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We are selling our home FSBO but my husband said we could use a realtor if they agree to our terms:
#1 The real estate sign must be put up the day we sign. We have heard too often about it taking weeks or even moths to get the signs up.
#2 We will list with them for only 3 months. We have also heard about people being suckered into long term contracts thus the properties are not being aggressively marketed. We will sign an agreement that if the term expires but the buyer ends up being someone that the agent had shown our home to that we will pay he/she the original agreed upon commission.
#3 Commission will be 5%.
#4 The agent must have at least 1 open house. Either for prospective buyers or an agent only open house. Our neighbors that are using a local realtor have had no open houses at all. They signed over 7 months ago w/ these people!
My question is: Are these unrealistic expectations? Are these terms fair to an agent?
I don't see how any of those would be an issue, with the exception of perhaps #2. The market in many places is slow enough that 3 months may not be enough time to find a potetial buyer, show them the house, and have them make an offer- people are taking their time and looking at tons of houses before making a decision.
As an example, the people who are buying our house first looked at it at the end of March. They seemed very interested, but we didn't hear anything from them. It wasn't until the end of May that we got an offer from them, and we're now closing in two weeks. While that's less than three months, it just goes to show that buyers are working much slower than in the past.
The sign and open house items should be no brainers, IMO- any good realtor will put the sign up before he/she leaves with your listing agreement.
We are selling our home FSBO but my husband said we could use a realtor if they agree to our terms:
#1 The real estate sign must be put up the day we sign. We have heard too often about it taking weeks or even moths to get the signs up.
#2 We will list with them for only 3 months. We have also heard about people being suckered into long term contracts thus the properties are not being aggressively marketed. We will sign an agreement that if the term expires but the buyer ends up being someone that the agent had shown our home to that we will pay he/she the original agreed upon commission.
#3 Commission will be 5%.
#4 The agent must have at least 1 open house. Either for prospective buyers or an agent only open house. Our neighbors that are using a local realtor have had no open houses at all. They signed over 7 months ago w/ these people!
My question is: Are these unrealistic expectations? Are these terms fair to an agent?
If you were in massachusetts these terms would not be considered unfair especially the commission (5% pretty standard here). As for the sign i do know that a lot of the big guys hire outside companies to install the sign which is why it takes so long. i work at an independent office (not as a realtor as a marketing person) and our agents are responsible for their own signs. As for the open houses, depending upon the town in mass it's typical for the agent to hold an agent only open house the first week the house is listed and to hold a public open house that first sunday. If the seller wants an open house every single weekend that's what our agents do.
#1 would be a problem in my area. My board has a rule that the sign is not supposed to go up until the property has been submitted to the MLS. I typically leave a paper sign and call my clients when the info is submitted so that they can put it into the ground. Within a week or so our sign guy puts up the big post sign.
#2-provided that the house is not listed with another agent, a similar clause is part of our listing contract.
#3--no comment
#4---you want an open house, you've got it! Actually I always try to do at least 2--one public and one realtor, more if the client wants them.
Those terms should not be an issue but the only thing I would add is be careful with the length of the contract you should compare against the average days on the market for similar properties, if it 3 months great if not, then you might want to consider.
I think all your terms sound reasonable. Have you thought about what you expect the agent to do for the 5%? In other words, you could hire an agent that gets a sign up quickly, hosts 1 or 2 open houses, and that's about it. In that case 5% would be WAY too much. On the other hand, you could hire an agent that's heads above the other agents in marketing, virtual tours, strategic pricing, negotiation skills, etc, etc, etc. Maybe 5% would be on the low side considering what that particular agent would bring to the table. A top-notch agent can be the difference between getting your house sold quickly, in which case the commission you paid would seem worth it; and an agent that does nothing for 3 months while your home sits, in which case it wouldn't matter if the commission was 1/2%.
Also, I see no problem with a 3-month agreement even in a slow market. Obviously the listing can be extended if you're pleased with the agent's abilities and service. There's nothing worse than being stuck with an inept agent for an extended period of time. Good agents don't fear a 3-month agreement because they know you'll be happy to extend that based on their performance.
Last edited by Gretchen B; 07-10-2007 at 12:38 PM..
Reason: punc
We are not supposed to put a sign in the yard until submitted with MLS, which must be done within 2 day of signed listing date. However, over the weekend I have done it and it hasn't been a big deal. Other MLS's could be stricter about policing.
I would be more interested in the entire marketing plan than an open house. I know you've heard it before, but rarely does a home sell in an open house. And you are inconvenienced for the day. That said, I have done them and will do them. And if it is important to you, go for it. I like brokers tours better, if you have a reason to get the brokers out there. I teamed with a bunch of different realtors for a tour in a neighborhood. It was pretty successful, but we all pitched in $50 for a gift certificate ($350 certificate), and each home supplied food.
Days on Market may be longer in your area, so your best agents may not be willing to spend their advertising budget on a home that they won't have a chance to sell and recoup their money. You may be setting yourself up for failure. check the Days on Market and see if you can't come to a good compromise.
the three months is a gray area, and here's why, it works well with a discount brokerage house that doesnt have a top-notch marketing campaign,(quickly tests the market)
however, say you listed with some of the topnotch brokers above, i (as a buyer) see your listing and call the broker for a showing, i see your house, and love it (this is in the first month) after the showing, im thinking of listing my own house because i need to sell to buy. its a huge decision for me and my wife, we take a few months to think on it.
we look at a few other houses and always seem to come back to yours.
we drive by your house to see if the sign is still out front, and notice its a different sign, my wife and i discuss how we still like your house but also discuss, i wonder why they switched brokers, gretchen seemed very nice, knowledgeable, and professional, and we were thinking of asking her to list our house so we could buy yours.
we call the name on the sign, and set up another showing for your house, just to validate how much we like it, well, we meet the broker and go into the house, this broker we dont like like from the get go, she is arrogant/condescending and doesnt want to answer any questions...so we leave, still liking your house, but we left thinking we were just a number with an unprofessional broker,,which does reflect on your house,,
now we arent so sure we want it.
when we get home,,i looked for gretchens business card to call her,,we liked her, so she, being a professional still talked up the property and wouldnt say an ill word ,,but also mentioned, "thier is more inventory on the market for your price range" id be happy to show or assist you, and can email listings right to you, and let me know which ones you like we can go take a look..now all the sudden, your house isnt targeted anymore and you probly lost a solid buyer.
if gretchen was there for 6 months chances are we would have bought the house if gretchen was still there.
they'd be no way in hell we would have had that arrogant broker list our house,
so sellers beware!! when you go for the discount realty's, or arrogant brokers,,you miss alot of opportunities you are never aware of.
sorry to be so wordy,,but i believe this happens alot, real estate is about selling and buying property but its also a people business, and people are funny, meaning if they dislike your broker personally, thats the last impression they have representing your house!
We are not supposed to put a sign in the yard until submitted with MLS, which must be done within 2 day of signed listing date. However, over the weekend I have done it and it hasn't been a big deal. Other MLS's could be stricter about policing.
I would be more interested in the entire marketing plan than an open house. I know you've heard it before, but rarely does a home sell in an open house. And you are inconvenienced for the day. That said, I have done them and will do them. And if it is important to you, go for it. I like brokers tours better, if you have a reason to get the brokers out there. I teamed with a bunch of different realtors for a tour in a neighborhood. It was pretty successful, but we all pitched in $50 for a gift certificate ($350 certificate), and each home supplied food.
Days on Market may be longer in your area, so your best agents may not be willing to spend their advertising budget on a home that they won't have a chance to sell and recoup their money. You may be setting yourself up for failure. check the Days on Market and see if you can't come to a good compromise.
Good luck with your interview.
wow shelley you have 2 days to get your listing in mls. in mass they give us 24 hours (not including weekends of course) i guess that's why we can put our signs in the ground right after the paperwork is signed. interesting that you said homes don't sell at open houses because a few (2 in the last month) of the listings my office has have been purchased from buyers who attended the open house. granted the buyers didn't put an offer in AT the open house but the open house was the first time the buyers saw the house, went back a second and then put an offer in. Lastly more agents attend agent open houses when lunch is provided and if there's a really great give away even more show! My broker did one for a $2.5M property (drawing for a $500 gift card) and over 30 agents showed.
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My broker did one for a $2.5M property (drawing for a $500 gift card) and over 30 agents showed.
