you used?
Silverfall, your approach is exactly what we had from our realtor when we sold our house in Mesa, AZ in 2012, including the 24 hour notice. GREAT REALTOR. You sound very much like her, and it's exactly what I would expect the next time we have to sell.
BTW, to the OP: We did have a lockbox on our door. Took the dog out with us while someone was viewing the house, or put him in doggie day care if we needed to be gone all day. No problem with theft in any of the three houses I've ever sold - wonder if it's your 'hood?
We are getting ready to sell our house but are agonizing over signing up with a realtor. I know from experience that many don't supervise potential buyers when they enter your house and we have had something taken before. I am fed up with having listed 24 hours notice in the past and getting calls during supper saying someone wants to see the house in 20 minutes, having realtor and someone at the door saying "Didn't your realtor call to let you know we were coming?", having the potential buyer show up alone, having a parade of people that aren't actually interested in our house/location - we were able to hear what was being said and the annoyances go on from there. Also, I don't think people should bring their dogs to a showing. We won't allow the lock box since my husband sleeps days and we have two large dogs plus the "five finger discount" issue. We have sold probably 5 places (different cities) over the years and the problems get worse each time. It never makes a difference how specific we are. We bought this house a couple of years ago, FSBO, and are considering going that way but then we face those that want to rent, want to buy on a land contract, want to case the place to come back later......... So, is there anyway to really nail down the realtors and do we turn control of our lives and home over to them just to get a sale? I guess across the board that people have just become more rude and inconsiderate of others. And, we want to sell our house but we would be paying them and have expectations that we feel they should meet in order to collect the fee. Any thoughts would be appreciated since we make the decision this week. Maybe avoiding the bigger agencies all together and going with an individual but wonder if that would be too limiting. I have noticed that the tiny 2 or 3 person realtor offices have signs cropping up around town - could be there is a reason. Thank you for your thoughts and I do know that there are good realtors out there that treat people the way they want to be treated but this "multi-list" where you have to deal all the agencies in town is a killer.
Real estate practices are highly variable, location to location.
In my neck of the woods, buyers agents generally make appointments with an automated showing service. Neither the seller or their listing agent has any control over the appointments requested unless the listing agent imposes themselves in the process. If you want an agent to screen appointments, you need to be upfront about it.Some agents will accommodate and some will not.
In some areas it is common for the listing agent to accompany all showings and in other areas, it can be the kiss of death. It's substantially more common at high price points.
Your home is a product in the market place. The more you can do to make it easier to show, means there will likely be more showings. The more restrictive you are, the more likely you schedules and situation may not align with potential buyers.
Regardless of use of agency or not, nothing precludes a random buyer or agent from showing at your door. You can simply decline spontaneous showings.
Not much difference between big box and small agencies. It all comes down to the specific agent, regardless of where their license is hung.
I rented a small (5' x 5') storage locker and moved the valuables there. I had a number of small electronics that a friend and I were reconditioning and selling on the used market. I kept those in copy paper boxes and tried to make the storage locker appear as extra office storage space. No one disturbed it.
I had problems with realtors leaving the doors unlocked and some bozo pried off one of my electrical plates!
It got so I packed my car in the parking lot across the street and kept an eye on my house. No one saw me.
When/if I sell this place, I'll move everything of value out as before.
You got some good advice about the dogs/day sleeper.
I really, really needed to sell my house, so I was *always* available. Fortunately, it sold quickly. I was getting really tired of the whole showing process and having to clean carefully each night before bed.
24 hours notice is not unheard of around here but they are few and far between. I can't argue against the notion that a buyer who is really interested in a property will wait 24 hours...of course, that is true. However, sellers are kidding themselves if they think they are not doing themselves harm by being the 24 hour notice listing if everyone else offers an easy "go and show" or "courtesy call". It's a fast paced world and things that don't happen easily or quickly are often left behind in the dust.
I appreciate all replies. All houses that we have sold were in small towns so the choices have always been limited which I know is really not what most people on C-D are familiar with. Choices? "Professional"? No, more like whatever or whoever we can get. They don't even take names of the people they show properties to what yet know if the people have a dime to their name. The last house we sold was in a town with a population of 8,000 people and it took 2 years of putting up with the crap that I described. Actually, in our price range, there are very few homes and this is the affordable price range for the area. Two of the major employers are expanding. We also have no time table for moving out and have learned not to reveal any more then absolutely necessary to the agent listing the home. Knowledge is power, thank you.
You don't sound really motivated to sell to me. As a licensed real estate broker in several states, experience has been that no matter how much you counsel, via the MLS, that there is No Lockbox, Day Sleeper, Need 24 Hour Notice, etc, etc, you will always get those agents calling to get in NOW, or in 15 Minutes. If your realtor has your written permission to turn down each and every one of these requests, then I believe your parameters for showing could be met. No one in my neck of the woods would be so bold as to bring their dog to a showing. That would not be allowed at all. Realtors are reluctant to turn down showings on behalf of their clients because there just "might" be a real buyer among the fluff. That is a chance they won't take and can't take if truly representing you, unless, as stated before, you have it all in writing that you expect, under no certain terms, to only accept showings on Tuesdays and Thursdays between 4pm and 6pm.
Good luck!
No one in my neck of the woods would be so bold as to bring their dog to a showing. That would not be allowed at all.
I once had a buyer client (from a very small town) bring his dog to a showing. It was crazy hot outside and it wasn't safe to leave the dog in the car, so I put him in the seller's garage while we looked inside. I was upset with my client and explained common decency. Also chatted with him that some people are allergic to dogs. He honestly didn't think about the potential impact on the seller, so I totally hear the OP on that one.
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I have noticed that the tiny 2 or 3 person realtor offices have signs cropping up around town - could be there is a reason. Thank you for your thoughts and I do know that there are good realtors out there that treat people the way they want to be treated but this "multi-list" where you have to deal all the agencies in town is a killer.
