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Old 09-17-2008, 07:18 AM
 
236 posts, read 802,756 times
Reputation: 139

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My home has only been on the market three months. We've had several showings, one low ball offer. Over the last month, we've had three showings. I had email the buyers agents to get feedback. I haven't spoken with realtor in a month.
I could easier call, but I am paying her...so she should keep me informed (right?).
Also, when we first set up the listing, her brochures were below standard...and the pictures she took for the house were blurry. So I took it upon myself to make the brochures myself in powerpoint and print 100.
I also took it upon myself to take pictures with my Nikon camera to use for the brochure and the online listings. (I gave my realtor my pics for the MLS).

With that said....it seems like I've done most of the work and would come out better just terminating my contract with her and doing a flat fee listing.

Couple questions:
1. Anyone had experience with terminating the contract of a realtor?
2. Is there a waiting period between canceling my current contract, doing a flat fee and getting a new mls #
3. When we signed the contract, we agreed to pay her $500 for her marketing if our home doesn't sell in 6 months. Since I've done most of the marketing (the pictures, the brochures, the verbage on our mls listing)...I think paying her $100 if fair...

Any feedback on terminating contracts and flat fee listings is appreciated....
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Old 09-17-2008, 07:35 AM
 
Location: South Charlotte
1,435 posts, read 5,744,887 times
Reputation: 486
Aren't you the guy who asked a zillion questions about hiring a real estate agent to sell your home? I'm really shocked that after all of the advice you were given you ended up with a subpar agent.

There is not a waiting period. Once the listing contract is cancelled you can have it re-listed right away. Call the agent and speak with them about your concerns and wanting to move on. That's your first step. If that doesn't get you anywhere call the broker in charge. I can't believe you signed something saying you would pay them $500 for marketing!
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Old 09-17-2008, 07:48 AM
 
236 posts, read 802,756 times
Reputation: 139
Yes I'm the guy that asked a million questions (it wasn't a zillion, only a million...get your facts straight). Anyway....I mean, she had a good sales pitch. Don't get me wrong, she's done "okay" work. But I'm a very detail oriented person. If it doesn't suit me, I'd rather just do it myself than avoid the back and forth.

So let me get this straight....if my home didn't sell in 6 months (the term of the contract), I didn't have to pay the realtor anything?
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Old 09-17-2008, 08:02 AM
 
54 posts, read 164,091 times
Reputation: 60
No, I just made that point to an attorney who doesn't know as much about real estate as he makes out he does on another post.

We do not get paid if the house doesn't sell so, the money we've spent on marketing your home is gone and we don't get it back. (unlike attorneys who get paid even if they lose your case for you)

Yes, you can fire your agent if they're not doing a good job and there is no time limit to list with a good agent. (did you not ask the agent to see examples of her marketing materials before you hired her/him?)
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Old 09-17-2008, 08:12 AM
 
Location: Highland Creek Area
327 posts, read 1,191,662 times
Reputation: 144
I'm sorry to hear that you are that dissatisfied with your agent. IMO, this market is far too finicky to have an agent you don't like. I would like to offer so friendly advice on flat fee listings though. We recently purchased a house from a seller who used a flat fee agency to list the house. The agency listed the house on the MLS and put a sign in the yard. That was it. It turned out to be a huge PITA for our realtor to complete the deal because the sellers received no advice from the listing agency along the way. Our realtor had to advise the seller on how to proceed every step of the way. Contract dates, inspections, repairs, everything became a larger issue than it had to be. In the end it all worked out and we love the house, but be advised.

If you are experienced with real estate, then it may not be an issue for you. Personally, I'm not sure that I would buy again from a seller that didn't have a "live body" agent to deal with.
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Old 09-17-2008, 08:13 AM
 
236 posts, read 802,756 times
Reputation: 139
let me say this....she did bring samples of her ads that she places in magazines. i am going to the bookstore today at lunch to see if our house is in those mags. if it is, i'll pay her for that.
my thing is...after seeing what involved on her end....i think i can do that myself, and save the 2-3% that i was going to pay her.
I read that the greater % of buyers find your home on the net anyway.
i already have the powerpoint of my brochure that i put in my yard. i can just take her picture and logo off and bam! lowes sell the brochure holder thingys and the "for sale" signs.

flat fee gives me listing on carolinahome.com, allentate.com and others...

what would i be missing by doing it myself vs keeping a realtor? the lockbox?
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Old 09-17-2008, 08:28 AM
 
Location: Huntersville
1,521 posts, read 4,928,716 times
Reputation: 299
Flat fee basically is a glorified FSBO. Nothing wrong with it. Just make sure you pay the selling agent 3% as they are going to have to make sure you do your part right too.
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Old 09-17-2008, 08:33 AM
 
236 posts, read 802,756 times
Reputation: 139
Yea, I'm still planning to pay the buyers agent 3%.
QC Misfit, give me your opinion (biased or unbiased). What do you think I should do
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Old 09-17-2008, 08:39 AM
 
Location: State of Being
35,879 posts, read 77,077,446 times
Reputation: 22750
Stephen . . . you can dump your agent . . . and perhaps her materials were substandard, something I see a lot of . . . as what I consider acceptable and professional, since I am in marketing, would be perhaps a much higher standard than the average person would find acceptable . . .

But what you are dealing w/ here is not a problem w/ your agent. If the market were better, it really would not matter that much how slick your materials are. Also, if your house were at a price point that looked competitive (or even "bargain") you would be getting the walk-throughs, if not the offers.

Let's face it . . . this is a crappy time to have a house on the market, especially if there are dozens of other houses similar to yours on the market in your area.

Here is how I see it: if your house is not selling, you can get that result all by yourself. See what I mean? If it ain't gonna sell, it doesn't matter if you have Donald Trump as your listing agent. Just like it won't matter if you do a FSBO. The results are gonna be the same . . . NO SALE.

What you have to figure out is . . . the right price point that will move your house . . . add a bonus, if necessary . . . get someone to stage your house . . . and take what comes and move on. If you are not willing to do that, you are not a serious seller. You are just testing the waters and I can tell you where that is gonna lead you . . . straight to NO SALE.

BTW - I am not a realtor. My license lapsed long ago. However, I earned a 2 year real estate degree after I got my BS . . . so I have no dog in this fight. My advice is to either yank that house off the market and forget about moving at this point in time. . . or get serious, wh/ is gonna mean lowering your price and perhaps putting a bonus to selling agent on that listing.
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Old 09-17-2008, 08:49 AM
 
236 posts, read 802,756 times
Reputation: 139
Anifani...
I see your point and that's kind of where I'm leaning. If it's not going to sale, it's just not going to sale...so may as well do it myself.
And maybe if I do it myself, I would be more flexible with my sale price since I won't have to factor in her 2-3%.

We'll see....
I'm emailing my realtor as we speak.
I just wanted to make sure that I could relist immediately
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