We have a contract until Aug. with a big real estate firm. The agent is very nice but not doing much to market our house, other than putting it on the MLS. She's brought no buyers nor have her colleagues. When we signed with her she was wildly enthusiastic about the price we agreed to start at, said it was a perfect price...two weeks after we listed she said we were too high and needed to drop it $35K!!...we balked, gave it two more weeks, dropped it to what she suggested... no interest. Now she's saying we need to drop it even more. We feel like she did the bait-and-switch type thing to get us to sign with her.

At any rate, I want to ask another local, smaller firm, broker to come by and give us her opinion. We should have done that before we signed with the first person but, well, hindsight. We also think this second broker may have more clients for our type of neighborhood. (The first one is from a higher-end area and she claimed she gets buyers looking in our area but clearly not.) If this new agent seems more credible we would get a release from the first one and sign with this new one.

Is that totally unethical? to get another opinion like that?

I know the market is awful right now but I'm so frustrated, I want this house SOLD and gone so I can get on with my life!

Help!

you can get any opinions you want, you are the employer. but, you might not get the current listing broker to cancel the listing. you can only ask. FYI, criticizing the listing agent won't convince her broker that she is responsible for the lack of interest in your property to date. If the second broker has good buyers, why haven't they made any offers on your property?

Agreed with Shana, if the other broker has buyers tell them to put their money where their mouth is and bring 'em on. Any agent can sell your property! And if another agent does have buyers they are not showing your property to because they don't have the listing that gives a lot of information away about that agent's ethics.
With today's technology once a listing is enterend into the Mulitple Listing Services it's widely available to the general public. It goes directly from the MLS to Realtor.com where everyone can see it. Marketing techniques are limited due to the success of the internet and our MLS'.

LOL "enterend" means entered...geez

>Any agent can sell your property! And if another agent does >have buyers they are not showing your property to because they >don't have the listing that gives a lot of information away >about that agent's ethics.

KLM, interesting comment, I didn't look at it that way.

Anyone care to comment on my agent's actions so far? I forgot to mention that we did drop it a small amount after the first two weeks, then waited another two weeks to drop it the $35K, and still no action, now she wants us to drop it even more. We cannot go any lower.

price reduction in this residential market is the norm, has been since 2006. buyers aren't interested in "market value", they want bargains. if you want to sell fast, you have to expect a heavy discount to attract buyers. ask the second broker about the current market, and see if they respond realistically and honestly.

if you think the current listing agent is not fulfilling his/her duty in the marketing process, have a sit down with the agent's broker and go over all of the marketing that has been done. if at that point you're not satisfied, then tell the broker you want out of the listing agreement. the old broker may still require a referral fee from a new listing broker, as a condition of cancelling the listing.

Again, agreed with shana. Keep in mind that since the market is wrought with foreclosures market values are low but it's a wash when you buy a new house because you'll realize savings during that purchase.

How long has the house been listed alltogether? No matter how much marketing or how good a realtor is, its all about pricing right now. The trend I am seeing in my market, buyers want a bargain of course, but they also want something that they arent going to have to work on for awhile. Meet with your realtor and ask them why they think your home isnt selling. Is it price? Is there something that needs to be fixed? Anything outdated? Is it more of a suburban or rural property? In my area rural property is dead because of fuel prices. Ask your realtor what typical days on the market are and ask to see the comparables. Some decent priced homes, that are in good shape are still taking half a year or more to sell. On the flip side of this before I became a realtor, I had a property I owned listed with a company and only had 2 showings on it in 6 months time. I listed it with the company I am at now, and they showed it around 6 times within the first week.

"We have a contract until Aug. with a big real estate firm. The agent is very nice but not doing much to market our house"

You know why BeachBum because the market is telling you it is overpriced!!

If it was priced right you would have offers to look at even if low-ball to at least counter. Big firm does not matter,IT IS NOT ABOUT THE MARKETING IN THIS MARKET.

If you really do not have a valid and good reason to sell right now don't. Now is not the right time to sell your home and TEST the market. It doesn't matter as a seller as to what you can or cannot do with the sales price. What you need out of your home and market value have nothing to do with each other. No amoutn of money in the world will sell an overpriced listing.

Do not look at actives alot of them are probably overpriced,look at recent solds to determine market value. if there are no recent solds that's even worse as there are no buyers in the market no matter the price in your area and they are waiting for the market to bottom out.

I might sound harsh but you need a wake up callas to why you are selling your house and if now is the right time to sell. Maybe you need to take off the market and wait a year or 2 for the market to turn.

Did your Realtor come up with the price or did you. I have seen many Realtors tell the Seller what they thought they wanted to hear just to get the listing. I have lost listings because I told them what the house would truly sell for. Sellers tend to believe that their house is always worth more than it truly is and therefore end up listing with the one that gives the the highest number. Then I find out that when they finally sell it later than it would have if they had priced it right the sales price is usually right around where I wanted to list it at. Is the Realtor wrong or the Seller wrong for listing the house too high. Only you can answer that. I always show my clients a CMA which shows them what the houses like theirs have sold for, what the prices are for the ones currently on the market and those that expired which is usually because they were priced too high. You should always get this information from your agent. If they told you what you wanted to hear and your price was based on that without seeing comps you at least share the blame.

I think your agent should be communicating with you more, but if no one is coming your price is too high.

i worked for a large national firm and now i work for a local firm. the truth is that i work for the broker who pays me the most money.

I would ask the agent about how regularly they have closings. that is pretty important as you want to be one that they close. if they close deals on a regular basis, they are proving that they know what it takes to sell homes. some people might think that getting an agent who is not busy will have time to sell their homel, but the reality is that they have less practice.

"If you want something done, ask a busy person." -- Benjamin Franklin.

regardless of the size of her brokerage, she just like every other agent is an independent contractor. you can get any level of service with any broker(it really comes down to the individual that you hire as they will be the one working for you, not "the firm". it is the individual business plan of the agent that counts.

here are a few blurbs from some marketing material that i have.

i know this is long, but i hope it helps









Congratulations! You’re about to learn valuable insider information about the real estate industry that will make you a much more savvy consumer. This information is based on studies from marketing companies and my experience in the industry, and is designed to help you make the most of your real estate transaction.

Unfortunately, many consumers end up experiencing a frustrating or difficult real estate transaction because they selected the wrong Realtor® to represent them. The most unfortunate aspect of this is that armed with the information in this report, these situations could have been avoided. You see, consumers’ choices are often made due to the false perception they have of real estate advertising. I’m here to educate and help you as a consumer make intelligent real estate decisions.

In the following pages, I’m going to address four of the biggest myths in real estate advertising, in the process educating you on how to select the best real estate professional the next time you’re ready to move. I invite you to read this report and hold on to it until the need arises to hire a Realtor®. In the meantime, if you have any questions or need any assistance, please feel free to call me anytime. I hope to hear from you soon.










S
urely you’ve seen the ads. In fact, as a whole, they’re hard to miss. Newspaper real estate sections and the free real estate magazines you pick up in grocery stores and realty offices are full of page after page of nothing but house advertisements. However, decades of research show that less than one percent of buyers actually buy the house they called on from the ad. How can this be? Why would Realtors® keep paying for these ads, you ask? Well, keep reading.

House ads are designed to serve Realtors,® not maximize value for the consumer. When you select a real estate company or Realtor® based on the quantity of house ads they run, it’s a recipe for disaster. In essence, you’re selecting a Realtor® by default, and in hindsight, I don’t think anyone wants to do that.

Realtors® who run house ads do so as an enticement for you to call them. When you call, the Realtor® immediately knows you’re a hot prospect, and they begin asking questions about what type of home you’re looking for. They now have the opportunity to convince you they can help you find a match. As soon as you agree, you’ve selected your Realtor® by default.

In reality, consumers should be the ones doing the interviewing by calling Realtors® and asking about their qualifications. We all have access to the same property information, so anyone you work with should be able to find a match to your property. What you should be looking for in a Realtor® is a match to your personality and style.

It’s important to me for my prospective clients to understand how the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) works (see “Solving the MLS Riddle”). The truth of the matter is that more than 60 percent of all homes sold are sold through the MLS by effective real estate agents, not classified real estate advertising or house ads. Additionally, those agents who consistently run tons of house ads often have less time and money to provide high-quality service.

Rather than advertising homes, I choose to advertise myself and the services I can provide. I know long-term success in real estate is ultimately about developing a partnership with my clientele, and I don’t want clients to choose me by happenstance. This creates a win-win situation in that consumers who choose me as their Realtor® have a knowledgeable sounding board for any questions that might arise at any time. Much like having a family doctor or lawyer, many savvy consumers prefer to have a Realtor® with whom they have developed a relationship long before they need to buy or sell a home.

So when selecting your Realtor,® pay no attention to who is running the most house ads. Agents who tell you they’ll advertise your house are only serving their own needs, not helping you. If at the listing presentation the agent promises to advertise your home, they’re doing so primarily for their own personal gain, leaving less time to focus on doing the most effective things to get your house sold.









S
elling a home is perhaps an even more stressful process than buying a home. First of all, you’re going to have many Realtors® vying for your listing. They’re going to try to tell you all the great things they’ll do to sell your home. Chances are many agents will try to tell you how much they’ll advertise your house in house ads (which we’ve already dismissed as useless), and they’ll also try to convince you by pulling out the old signs from their trunk and promising an Open House every weekend until the house sells.

Now, let’s see how closely you’ve been paying attention. Remember how house ads only serve the real estate agents’ interests? Now, think about an Open House. What does it bring into your home? It brings a steady stream of people interested in buying a house – not necessarily your house, mind you, but interested in some house in the near future. And as a Realtor® always on the lookout for the next client, it sure is nice to have people practically wave their hands and say, “Hey, look at me. I’m interested in buying a house and I don’t have a Realtor®.”

Basically, the Open House is another lead-generating tool for Realtors® that requires you to leave your house for a day while complete strangers take an unsupervised tour of your house and possessions. The truth of the matter is less than one of 10,000 people who walk into an Open House actually buy the house. It requires a great sacrifice on your part while providing very limited results.







O
ne of the biggest fears in consumers’ minds is that they will list their home with a real estate agent who doesn’t bring any buyers to view their home. The reality is that’s actually the best-case scenario.

When selling your house, what you want to look for in a Realtor® is a listing specialist. A listing specialist’s plan is to “sell” or expose your house to other Realtors,® using the MLS to market your home, and basically making your home the focus of his or her activity. If the agent you choose is constantly out showing homes to buyers, they don’t have time for the networking that will expose your house to buyers throughout the region.

When you meet with agents regarding listing your home, make sure they have a plan for other agents to see your home. Evaluate the quality of materials they create for their listings. Research their reputation in the community and in the industry. For a listing specialist, a good reputation will cause other agents to preview your home more willingly and more often. This will maximize exposure for your home, and that’s exactly what you want from your Realtor.®






The first three myths have been geared toward home sellers. This fourth myth is addressed to buyers.

It’s actually kind of comical. When consumers do not understand how the MLS works, you’ll often see them bouncing from agent to agent hoping one agent will magically find the perfect home at the perfect price within an hour of meeting them. If only they knew – there is a better way.

Because all agents have access to the MLS, the best approach to selecting real estate representation is to allow one agent to get to know you and your needs. I’ve always believed that the better I get to know you and to truly understand your needs, the better chance I have of helping you find the right property.

I like

There is always a price at which it will sell. However, you should also be getting feedback during the process. Is there anything you could do to improve the property or the way that it shows that might help it sell at the current price?

Ask your agent what feedback they have gotten, and ask her for some comps of what has sold in a similar price in your area recently. That will give you a feel for how the market is and what is realistic for your home.

You are understandably frustrated. You've decided to sell your home, so you assume that calling a major Real Estate company will result in getting you a good Realtor who has "made the grade" to get hired at the large firm. The interview gave you a lot of hope and good feelings and you anticipated seeing the enthusiastic face that sat across the table that night on a regular basis along with their co-employees bringing buyers to your home and successfully selling your home as promised at the price you agreed on.

But now you rarely see your Realtor and when you do talk to her, she wants you to slash your price! Feeling that she's not doing anything to get you what you need but is really just trying to get you to reduce to a "fire sale" price so she can make the ez big bucks with no regard for you after all, you believe it's time to fire her and get someone who CAN get you what you need. Are you right? Were you "duped"? I don't know.

Actually, you were not educated about the process.

First off, you need to understand how the industry works. Every day, newly licensed agents excitedly go into the office for the first time with big dreams. They get a desk and arrange it, then look around wondering what to do next. The manager has explained when the yearly and quarterly dues are due to maintain their license and MLS privleges. They signed paperwork to the effect that they are independent contractors and how much of the commission from the sales they generate will go to them, to E&O insurance,to the franchise & to the office when they finally make a sale. They now also know what they will need to purchase to do business. In all, $2000-$5000 should do it for now;unless they need health insurance...3 out of 4 of them never show up again after a day or 2 of rearranging the desk and twiddling their thumbs. The manager's job is to fill up the desks in the office with licensed agents who can bring in business for the company & coach them to success.

The agents who manage to make a living in this business must be tough skinned and skillful at procuring & educating clients who are motivated to do what it takes to consumate a sale. Too many unmotivated clients will run an agent right out of business. An agent can only work for free for so long before they have to close a sale to pay the bills. Managers from other companies are always soliciting them. Most are ethical and truly enjoy helping people. A few aren't.

So much for choosing an agent by the company they work with.

Now for the actual market and process of selling. The Mortgage Crisis is devastating the Real Estate market. Banks are losing Millions of dollars and are slashing the prices of the homes they've foreclosed on to unload them. Holding on to them and waiting the market out is not an option. They are SERIOUS about selling. Like it or not, this is what you're competing with. Don't be fooled into believing that a buyer won't scoop up a foreclosure bargain & do a little fixing rather than buy your higher priced home. Pricing is an art. The only way a home will sell is if the price is in perfect balance with the home's location & condition compared to the competition. When's the last time you paid more than the going price (market value) for something because the supplier "needed" more & it was worth more last year? How about if the supplier switched venders? Would that change how much you'd pay?

Your Realtors job is to expose your home to as many possible buyers as possible. The strongest tool is the MLS. This is a system originally developed as a "help wanted" ad from Realtor to Realtor. Somewhat like a jobseeker looking through the offerings in the "help wanted" ads, a Realtor with a buyer will go through the MLS looking for a match for their buyers. They'll note how much commission is being offered on each one by the listing agent (usually half of the commission paid by the seller). I hate to say it, but sometimes they weed out the ones that don't pay as well.

You Realtor could have 10 buyers they're currently working with. Chances are, they won't be candidates for your home because price, size, area, etc isn't what they're in the market for. What if 3 of them are? How long would it take for 3 buyers to see your home? What are the chances one of them would buy it? It would be a long shot. However, once it hits the MLS, hundreds of Realtors with buyers have access to it every day. They'll see how it compares with the others on price, terms, commission, how easy it is to show, and who they'll be closly working with if they sell it (your Realtor). If all things are equal, and they know your Realtor is a fair, experienced hard working collegue, that's a plus. You know, Realtors who've been in the business for a while usually know each other no matter what company they work with. Some have reputations for taking over priced listings. Some have reputations for back-biting. Some have reputations for running a "class act":correctly priced listings, educated sellers who clean up, open blinds, turn on lights & leave with their pets & children during showings, putting pictures on the MLS, fair dealings & honesty to all.

If you've taken the time to read and consider all of this, you're probably motivated to sell your home or ready to take it off the market. Your Realtor's job is to get as many buyers to see and be aware of your home on the market as possible (no matter who brings them) and to educate you on the process and how to price competitively before you're on the market too long. Your job is take her advice & make your home a desireable "product" that the buyers will see value in and want to buy when they get there. You'll know that you've got it right when the buyers who come take some time looking around and maybe feel you or your agent out to see what terms you might accept. If they come through quickly & buy something else, your price is too high for the "product"(your house).

OK here the deal is. Advertising does not sell homes, but more exposure will always help a home to be sold. Remember that it is not question what seller wants or has to get, it is the buyer’s perception of value which determine if your house will sell or does not sell.

If the other agent tells you that has buyers why just she/he does not bring them? The system works like that if a buyer calls for some add it is agent job to rail them in and show them all the properties in the price range, so if this agent has buyers interested to buy a property in this price range, it is not a problem just to bring them. And it is not ethical of the anthers agent side to prospecting you when you are still under contract with other broker.

If you’re listing agent just agreed with the price just to get the listing and pushing you down just fire the broker or ask him for another agent. If you would like to hire somebody else, first you need to fire your current broker.

Get your agent to show you the sales in your area in the past 60-90 days. Also the pending sales this will show you what prices people are interested in.

Also keep in mind we have A Lot Less buyers to buy in today's market because the lenders keep making it tougher to buy homes. The minimum credit scores to qualify keep rising.

Is your house in perfect shape? In a good are in your neighborhood? Are you offering the selling agent a full commission? Does it have good curb appeal? Keep in mind the buyers who are qualified have a lot of choices. The question you should ask yourself is "What do I have to do to make my house the one they pick of out the 30+they will look at?"

And finally-Forget about what price you need to get, ask your agent to tell you the truth and not what you want to hear! If she won't hire an appraiser to do a listing appraisal for you. It may cost you a couple of hundred bucks but it's important to know what your house is worth in today's market.

Once you answer these questions then make a decision as to whether or not this is the right time to sell!

Hope that helps!

"Is your house in perfect shape? In a good are in your neighborhood? Are you offering the selling agent a full commission?"

Tony,

Should it matter about what commission being offered? I think it is that menatlity that gives Brokers and Agents a bad reputation. I know we don't live in a perfect world, but I would hope that if someone is practicing RE in this market that they are looking at their clients as longterm relationships. So, I hope agents would show them all the properties that are available, and not just the ones that are offering cooperating brokers full commission.

Just a thought.

Justin

Why is being motivated by a paycheck bad for real estate agents?

Is it seen as greedy when other people go to their jobs with expectations of making a certain amount of money at the end of the week? Is it seen as greedy if the cashier at Wal Mart refuses to work for less pay? Is it seen as greedy if a secretary wants to take a higher paying job?

Yes, we all like to say that we're "serving" people but we're not philanthropists. We are in this business to pay bills and put food on our table, to put our kids through college, to put gas in the car just like everyone else.

Only unlike everyone else, we don't get paid every week or every two weeks, and many of us give up 1/2 to 1/4 of our paycheck to another party (broker) and then we have to pay for all of our marketing and other business expenses on top of that....mls dues, realtor dues, lock boxes, signs, software that is required, continuing education....how the heck are we supposed to pay for all of our expenses (which do NOT go down, they only go UP) if we're supposed to cut our pay every time someone whines about it?

My opinion is this: if you don't want to pay the commission, then do it yourself. If you want a realtor to do it for you, then expect to pay the commission. Just like anything else.

Sure, any monkey can paint their own house. But lots of people see the value in hiring a professional painter to do the job for them.

Is the painter seen as greedy if he won't lower his fee just because the owner doesn't want to pay it? Is the contractor seen as greedy because he turns a job down that will not be as profitable as another?

You have to impress with something different with your home.. so try to ad something like interesting painting or something in your back yard... something like this.

Justin if you have been in the market for awhile you know the reality.

I have posted on this many times.Out of all agents about 85 percent are new and enter the market each year. Most don't make it past the first year. Most have a limited number of buyers and sellers to work with so they are going to try to get the most money out of each transaction with the lowest expense.

If there are 10 homes in a subdivision that meets there buyers criteria and 3 pay 4 percent,3 pay 3 percent, and 4 pay 2 to 2.5 percent which ones do you think the agent will show???

The reality is most of the market is made up of new agents and most of those new agents can't land listings so they are mainly buyers agents. Some agents also rebate back part of there commission if it's legal in there state and they have to have a certain co-op spread to make it work for them.

Look everybody dreams of what everything SHOULD be when it's more important to focus on what IS. Some brokers/agents are not realtors so they are not bound by association or code of ethics rules period.

Well, you learnt something: a new clause in your next contract.

"Listing broker and sellers understand and agree that seller can cancel this contract at anytime, for any reason. If so, listing broker and seller understand and agree that there is no financial penalty of any kind for such cancelation"

I've been screwed so many times by Real Estate agents that I passed the license for myself...Sad...

The only way to be sure that your agent hasn't done anything other than the MLS is to ask. Have your agent send you copies of the ads that are placed and where. Have other homes in your area gone under contract? What was different about theirs vs. yours?

I tend to think this market is more about marketing than any other. You need to outshine AND outmarket your competition AND be priced right. It's also about being proactive as owners and not relying on our agents 100%...it needs to be a team effort! Ask your agent what you can do to help!