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I am not a realtor. But this post makes me empathize with realtors because of all the different types of clients they have to deal with. This must be an art in itself, dealing with folks that are perpetual victims or folks that accuse the realtor of forcing them to agree to things, etc.
How have I said I am a "perpetual victim"? We never dealt with them after that one session. Over, done. No contact in 1 year 11 months. No complaints made towards them. They don't even know we are disgusted with them!! I never bothered to tell them. Why? To start an argument? For what reason?
We were not forced to do anything. We were MISLEAD and they know better.
You never read the original thread or did you? I think you did not.
You have no idea whether you were right or not. Nor do any of us. Your house has not been sold. Another house, that you feel is substantially similar to yours, has sold. But that house is not your house. The value of YOUR house may be significantly higher or lower than the value of that other house, and will be affected by many things, including the menagerie and feral colony living on the property.
There is no feral colony living on my property! These cats sleep elsewhere - where, I don't know. The messy part is putting down plates of food when they come - and we are down to 2 cats now outside - and picking up the plates when they have eaten so the raccoons don't eat.
It truly truly amazes me how people project what they think happens and how our house is. See the post where I describe how clean and organized our house is. If you are going to make accusations, you must be able to back them up. It is not a dirty house. It is immaculate and odor free.
The house next door was built exactly as was ours in 1920, same builder,same year, same materials and layout. Cookie cutter except for a few variations to make each slightly different.
You have chosen to take the negative view of my allegations. This is your decision based on bias on your part and nothing less than that.
There is no feral colony living on my property! These cats sleep elsewhere - where, I don't know. The messy part is putting down plates of food when they come - and we are down to 2 cats now outside - and picking up the plates when they have eaten so the raccoons don't eat.
It truly truly amazes me how people project what they think happens and how our house is. See the post where I describe how clean and organized our house is. If you are going to make accusations, you must be able to back them up. It is not a dirty house. It is immaculate and odor free.
The house next door was built exactly as was ours in 1920, same builder,same year, same materials and layout. Cookie cutter except for a few variations to make each slightly different.
You have chosen to take the negative view of my allegations. This is your decision based on bias on your part and nothing less than that.
I didn't take a negative view at all. I commented on the facts as you presented them; 8 cats, a dog, a feral colony living outside, house packed to the gills. Your words, not mine. To believe that this doesn't affect the impression made by visitors, and therefore the perceived value of the house, would be a mistake.
I didn't take a negative view at all. I commented on the facts as you presented them; 8 cats, a dog, a feral colony living outside, house packed to the gills. Your words, not mine. To believe that this doesn't affect the impression made by visitors, and therefore the perceived value of the house, would be a mistake.
I said I was caring for a feral colony. Never said "on my property". We cat caretakers have colonies we care for all over the place - we do it blocks away, etc. We trap neuter and return them and provide veterinary care. Neighborhoodcats.org
Check it out.
I described how we care for our cats and dog. Not everyone who has many animals has a dirty or smelly house. This is your bias, as I said before. It has not to do with reality, in many instances.
I said I was caring for a feral colony. Never said "on my property". We cat caretakers have colonies we care for all over the place - we do it blocks away, etc. We trap neuter and return them and provide veterinary care. Neighborhoodcats.org
Check it out.
I described how we care for our cats and dog. Not everyone who has many animals has a dirty or smelly house. This is your bias, as I said before. It has not to do with reality, in many instances.
I hope you are better at caring for the animals than you are at written communication, as that is clearly not your strong suit.
Why, in a sentence discussing the circumstances of your property, would you include information about a feral colony that is NOT on the property? Do you recognize how this confuses the issue?
I only read the Op's opening statement without reading all the replies. I live in NOVA, a good housing market and interviewed 3 realtors. Two priced my single detached 2 car garage home around the same price. The third priced my home $50,000 less than the other two. The price did not match other homes in my area except for much small homes. It got me curious and looked into why. I was told this--the reason is most likely the agent will receive 3%, the other 3% to the buyer's agent. Of that 3% the seller's agent receives 1.5% goes towards the real estate company. 1.5% of $50,000 is not that much money to the seller's agent but is significant to the seller. So I agree, there are agents representing the seller who are looking for a quick sale at the expense to the seller for a quick buck.
I think it DOES matter. Because, and I do not want to go over the reasons why again, as I amply explained them before, in detail, I signed and my husband and I were dismayed at the price given and soon after spoke to the neighbor whose (empty, in worse condition) house was going for far more, all confirming our original belief that the value of the house was never $650K. And what I maintain, and what annoyed to death some of the realtors here - not all, but some and they really got defensive with me - is that our so-called wonderful realtors were after a quick 6% from some pretty stupid customers: Us!
Sorry, this will offend some but I maintained it then and maintain it now.
Now, Mike, I am dying to hear these words from you: Maybe I am not wrong that they were sleazy. I know that they were. It was not an innocent error. They wanted to see if they could sell this house fast and low. They had a buyer in less than a day for heaven's sake. I knew that at that price of COURSE they would.
I don't know these real estate agents. Maybe they're sleazy and maybe they aren't. There are sleazy people in all walks of life.
As I and others have said, the only way to really know what your house is worth is to sell it. Also, the value of your house is a "moving target" so to speak. It's constantly changing like the value of a stock (although not so fast). Two years is a long time in real estate and we'll never truly know at this point what your house was worth at that time because you didn't allow your agents to list your property.
Having a buyer in one day does not neccesitate that the price was too low. In my market, low pricing is a common practice intended to bring in multiple offers. The fervor created by this tactic often results in the property selling over market value. For example, one home on the market earlier this spring was listed at $659K. I would have considered this a little low as my assessment (along with many other local agents I spoke with) of the value was about $670K. By the end of the first day, the owner was looking at SIX offers and sold the house for $685K. However, I work in a high demand market. This wouldn't be an appropriate tactic to take in many other markets or even in all price ranges in my own market.
Basically what I'm saying is you and everyone else on this forum can talk until we're all blue in the face. No one will ever truly know what your house was worth two years ago.
This is one confusing thread. More gets added to the story with every layer.
Yes, you have said you didn't intend to sell the house for two years and yet you took the lid off a pen and signed a listing agreement.
It sounds like you have taken care of many important things in your house (roof, hvac, windows etc.). In your original thread you also say the kitchen and baths are 20 years old. They may be super clean, but this will definitely affect the price. Multiple pets do too. No matter what you do to scrub and change litter boxes, some buyers will be turned off by this. When you are finally ready to list the house, consider hiring the help of a professional home stager. I have a feeling the house isn't presenting as well as you are hoping for. Vinyl covers on the furniture, a house packed the gills, pets...this may have been part of the reason the realtors gave you such a low number. When you see your house you see all the hard work you put into the structure. Buyers won't see the hard work you have done because you have covered it up. No matter what your neighbor's house sold for, yours is only worth what someone is willing to pay.
I hope all goes well and you find a great agent when it comes time to sell.
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