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dear joey , ...every time I see your JOEY, I totally lose it laughing. I envision poor Joey Tribbiani, from Friends, batching in granpa's house, and all those showings interupting his love life
It sounds to me the agent is WORKING her butt off to sell the home. For a home to have 20 showings in 2 weeks ....only tells me ONE thing the agent is doing her job. I've seen people fire their agents because they had one open house or one or 2 showings in a month
I"m assuming you were the renter in the last home you lived in ...being a renter agents usually try to give 24 or 48 hours notice to the renter. This is for the renter will have enough time to make sure the house is clean....Most sellers ONLY require 1 hour notice when they are selling their home.....Since you are the care taker of the home your job is just the same as the seller in my eyes. if you were renting then it would be a different story.
To me it sounds like the agent needs to start dropping the price if your family wants to get the house sold more quickly.
Last edited by dolphin34; 08-11-2008 at 12:37 PM..
A situation like this usually looks a lot different from different perspectives. From the agent's perspective:
1 - There is a tenant in the house living there rent-free who stands to lose this sweet deal when the house sells.
2 - The agent has created a marketing strategy that is generating loads of interest in the home (20 viewings in 2 weeks is amazing!) but no offer. The home is priced too high or is it not showing to the same level as described. I would wonder if a tenant's presentation of the property would be as meticulous as the owner who wants to sell it.
3 - She is probably getting calls from Buyer agents (20 viewings on her own seems pretty unlikely) who have their own schedule and their Buyer's schedule to consider. She is trying to match two other people's schedules to the tenant's schedules and she is aware that the buyers out there have a lot of choice. If your viewing doesn't fit in with the buyer, they'll probably find something better in the meantime - especially since this one seems over-priced.
4 - Despite working her butt off to get all these viewings, she is being questioned for marketing the place TOO WELL.
If this were my listing I would be requesting:
1 - Sellers reduce the price
2 - Sellers fix up the little things that are dragging it down and make it shine. You are competing against sellers who are making the most of their homes and working hard to get it shown whatever it takes. And you are probably working against low-priced foreclosures. Over-priced resales with a recalcitrant tenant don't compete.
3 - Sellers instruct tenant to accommodate all hard-earned showing requests.
Without these changes I would seriously consider cancelling the listing.
Just FYI: she is the one insisting on the high price.
"4 - Despite working her butt off to get all these viewings, she is being questioned for marketing the place TOO WELL."
No one has questioned her for "marketing the place TOO WELL." My mom only thought it was a bit fishy to have so many showings in such a short amount of time, but no offers.
In lieu of everything I know about the situation, I feel this is partly because the listing is dishonest and the photos have been photoshopped. People are expecting one thing and getting another when they actually see the house. I do not think any buyer wants to be lied to and I feel pretending the property is something its not is unethical. Isn't it wasting the buyer's valuable time and energy to view a house that is totally different from how it was described? If that happened to me I would not be happy and not be willing to work with that realtor or their company again. I would definitely not buy a house from them! Since chances are, if they lied once they would probably lie again and, therefore, it would be a bad idea to conduct a business transaction with them.
I would also certainly NOT be willing to buy a house that was listed at way above its apraised value; particularly after realizing it was not in as great a condition as it was advertised. AND when it is a buyer's market and I could go somewhere else.
I would like the house to sell, but I feel her way is not the right way to go about it. The other realtor I dealt with was upfront, honest, and fair to all parties involved in the process. She had just as many showings and was successful in procurring an offer.
Sorry if this post is a bit angry-sounding, but I feel the majority of the responses I have recieved are only looking at this from the side of the realtor. I am trying to make the best out of a bad situation and looking for advice that takes into account both sides. I realize she is doing her job, but I see nothing wrong with treating whoever is living at the house being sold, whether a tenant, renter, or seller, with fairness and respect. ALL people deserve these things no matter what their circumstances in life may be.
This won't answer your question. But I feel your family needs time to grieve for your grandpa before selling off his property. The rest of you seem to get sucked into this by your aunt. Maybe your family should have a discussion about this again and put it off the market for a little while. Wait till the emotions have healed a little and time has passed. It's really hard to deal w/ an estate and money after a loved one dies. Maybe try to get your aunt who is running the show to say hey many of us may have not gotten over grandpa and we're still hurting. This may not be the best time for this right now.
If your aunt refuses to budge, then maybe you can remove yourself from the situation and let it work itself out? You are in a tough spot. You can't really get rid of the agent bc your aunt controls that and it's her friend. Plus your family has a contract w/ her. You can also talk to your family and aunt to see if they can get her to update the photos on the listing that are accurate. And updating the wording.
Again this may not work or u may have tried, but no harm in trying.
First of all, I am cautious with altering pictures. Correcting for poor lighting is one thing making old floors look new is another problem.
20 showings with no offer means overpriced.
TLC, sweat equity, handyman's dream...all mean the same thing to me as an agent. House needs work.
You seem to clearly think the agent is not representing the property correctly. This is an important issue because misrepresentation is a common cause for lawsuits. So if the roof is really 10 years old, I wouldn't let her advertise it as newer.
It sounds like what is really upsetting you is that you feel the constant showings are just fruitless interruptions for you since the house is being misrepresented and that you're going out of your way for no legitimate purpose.
I know it's tough when family is involved but if everybody isn't working off the same page you might be doing yourself a big favor by removing yourself from the middle of it all.
One more question: The posting on the real estate website describes the house as "Offers open floor plan 2/3 bed rms, large eat-in-kitchen, Dining rm or convert to 3rd bedroom, updated bath,1st floor laundry, hw floors, lower level w/ 1/2 bath and potential family room. Newer roof, 1 car gar. Some TLC"
I feel this description is misleading. The dining room is part of the kitchen and what makes it large. By converting it into a third bedroom it would make the kitchen small. She has actually mentioned to my uncle that she is having trouble getting people to see the potential for a third bedroom.
Also, the bathroom is old except for new ceramic tile. Does that mean it is still updated? I feel like buyers will see that and think the bathroom is newer and nicer than it actually is.
All except my aunt feel it would be more accurately listed as "handyman's dream," since it is in need of serious repair. Realtors, in your opinion, what would qualify as TLC? I certainly don't think the extensive work this house has been assessed to need fits that description!
Just IMO...I am no expert.
AmselJoey
No, you're not an expert and quite frankly, you're not an owner of the property. So..it's really none of your business.
In this whole thing I feel for the agent. What a terrible spot to be in and I would remove myself from the listing. All that is going to happen is she's going to waste a lot of time and money. The family members that actually own the property need to come to a meeting of the minds and if they choose to sell they need to let the agent do her job. 20 showings in two weeks is a good thing regardless of what your mother has to say, but I'm assuming she's one that doesn't want to sell.
And I'll ask again... what is the problem with putting a lock box on the house so it can be shown regardless of your schedule and you aren't inconvenienced?
20 showings in 2 weeks is NOT a good thing if people are being misled into calling to see a suitable house and finding a misrepresented joke.
If the agent is really ....uh....over embellishing things to that degree what you 'feel for the agent' and what some of us would feel for her are vastly different.
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