Selling a Home

Mistreatedbycs · ‎03-10-2010

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.

Mominohio · ‎08-08-2010

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.

Goldengate8361 · ‎01-27-2014

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.

Annabellethecat66 · ‎03-12-2010

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.

AKgirl2 · ‎05-24-2016

@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:/

WSfan · ‎03-09-2010

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.

123SuzyQ123 · ‎03-09-2010

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!

Mistreatedbycs · ‎03-10-2010

...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".

mimilucy · ‎10-31-2015

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.