Real Estate Agent: What should I expect?

Nice place! Looks like you guys have it looking good and ready to sell, no clutter, neat and clean. How many open houses have you had?

Your agent should definitely be in close contact. I remember our agent touching base with us a few times a week letting us know he was setting up showings, open houses, etc. I really got the impression he was working hard to sell our place and he must have done something right as we sold our place in about a month, and that was in 2008 right after the market crashed and burned.

Thanks man, we appreciate it! We've had one open house and the feedback from all the realtors is that they all thought it was a nice house and really wouldn't change anything, they just thought it was too expensive. We DID drop the price, so maybe it'll take a couple of weeks for people to see it's dropped. We're concerned that people will just wait since we've constantly been dropping it thinking we're desperate (which we kind of are).

Man, I wouldn't know what to do with myself if ours sold that quick, lol.

And everyone, thanks so much for the advice, it's been the second most stressful situation I've ever been in. The new place was just something we couldn't say no to given interest rates/location/amenities. As far as I'm concerned, the house we're living in now is my dream house and thanks to an ultra low rate, we're going to be paying LESS on this house than the old one.

For the record open houses actually better the agent then your property. It is a way for them to harvest more clients.

How about this?

Ask her to lower her side of the commission say it is 6% she will give 4 to the buyers agent and keep 2 for herself. She could have a open house for agents only and tell them about the incentive.

In the end it comes down to price, location and demand. At your price point the real rain maker real estate agents are not going to help you. They are too busy with their multimillion dollar proprieties.

S10 had a good suggestion I dump her and then wait a bit and re-list at a new price this way your DOM will be back to zero and you be listed as NEW on the MLS. Don't expect your new agent to be lights out but at least you will be at a fresh start. Also interview 4 or 5 different agents and ask them their strategy to sell your home then pick the best one. It is a interview for them.

Honestly if the rental market is good in your area I rent it out.

I have multiply rental properties and I have done very well by it. Just be very selective about who you choose. Then at the end of the lease re-evaluate your market and decide if you should sell or rent again.

For the record open houses actually better the agent then your property. It is a way for them to harvest more clients.

How about this?

Ask her to lower her side of the commission say it is 6% she will give 4 to the buyers agent and keep 2 for herself. She could have a open house for agents only and tell them about the incentive.

In the end it comes down to price, location and demand. At your price point the real rain maker real estate agents are not going to help you. They are too busy with their multimillion dollar proprieties.

S10 had a good suggestion I dump her and then wait a bit and re-list at a new price this way your DOM will be back to zero and you be listed as NEW on the MLS. Don't expect your new agent to be lights out but at least you will be at a fresh start. Also interview 4 or 5 different agents and ask them their strategy to sell your home then pick the best one. It is a interview for them.

Why in the world would she do that?

Why in the world would she do that?

Because she ain't making jack now.

I have gotten agents to lower their rates many times to get a deal done. Both on the buyer and seller side. That rate is completely negotiable.

Would you rather 3% of $0 or 2% of $200,000?


I am assuming you know this but some might not know. 6% is their commission rate generally the rule is 3% to buyer's agent and 3% to the seller's agent. I am just asking her to give up a point/percent to make the deal happen. Maybe if a buyers agent see's they are giving 4% at that house more clients will be pushed towards that house.

Honestly if the rental market is good in your area I rent it out.

I have multiply rental properties and I have done very well by it. Just be very selective about who you choose. Then at the end of the lease re-evaluate your market and decide if you should sell or rent again.


I agree with the above. Have you checked to see what the rentals are going for in that area and would it cover enough or all of the mortgage? If that would work it would probably be a good idea to list the home as For Sale or rental. There is a good chance that your home in the country will be the next best thing from living in the city down the road. Also remember the listing agent is the one who does the advertising so how is the home advertised? If you have only had two people look at the home in the past 3 months your agent might not be pushing the sale, its over priced, or your location is not desired. My guess is a combination of the first two and the agent knows that so they are not spending the time need to try and sell your home (they like the easy sales first then give attention to the tougher sales). My guess is if you pulled the listing from her she will not care because she knows its a tougher deal and if she finds a buyer she would still make a commision and not have to put in the extra effort.

It very well may be a location issue. Not everybody wants to live out in the country. Nice location and view though.

I don't really have any sound advice to be honest...but damn, you must have some kick ass football games on your lawn there

It very well may be a location issue. Not everybody wants to live out in the country. Nice location and view though.

It could be but there is got be a price to make it desirable.

Here off the top of my head make it a bit undesirable (no offense to OP)

Location
to far out from town; no real neighborhood (family's with kids); 2 acres (which is nice but lots of maint.)
I am assuming septic and well water

I think the ideal client for this home is a recent empty Nester. They want down size but don't want be in neighborhood with a bunch of kids or a HOA. Another plus for them is everything is on the first floor. They got be old enough to have adult children but young enough to still maintain the land.

Honestly if the rental market is good in your area I rent it out.

I have multiply rental properties and I have done very well by it. Just be very selective about who you choose. Then at the end of the lease re-evaluate your market and decide if you should sell or rent again.

We actually can't rent it out. The university I work at does our mortgages and if we rent it, they say we either have to refinance with someone else or pay them back, so that's not an option unfortunately. I really like the idea of pulling it for a while and going back with someone else. We've started lining up agents we like and are going to interview them soon because our contract with our current agent runs out in a month. Is it in bad taste to go with someone in the same firm?