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I just cannot believe how touchy people are about this subject! Its very eye opening.
My original point is that sometimes professionals give the best advice, believe it or not. It doesn't hurt to take your emotions out if the equation and give it a try.
I hear a lot of "oh I don't need to do that! I will just hire an agent who doesn't ask me to do much." There are some very stubborn folks in the world.
On the house we sold last year, we did not allow any showings during the week. Period. We wrote it right on the listing.
Agents were all calling trying to get in during the week. And getting belligerent! How are you going to sell, blah blah blah
We were fully aware of the consequences and were willing to let it take a little longer to sell if needed
Do you know we never lost one showing? EVERY AGENT who ever called to request a showing during the week managed to come back on the weekends
Anyway, my point is as an agent, you can give advice but at the end of the day it's up to the seller
That's different than the situation in the OP though, you spelled it out upfront, it doesn't sound like this person did.
OP, do you know how much notice she was given for these showings? I think a lot of people will still say they need to know the day before or something.
We have a lady on our street like that. Ask anyone on our street where the crazy lady lives and they'll point out her house. She's had her house on the market for years at a grossly inflated price. The local realtors won't even list it anymore. And every realtor that does list it drops her as soon as the listing expires. She insists on being there for every showing so she can point out everything she feels is important. All this is done in spite of all the advice she gets from each realtor. Which is lower the price and disappear when the house is being shown. It's a very nice house in a very nice neighborhood and would sell immediately if only she would listen to her realtor.
We had one of those...he finally went FSBO. It was years....like 15.... and he held his price through the mortgage meltdown. And he held price...even though prices were rising...and finally the market met his price and the place sold.
We had one of those...he finally went FSBO. It was years....like 15.... and he held his price through the mortgage meltdown. And he held price...even though prices were rising...and finally the market met his price and the place sold.
15 Years on the market? Wow...wonder if that's a world record!
I wonder where he moved to.
The reason it's hard to take the "professional's" advice is they aren't always the same. I interviewed 4 realtors. One said she would like me to paint all the mahagony wood trim white, probably not realizing this would mean changing all the electric outlets found in the trim to white. It would have cost around $30K. (Three floors, 6000 square feet, wainscoating on entire main floor, library with mahagony walls and ceilings, living room with mahagony coffered ceilings.) And, for those who like mahagony, there was no way to go back. Heck, if I didn't sell my home I would no longer like it, nor want it.
One said to leave it exactly like it was, and I admit, it was dark and not colors everyone would like.
I took the realtor that said to paint the walls a neutral color, and sure enough, it did sell.
15 Years on the market? Wow...wonder if that's a world record!
I wonder where he moved to.
He had a wooden sign made, and was repainted several times. He even landscaped around it. It was a hoot. The house is historic to the area, but not a historical landmark, and he was bound and determined to get his million.
Statistically, there are things that help a house to sell. Number one is good pictures. Ingredients to make a good pic? An uncluttered room that looks bright and inviting in a photo that shows the elements of the room.
Pics lead to tours. But wait, you have to have the property available for touring. I can't tell you how many times I have run into an owner on my way into a tour who either was not ready or acted like it was a total inconvenience. Once I toured a house where the renters refused to leave and were sitting around the kitchen island with friends drinking mimosas and complaining about the touring (that house sat on the market for a year until it was vacant. Then it sold in a week.)
Its not about what I think. Its about proven strategies to get a place sold.
No, it is all about the choices the owner makes and again you do not have to like or agree with them.
What you see as perfect photos I see as fake, sanitized, unloved, not lived it.
I want to purchase a home not an operating room.
You see things strictly from a dollar sign realtor point of view
I see things from the complete opposite of the realtor point of view.
Some people are VERY sensitive to pets, starter home or no. Honestly I don't think one cat is that big of a deal. More than one or a large dog, yes. If there is a pet of any kind, its usually included on the listing. I have severe allergies, so my realtor has to warn me if there are pets in the houses we see.
Why are you so insistent on arguing with so many other posters whose experience differs from yours? You have a legitimate point of view, which you have repeated several times, but others also have legitimate points of view. Several highly respected Realtors have posted views on this thread and made very good points; they have at least as much experience as you do. Maybe that is why some people are not listening to you as much as you would like--because you don't seem to them to be respecting their viewpoints--even if they may be wrong in most instances. And I say this as someone who agrees with most of your OP, at least as you have stated the facts.
What you have are anecdotes. There are few good, controlled studies on this topic, but lots of opinions. So it is easy to imagine how experiences differ, and your anecdotes are not necessarily the norm. For example, several people have told you that Realtors have never suggested moving out to them, nor would that be feasible for them to do for financial or other reasons. That's not your experience, but that is theirs.
One key thing to bear in mind is that the conditions in the local market may make a huge difference. When you are selling in a hot sellers' market with a good house, with flippers as potential buyers, buyers are forced to "overlook" or care much less about some imperfections, to a greater extent than if you are selling in a buyers' market. In that case, maybe you have to go to extremes in making sure to turn over every stone to make the house desirable.
Realtors are not gods. I had one valued my house a whole 62k below my closing price. So...
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