need good real estage agent (Fox Chapel: for sale, real estate, chapel)

[XRiteMA98]

Hi everyone. I am selling my house and I have some doubts about my real estate agent. I picked her out of the blue, because she was sending me newsletters; I don't know anything about her but so far she didn't tell me anything about what I should be doing to improve the chances of selling my house (should I remove the cats, should I put gold fish in the pond?) I just put the house on the market; it's been 5 days.

I like her, but my boyfriend thinks I should change her and chose a male real estate agent because they are more aggressive and this is a buyers' market.

He also is asking why my agent is not there when a buyer's agent comes in with a couple to point out things to them. Is this customary or not? I've seen many houses - as a buyer- but only with my agent. I think that only one time the seller's agent was present but that house had so many problems I didn't know how to make a polite excuse and hit the road.

So, should I changed her? If I do, would she feel bad? I mean I feel bad to do this, especially that she just had surgery and now I have to deal with her assistant.

Also if anyone has any recommendations in terms of agents I'd greatly appreciate it.

Also one more question: when her assistant took pictures of my house for their website she said "it's going to sell quickly because it's a great location." Is this true or this is something they all say to their clients to make them feel better?
Thank you.

[mckeesport_alum]

What area are you looking in? Your real estate agent should be an expert in the area. No, the agent won't feel bad if you cut them loose. They get dumped/added all the time.

[PeterRabbit]

Watch some shows on HGTV like Priced to Sell or Unsellables, etc. No pets around, no clutter, curb appeal, and so on. Your agent should tell you these things.

I don't know how things work today, but it used to be you called a real estate office and whoever answered the phone usually became your agent. That's purely pot luck.

If you aren't comfortable with the agent call the broker and tell them you'd like someone with more of their finger on the pulse. If you can't feel confident with the current agent it could be that's the vibe she gives off, so change.

I don't think its normal for the selling agent to be present when another agent brings their buyers.

You probably signed a listing agreement with a set amount of time with your current office and you can't just go around changing offices whenever you feel like it. However, you may have good reasons to cancel it.

We don't know your location. Anyone saying it will sell fast because of that alone isn't reliable. You've got to be priced right with your comparables.

[nphomeowner]

If you signed a contract you are pretty much stuck. You may be able to have the agency assign a new agent, I don't know.

[MeinGlanzendMotorrad]

Your boyfriend is sexist, and it hasn't even been a week.

[gg]

Originally Posted by XRiteMA98

Hi everyone. I am selling my house and I have some doubts about my real estate agent. I picked her out of the blue, because she was sending me newsletters; I don't know anything about her but so far she didn't tell me anything about what I should be doing to improve the chances of selling my house (should I remove the cats, should I put gold fish in the pond?) I just put the house on the market; it's been 5 days.

I like her, but my boyfriend thinks I should change her and chose a male real estate agent because they are more aggressive and this is a buyers' market.

He also is asking why my agent is not there when a buyer's agent comes in with a couple to point out things to them. Is this customary or not? I've seen many houses - as a buyer- but only with my agent. I think that only one time the seller's agent was present but that house had so many problems I didn't know how to make a polite excuse and hit the road.

So, should I changed her? If I do, would she feel bad? I mean I feel bad to do this, especially that she just had surgery and now I have to deal with her assistant.

Also if anyone has any recommendations in terms of agents I'd greatly appreciate it.

Also one more question: when her assistant took pictures of my house for their website she said "it's going to sell quickly because it's a great location." Is this true or this is something they all say to their clients to make them feel better?
Thank you.

I sold real estate for over 15 years and invest in property, so I will give you my take.

5 days? -- That is too short of time to think of a change.

Male vs. Female? -- I don't feel there is any difference as long as they are full time agents and not looking to go out and have lunch with co-workers.

Make sure your home is on the multi-list. If you are with a big company it is.

If you agent has an assistant, she is probably full-time.

Agents often are not their when another agent shows a property unless requested by the seller. If I was selling my home and another agent had it listed, I wouldn't care if my agent was there during a showing. Let the other agent show the home in peace. They have a relationship with the potential buyer, not your agent.

Ask your agent to have an open house. They are a good way to get people through the home. Also, signs still sell properties and make sure you have one. Lots of time neighbors will sell the home because they may know someone looking in your area.

There is also an agent tour. Usually on Tuesdays, but sometimes areas have a different day. Fox Chapel is on Thursdays oddly. There should be an agent tour to get at least a few agents through.

As far as changing agents in 5 days, that may be a tough one. I know I would rid the contract, but many companies won't allow you to just change agencies after 5 days. Used to be contracts were a year long and after 180 days you can change agencies, but at my office we didn't have that. I personally don't feel you should be stuck with an agent, but contracts are in writing. You might want to read yours.

As far as an agent saying it will sell fast, most wouldn't say that unless they mean it, but you never know. I know I wouldn't say it will sell fast. You can't predict that. Having the home priced correctly is the biggest factor. Have you looked at the comparable properties that have sold in your area? What is the competition on the market right now?

[robrobrob]

I would get a new boyfriend. He doesn't know what he is talking about. You can change boyfriends easier than you can change real estate agents. Curtis was on the money with is comments. 5 days come on. Your boyfriend doesn't know what he is talking about if he feels your house should be under contract already

[XRiteMA98]

Thanks for your kind replies. I thought my boyfriend is dead wrong on this one. He had a female agent when he bought his house and he got some problems his agent did not tell him about. As a mater of fact he feels that his agent pushed him to buy that house so he probably relates his not so happy experience to mine.

Yes, I believe my house was priced right; I searched the last sales in the area and I sent her comparables, including all the houses that are for sale on my street and few blocks around, that have the same square footage and a similar layout.

Yes it is listed with a well known company.

I cleaned it out thoroughly, fixed things, down to deep cleaning the kitchen wood cabinets and restaining them. I removed not only clutter, but 70% of the furniture, repainted the whole house, sanded the floors, installed new carpet and new vinyl floors.

The only thing I didn;t do is to remove my 3 cats. Thier litter box is in the basement and they still live in the house. Should I remove them as well? They are very friendly.

Thanks.

[Bong477]

Remove your cats if you can. Stuff like that is easier said than done though.

[greg42]

I haven't gotten anywhere near this point yet, but wondering what to do with the cat (and litter box, etc) when the house is being shown for sale is one of those conundrums of the future that's in the back of my mind.

You can set it up so that they give 24 hour notice before showing and then you could move the cats and related stuff before showing (even cat lovers probably don't want to encounter other people's litter boxes, the same way they can't seem to deal with other people's paint schemes even though that's one of the easiest things to change, and so on). Whether this is a viable option for you or not depends upon whether there is somewhere you can take them for the day, how well they tolerate being taken away from the house, etc.