What can we realistically expect from a realtor?

[ellery]

We haven't really decided what we're going to do if this place sells, but we did, as of 10 days ago, put our little condo on the market. I haven't been involved in selling a house since 2002, when mine sold in 3 hours (my realtor sold it to one of his clients). So I'm not really clear on what I can expect of a realtor and want to make sure I'm being realistic. We have one right now but I have two concerns.

1) My impression of our realtor is that basically he's going to let the MLS listing do the work for him. He explained that the market is pretty slow this time of year and he expects to get more inquiries after the first of the year. I didn't hear anything about his plans to hold any open houses, do any fliers/postcards, or any marketing on this place. I recognize that this villa is geared more towards someone buying a vacation rental property (we live in a resort area), but shouldn't he be doing something besides wait for inquiries?

2) The realtor's initial hope was to sell our place to clients he was already working with. He told us (after the fact) that he'd taken some pictures of the inside and outside of the villa and emailed them to his clients. They ended up offering a ridiculously low price and that deal has failed. As an afterthought, I emailed the realtor and asked if I could see the pictures he'd taken, as he intended to use them on the MLS listing. Um, if I'd seen these pics I would have lowballed us on price too. Mind you, we're not messy people, but we do actually live in our villa full time with a 2 year old. The pictures he took included an unmade bed, a few dishes in the sink (drying sippee cups), the fleet of DS's cars, trucks and tractors, etc. The place looked like a dump! (to the unfamiliar eye) So I took more pictures of the inside (minus unmade bed and kids toys) and emailed them to him, which he's now using on the MLS listing. As another afterthought, I searched in vain for our listing on MLS. After exchanging emails with the realtor, I finally realized that our villa was listed incorrectly (wrong # of bedrooms and baths - pretty big deal in a vacation villa) and with a little nagging (realtor had told us more than a week ago that he'd fix this) he eventually corrected the MLS listing today.

So my concerns are that #1 he doesn't seem to be planning on doing anything proactive to sell the unit and #2 he's not big on details and/or lazy. To send pictures of a messy house to a prospective buyer seems pretty self sabotaging.

But I'm not sure what I can expect of a realtor in this market, which is clearly a buyer's market. Is this pretty par for the course?

Thanks,
Leah

[lantana]

So...the realtor makes a percentage when your place is sold, right? And he makes a profit when his client buys? He stands to benefit at least once from a sale?

This guy sounds lazy. How could he possibly publish photos of your place that showed it in any manner except at its best? He is supposed to be trying to sell it for you? Economy or not, I think he is telling your place "I'm not that into you." Can you get someone else?

[blazedog]

Taking pictures of a messy house is pretty ridiculous -- to say the least.

How long is your exclusive contract with the guy?

I think many people research homes on the web so I would say that the most critical element would be having some great photos up on the internet which are easily accessed by people looking for homes in your area. I am not sure how they are set up so that they appear in search engines but a realtor should be completely conversant with how to drive traffic to your listing.

A broker's caravan is also generally done -- one with food to attract brokers.

Other than that I have heard mixed stuff about other marketing techniques. For example, my friend the realtor says that open houses are more helpful to the realtor in terms of finding prospective clients than in terms of selling the unit being shown.

[Robyncz]

I can't speak to your location, but that is absolutely NOT par for the course where I live. Sure there are bad realtors, but a good realtor is marketing your house to sell.

Did you sign a contract with this guy? If so, WHY?

If not, DON'T! Look at some other listings in your area and see who is selling properties. See who is marketing their properties to move. Whose photos and brochures look great?

The guy you describe sounds like an unprofessional goofball.

[DanaSD]

Yes, they should do more than just a MLS listing. And even with a MLS listing there is a lot you can do with good photos and photo tours.

There are open houses, realtor caravan tours, ads, and advice on how to stage your house. If you want a basic MLS listing you can use on of those helpusell type places for a lower commission.

You should interview several realtors (if you haven't already signed a contract) to see what they say they will do for you.

Make sure he's not holding your property to sell to his clients so he gets double commission.

[ChristyMarie]

Um, I'd fire him.

He sounds like he doesn't expect this to sell until at least next year so he isn't going to put any effort into it. Find someone who is hungry and excited for a sale.

[Trishinomaha]

Ellery:

I am a licensed Associate Real Estate Broker with a company here in Omaha, NE. I don't sell real estate (I'm a salaried Relocation Director) but I work with real estate agents everyday. Hopefully you didn't sign a long-term listing agreement because this agent really doesn't sound like he's working for his commission. I always recommend to my friends that they interview two or three agents and ask to see their marketing plan for the house (all of our best agents have marketing plans that are actually written down that they use and can describe and leave with the potential client to review). Many of our agents use professional photographers that know specifically how to take house photos and show the property in it's best light. It might cost a few hundred dollars but most agents know that's the cost of doing business and it's well worth it for a great presentation. I would also ask to speak to past clients. There are several websites he needs to be advertising this home on. Many of them are geared specifically towards vacation type properties. The cost is minimal and the payoff can be big as it's been proven 85% of buyers go to the Internet first when they're searching for a new home. I would have a serious talk with him and ask to see a specific written market plan and give him an actual date when you want to get together and see it. If you can't get any satisfaction call his broker or broker-manager and talk with him about the situation. If all that fails, you can cancel your listing agreement and interview some other agencies in your area and find someone who will work for you!

[TieKitty]

Originally Posted by Trishinomaha

Ellery:

I am a licensed Associate Real Estate Broker with a company here in Omaha, NE. I don't sell real estate (I'm a salaried Relocation Director) but I work with real estate agents everyday. Hopefully you didn't sign a long-term listing agreement because this agent really doesn't sound like he's working for his commission. I always recommend to my friends that they interview two or three agents and ask to see their marketing plan for the house (all of our best agents have marketing plans that are actually written down that they use and can describe and leave with the potential client to review). Many of our agents use professional photographers that know specifically how to take house photos and show the property in it's best light. It might cost a few hundred dollars but most agents know that's the cost of doing business and it's well worth it for a great presentation. I would also ask to speak to past clients. There are several websites he needs to be advertising this home on. Many of them are geared specifically towards vacation type properties. The cost is minimal and the payoff can be big as it's been proven 85% of buyers go to the Internet first when they're searching for a new home. I would have a serious talk with him and ask to see a specific written market plan and give him an actual date when you want to get together and see it. If you can't get any satisfaction call his broker or broker-manager and talk with him about the situation. If all that fails, you can cancel your listing agreement and interview some other agencies in your area and find someone who will work for you!

What she said!

Our house in Atlanta has been on the market for 6 months, and I know that my realtor is marketing the home as best she can. The housing market has not rebounded as hoped and the inventory of resale homes is overwhelming. With the economy the way it is I would guess that vacation homes are faring worse than normal resales.

You need all of the help you can get. Fire this bozo!

Good luck!

[ellery]

Thanks for all the feedback so far everyone. You guys are so brilliant as always.

DH hired this clown because he knows him (over my objections that he should interview realtors, etc.) and we didn't find out until after the fact that he'd sent the crappy pictures, hadn't bothered to correct the MLS listing, etc. I'll ask and see how long we're committed to working with him. In the meantime, I will be harassing the realtor via email with my newfound knowledge about what his plan is, is he going to do such and such, etc.

Any additional ideas on what I should expect from this guy or what I should be harassing him about would be very welcome.

In the meantime, here goes another one for the books as far as stuff DH should've listened to his wife about...

[TieKitty]

Originally Posted by ellery

In the meantime, here goes another one for the books as far as stuff DH should've listened to his wife about...

Good luck with that!!

[ellery]

Originally Posted by TieKitty

Good luck with that!!

I know! The list is starting to grow pretty long. It's tough to always be right.

[Casey1230]

Having had one realtor from 'you know where'.... actually bought my home under another 'name' for a low price!!!!!! Found out at closing .. but by that time, was just glad to be done with her (she also ripped up wall to wall carpeting without telling .. i was already in new home!!).

anyway,,, when I was selling my last place, I pretty much emailed the realtor daily... asking what she was doing to advertise, where, how often, etc. I also was pro-active in finding places for her to advertise... I'm near many military/gov't facilities and found their new employees sites/papers. Even in this economy, it sold quickly... I'm sure that she was sooooo glad it did, to be done with me. She did do the realtor caravan and had beautiful pictures posted. It is your house and your money... be as forceful as possible!

[hollysmom]

I was wondering if this clown was your brother-in-law (or some other 'family-type connection'. In this market, you need a top-notch realtor.

SSM

[Gumbeaux]

Originally Posted by hollysmom

I was wondering if this clown was your brother-in-law (or some other 'family-type connection'. In this market, you need a top-notch realtor.

I was wondering the same thing myself. You hear over-and-over to make business decisions in your head and not in your heart but people get their friends and relatives involved in their business for no other reason than they are friends or relatives.

[Canice]

If things are so slow, shouldn't he be able to put some time and energy into this? Who on EARTH would take photos of an untidy house for a listing? And who would NOT tell the client they were coming over for that purpose?
Bet the market is especially slow for him.

[krhm]

Nothing really new to add except to agree that this guy is a slacker. We've only sold one house, but our realtor was not a good fit for us...the only good thing was if we were very, very specific about what we wanted, she would do it.

I found this house for us by spending hours online, we insisted that she do a 360 view rather than just the two pictures she had, etc, etc. On the day we signed the contract with her, she gave us a list of things to take care of around the house, and was shocked when she came back a week later and we had actually done them. But she didn't have our flyers or yard sign that day, so we busted our butts for her timeline for nothing. And I can give you more examples but this isn't about me! Suffice it to say that it's 6 years later and I'm still bitter!

With a full-time job, a 2 year old, and one on the way, you hardly have time to do his job, so I would try TrishinOmaha's suggestions from the start, rather than waiting to see if it will improve!

[ellery]

Bumping this up for an update. You all have been invaluable so far on this - I'm about as blind as DH on this one, but at least I have a sense that something else should be happening that's not.

I emailed our realtor asking about his marketing plan, is he planning on doing a realtor's caravan, asking for feedback for the visit from another realtor last week, etc. Basically, although I may be misinterpreting here, I received confirmation that all he plans to do is post our listing on MLS and wait for it to sell. He feels like our list price is too high (DH feels it's fair ), that our condo is the nicest one on the market (out of all the condos in our complex and surrounding comparable complexes) and that the right buyer will come along. He has initiated contact with several other area realtors but has no plans to do an open house or anything unless they request it.

Here's an excerpt from his email response to me:

"What I have done is to list the property on MLS and show and present to the top 5 agents in Courtside (the name of our complex), and I will within the next week, get to the top 10 agents in Courtside (as judged by sales over the last 5 years). Also, I am developing an e-flyer which I will use to send to the MLS on an occasional basis.

Additionally, MLS listings are fed to www.realtor.com - the number 1 national real estate web-site - and I work constantly to improve the rankings of keywords on my personal web site - and am highly ranked on 28 keywords and having lesser ranking on hundreds of others - from which comes most all of my business other than referral.

Real estate agents and internet marketing account for almost 100% of current sales.

Please let me know of any and all expectations that you have along these lines and I will respond as is appropriate."

Yet as followup, he has ditched the plans to present the property to the agents in lieu of responding in case they request it. And I think the rest of the email is just chatter designed to distract me. So our property is listed on realtor.com. So? You rank high in searching keywords. So?

We do not know yet how long we're obligated to use this guy as DH never got a copy of the contract that they signed (there is no eye roll icon big enough for this one). I've asked the realtor to provide one and he says he'll drop one off this week and asked if I have a few minutes to chat with him "to review where we are and see if I'm happy with everything so far."

Tell me it's not my imagination. This guy doesn't plan on doing anything here, does he? He made a comment in the longer email about how it's obviously in his best interests to sell our property quickly, and has sold properties in our complex recently, so he can't be completely worthless. I just can't figure out if I have unrealistic expectations and should just back off, or if there's something missing here.

Thank you thank you thank you for reading this far and for all the help so far.

[blazedog]

He is correct in stating that almost all real estate sales are done through either agents or people finding the property on the internet while researching based on various criteria.

A brokers' caravan is always done. I don't understand whether he is having a brokers' open or not.

My realtor friends have told me that Open Houses (for the public) are useless in general and that they hold them for their OWN benefit as it is a way to meet people who might then use their services -- either they are buyers or they are people in the neighborhood who are thinking of selling.

What is a monkey in the works is your statement that the pictures he took were horrible. Since he aims to have a strong presence on the internet, I would "force" him to design a listing that shows your property well.

As for the asking price -- don't you have a sense of what your property is worth based on other sales. To some extent condo sales are easier to get FMV because there are units that are more or less identical. Part of "interviewing" an agent is having them tell you their suggested listing price and showing you the backup as to how they arrived at that decision.

Lastly, if you don't have a copy of the contract, you should ask the realtor for a copy.

[ellery]

I emailed him today asking for a copy of the contract - that's what initiated him saying he'd bring it by this week and wanted a few minutes of my time.

The pictures on MLS are no longer of a dirty house, since I'm the one who took new ones. I make no claim to be a fantastic photographer, although I'm not terrible. I found that taking pictures of rooms was actually pretty difficult - trying to get the angles right, no shadows, etc. (I was taking pics at 11 pm since I had to put DS to bed, clear all the stuff out of one room to take a pic, put it back and clear another room, take a pic - it took forever!). The dirty house pictures were the ones he sent to a prospective buyer and was planning on putting on MLS until I intervened.

From what he told me, he's not planning on doing a broker's caravan at this point.

As for asking price, he explained to us that in this market everyone is lowballing and you can expect to get 90% of your asking price. DH has a number in mind that he'd like to get, so he tacked on to it keeping that 90% in mind. Based on the selling prices of other units, it seems that our price (well, 90% of what we're asking) is fair (given that our unit is completely renovated and the others have been in poor condition). The realtor seems to think that people don't take into account renovated vs. not renovated when they see the asking price, however.

[Canice]

I would ask him to leave the contract at his office and I'll pick it up tomorrow morning. Why does he need to have a whole week to pick a day to drop it off?

[ellery]

Originally Posted by Canice

I would ask him to leave the contract at his office and I'll pick it up tomorrow morning. Why does he need to have a whole week to pick a day to drop it off?

Because around here we operate on "island time." And this guy even more so than others, it seems. He reminds me of Jimmy Buffet - complete with baggy khakis, shaggy hair and flip flops. (no offense to Jimmy Buffet intended)

I'm a little irked that we even have to ask for the contract. Why he wouldn't have given DH a carbon the night that they signed this is beyond me, but he told DH that night he'd be dropping it off in a few days. Which was about 2 weeks ago.

I get really bulldoggish when I feel like someone I love is being taken advantage of, and I really want to bite this realtor.

[Canice]

Originally Posted by ellery

I'm a little irked that we even have to ask for the contract. Why he wouldn't have given DH a carbon the night that they signed this is beyond me, but he told DH that night he'd be dropping it off in a few days. Which was about 2 weeks ago.

I have zero patience for that kind of krapp. That's why I would tell him I've been waiting more than two weeks and can pick it up tomorrow, just leave a copy at the front desk. He works for you (well, in this case he doesn't, but theoretically), you gave him your business. The sooner you find out the terms of your agreement and the sooner you find a professional to handle the listing, the better. We're already moving into stress season as it is

[sneezles]

Leah,
The second to the last house we sold in Houston we had a lazy-*** realtor and we showed up at closing to find out there was no money...and they expected us to sign over the house! I reamed my realtor because she knew the money wouldn't be there. I also called her boss (personal friend) and told him what she'd done and said that I did not want her at the closing that was rescheduled. So my bit of advice is to call the office and talk to the person in charge! What a maroon you got hooked up with, island time or not!

[Trishinomaha]

Ellery:

There are so many real estate sites he could be advertising on for free. Zillow and Trulia come to mind right off the bat. I have a whole list at work that our agents use all the time. I make sure our corporate properties are on all of them. I don't have the list with me at home but I will try and update you tomorrow with some ideas. As to the listing agreement, as a professional Realtor, I'm appalled that you don't have a copy of the listing agreement. A copy should have been left with you at the time of signing. He should be able to scan and e-mail it to you in a heart beat. Sounds like he's dragging his feet. If you are uncomfortable you really need to call his broker manager and have a conversation with him. I agree with Blaze that open houses are for Realtors to find new customers, not so much benefit for the homeowner. It sounds like to me that some pressure needs to be applied here but then, I'm kind of a type A personality...

[BucknellAlum]

Originally Posted by ellery

As for asking price, he explained to us that in this market everyone is lowballing and you can expect to get 90% of your asking price. DH has a number in mind that he'd like to get, so he tacked on to it keeping that 90% in mind. Based on the selling prices of other units, it seems that our price (well, 90% of what we're asking) is fair (given that our unit is completely renovated and the others have been in poor condition). The realtor seems to think that people don't take into account renovated vs. not renovated when they see the asking price, however.

First of all, you can't trust a rule like you get 90% of your asking price. What if someone sets the asking price too high? Or too low? It's not an automatic formula, setting the price should be based on comps, not on 90% of some arbitrary desired number.

Also, see bolded section, that is EXACTLY what the realtor should be doing. Getting the word out that your unit is worth more than a previous sale because is has been renovated! That is what you pay the realtor for, to help make your property stand out from all the others.

The Jimmy Buffett appearance, plus the poor photos really point to a guy who does not take his job seriously. But I guess I am preaching to you in the choir, huh?

[ellery]

Okay, I'm definitely feeling better here that this is not all my imagination or my insanely high standards.

Part of the difficulty here is just the whole confrontation aspect of things - what are the ramifications of confronting this doofus, is this town so small that if I tick this guy off no one else will want to work with us, etc. I guess this is why I keep needing the reality check from you all that I'm not being unrealistic. And the more information I have on what other realtors do (and sites they post on) the better prepared I feel to confront this guy in a calm and knowledgeable way.

For me, this is essentially the equivalent of taking my car into the shop. I have no idea how things work in a car beyond it turning on when I turn the key and just hope that the repair guy does what he's supposed to do. And I don't want to be one of those people who create a stink without having any idea what they're talking about, and who hope that if they just get louder or more abusive then people will cease to notice that they have no idea what they're talking about.

Trish, I would absolutely appreciate your letting me know about those websites.

BucknellAlum - ugh. Nothing against Buffett, but we don't live in Key West. I looked up this guy's website and it looks nothing like him. His picture has him clean cut and in a suit. Maybe we caught him on an off night, but I've never had a realtor NOT look nice when they were visiting us on business. Flip flops on a middle aged man in a business situation... (good thing I didn't get to see his toes - shudder).

Canice, yes, I know I should just go by and pick the contract up. I'm just so overloaded right now as it is that the thought of adding one more thing to the list makes me whimper. I'm a single parent during the week (DH travels for work), so between full time work, DS's mood swings (oh, the two's are so much fun) and being pregnant... ugh. But believe me, any more procrastinating from this doof and I will be visiting his office. And complaining loudly about the difficulties of working with this guy. Don't mess with a lady all jacked up on hormones!

[tbb113]

Originally Posted by ellery

The pictures on MLS are no longer of a dirty house, since I'm the one who took new ones. I make no claim to be a fantastic photographer, although I'm not terrible. I found that taking pictures of rooms was actually pretty difficult - trying to get the angles right, no shadows, etc. (I was taking pics at 11 pm since I had to put DS to bed, clear all the stuff out of one room to take a pic, put it back and clear another room, take a pic - it took forever!).

Leah - I realize that you still need to live in your house while you try and sell it...but it needs to be in prime showing condition at all times. When you get a potential buyer to tour the place...it needs to look like the pictures (or better). Most people can't see beyond the clutter, etc to see what it will look like when they live there.

[Canice]

Originally Posted by Trishinomaha

Ellery:

There are so many real estate sites he could be advertising on for free. Zillow and Trulia come to mind right off the bat.

I love Trulia! I have two friends who recently bought houses and we'd discuss possible properties every single night on the phone. Every address I Googled came up first on Trulia. It was great to be looking at the same pictures at the same time and discuss.

Originally Posted by ellery

Canice, yes, I know I should just go by and pick the contract up.

Oh, please don't misunderstand me; I actually *don't* think you should go by and pick it up. But if he is too lazy to drop it off or, as Trish said, just email it to you, he needs to understand that you want the contract. Now. I've never heard of such a careless realtor, but I've had to light fires under contractors and designers, and sometimes that's the only sort of tactic that's worked for me: "I asked for this two weeks ago, which is ample time for you make a photo copy or send an email. If you can take care of that for me in the morning, I'd appreciate it. I'll come by after 2:00 to pick it up. Thanks."
Don't go, just call back a day or two later and tell him to drop it in the mail.

[ellery]

Tyra - trust me, I know this. He took "messy" pictures before the house was even officially on the market with no advance notice. He just mentioned as an aside the night that he and DH sat down to sign the contract that he'd been in the house and taken pictures the previous week. DH had given him the door code so that the realtor could preview the house and give us feedback on anything he thought we should attend to before putting it on the market, and he just took it upon himself to go in one day and take pictures.

At this point when I leave each morning it is as clean and pulled together as is realistically possible. I've tried to keep it basically true to the pictures but there are items that are permanent residents (e.g. 1 or 2 family photos on a table) that weren't in the MLS photos. And there are a few toys that are visible that weren't in the pics, although they are neatly lined up and displayed. (DS has a toy barn that he HAS to play with each morning and night and he would have a major meltdown if I tried to relocate this barn anyplace but where it currently goes).

It's the kind of place that people buy either as a vacation home for themselves or as a rental property, so basically what they see when they enter is what they'll be getting. (We bought it and will be selling it furnished). I'm hopeful that they can look past the few personal items displayed since it really isn't all that much and honestly, we can't do anything about them.

Sigh.

Worrying about all this stuff, is there anything else I could be doing, etc. is stressing me out just a teeny bit...

[tbb113]

Leah - I know what you are saying. The last house we owned we sold when my older son was 3. Trust me...anybody who walked in knew we had a child And now that they are 17 and 20, I sometimes feel like I live in a college apartment all over again

You do have a right to be concerned about the lack of motivation from the realtor. Buyers SELDOM drop out of the sky and into your house.

Good luck on the sale. Hopefully you will know where you are ending up before it sells.