topic Re: Selling a Home in Home

Selling a Home

Mistreatedbycs — Thu, 23 Jun 2016 18:34:03 GMT

I am so discouraged (not that the house sold) but overall the day to day aspects of the interaction between the buyer/agent and seller/agent.

Yes, I know not all agents are the same but I truly believe they do not and I did write it as do not have their clients best interest. They have their own best interest and no one else's.

I received a list of what the buyer wanted, granted i do not have to do them but the pressure was on from my agent, I hate to see something that costs let's say $100 break a deal. OR, are you sure you want to say "no", I think you should give this to them (the buyer) and you don't have to pay for it, we'll just credit them. Credit them, credit them, credit them. Unreal.

I also received that list then the next day more was added and wanted to know how that happened, well, upon asking question upon question, it's your agent that says "hey, give it to them". OK, Hello, I thought you were working for me.

What I found out about this process, once your agent finds someone that is interested in what you are selling, he doesn't want to lose them, imposes some scare tactics, maybe a form of bullying, and overall, it's like well if you don't do this, this may pull their offer. Hate to say it, the last list I said "no" to all of it and knock on wood, it was no problem and I think it was the buyers agent that tacked all that stuff on to see how much they could get.

I seriously feel sorry for ladies that are alone that have to endure such stress and have people take advantage of them, I was falling into that category until I put my foot down and said "no", that's all it took and even that my realtor was not happy with me at all, he doesn't want any conflict, he wants the deal done and money in his pocket. The almighty dollar....go figure.

Re: Selling a Home

Mominohio — Thu, 23 Jun 2016 18:44:22 GMT

Selling a home, and getting moved is a stressful event, even under the best of circumstances. There is so much that can go 'wrong' or be contentious, so your frustration is very understandable.

I haven't sold a home for 22 years, but I clearly remember what a solid backbone I had to have to get the process of selling one and buying another accomplished.

The realtor wanted me to list for less than I wanted, I refused, and he was mad. But the house sold in 48 hours, so I was glad I didn't listen to him.

After it was in contract, the buyer wanted a list of trivial dumb things done. I emphatically said no. We had just put on a new roof, had the basement waterproofed, the electrical system updated, and the house had been completely painted and recarpted several years before listing. It was a charming house in really great condition for its age, and at a selling price of $60,000, it was a steal in the neighborhood and time in which we sold.

I think more people need to realize just what you did, that Realtors are in business to make money, and most want to turn over a property with as little time and work involved as possible, for the highest profit for them. They will 'encourage' you to negotiate below what you think is fair, give in to buyers requests etc. Only you, the seller can take control of the situation and tell them that you are in charge, and it will have to go your way (and that isn't to say that people should overprice their homes and refuse to do any type of negotiations).

Hopefully this will all be behind you soon, and just keep your chin up. Been there and I can say, it does get better when all is done, and you can move on.

Re: Selling a Home

Goldengate8361 — Thu, 23 Jun 2016 18:51:48 GMT

Great post for me to read right now. I own a home that I'm going to have listed for sale on Monday--and this is the first time that I will be a home "seller." I have hardly any experience with realtors, so I'm grateful for your post.

Re: Selling a Home

Annabellethecat66 — Thu, 23 Jun 2016 18:57:49 GMT

My late husband was an investor. He invested in many different things. Usually they were 'bridge loans'. For instance if someone wanted to buy an office building, he'd loan them the money for X amount of days on high interest rates.

He also bought houses and fixed them up and sold them. There were times when a buyer would buy a house and maybe 6 months later (this happened) the basement leaked. They called him boo hooing. Legally, he was no longer responsible, but he hired some guys and he (with them) dug around the outside of the house, waterproofed it, put down gravel, etc and fixed it. There was no way of knowing about the leak ahead of time because it never leaked while he owned it and was working on it day in and out. That was just one thing!

In the beginning we'd tell people, "We'll put in escrow for you X amount so you can pick out your own carpeting, etc." We didn't find any takers. We tried to sell houses without a realtor because my late husband thought many of them were crooked and took advantage of people. There were no takers.

A realtor came to us and said, "I can sell your house. I'll add on the cost of my commission. I'll also add more money than you're asking and you will sell it". My husband reluctantly said, "OK". Within a few days we had several contracts.

I know what you mean about demands. There were times when it was ridiculous some of the things these people wanted done. We'd also have people coming into houses (as they walked through) talking about knocking down this wall and that wall. It was obvious they knew nothing about house building because my husband would laugh and say, "They must not realize that wall they're talking about tearing out is a load bearing wall".

I understand it is scary buying a house from an individual. If someone really does their homework and is familiar with the process they can easily save money.

I'm sorry you have to go through so much just to sell your house. I agree it is difficult to figure out where these demands are coming from.

I think if you talk to people you know who've had a good experience selling their house, you'll find an agent who will work for YOU and know when and where to put the limits to what a seller is asking.

One advice I'll give you is (and it isn't fair) that the longer the house stays on the market the more difficult it is to sell it. It's purely (I think) psychological. People start to wonder "what's wrong with it that it didn't sell".

I think you're going to have to decide on an amount you want for the house (you might have to, as they say, eat some of it) and be willing to bend a little.

I still have friends in the house renovations business. I also have friends who build houses. They tell me it's a seller's market while the interest rates are still relatively low. I've been told here in the Northern Va area, anyway, there aren't enough houses for someone to buy. That might be true because myself and my neighbors get letters a few times a week (yes a week) telling me they'd buy my house. We're not stupid, these are investors who want to buy low and sell high.

Take care and I hope you are soon able to sell your house and get the amount of money out of it you want. Believe me I understand how frustrating the whole process can be.

Please let us know how things go.

Re: Selling a Home

AKgirl2 — Thu, 23 Jun 2016 19:05:56 GMT

@Mistreatedbycs...I agree, agents have their best interests at heart.

My realtor lived across the street from me. We weren't friends, just a hello and how are you? Anyway, she came across as having my best interests at heart, but when a very interested buyer came along, it was let's not lose the deal over a repair that's only $600.

Well, I paid for repair and it was a mistake on my part...the buyers revamped not only the whole interior, put on a huge addition, relandscaped the 1/2 acre yard, put in a new driveway, etc. The remodel and landscaping took 10 months. Then they put it on the market for twice the amount of the purchase price. I want to know how the $600 repair mattered with a remodel and addition? I knew I shouldn't have paid for it, just didn't trust my instincts to do so:/

Re: Selling a Home

WSfan — Thu, 23 Jun 2016 19:09:43 GMT

Boy do I understand what you are going through and that's why you need a lawyer so that they will look after your interest, and that everything goes down by the law and fairly. Sold my childhood home last year after my mom passed away 2 years before that. Tried selling it 'by owner' per my sister's suggestion (I was the executor), and had it on the market that way for 18 months with no luck. Of those who did contact us, many wanted to rent, some wanted to rent to buy. Had no interest in becoming a landlord, and with the rent to buy....I know what would happen, they'd decide not to purchase and I'm stuck with the house again, and quite possibly in bad condition. Just got fed up and put it with a realtor. Our realtor was nice, and felt that she was on our side, but their ultimate goal is to sell it and make a commission. It was a 2 bedroom house and she wanted us to give them a $1500 credit so that the buyers could close some existing walls in the basement, and make it another bedroom. Thought she was nuts, but went along with it. I understand what she was trying to do, but ultimately there's nothing much I can do if it's a 2 bedroom house. She also wanted us to give the buyers a $1000 paint credit, and we said no to that. Finally found a buyer after 6 months with the realtor. He wanted a $500 credit for some cracked concrete, for which we said OK. Then the appraisal came back, lower than the agreed upon price. Of course the buyer wanted the house for the appraised value. We said, if you want the house at that price, then the $1500 credit for the extra bedroom and the $500 for the concrete are off the table. He bought the house. Amen and Hallelujah. Hope I never have to go through that again. I learned several things from this experience: 1) never try to sell a house by owner, 2) don't let what potential buyers say about the house bother you and 3) I would NEVER want to be a realtor.

Re: Selling a Home

123SuzyQ123 — Thu, 23 Jun 2016 19:25:39 GMT

I totally understand! In late 2011, DH had already started his new job in another state, so I was left alone to sell our house!

I did not feel that my realtor was looking out for me. I was presented a list of 5 things that the potential buyer wanted done, in order to purchase my house at a lower price than our asking price!!

At first I told the realtor NO, that I would not fix the 5 things, since they were offering such a low price for the house.

At the urging of the realtor, I eventually fixed 3 of the items. Again, I should have stood my ground, but with DH already living in another state, I relented.

Oh, the 3 things that I did go along with and do in the end - putting a gate in the backyard fence, leaving my refrigerator, and painting the upstairs bonus room.

It definitely is all about the fee that the realtor stands to make, IMO!

Re: Selling a Home

Mistreatedbycs — Thu, 23 Jun 2016 19:47:15 GMT

...and for you that are selling a home, the realtor has "friends" like electrical, paint, plumbing, roofing, title companies etc.

....nice friends, just for him, seriously, i refuse to use one of his friends and my realtor offered to pay for the repair! It wasn't much but that's not the point, beware. ....and if you think about it, why would YOUR realtor be so concerned in getting these certain repairs made, repairs that only benefit him.

So I was told this is the greatest place to go, they give discounts, and you believe them, don't want to bother getting quotes from anyone else, think that if you do this "friend of a friend" it benefits you and you are getting such a great deal.............WRONG!!!

So my realtor tells me about these discounts, I go out and get other quotes, come back to him and he says, that contractor will match it....................WELL, if it was that good of deal with discounts, why does anyone have to lower their price?

I am just wanting this to be over, this is a headache and a behind ache all together. I went with a small to private company, wrong, go with the big one's. I was thinking small company, personal service, more individual care, I needed help, I had no idea, never did this before, wrong, wrong, wrong, I should of gone with one of the big companies, only to find out later, bigger companies are more apt to sell their listings first and rarely go to any other companies....ie, Re-Max wants to sell Re-Max listings, the people's commissions are larger, their company philosophy is to focus on their listings, keep it like a "happy family".

I actually could write a book, what to do and what not to do. First he said don't do anything and take a discount on the home, I flipped the house, got the price I wanted and about a week before I even got an offer, he suggested I should improve some of permanent fixtures in the house, I said "no" "i'm done" and low and behold an accepted offer.

I'm done with bullying, no is no. I just had a customer tell me the same that their agent wants them to put in all this stuff and they said no, offer came in and unfortunately the financing didn't go through. Don't think that everyone who puts in an offer is preapproved, they are not.

Ask questions of these contractors, even if you are not going to do anything, bring contractors in for free quotes, never pay for one, that's another issue I have with places such as Home Depot and Lowe's. You pay for quotes and supposedly get credited if you sign the contract, never pay anything for a quote. If the contractor is any good, he wouldn't be charging for quotes and also have time for you, those are the people that deserve your business. I brought electrical contractors in and they told me that everything is grandfathered in, you don't need to do any of this and I held my ground.

Thanks to everyone else for sharing too, hopefully we can help someone. Be strong and do your own research.

p.s. you can negotiate on the real estate commission too....if they say "no", don't be afraid to go somewhere else.

I also was told that the buyer wants early access before closing, think of it as this, it's not their property, they didn't buy it yet and you don't have the money so unfortunately the answer is "no".

Re: Selling a Home

mimilucy — Thu, 23 Jun 2016 20:01:33 GMT

I have moved so many times in my life (each time selling one place and buying another) that it makes me sick to think about it. Here is what I would advise anyone. (1) Always work with a realtor. Always. It's not always the one who is the top earner in their office. Maybe they only sold five 1 million dollar homes all year.

(2) Interview a few realtors and make sure that you feel comfortable with her/him. (3) The "right" realtor will do comps for you. Pay attention to those. Price your house right. Overpriced homes do not sell. Then you just have do reduce the asking price anyway and endure more stress the longer it sits on the market. (4) Use common sense. Do you want to buy a house that has weeds in the yard or immediately needs work as soon as you move in? (5) It is always a buyers market! Until you have a signed contract, they are in the driver' s seat - not you. Even then, you have to pray that you pass their inspector and they get through closing without a hitch. Yes we love our homes. Yes we poured our love in to them. Yes we've fixed them up. We want to get our price. The buyer wants a deal. The realtor does want a commission. If you chose the right one it is well earned. They pay for all the advertising of your home and drive prospects all over. Then they split the commission with the broker and the one who showed the home to the actual buyer , etc. I soon will be facing this myself. Luckily I know a woman from my church with years of experience in real estate whom I will interview-just because she goes to my church that does not make her a slam dunk-but she also is a good STAGER and that is very very important too. Good luck to you.

Re: Selling a Home

Zita — Thu, 23 Jun 2016 20:02:08 GMT

Such good advice, all around! This is the kind of post I should print out for when the time comes to sell!

Re: Selling a Home

GCR18 — Thu, 23 Jun 2016 20:08:04 GMT

I sold two homes and it was a stressful time because of the realtor. N the last house, I had a job transfer. I could sell the house on my own or let the company buy it. I didn't need to give my decision for 60 days. I used the realtor that sold it to me and put it on the market. She knew I had the offer coming from the company and said if it was good, take it. From what I could tell, she hadn't put much time into it. The offer came from work. It was pretty close to the listing price, so I took it. I told the realtor and she told me off. How could I do this to her, bla, bla, bla. I reminded her about our discussion and she said the offer wasn't close and she could have gotten me more.

Re: Selling a Home

kitty60 — Thu, 23 Jun 2016 20:25:53 GMT

Remember, realtors are salespeople no matter who they are working for. Ten years ago when we were putting our house on the market to move to another state we first spoke to a women I knew well and then proceeded to speak to others. I think my "friend" thought I would go with her for sure. Other realtors suggested listing for $100,000 more than my "friend." We gave the realtor an incentive of an increased commission if it sold quickly. Yup, it sold in the first 30 days for pretty much what we were asking. I hate doing business with friends.

Re: Selling a Home

151949 — Thu, 23 Jun 2016 20:37:41 GMT

@Mistreatedbycs I found selling our home to be very stressful. Add to that my dentist knows our buyers and he tells me they have backed out of several deals in the past so we just simply decided - with that knowledge ion mind - we would play them along. They got into the habit of dropping by to visit the house and show it to their friends and relatives and we had to put up with that several times - that was while we were living there and attempting to pack our belongings, and it was always at dinner time.Pain in the neck for sure but my DH would constantly remind me that they have our money in their pockets and sometimes you must play the game until you have that cash in your pocket. I was certainly glad when it was all over.

Re: Selling a Home

Mz iMac — Thu, 23 Jun 2016 20:42:18 GMT

@Mistreatedbycs

Re: Selling a Home

DiAnne — Thu, 23 Jun 2016 20:47:23 GMT

Realtors are salesmen or woman just like car salesmen. In fact I have known people that do both. They want to sell at the highest price because they get the higher commisson. You have to make your own decisions. I usually get a home inspection myself when I am going to sell a house. That gives me a good idea what is coming so I know what I will fix and won't fix. Last house I sold the first offer I got was very low and the realtor wanted my to counter but I just said no. The second offer I received was full price and it was the same people.

Re: Selling a Home

orange — Thu, 23 Jun 2016 21:03:26 GMT

I do think it's normal to be cautious of whom you hire to sell your home - it really can be the 'luck of the draw'. To mitigate potential issues I really scoured the reviews on agents and it did help.

Luckily we found a gem - she went to bat for us, stuck to our price with the buyers (she took the cue from us on what we wanted to sell for after presenting her market analysis), was always super respectful and was a top notch negotiator. We consider ourselves very lucky and know there are others not as honorable.

I think interviewing agents is a good thing - but always have a list of questions to ask to gauge whether they'll be a good fit for you.

Things like:

How long have you been in residential real estate sales? Is it your full-time job? What designations or certifications do you hold?

How many homes have you sold in my neighborhood in the past year or two?

How many sellers are you representing now?

What aspects of the transaction will you personally handle and which will be delegated to others?

What is your advertising and marketing plan for my house?

Can you provide me the names and phone numbers of past clients as references?

How often will you communicate with me?

Will you represent me exclusively, or might you also choose to represent the buyer?

Re: Selling a Home

pieman — Thu, 23 Jun 2016 21:04:28 GMT

I just put our home on the market 3 days ago.

Its a victorian style home, 4 bedrooms, 2 full baths.

Formal dining room, Formal sitting room

Huge kitchen w/ granite counter tops/ceramic tile backsplash

Hardwood floors throughout

20x20; deck with perennial gardens and tiered ponds.

Walkup attic that could be the biggest master quarters ever w/front to back views.

New roof, this year.

So, Ms. Agent walks in and says: " we need to empty the house, call Pod Container and have them come and drop in in the driveway"... WTH,,,

Then proceeds to tell me, "I give it 2 weeks with said price, if nothing happens, we have to reduce"... huh????

She then went through the house and started pulling curtains backs/ taking lamps off tables and so on.. I mean this house couldn't have looked more sterile..

Well, she took her pics, never even sent me copies before she put it on the net...

I told her, along with her site, I also wanted Zillow to have the listing, as more people go to Zillow..

OMG, I went on her site the next day and there were the most horrible pics I ever saw, I mean, I wouldn't even give our hope a second thought, if I were a buyer..

I was so angry, I got out my camera/ from QVC and went through my entire home, inside and outside, taking new pics.

I sent the pics to her and simply said,,, "here is what a home looks like"

She never even acted like she got them.

My 3 seasoned porch is beautiful, with Windsor Rockers, fireplace and beautiful plants and stunning sunsets.

The backyard is so pretty, the camera even caught the waterfall actually splashing.

The flowers and shrubs , very colorful...

I agree with the OP , agents do not care about your home, they just want the quick sale,

The agent even told me, I should never set times for showings, meaning, if buyers want to come at 10AM, let them/ 6PM, let them////

Whenever I went to view homes, it was on the weekends,open houses, lunch hours, or between 1-4PM,,, I would never impose on anyones dinner time, after their long day.

Well she had 2 people who wanted to come yesterday at 7PM, I said no.

So, I get an email from her today stating those 2 buyers made an offer on other homes.

I guess I was suppose to feel bad..

Instead I replied back stating " glad they found a house to make their home"

I am getting to the point of telling her , in the words of Donald Trump "You're Fired"

Did you know that agents automatically get over a thousand dollars as soon as you sign the contract? yep, its a fact. So the more people they get to sign on, say 5 in a week, 5 grand, before even selling your home... No wonder they do nothing in selling it. Have you also notice, the agent that signs your home, hardly ever is the one who brings people to it, or sell it?

Thanks for letting me vent,,I'll give this agent, 2 weeks, to see what she "doesn't" do..

Re: Selling a Home

bonnielu — Thu, 23 Jun 2016 21:18:50 GMT

We are not about to sell, but I think about it often... what would happen? how to make it happen? And so many are influenced by HGTV these days.

Fortunately we live in a rural setting. We know our realtors and are a first name, friendly basis and have been so for years.

I would research the values, the prices that like houses sold (The Internet makes this possible) then I would set a fair price. Since I keep up my home and have made some renovations over the last ten or so years I plan to simply hold to my price give or take a few thousand. If they want it, and don't like the color of something, their problem. If it is structural which if will not be (not with all I have done) then they can go elsewhere.

I was sellling my home 12 years ago. One buyer did not like the place I put a table on wheels (on a cart). I kid you not. Situation changed so I withdrew the listing.

Our location is rural but near access to major highways in all directions. We have one of the best school systems in the nation. The cities that we can get to quickly, within an hours have high home prices, double ours AND OUR LOCATION IS IN DEMAND, PRICE AND LOCATION. I would think I would be doing the buyer a favor by selling it to them... and thinking like that works for me since I have had offers and I am not even thinking about the move YET.

Re: Selling a Home

software — Thu, 23 Jun 2016 21:20:30 GMT

Agents automatically get $1,000 to sign a contract from where?

Their employer, the real estate firm?

Tells you something right there, go with an independent.

I don't want a bounty on my head when selling my house.

Strict laws in my state governing real estate transactions, most act very professional, the bad ones get a reputation quick & get weeded out.

Plenty of information on the internet, I mean PLENTY, on questions to ask before you sign, how to know if your realtor is for REAL. etc.

Do your homework. Get referrals. I know every market is different.

Re: Selling a Home

151949 — Thu, 23 Jun 2016 21:20:53 GMT

This will not help the OP but I can't stress enough the importance of getting the right realtor. We had our realtor come over and we sat and discussed with him his "plan of attack" for selling the house. We did emphasize to him that we had already ordered a new house and it was in the process of being built, so it was of primary importance to us to get the house sold. He was so professional and we felt he was very competent so we signed on with him -in the end his partner sold the house to one of his clients so they reduced our fee by 1% because it was an "in house" sale, so we only paid 4%. before we sold he had showed the house at least 2 to 3 times every day, and had some second lookers scheduled. Our realtor started out by having an agents open house so the other agents on the multilist could see the house.