topic Re: Realty question in Community Chat

Realty question

Elom — Fri, 15 Sep 2017 12:58:23 GMT

To all of you who have sold or selling a house, do you hear from your realtor lister regularly or only if they have a showing. I am so flustered by this, I don't hear from my realtor only if I call him. Do they all just list a house put it on realtor.c and Zillow and then wait? Maybe I expect too much? Thanks for any thoughts.

Re: Realty question

faeriemoon — Fri, 15 Sep 2017 13:02:26 GMT

I really think it depends on your agent.

Re: Realty question

ScrapHappy — Fri, 15 Sep 2017 13:08:12 GMT

I sold a house last April 2016. Even though we had a buyer within the first three days of listing ( at first open house), our realtor always kept us up to date by calling and email. She was very good about that, very thorough.

Re: Realty question

CelticCrafter — Fri, 15 Sep 2017 13:14:51 GMT

When I listed my parents house I went with a highly recommended realtor and I heard nothing from him, ever. Not a showing, not an open house, nothing. I had signed a 6 month contract that I was able to get out of because of his lack of interest.

I relisted with another agent and it was sold the first weekend.

Re: Realty question

qualitygal — Fri, 15 Sep 2017 13:52:24 GMT

Keep in contact with them. Two family home experiences have taught us this. They post on line now, and set back and wait for things to happen. If you want an open house, set it up for your realtor to do. Realtors don't always call back when you want them to.

Re: Realty question

novamc1 — Fri, 15 Sep 2017 14:04:32 GMT

There's an old saying that goes something like this........"I'd rather be someone's second Realtor and the third spouse". By then, all paries will have learned some lessons, grown up and matured, or are just ready to quit failing at what they attempt.

Often the second agent to list a particular home doesn't work any more magic or marketing skill than the first one did, but buyers and their agents tend to think the seller who has relisted with someone else has "finally" gotten serious about selling and the buyer thus could get a better bargain on the property.

What I found is that the second Realtor often has a better chance of convincing the seller to price the property more appropriately than the first one did, if overpricing was the reason it didn't sell.

It might not have been the first agent's fault that the house didn't sell.........it could have been the seller's fault (and there are many mistakes that sellers can make to sabotage their sale). Perhaps now the seller is ready to turn over a new leaf and can accept the advice being given--even if it's the very same advice he was given the first time by someone else.

There isn't much excuse, however, for an agent who doesn't keep in touch regularly with sellers to update them on buyer and agent feedback about the home, changes in the local market and their competition, etc.

Re: Realty question

Puppy Lips — Fri, 15 Sep 2017 15:26:39 GMT

@Limbo4now wrote:
To all of you who have sold or selling a house, do you hear from your realtor lister regularly or only if they have a showing. I am so flustered by this, I don't hear from my realtor only if I call him. Do they all just list a house put it on realtor.c and Zillow and then wait? Maybe I expect too much? Thanks for any thoughts.

I have sold two homes and we just got done selling my mother's home. Your realtor should keep in contact with you, even if there is not much to say. They can tell you other homes that have sold in the area, or phone calls they have received on your listing. Too many realtors just list the home and wait for something to happen -- those are the lazy ones. Anyone can post pictures online with a description and selling price. A good realtor has to go above and beyond that to get your home sold. That is the only way I think they truly deserve the commsion they get.

Re: Realty question

silkyk — Fri, 15 Sep 2017 15:34:03 GMT

The last time we sold a house we called all the local realtors (quite a few!) and told them we were going to sell. We then had a day they could come by and look at the house (moved out and painted and cleaned etc) and give us their best info. That was fun....they al showed up (giving each other the hairy eyeball lol) and gave us their best shot (how much they thought we should ask and what % they were planing to take..... you can negotiate their commission ) and we settled with the one we liked best with great local recs and sold for way more than we anticipated....real estate where the house was is totally crazy and we had a bidding war. We were very happy doing it this way instead of just talking to one realtor.. Competition gets you a better salesman, deal and more $ in your pocket. Oh and we heard from them almost daily.They wanted to sell our house! If you are not getting good service change when your listing expires with this guy. Talk to other realtors. Good luck!

Re: Realty question

LonestarBabs — Fri, 15 Sep 2017 15:45:16 GMT

Any realtor who considers themselves a true professional will be communicative.

My sister just put her house on the market with a young "hip" realtor who got the house on some fancy video site w/music and 360 panaromas of each room. Took days for him to get it on MLS sites. Never put a sign in the front yard. Didn't keep in touch. Got an offer early, but days before closing the buyers walked away. Sister insisted realtor put up a yard sign. Lots of drive-by traffic with multiple showings. Many people said "we had no idea your house was for sale -- there was no yard sign!" New buyers saw house from street, offered above asking, deal has gone through.

I worked with a realtor who had been in business for many years. Red hot market, didn't have to do much but used traditional methods. She kept in touch.

It depends on the agent, as others have said.

Re: Realty question

Rockycoast — Fri, 15 Sep 2017 15:46:32 GMT

We have bought/sold 4 houses using RE agents. Not a one of them deserved their commission imo. That is why when we downsize, we are selling FSBO. From not returning phone calls, not getting feed back when there was a showing. Missing scheduled showings, Lying, lack of integrity. I could go on and on. No, you are not expecting too much to hear from your realtor. It is what they should be doing. They are the supposed professionals.

Re: Realty question

MomCat — Fri, 15 Sep 2017 15:53:28 GMT

Recently sold two different properties back to back. The first one was listed with a highly recommended Realtor. Awful experience. Very little contact. The second was listed with a friend of a friend. She kept in contact on a regular basis, but it was a very slow sale. To be honest, I didn't care for either of these people's listing styles. I think all the Internet involvement has contributed to laziness among agents. Frustrating.

Re: Realty question

chrystaltree — Fri, 15 Sep 2017 17:22:48 GMT

It depends on the realtor you chose and what you told him you expected from him.

Re: Realty question

Azcowgirl — Fri, 15 Sep 2017 19:30:59 GMT

@Elom

We've sold several houses most in pretty hot markets luckily, with the exception of one that took three summers. The realtor stuck a sign in the yard, put us in the MLS, then sat back and waited. I was dissatisfied with the lack of marketing and communication, however she was good about letting repair people in when we had pipes freeze and squirrel damage, and she mailed an item to me that I had forgotten to take when we moved, so I appreciated her help since it was an out of state vacation home.

My recommendation would be, search top selling agents in your area. I did that with the last home sale, and got a Cracker Jack agent ! She was fantastic, super motivated, and got us an immediate sale.

Re: Realty question

kivah — Fri, 15 Sep 2017 23:16:31 GMT

I was a realtor in from 1987 - 1990 in southern California. I mostly listed houses. Listings go into the MLS (multiple listing service) so other realtors will have access to it and show the house. Sometimes the listing agent doesn't have buyers who would be interested in ur house - that's how it works - but, I always kept in contact with my sellers - at least weekly. Otherwise, they think I forgot them. Open Houses are mostly for the benefit of the listing agent so he/she could find buyers (or other listings). Homes rarely sell from an open house.

It's important to have a caravan - held Friday morning in the area I worked - where several realtors from the same offices check out new listings. You want REALTORS to see the house - so they can show it clients who may be interested. It also helps if ur realtor has drinks/pastries available during the caravan - it definitely helps.

Re: Realty question

Elom — Sun, 17 Sep 2017 00:22:01 GMT

An update. I read all your thoughts and advice and called my Realtor today. Bottom line he said it all comes down to price and in talking he said it's better for me to leave when showing house. my husband and I sold houses through our marriage and never was this such an issue. Any excuse but I am having him give me the price at which he feels I should go. Nothing but good feedback from any looker. So frustrating!

Re: Realty question

Poodlepet2 — Sun, 17 Sep 2017 21:15:31 GMT

@MomCat, I hear you loud and clear....in fact, yes, the internet has made life easier for agents...people -if you can believe this, especially foreign nationals, are buying homes in the million plus range on the basis of these virtual tours offered. They appoint a trustee to be at the property inspection-done deal.

I think selling property is a matter of timing and demand-and that plays heavily into the game.

I have dealt with many realators: not all are created equally-but once again, you have to consider the demand in your area....

The biggest thing we look for? We don't want somebody who is working both sides of the coin-acting as a buyers and sellers agent.

Apparently that can be done with commercial property in Florida-and it stinks.

Poodlepet2

Re: Realty question

DiAnne — Sun, 17 Sep 2017 21:47:30 GMT

Your realtor should keep in contact with you. How fast your home sells depends on supply and demand. If you live in a sought after area you may end up with bidding wars. The housing market is hot right now in the Seattle area and prices are very high. I get offers in the mail weekly to sell. Realtors have always told me that open houses do not work but the last three houses I have bought have all been from open houses so I question that.