Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Hi Belize. I agree with Shelly. You need an agent who's "ahead of the curve", someone who's got a tangible marketing plan and has hard data that shows he/she has sold property recently and how long the property was on the market. You don't need someone who's going to tell you what you want to hear. You need cold hard facts how they are going to sell your house. Craig
Belize, We have a complex that used to sell like hotcakes....Now? Not a one has sold since February. We can't pay people to come through. We've even done collaborative open houses (every agent, every available unit OPEN). Nada.
Everything is cyclical.
Your home shows great, like Shelly said. If you're not comfortable with your Agent definitely start interviewing. But also realize that if you want a commitment, you have to give one, too.
Also realize that "print" advertising brings in very little business these days. Your Agent should be using the internet to it's full potential.
Belize, if you are going to get a new agent, you need to also get real. you cannot have a kind of contract where you can tell the agent to take a hike in 24 hours AND expect to get top notch service with a large amount of advertising. If we are in a relationship, it needs to be a committed one : ) You need to start interviewing agents, I would interview 2 or 3. you want to see their marketing plan. You need to be willing to work with them and give them the contract time to sell your house. Part of what you will want to see is what homes they have currently sold, and also the avg. DOM for your area. They should come with a competitive marketing analysis to show you where your home should be priced, and get ahead of your competition if you really, really want to sell quickly.
Good Luck.
Shelly
I actually disagree with this... I intereviewed several agents before our house went on the market and one of the things that impressed me was that most of them had this same sort of clause in place --- Cancellation w/24 hours notice. I don't know when this started (I'm in Phoenix), but I believe it shows that the agent is going to work hard for you and do everything in their power to keep you as a client. To me it seemed to inspire some confidence that they believed in what they do and how they do it enough to enable me to cancel if I'm unhappy. If you keep your client happy and do your job, the client won't cancel, right? It has nothing to do with a 6-month or 3-month contract being enough time to sell the house. Yes, it could take all of that and more, but why do you lock someone in if you really believe you're going to do the best job as an agent that you can? Do you want to keep unhappy clients? Yes, there's always the possibility of losing some money invested I suppose, but business is risk. I just don't believe that someone needs to be locked in like that and I think the fact that an agent is confident enough in their marketing plan and their business acumen in general to allow a cancellation with notice is the best marketing of all. My satisfaction as a seller is THEIR best advertisement, basically.
And believe me...I'm satisfied. The market here SUCKS and they had our house under contract within 36 hours with a really solid (NOT LOWBALL) offer. And it was NOT priced below... It was just priced right for opportunity meeting preparation. It may be a miracle and luck (and believe me...It feels that way because I was terrified it would go the other way), but the agents I hired had the best marketing plan I could find, took the best photos in the area as far as I was concerned, and believed in the house. And they offered a 24hr cancellation. That made me confident I wouldn't be stuck with an agent who ended up being less shiny than their presentation. And THAT is why I hired them. And boy am I glad I did...Knock on wood.
All I'm saying is that just because an agent offers an out, it doesn't mean they'll do less of a job. That's just not true. Maybe it means they'll do a better one in order to keep sellers around?
So, we need some advice or opinions. We know what our friends say…we know what our family says…now we’d like to hear from other Real Estate Professionals or people who can relate.
We put our house on the market in May. For two weeks we tried selling by owner. That didn’t work out so well. (well, it did – our first contract on the house came from a couple who came to our open house, but that fell through three weeks into it – they could not secure financing.) We were signed up with our current agent when their offer came in, and are still with him. He has no “contract†with us – we can tell him to take a hike at any time if we are not happy with his services as long as we give him 24 hours notice.
During the time we have been with this current agent we have been frustrated MANY times. Basically we feel that he does nothing to actively get our house sold unless we tell him to do something…like advertising in the Northwest Suburbs, not just the West Suburbs…or how about an open house? Or…do you think we need to analyze our asking price? When we air those frustrations, he always comes back with an explanation apologies and encouraging words, etc. Then we sit and ask ourselves…can we really blame him with the market the way it is? So…long story short…he’s still around.
He’s said he won’t do any more open houses. The three that we had – we had to suggest. Two of the three that he (or I should say his father) had we had traffic through. The third one had zero people. He himself has not brought a single person to see our property (isn't that part of what he should do too?!). We haven’t had a showing since, I think, August 20th. We’re on our third price adjustment.
My new house is finished. I could have moved in three weeks ago. My builder is being kind enough to let us wait until “October†to close. I’ve come to terms with the fact that I will be moving in to my new house before the old one is sold. But I still want to sell my old house!! I do not want to rent – that is our very LAST resort.
I guess my question is…all things considered…is he doing all that he SHOULD be doing? Would a new agent be something we should be considering right now?
Anyone? Anything?
Thanks in advance…
use seller helper find it on internet use a real estate attorney to do sale.
never sign a long listing.
stephen s
san diego ca
You obviously lost confidence with your current realtor. When that happens, you also tend to lose focus and confidence in your home selling and you become extremely frustrated. Believe me I know!! I have been very frustrated. OUr contract just ended with our realtor. We were in a 3 month. We interviewed her and everything seemed to be in check. She seemed very aggressive...but I think she thought she could put a sign in and it would just sell. She wasn't aggressively following up on showings. We started paying attention to who was selling houses. We saw a realtor take a listing that had been on for I think 6 months and sell it in one. We are meeting with her next week . My confidence is already on the upswing and I have a great feeling about it. Just trust yourself. If you are not happy with your realtor, get a new one. I really hope you can get it sold.!!! Good luck.
I think that instead of the actual listing, you should have posted alink to the other thread.
IMO, your agent has enhanced listings at reator.com, so you are one step ahead. If you haven't signed a real contract with him, perhaps you need to.
Even though he is not advertising in the papers you want, the fact that he is doing paper is a plus, some I interviewed don't believe in it. If you feel strongly about it, offer to pay for those ads.
I'm going to quote what I said in the other post for those that are new or haven't seen it.
Now, I don't know what's going on but you are listed twice- $187,000 $195,900
You need to tell your agent to get rid of the $195,900
Check out the few in your complex to see what the difference is between all of them. The one for $188 is more neutral then yours which could make a difference. IMO, you have the pink room and the yellow kitchen. You also need to make the bathrooms more inviting using props.
Twinkle, I believe there is a misunderstanding with what I was trying to say. i apologize. I absolutely believe that there should be a cancellation clause for reason. In my listing agreements, if I don't perform as I state up front that I will, tell me about your displeasure, give me a chance to fix it or show you how I am doing it, if I don't correct, then you have the right to fire me. Couldn't agree more.
However, that is not what I read in the original posters comment, and maybe I misunderstood. I read that her contract is cancellable for ANY reason on 24 hours notice. If that were that case, as an agent, I would be less inclined to spend the big bucks to advertise. At the whim of the client, I could be out some big bucks. That wouldn't be a prudent business decision. I am a business person, and have to make good business decisions.
Based that information, I recommend belize interview, find a great agent with a written marketing plan, and commit. Obviously if there is misconduct, or bait and switch, she should have the right to move on.
I'm going to quote what I said in the other post for those that are new or haven't seen it.
The second (old listing) was removed. My agent was aware that it was out there, but he said he's at the mercy of realtor.com - and we were waiting on them to take it down.
The listing you noted for $150-something...is not even the same kind of home. I don't think you can compare.
The other listings in my complex...I could list what I think is better or worse than my house - but quite honestly, I'm going to favor my house because it's mine. (and I DO think it's nicer than any of those - even if it wasn't mine!) Take the one you spoke about that's less neutral...
They have carpet...I have wood floors. They have a teeeeeeeeeeeny tiny master bedroom and a loft that has built-in bookshelves that would be a major deal to take out. Yes, I have pink walls...but a can of paint is the cheapest remodeling job you could take on. If that's the reason we're not getting any lookers...
Everyone has their own personal taste - I guess I just haven't found the buyer to share mine or to see the potential my house has. Not everyone is going to like pink. I didn't care for the yellow with painted flowers when I bought the house...
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
