Update to "So Mad!"

kara_leigh · Oct 11, 2010

So, DH called our agent today to get clarification on what happened with the people coming into our house without our permission on Friday while I was in surgery. Come to find out that our agent got calls from TWO different agents wanting to show our house that morning. He told both of them he needed to call us first, and got a hold of DH while I was in surgery. Our agent called the second agent back and told them "no go", but FORGOT to call the first one and she just assumed it was okay for her to go ahead and go in. So, it's 1/2 his fault and 1/2 theirs. The other agent said that it is their policy to assume yes unless they hear no, and our agent told them that he had specifically said "no, unless I call back and say yes."

Well, we have a decision to make now. Our contract/listing is up with our current agent this week. We have to decide whether to stay with him or find a new agent and start a new listing. Half of me feels bad (b/c it's in my nature) for dropping him, but on the other hand I don't b/c he hasn't really done much to sell our house or anything really in the way of marketing. We've had TONS of showings (upwards of 20) which is GREAT, but we don't feel he is really "selling" our house b/c you'd think in that many showings someone would have put in an offer if he was really doing his job. I guess not that he's not doing his job, but it's more like he's just sitting back waiting, hoping someone will like the house, rather than trying to sell it for us. I don't know.

We were told that he was a great agent and sales person (my father is in real estate/new home construction/land development and the referral was from him, as this agent sells my father's homes and seems to do a good job...but new homes are different than pre existing). Since we already have a contract on another home which is contingent on the sale of our home, we really need an AGGRESSIVE sales agent that will do more than just list our house, but we don't really know how to go about finding one. I've tried word of mouth, but I'm not getting far. I'm just frustrated!

As for now, though...our screen door will remain locked at all times to prevent unauthorized access to the lock box. We will unlock it when we get prior notification of a showing, otherwise they won't be able to get in. We have no other choice at this point as we don't really trust our agent to stand by us anymore. *sigh*

ldg · Oct 11, 2010

Sounds like keeping the screen door locked is the thing to do.

I don't know what to suggest about your RE agent. I do know the market right now is insanely difficult in most places. I looked up Omaha - here's a link:

http://www.npdodge.com/freemarketreports.cfm

Bottom line is, the number of homes for sale has gone up in one year from 5,180 to 6,044 - that's a rise of 17%. But the number of homes selling has fallen from 935 to 613 - that's a drop of 34%. The best agent in the world is having a really hard time right now.

!!!!!!

cheshirecat · Oct 11, 2010

I think that you should address these concerns with the current agent before signing on for another term.

But he/she must be doing something if it is showing. When I sold my last condo (it was 5 years ago and a good market) I had over 64 showings before I got one offer.

I don't know how much was a result of the agent doing her job but some weeks I had showings every day, some times 2 a day. And at the time I had already signed a contract to buy the condo I was moving to.

Does this agent give you any feed back on what people don't like? Do they comment on anything that you can easily change?

My agent was very good about giving me suggestions that were easy to do and she was nice about them.

The first agent that I had talked to made me feel like my house was so bad that it would take tons of work to get it ready to list for sale.

The agent I signed with made me feel much better and she listed it the next day.

kara_leigh · Oct 11, 2010

Originally Posted by CheshireCat

I think that you should address these concerns with the current agent before signing on for another term.

But he/she must be doing something if it is showing. When I sold my last condo (it was 5 years ago and a good market) I had over 64 showings before I got one offer.

I don't know how much was a result of the agent doing her job but some weeks I had showings every day, some times 2 a day. And at the time I had already signed a contract to buy the condo I was moving to.

Does this agent give you any feed back on what people don't like? Do they comment on anything that you can easily change?

My agent was very good about giving me suggestions that were easy to do and she was nice about them.

The first agent that I had talked to made me feel like my house was so bad that it would take tons of work to get it ready to list for sale.

The agent I signed with made me feel much better and she listed it the next day.

We've asked him over and over again about feedback, and the only thing he ever says is that people comment that it is only a 3br and not a 4br (which it is stated right in the listing that it is a 3br, so it shouldn't be a shock) and that we back up to a busy road (but you can't see the traffic due to the way our yard is layed out, nor can you hear the traffic unless you open ALL the windows). Neither of these we can control. Other than that he won't give us any feedback. We've asked him if he would suggest any changes and he says no. You can see pictures of our house in the "pictures of our houses" thread on page 4, and it is pretty modern and well kept, so I don't think there is much more we can do on the inside.

We had one couple that was ready to put in an offer on the spot, but the wife thought we didn't have enough kitchen cabinets. Again, something we couldn't control. Another family would have put in an offer if they could get the basement finished for what we were already asking....YEAH RIGHT!!

ldg · Oct 11, 2010

Around here, homes are typically selling at a 20% - 30% discount to the listing price these days, unless they are in absolute pristine condition with basically new everything.

kara_leigh · Oct 11, 2010

Originally Posted by LDG

Around here, homes are typically selling at a 20% - 30% discount to the listing price these days, unless they are in absolute pristine condition with basically new everything.

We took that into consideration but we aren't finishing our basement and giving it away. Finishing our basement would cost $50k+. If we had a full finished basement, we'd be asking for A LOT more than we are now. Our house is basically new everything, it is only 4 years old, compared to ALL of the rest of the houses in our neighborhood which are at least 10-20 years old. We bought one of the two remaining lots in the neighborhood from my father, so they won't find a house even close to this new/modern in our neighborhood. We're actually priced under the build cost of the house, so whoever buys our house is getting a really good deal even at full price.

Primula · Oct 11, 2010

Originally Posted by kara_leigh

Since we already have a contract on another home which is contingent on the sale of our home, we really need an AGGRESSIVE sales agent that will do more than just list our house

I think you've answered your own question. Time is of the essence. Surely your father could recommend someone else?

kara_leigh · Oct 11, 2010

My mother and father are part of the reason we are moving, and they don't want us to move so far away so they are doing as little as possible to help us...which means pretty much nothing. We've asked his help and advice multiple times but get nothing in return. Oh well. We're big kids.

cruisermaiden · Oct 11, 2010

If you don't trust your agent to have your best interest in mind, find another agent! Something as important as selling your house should not be left to someone you don't trust.

We haven't sold a house, but when we were buying this one our buyer's agent asked us after EVERY viewing what we liked and didn't like about the house and passed that on to the seller's agent. In some cases we found out later that the seller had taken our suggestions and changed whatever it was.

I always felt uncomfortable viewing houses that people were still living in, even though they weren't home. It felt awkward for me to be opening closets and peeking into things when it was still someone else's home. And I had difficulty viewing my own things there instead of theirs. I know this is something you can't help but possibly you should discuss it with your agent to see if maybe removing more personal items or packing some things into storage might help the selling process?

Best of luck!

kara_leigh · Oct 11, 2010

Originally Posted by CruiserMaiden

I always felt uncomfortable viewing houses that people were still living in, even though they weren't home. It felt awkward for me to be opening closets and peeking into things when it was still someone else's home. And I had difficulty viewing my own things there instead of theirs. I know this is something you can't help but possibly you should discuss it with your agent to see if maybe removing more personal items or packing some things into storage might help the selling process?

Best of luck!

Thanks!! We have packed or gotten rid of everything down to the bare bones. We have absolutely NO personal items around, no pictures, knick nacks, etcs. In our living room is our sofa, a chair, our tv and our dvds. Our bedroom has our bed and dressers. Same goes for all rooms. I'm not sure what else more we can do in that regard.

3catsn1dog · Oct 12, 2010

I hope you find a better agent. It sounds like your current guy is a doofus. Even though the housing market isnt the greatest but its still gotta be possible to sell a newer house.

capt_jordi · Oct 12, 2010

a lot of things that scare people away from a house are stuff that the owners cannot help. Gary and I fell in love with a house that had a very large 2 car garage 3 huge rooms, mudroom, and was a very great price with a lot of room to fix it up for resell in the future. But as we were there, the neighbors were outside yelling at each other, and almost every car that stopped at the stop sign in front of the house squealed the tires before pulling out. Needless to say that was a no! And honestly we would have made an offer right then if it wasnt for that!
Busy roads scare people because of the noise, the pollution, and the safety.

Also I'm sure you know kitchens and baths sell a house! You may want to watch the tv show sweat equity sometime! A lot of the episodes are fairly small repairs that can be done to a house over the course of a weekend but it can really up your selling cost or chances of selling!

Also the photos you posted are the ones he took for the selling? They are often from the point of the room that makes the room look much smaller than it actually is! You may want to look into an agent that does a)a virtual tour and b)professional photos. Both can be a huge selling point on the internet and that can get more into your home!

cheshirecat · Oct 12, 2010

Originally Posted by kara_leigh

We've asked him over and over again about feedback, and the only thing he ever says is that people comment that it is only a 3br and not a 4br (which it is stated right in the listing that it is a 3br, so it shouldn't be a shock) and that we back up to a busy road (but you can't see the traffic due to the way our yard is layed out, nor can you hear the traffic unless you open ALL the windows). Neither of these we can control. Other than that he won't give us any feedback. We've asked him if he would suggest any changes and he says no. You can see pictures of our house in the "pictures of our houses" thread on page 4, and it is pretty modern and well kept, so I don't think there is much more we can do on the inside.

We had one couple that was ready to put in an offer on the spot, but the wife thought we didn't have enough kitchen cabinets. Again, something we couldn't control. Another family would have put in an offer if they could get the basement finished for what we were already asking....YEAH RIGHT!!

I looked at the pictures of your house. It's very nice. If this is the only thing the guy can come up with I'd say ditch him. If people are looking for 4br and he is showing the 3 that's his error not yours.

The thing I heard the most was "too close to the road" and "it needs paint". There was nothing I could do about the road. And the paint was the same neutral that it was built with. I was moving because getting up and down the stairs was too much for me. No way was I able to paint.

In the end I had someone come in and scrub all the walls. I had an offer and sold it the next week.

Originally Posted by kara_leigh

My mother and father are part of the reason we are moving, and they don't want us to move so far away so they are doing as little as possible to help us...which means pretty much nothing. We've asked his help and advice multiple times but get nothing in return. Oh well. We're big kids.

Ohhhh now I see. They don't want you to move but your father recommended the agent. He may be good but probably is not doing his job because he could loose future business from your father.

In this case you need a change. You need to find someone who wants to work for you.

kara_leigh · Oct 12, 2010

Originally Posted by capt_jordi

a lot of things that scare people away from a house are stuff that the owners cannot help. Gary and I fell in love with a house that had a very large 2 car garage 3 huge rooms, mudroom, and was a very great price with a lot of room to fix it up for resell in the future. But as we were there, the neighbors were outside yelling at each other, and almost every car that stopped at the stop sign in front of the house squealed the tires before pulling out. Needless to say that was a no! And honestly we would have made an offer right then if it wasnt for that!

See, we've had people comment about the loud barking dog next door to us. That's part of the reason we confronted her about it after 4.5 years putting up with it. It has worked so far, though, b/c we've only heard the dog bark a couple times and it has stopped right away.

Busy roads scare people because of the noise, the pollution, and the safety.

The road behind our house is only noisy if you actually go outside or have ALL of the windows open. When we built our house we put extra insulation in so even if you turn all noise producing things off (tv, radio, fans, etc), if all the windows are closed you can't hear a single thing. When we moved in we didn't really notice it too much, and maybe now we are just used to it b/c we don't hear it at all anymore. Safety isn't really an issue b/c we are in the middle of the block with a 6 foot privacy fence behind us. You'd have to go all the way down the block and around the houses to actually get to the traffic.

Also I'm sure you know kitchens and baths sell a house! You may want to watch the tv show sweat equity sometime! A lot of the episodes are fairly small repairs that can be done to a house over the course of a weekend but it can really up your selling cost or chances of selling!

Really the only thing we could do to our kitchen that hasn't already been done is put in granite counter tops and stainless steel appliances (which hubby told me as we are going through this process that getting SS appliances would have cost the same as the white ones when we built the house...I could have SLAPPED him!!), neither of which we can afford, not even a little. Otherwise our kitchen is fairly updated.

Also the photos you posted are the ones he took for the selling? They are often from the point of the room that makes the room look much smaller than it actually is! You may want to look into an agent that does a)a virtual tour and b)professional photos. Both can be a huge selling point on the internet and that can get more into your home!

Being a photographer (not sure why he refused to use any of the pictures I'VE taken of our house) I am not happy at all with the pictures he used for the listing. I agree that they make the rooms look much smaller than they really are, and plus he skipped a bunch of the "key" selling points of our home. We have a powder room with a glass vessel sink and granite counter top that almost everyone loves when they come through the house, but he says "bathrooms don't sell in listings". He also didn't show the almost floor to celieng (13 foot!) windows in our living room (didn't show the living room at all really), and I think our master bath is a huge selling point but he only put one really crappy picture up with it, and you can't really see the huge whirlpool tub or the fact that we have a double vanity or that we have special "waterfall" glass disk faucets on them...you can't really see at all the double shower with two seats in it that is in a separate room from the tub and sinks with the toilet. Not to mention the HUGE walk in closet with custom shelving that my husband built himself. He doesn't have any pictures of our back yard either, which I think is a good selling point. Oh, don't forget the huge laundry room...or, or, or.... I guess it just makes me mad. lol I'll stop ranting now. haha

kara_leigh · Oct 12, 2010

Originally Posted by CheshireCat

The thing I heard the most was "too close to the road" and "it needs paint". There was nothing I could do about the road. And the paint was the same neutral that it was built with. I was moving because getting up and down the stairs was too much for me. No way was I able to paint.

In the end I had someone come in and scrub all the walls. I had an offer and sold it the next week.

Right before we listed the house we actually painted almost all of the walls (at least the ones that needed it). We had kept the left over paint when we built the house, so it was easy. Then I go through each week and scrub off any finger prints or whatnot that have made their way to the walls. lol

Ohhhh now I see. They don't want you to move but your father recommended the agent. He may be good but probably is not doing his job because he could loose future business from your father.

In this case you need a change. You need to find someone who wants to work for you.

See, I think I'm to this point. I want someone different and more aggressive. The problem is I have NO clue how to go about that. I don't want to just pick someone and end up with someone worse than our current agent is. You know??

capt_jordi · Oct 13, 2010

Originally Posted by kara_leigh

See, we've had people comment about the loud barking dog next door to us. That's part of the reason we confronted her about it after 4.5 years putting up with it. It has worked so far, though, b/c we've only heard the dog bark a couple times and it has stopped right away.

The road behind our house is only noisy if you actually go outside or have ALL of the windows open. When we built our house we put extra insulation in so even if you turn all noise producing things off (tv, radio, fans, etc), if all the windows are closed you can't hear a single thing. When we moved in we didn't really notice it too much, and maybe now we are just used to it b/c we don't hear it at all anymore. Safety isn't really an issue b/c we are in the middle of the block with a 6 foot privacy fence behind us. You'd have to go all the way down the block and around the houses to actually get to the traffic.

Really the only thing we could do to our kitchen that hasn't already been done is put in granite counter tops and stainless steel appliances (which hubby told me as we are going through this process that getting SS appliances would have cost the same as the white ones when we built the house...I could have SLAPPED him!!), neither of which we can afford, not even a little. Otherwise our kitchen is fairly updated.

Being a photographer (not sure why he refused to use any of the pictures I'VE taken of our house) I am not happy at all with the pictures he used for the listing. I agree that they make the rooms look much smaller than they really are, and plus he skipped a bunch of the "key" selling points of our home. We have a powder room with a glass vessel sink and granite counter top that almost everyone loves when they come through the house, but he says "bathrooms don't sell in listings". He also didn't show the almost floor to celieng (13 foot!) windows in our living room (didn't show the living room at all really), and I think our master bath is a huge selling point but he only put one really crappy picture up with it, and you can't really see the huge whirlpool tub or the fact that we have a double vanity or that we have special "waterfall" glass disk faucets on them...you can't really see at all the double shower with two seats in it that is in a separate room from the tub and sinks with the toilet. Not to mention the HUGE walk in closet with custom shelving that my husband built himself. He doesn't have any pictures of our back yard either, which I think is a good selling point. Oh, don't forget the huge laundry room...or, or, or.... I guess it just makes me mad. lol I'll stop ranting now. haha

Holy cow!! Why would he not include that?! Those are HUGE selling points, and by not having them on the listing Id say a lot are just over looking your house and going for another with more pictures! House hunting is such a pain in the butt and I know we decided against a few based on pictures alone and then we went to a few that looked MUUUUCCCHHH better in pictures than in real life! LOL!
Id say its time to ditch him! Good luck finding a new agent!

goldenkitty45 · Oct 13, 2010

Unfortunatly right now its a BUYER's market and you can be pretty picky in what you want or don't want. I would address the concerns you have, but like others said - he's had a lot of showings and its very tough to "sell" houses no matter where you are.

The right person will come along. Maybe consider lowering the price or compromise in other areas (closing costs, etc.) as much as you can to get a few bids in.

I wish you luck. If we were buying, we would be pretty picky and not settle knowing there are plenty of houses on the market right now.

ONE other little hint in selling.

For women - a house will sell if she is in love with the kitchen!
For men - a house will sell if he's in love with the garage or basement!

kara_leigh · Oct 13, 2010

Originally Posted by GoldenKitty45

The right person will come along. Maybe consider lowering the price or compromise in other areas (closing costs, etc.) as much as you can to get a few bids in.

In our area we already pay all closing costs, and our agent has advised us over and over again AGAINST dropping our price b/c he insists it is the right price, we just have to wait for the right buyer.

ONE other little hint in selling.

For women - a house will sell if she is in love with the kitchen!
For men - a house will sell if he's in love with the garage or basement!

We've got the garage going for us...it's a 4 car (2 car standard with a 2 car drive through...garage door on front AND back side of house...tandem) with full insulation, gas and 220, plus we're throwing in a gas heater b/c it won't work on our new house. It also has high ceilings, etc, etc. The garage is usually what gets most people to our house.

As said previously, I'm not sure what else we can do with the kitchen at this point.

Primula · Oct 13, 2010

Originally Posted by CheshireCat

Ohhhh now I see. They don't want you to move but your father recommended the agent. He may be good but probably is not doing his job because he could loose future business from your father. .

I was going to post the exact same thought today!

Ladies, what Kara needs help with is finding another agent. Doesn't anyone know how she could go about doing this? I'm racking my brains, but I have no clue how she would go about doing this.

darkmavis · Oct 13, 2010

Well, I know when BF and were looking at houses several months ago, I did most of the internet searching and then showed BF, and if he liked them, we told our agent which ones we wanted to see. Photos were huge. If a house had little to no photos, I wondered why.. like "Hmm, I guess it must be in bad shape if they only have 1 inside photo.." There were very few houses we looked at where the photos weren't too great.

On the opposite hand, I think if there had been a photo of the pink bathroom in our house, we might not have gone to see it!

Nah, actually the lead photo on the listing wasn't even of the front of the house, it was the spacious living room area with hardwood floors and built-in book shelves. That drew us right to it, and we ended up loving it, and eventually getting it!

As for finding another agent, can't you ask friends who they have worked with? When we were looking, we got a referral from the real estate office I used to work at, but so many friends kept telling us "Hey, my realtor was great, if yours doesn't work out, let me know." Ask people at work, ask neighbors, ask friends for a referral.

And.... good luck!

**Update** to "So Mad!"

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Update to "So Mad!"