Choose your Realtor carefully.

[LisaKinVA]

I have met many Realtors I just don't like.  Mostly, because they don't listen to what I want/need -- and because I don't want to see a bunch of houses which CLEARLY don't meet our needs simply because they are in my "price range."  

 

Selling a house is a daunting task, and having a Realtor who tells it like it is, and who is willing to listen and do the work necessary to get you the best price for your home is extremely important. 

 

Case in point...our rental management company also sells houses.  They asked for a shot at selling the house, and giving us comps.  I figured why not.   FWIW, I can pull comps.  I routinely pull comps on a quarterly basis to get an idea of what the market is doing.  I *know* what is selling, and how fast.  Two weeks later, I receive an email saying our home is worth less than $450,000 (keep in mind, our original appraisal in 2011 was $465, and house prices have increased more than 10% in our area.)  There were no attached comps, just the statement that a home sold in our area, with a finished basement for $430,000.

 

Both dh and I were very specific about comparing apples-to-apples when pulling comps.  Houses are thrown up as specs all the time -- but only ONE aspect to the comp is the proximity to your specific house.  On our street, there are homes which have sold for over $750,000, to just under $400,000. In our "development," just in the past year, there are homes (our general size/layout/similar facade) which have sold for every price between $410,000 to $545,000. Within a 5 mile radius, that number can vary as much as $200,000 between the low and the high (lot size, location, age of home, finish details, waterfront, etc.).  

 

A GOOD realtor will look for comps that most closely match your house based upon location, age, size, and finish quality.  And, they will show them to you and make a pricing recommendation based upon those findings, your needs, and how fast you want to sell the house.  They should also be able to provide references ;)

 

I received an e-mail from a second Realtor late yesterday.  The only information I provided was the general sales price we were looking for, as well as specific information about the size/location/finish quality of the home.  She sent me a list of 20 comps from the last 6 months for homes in our area, our general size & lot. The average sales price for homes similar (not equivalent, but similar) to ours is $477,000.  Trulia estimates my house is worth $470,000 (it doesn't take a lot into account, either).  She then mentioned that assuming there were no major economic changes, our target sales range was right on the money (around $500k).  We'll do a much more detailed comparison next spring. 

 

Of course, I liked that her comps matched mine ;)  But, I also liked that she left caveats about pricing next spring also being dependent upon economic factors, subject to change, etc.  She was also pro-active about telling me what she was going to need from us in order to market our house properly.  

 

Not all Realtors are created equal.  Choose one who listens to you -- but who also is not a "yes man," and willing to give you straight answers.

 

Happy Thanksgiving!

 

[plansrme]

Have you ever read Freakanomics? One of their first two books confirmed what I have always suspected: realtors make more money on selling houses quickly than on selling your house for the most they can. The listing agent's incentive is, therefore, to lowball your house for a quick sale. It explains why listing agents are so negative! The last house we sold, I got to the point that I would not even talk to our agent. She kept advising us to take the lowball offer from people who drove by and saw the sign but had never been inside the house. We refused, repeatedly, and got the price we wanted. The other thing she did that drove me nuts was compare our home to the houses in the next school district over and insist it would never sell because those schools are better. She could not get it through her head that the difference in school districts was already reflected--to the tune of nearly $100k--in the comps. Dufus.

[DawnM]

We don't really care for realtors either.  We aren't the traditional buyers and every house we have bought we have pretty much found ourselves and called the realtor to then show it to us.

 

Our first house the realtor wanted to list it for 15% less than what we thought it would sell for.  She tried to talk us into listing for less.  Well, it sold for the 15% more than she wanted to sell it for.

 

We are now planning to list our 4th house in the Spring.  We have gone through 3 realtors so far.  The last one we had just kept shaking her head when we said what we thought we could get.  It was almost a mocking tone of "nope, you are delusional."  

 

This realtor thinks listing it for the amount we set will be fine, provided we do the necessary work prior to listing.

 

It is VERY hard to comp our house.  We have acreage and a large home, but our home is older (1987) and has 8' ceilings, so comping it to the grand ceilings sq. ft. per sq. ft. isn't correct, but they often forget about the land when they comp.

 

It is a bit of a mess when comping.  

[DawnM]

Have you ever read Freakanomics? One of their first two books confirmed what I have always suspected: realtors make more money on selling houses quickly than on selling your house for the most they can. The listing agent's incentive is, therefore, to lowball your house for a quick sale. It explains why listing agents are so negative! The last house we sold, I got to the point that I would not even talk to our agent. She kept advising us to take the lowball offer from people who drove by and saw the sign but had never been inside the house. We refused, repeatedly, and got the price we wanted. The other thing she did that drove me nuts was compare our home to the houses in the next school district over and insist it would never sell because those schools are better. She could not get it through her head that the difference in school districts was already reflected--to the tune of nearly $100k--in the comps. Dufus.

 

 

THIS.  I even watched a show once where realtors were listing several homes and talked the sellers into listing for significantly lower than the sellers wanted to sell for.

 

However, those same realtors will list their own houses higher and sit on them longer just to get the higher sale price.

[purplejackmama]

I've never used a realtor. I bought my first town house out of college and did the entire transaction as a young 21 year old with a FSBO seller.

 

My husband and I have since bought and sold a dozen properties all on our own. I'm sure for some people they make sense but it's never been the case for us.

[Alessandra]

I just hate the capital R. Is there any other profession like that?

[whitestavern]

When we sold our first house we had realtors come in with prices. Dh and I had been looking for a bigger house in that area for a while so we knew what was out there at what price. We chose a realtor and told her we wanted to put it on at 20K over her suggestion. There ended up being a bidding war and the house went 15K over listing. We recently did the same in our current house, though we decided against selling, and it was the same thing, low ball prices.

 

ITA that it's more advantageous to the realtor to undervalue and sell a greater quantity of homes.

[LisaKinVA]

Have you ever read Freakanomics? One of their first two books confirmed what I have always suspected: realtors make more money on selling houses quickly than on selling your house for the most they can. The listing agent's incentive is, therefore, to lowball your house for a quick sale. It explains why listing agents are so negative! The last house we sold, I got to the point that I would not even talk to our agent. She kept advising us to take the lowball offer from people who drove by and saw the sign but had never been inside the house. We refused, repeatedly, and got the price we wanted. The other thing she did that drove me nuts was compare our home to the houses in the next school district over and insist it would never sell because those schools are better. She could not get it through her head that the difference in school districts was already reflected--to the tune of nearly $100k--in the comps. Dufus.

 

No, I have never read that book.  I have been around some delusional sellers, though.  A lady on our street wanted to sell their house for $485,000 3 years ago.  It was smaller than ours, all basic, builder-grade, but they had a fenced yard.  They did eventually sell, for about $425,000, 9 months later.  But, knowing this neighbor (she was a bit delusional about a few things...not just her house), I'm sure even if the listing agent had tried to talk her down in price it wouldn't have worked.  

 

This is only our second time selling a house.  Our first time, we got our price as well.  We had to be a bit more patient -- but there was a limit as to how low we could go.  I do think the rental management agent is just thinking about a fast sale -- and pricing our home at $450 would be well below market.  I'm sure it would sell extremely fast...but we will have a bit of time on our side entering the market at the start of the sales season vs. in November!!  

 

We don't really care for realtors either.  We aren't the traditional buyers and every house we have bought we have pretty much found ourselves and called the realtor to then show it to us.

 

Our first house the realtor wanted to list it for 15% less than what we thought it would sell for.  She tried to talk us into listing for less.  Well, it sold for the 15% more than she wanted to sell it for.

 

We are now planning to list our 4th house in the Spring.  We have gone through 3 realtors so far.  The last one we had just kept shaking her head when we said what we thought we could get.  It was almost a mocking tone of "nope, you are delusional."  

 

This realtor thinks listing it for the amount we set will be fine, provided we do the necessary work prior to listing.

 

It is VERY hard to comp our house.  We have acreage and a large home, but our home is older (1987) and has 8' ceilings, so comping it to the grand ceilings sq. ft. per sq. ft. isn't correct, but they often forget about the land when they comp.

 

It is a bit of a mess when comping.  

 

I understand about how difficult it can be to comp houses that are out of the ordinary.  The vast majority of homes built in the last 5 years are spec homes.  Perhaps 10% of those are done really well, and 1% are custom. It takes work.  But you know you are marketing it to a specific type of buyer as well.  Not everyone cares about hardwood (or understands the difference between a 2" plank and a 5" plank, cost-wise).  Not everyone cares about tile, marble, Schulter products, upgraded insulation, high-velocity air systems, wood cabinets vs. MDF and Particle board...let alone being willing to pay the difference.   Which is 

THIS.  I even watched a show once where realtors were listing several homes and talked the sellers into listing for significantly lower than the sellers wanted to sell for.

 

However, those same realtors will list their own houses higher and sit on them longer just to get the higher sale price.

 

I wish those realtors could get a smack-down, especially if the only reasons for lowering the asking price is because the RE agents wanted a fast turn-around.  

 

 

I've never used a realtor. I bought my first town house out of college and did the entire transaction as a young 21 year old with a FSBO seller.

 

My husband and I have since bought and sold a dozen properties all on our own. I'm sure for some people they make sense but it's never been the case for us.

 

That's great!  I do what I can, based upon what I can see.  I usually ask to see photos (as many as I can get), as well as known problems, zoning issues, lot dimensions, easements, HOA.  It's amazing what listing agents leave OFF a house.  I contacted one with a list of questions recently (about two properties we are interested in -- in a buyer's market, without much potential for flipping), she answered one question, and then changed her answer mid-way (in other words, she doesn't know and doesn't care about finding the answer).  She put 3 exterior photos of one house up, and 5 photos of the less expensive one up, with very little description (other than needs work).  Neither is a foreclosure or a short sale.  I'm sure the interior is probably in need of repairs, but for goodness sake, when someone asks to see more photos, you should have them!  They don't cost anything -- and will save more time for those interested in the properties and the Realtor (fielding questions).  I don't get the feeling there is much interest, but she hopes to sell before spring (if there were interest in flipping these properties, they would have sold).

 

Our sales goal is not more than 90 days from list to close.  I will be discussing with the Realtor those items that are currently incomplete (on my to-do list), but if we were to complete them would both secure an asking/sales price enough to cover it AND aid in the quick sale of the home.  

[Guest2]

I have to agree about realtors, actually the whole realtor sytem. Our difficulty was in buying homes. We do corporate moves, so when we fly out to look at houses, we need to find one in a day or two. We pay the realtor to be the buyers agent and she is supposed to be working on our behalf. Unfortuately, It is a conflict of interest. She does get a flat fee for helping us buy our home, but also a commission based on the cost of the home. It is in her best interest for us to buy the most expensive home. I'm so tired of being pushed to buy homes that are more expensive than what we need.

Edited November 26, 2015 by Silver Brook

[LisaKinVA]

When we sold our first house we had realtors come in with prices. Dh and I had been looking for a bigger house in that area for a while so we knew what was out there at what price. We chose a realtor and told her we wanted to put it on at 20K over her suggestion. There ended up being a bidding war and the house went 15K over listing. We recently did the same in our current house, though we decided against selling, and it was the same thing, low ball prices.

 

ITA that it's more advantageous to the realtor to undervalue and sell a greater quantity of homes.

 

I also think the mass-home producers have the same philosophy -- churn them out, keep prices low, and finishes "pretty" but cheaply made.  There is a reason they give you 5 carpet choices and 3 hardwood choices and 9 cabinet choices (3 levels, 3 colors), and it's because they can bulk-buy.  I remember pricing out a house before we built, after we understood the mark-ups on everything.  Convinced me to never buy from one of these builders again.  My husband (who understands tech and wiring) got a laugh, because they were running HD television on wiring that didn't support HD.  Most people don't realize that it takes different kinds of cable to support that tech and these new "model homes" didn't have it (more expensive).

 

Thankfully, there are enough custom builders still building that give our house something to compare to -- as long as they aren't doing the way high-end custom jobs.  

[ThisIsTheDay]

We've bought and sold several homes, and I've seen many realtors that were doozies.

 

Our realtor **heavily** pressured us to go through with a sale after we backed out of a contract for reasons that we had specifically written into the contract.  She continued to call us at odd hours until we told her not to contact us again.

 

On a later house, our (different) realtor SHARED with the potential buyers that we were in a time crunch. This gave the buyers a huge advantage, which of course they used, potentially costing us many thousands of dollars. It was completely unethical on the part of our realtor but not worth the time or effort on our part to pursue.

 

When purchasing rental property, we had a quibble over a few hundred dollar expense just before closing.  Our new realtor told us that SHE would put up the money to see the sale through.  Again, entirely unethical, and it shocked me because she was brand new and risking her entire career on her poor judgment. (We were vocal about our reasons for declining, worked out our difference with the seller, and the sale went through.)

 

When we purchased our current home, there was a last minute closing delay caused on our end.  While discussing at our walk through with our realtor and the sellers' realtor, the seller came by.  Her realtor lied right to her face and claimed closing was on schedule.  It was shocking.  I don't know his reasons for it, perhaps he preferred to work through her husband.

 

I wish we were brave enough to do it ourselves.  Mostly I would worry about the various time deadlines.

 

Realtors are like attorneys.  I agree with Lisa--choose carefully!

[Pegasus]

Wow! Interesting stories.  I've mostly witnessed the opposite - realtors catering to the owners and pricing the houses too high.  They just sit on the market, not even getting very many interested viewers.  Then the home is considered "stale" and even fewer people will view it, even with a price drop.

 

Personally, I'd rather price my home a little under market value and get a quick sale. Folks don't consider the costs of a home staying on the market for an extended period of time.

Edited November 26, 2015 by Pegasus

[DawnM]

This area doesn't do well with FSBO unless it is a low end home and low end price.  Even then, I am not sure it works well.

 

We have had 3 friends try FSBO only to then list with a realtor to actually sell.

[DawnM]

Wow! Interesting stories.  I've mostly witnessed the opposite - realtors catering to the owners and pricing the houses too high.  They just sit on the market, not even getting very many interested viewers.  Then the home is considered "stale" and even fewer people will view it, even with a price drop.

 

Personally, I'd rather price my home a little under market value and get a quick sale. Folks don't consider the costs of a home staying on the market for an extended period of time.

 

 

I guess it depends on how quickly you need to sell or if you have already moved or not.

 

We plan to live in the house while it sells, price it fairly, but not too far under value, and see what happens.  

 

In our last area where we sold our last house, it was expected that you would get asking price or higher.  Here is expected that people will offer less than asking.  It is kind of a game.  If you expect to get $500K, then you list it for $550-$565.  If you expect to get $200K, then you list it for $230K.

[LisaKinVA]

I guess it depends on how quickly you need to sell or if you have already moved or not.

 

We plan to live in the house while it sells, price it fairly, but not too far under value, and see what happens.  

 

In our last area where we sold our last house, it was expected that you would get asking price or higher.  Here is expected that people will offer less than asking.  It is kind of a game.  If you expect to get $500K, then you list it for $550-$565.  If you expect to get $200K, then you list it for $230K.

 

In our area, about 1-2% below asking is kind of the "norm" -- and some of that depends upon how long a house has been sitting on the market, or other factors (some houses appear to have a long listing date, but that's because they are new homes which are constantly listed as "for sale" by the builder, or as soon as they start building.  

 

Unless something changes, the high end for our house would be $515 (unless we add the deck and exterior stonework).  I expect we will list between $495 and $499.  We should sell really close to that, because we are offering to pay all closing costs, inspections, appraisals & fees, offering a warranty on the house/appliances, and everything should be move-in-ready (or possibly a small allowance to fix some cosmetic issues...but most of those should be fixed when the tenants move out anyway).  Our low end is really $485 -- so we're really kind of smack dab in the middle.  At which point, it really becomes who is in the market to buy.  

[Alicia64]

Have you ever read Freakanomics? One of their first two books confirmed what I have always suspected: realtors make more money on selling houses quickly than on selling your house for the most they can. The listing agent's incentive is, therefore, to lowball your house for a quick sale. It explains why listing agents are so negative! The last house we sold, I got to the point that I would not even talk to our agent. She kept advising us to take the lowball offer from people who drove by and saw the sign but had never been inside the house. We refused, repeatedly, and got the price we wanted. The other thing she did that drove me nuts was compare our home to the houses in the next school district over and insist it would never sell because those schools are better. She could not get it through her head that the difference in school districts was already reflected--to the tune of nearly $100k--in the comps. Dufus.

 

Great book!

[abacus2]

What is unethical about a realtor offering their money toward a couple hundred dollar quibble?

[OnTheBrink]

I took my house off the market last week. It had been listed for 2 months, with a realtor who didn't show it once. It took her a week to get the pictures online, she gave totally incorrect measurements for one "room" (meaning: not a room, but a "space"). And she never once even showed the house. I get the market is slow right now. I get that our state is without a budget and I live in a high state-worker area. But I know of others who have homes on the market and they're at least getting showings. 

 

I'm leaving it off the market until February and starting with a new agent who actually wants to earn his commission, not sit on his a$$ and give excuses. 

[momacacia]

This is why I just *know* DH will go FSBO when we sell--besides the fact it will make mad to pay someone so much for doing little more than putting a house up on a website.

[purplejackmama]

This area doesn't do well with FSBO unless it is a low end home and low end price. Even then, I am not sure it works well.

 

We have had 3 friends try FSBO only to then list with a realtor to actually sell.

That's interesting. I have always bought in a Sellers market. People are clamoring over themselves to move here.

[TranquilMind]

When we sold our first house we had realtors come in with prices. Dh and I had been looking for a bigger house in that area for a while so we knew what was out there at what price. We chose a realtor and told her we wanted to put it on at 20K over her suggestion. There ended up being a bidding war and the house went 15K over listing. We recently did the same in our current house, though we decided against selling, and it was the same thing, low ball prices.

 

ITA that it's more advantageous to the realtor to undervalue and sell a greater quantity of homes.

 Never, ever let a Realtor set the price, as you know.  YOU set the price.  You set the terms.  You demand that the Realtors meet deadlines (just posted about this one).  

I do it all, though I do use a flat-fee Realtor for sales because Buyers seem terrified to make a step without an agent.  They would get much better assistance and advice (except on offer price) from us as a couple, considering our experience and credentials.    

[TranquilMind]

I took my house off the market last week. It had been listed for 2 months, with a realtor who didn't show it once. It took her a week to get the pictures online, she gave totally incorrect measurements for one "room" (meaning: not a room, but a "space"). And she never once even showed the house. I get the market is slow right now. I get that our state is without a budget and I live in a high state-worker area. But I know of others who have homes on the market and they're at least getting showings. 

 

I'm leaving it off the market until February and starting with a new agent who actually wants to earn his commission, not sit on his a$$ and give excuses. 

Wow, that is one LAZY Realtor. That is a broker violation around here.  You have to tell them up front the way it is going to be. You set all the terms.  You stay heavily involved.   You have to set the price at slightly under the best market price you can expect, and have fantastic photos (and not those weird, distorted ones that agents seem so fond of).  

 

Many of them have no idea what they are doing, but they spew nonsense all the time.  

[TranquilMind]

We've bought and sold several homes, and I've seen many realtors that were doozies.

 

Our realtor **heavily** pressured us to go through with a sale after we backed out of a contract for reasons that we had specifically written into the contract.  She continued to call us at odd hours until we told her not to contact us again.

 

On a later house, our (different) realtor SHARED with the potential buyers that we were in a time crunch. This gave the buyers a huge advantage, which of course they used, potentially costing us many thousands of dollars. It was completely unethical on the part of our realtor but not worth the time or effort on our part to pursue.

 

When purchasing rental property, we had a quibble over a few hundred dollar expense just before closing.  Our new realtor told us that SHE would put up the money to see the sale through.  Again, entirely unethical, and it shocked me because she was brand new and risking her entire career on her poor judgment. (We were vocal about our reasons for declining, worked out our difference with the seller, and the sale went through.)

 

When we purchased our current home, there was a last minute closing delay caused on our end.  While discussing at our walk through with our realtor and the sellers' realtor, the seller came by.  Her realtor lied right to her face and claimed closing was on schedule.  It was shocking.  I don't know his reasons for it, perhaps he preferred to work through her husband.

 

I wish we were brave enough to do it ourselves.  Mostly I would worry about the various time deadlines.

 

Realtors are like attorneys.  I agree with Lisa--choose carefully!

 

 

 

 

I agree with everything you said, except the bolded (though I know how you meant it, and with your admonition, I do agree!).   That is like comparing surgeons with orderlies.  No, Realtors are nothing like attorneys.  They have little training and do not know anything about contractual matters (for the most part) which is why they are limited by law to filling out the forms.  They often write in provisions that make no legal sense whatsoever and get their clients in a mess.   Attorneys are professionals with doctorates.  

Edited December 3, 2015 by TranquilMind

[TranquilMind]

No, I have never read that book.  I have been around some delusional sellers, though.  A lady on our street wanted to sell their house for $485,000 3 years ago.  It was smaller than ours, all basic, builder-grade, but they had a fenced yard.  They did eventually sell, for about $425,000, 9 months later.  But, knowing this neighbor (she was a bit delusional about a few things...not just her house), I'm sure even if the listing agent had tried to talk her down in price it wouldn't have worked.  

 

This is only our second time selling a house.  Our first time, we got our price as well.  We had to be a bit more patient -- but there was a limit as to how low we could go.  I do think the rental management agent is just thinking about a fast sale -- and pricing our home at $450 would be well below market.  I'm sure it would sell extremely fast...but we will have a bit of time on our side entering the market at the start of the sales season vs. in November!!  

 

 

I understand about how difficult it can be to comp houses that are out of the ordinary.  The vast majority of homes built in the last 5 years are spec homes.  Perhaps 10% of those are done really well, and 1% are custom. It takes work.  But you know you are marketing it to a specific type of buyer as well.  Not everyone cares about hardwood (or understands the difference between a 2" plank and a 5" plank, cost-wise).  Not everyone cares about tile, marble, Schulter products, upgraded insulation, high-velocity air systems, wood cabinets vs. MDF and Particle board...let alone being willing to pay the difference.   Which is 

 

I wish those realtors could get a smack-down, especially if the only reasons for lowering the asking price is because the RE agents wanted a fast turn-around.  

 

 

 

That's great!  I do what I can, based upon what I can see.  I usually ask to see photos (as many as I can get), as well as known problems, zoning issues, lot dimensions, easements, HOA.  It's amazing what listing agents leave OFF a house.  I contacted one with a list of questions recently (about two properties we are interested in -- in a buyer's market, without much potential for flipping), she answered one question, and then changed her answer mid-way (in other words, she doesn't know and doesn't care about finding the answer).  She put 3 exterior photos of one house up, and 5 photos of the less expensive one up, with very little description (other than needs work).  Neither is a foreclosure or a short sale.  I'm sure the interior is probably in need of repairs, but for goodness sake, when someone asks to see more photos, you should have them!  They don't cost anything -- and will save more time for those interested in the properties and the Realtor (fielding questions).  I don't get the feeling there is much interest, but she hopes to sell before spring (if there were interest in flipping these properties, they would have sold).

 

Our sales goal is not more than 90 days from list to close.  I will be discussing with the Realtor those items that are currently incomplete (on my to-do list), but if we were to complete them would both secure an asking/sales price enough to cover it AND aid in the quick sale of the home.  

It is my policy not to lower my asking price.  Get it right the first time and you will get a fast sale.  If necessary - and of course, if you are still in the area - continue to improve until you sell.  

 

Of course, don't do crazy stuff, like leave rooms painted garish colors, or leave anything visible (or unvisible, if known) unrepaired.  

 

It is also my policy to not do more work after inspection.   My houses are as close to perfect as I can get them. If they come at me with some list, I will simply respond with a token dollar amount in lieu of repairs. I don't want to see the Inspection Report.  I don't care what it says, though once it did work in my favor when some Realtor kept insisting there was "mold" in the crawl space, when the inspection report said no mold testing was done.  I simply dismissed that claim.   I don't want to do work for them beyond anything minimal.  I will repair a safety issue, however. They need to choose their own contractors.  

 

Don't hire one who doesn't tell you everything up front, or who thinks he/she can "handle it" while you just stay out of it.  Don't even think about it.  They will hide and cover all kinds of stuff unless you are independently verifying everything you are told. 

 

I had one lie to me this week, making all sorts of excuses about why she can't make closing.  We both know it is because she didn't stay on top of the transaction, but she is telling her clients that it is the fault of other parties.  Pants on fire.  

 

 

[TranquilMind]

I have met many Realtors I just don't like.  Mostly, because they don't listen to what I want/need -- and because I don't want to see a bunch of houses which CLEARLY don't meet our needs simply because they are in my "price range."  

 

Selling a house is a daunting task, and having a Realtor who tells it like it is, and who is willing to listen and do the work necessary to get you the best price for your home is extremely important. 

 

Case in point...our rental management company also sells houses.  They asked for a shot at selling the house, and giving us comps.  I figured why not.   FWIW, I can pull comps.  I routinely pull comps on a quarterly basis to get an idea of what the market is doing.  I *know* what is selling, and how fast.  Two weeks later, I receive an email saying our home is worth less than $450,000 (keep in mind, our original appraisal in 2011 was $465, and house prices have increased more than 10% in our area.)  There were no attached comps, just the statement that a home sold in our area, with a finished basement for $430,000.

 

Both dh and I were very specific about comparing apples-to-apples when pulling comps.  Houses are thrown up as specs all the time -- but only ONE aspect to the comp is the proximity to your specific house.  On our street, there are homes which have sold for over $750,000, to just under $400,000. In our "development," just in the past year, there are homes (our general size/layout/similar facade) which have sold for every price between $410,000 to $545,000. Within a 5 mile radius, that number can vary as much as $200,000 between the low and the high (lot size, location, age of home, finish details, waterfront, etc.).  

 

A GOOD realtor will look for comps that most closely match your house based upon location, age, size, and finish quality.  And, they will show them to you and make a pricing recommendation based upon those findings, your needs, and how fast you want to sell the house.  They should also be able to provide references ;)

 

I received an e-mail from a second Realtor late yesterday.  The only information I provided was the general sales price we were looking for, as well as specific information about the size/location/finish quality of the home.  She sent me a list of 20 comps from the last 6 months for homes in our area, our general size & lot. The average sales price for homes similar (not equivalent, but similar) to ours is $477,000.  Trulia estimates my house is worth $470,000 (it doesn't take a lot into account, either).  She then mentioned that assuming there were no major economic changes, our target sales range was right on the money (around $500k).  We'll do a much more detailed comparison next spring. 

 

Of course, I liked that her comps matched mine ;)  But, I also liked that she left caveats about pricing next spring also being dependent upon economic factors, subject to change, etc.  She was also pro-active about telling me what she was going to need from us in order to market our house properly.  

 

Not all Realtors are created equal.  Choose one who listens to you -- but who also is not a "yes man," and willing to give you straight answers.

 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Good advice.  

 

I'm curious.  What does she need from you as a Seller, other than the obvious, the Listing Contract, and Disclosure forms?

 

That's all I provide to the Realtor I use, as well as the fee for listing.  Nothing financial...it isn't the agent's business.  The agent keeps me apprised through the transaction, forwards documents,  and forwards my updates or requests to the agent for the Buyer.  We meet at closing.  

 

So I am curious what they want if you do it the standard way with a full service Realtor these days?  I have never done that.  

Edited December 3, 2015 by TranquilMind

[TranquilMind]

We don't really care for realtors either.  We aren't the traditional buyers and every house we have bought we have pretty much found ourselves and called the realtor to then show it to us.

 

Our first house the realtor wanted to list it for 15% less than what we thought it would sell for.  She tried to talk us into listing for less.  Well, it sold for the 15% more than she wanted to sell it for.

 

We are now planning to list our 4th house in the Spring.  We have gone through 3 realtors so far.  The last one we had just kept shaking her head when we said what we thought we could get.  It was almost a mocking tone of "nope, you are delusional."  

 

This realtor thinks listing it for the amount we set will be fine, provided we do the necessary work prior to listing.

 

It is VERY hard to comp our house.  We have acreage and a large home, but our home is older (1987) and has 8' ceilings, so comping it to the grand ceilings sq. ft. per sq. ft. isn't correct, but they often forget about the land when they comp.

 

It is a bit of a mess when comping.  

I have found all my houses as well, only once taking a Realtor in, only because the Seller happened to be the son of the elderly owners and was far too emotional about selling.  

 

My favorite purchases are estate or POA sales.  I just bought one that appraised at tens of thousands of dollars higher than what I paid.  

 

I don't do retail.  You sound like me.  

 

I hope you get your price!  

Edited December 3, 2015 by TranquilMind

[ThisIsTheDay]

Wow, that is one LAZY Realtor. That is a broker violation around here.  You have to tell them up front the way it is going to be. You set all the terms.  You stay heavily involved.   You have to set the price at slightly under the best market price you can expect, and have fantastic photos (and not those weird, distorted ones that agents seem so fond of).  

 

Many of them have no idea what they are doing, but they spew nonsense all the time.  

 

Re the bolded. For the last couple of house sales, I have had our realtor pass pictures to me for preapproval, and I have substituted my own.

 

With rental property, I have sometimes provided the photos.

 

I would imagine that over the last 20 years, I've viewed far more online house photos on realty websites than most of the realtors (buyers or sellers) we've worked with.  ;)

[LisaKinVA]

Good advice.

 

I'm curious. What does she need from you as a Seller, other than the obvious, the Listing Contract, and Disclosure forms?

 

That's all I provide to the Realtor I use, as well as the fee for listing. Nothing financial...it isn't the agent's business. The agent keeps me apprised through the transaction, forwards documents, and forwards my updates or requests to the agent for the Buyer. We meet at closing.

 

So I am curious what they want if you do it the standard way with a full service Realtor these days? I have never done that.

I'd say most Realtors might not need more than what you list for the average house sale. When you get into more custom homes, where things aren't run of the mill, the Realtor may need to not only know about the special features, but what benefits they convey.

 

For example, we have Kerdy and Ditra under our tile/showers to make a long-lasting, more durable, waterproof shower. The Ditra also makes the stone, marble, and ceramic flooring incredibly durable (prevents cracking from movement, among other things). We provide the extra information about upgrades that cannot be seen, and explain the benefits. In some cases, the benefits to things we've done can be shown through the heating and cooling costs (we could heat or our house and basement ... 4500 square feet... for an average of $350/month. Most houses in our area of similar size have propane heat, to the tune of $1000+ per month). In other cases, like the tile work, things like the special, "self sealing" grout in the spa shower, should be pointed out.

 

I also put together a binder, with a photo DVD, copy of the house plans, etc. which document the building process, special materials used, use and care manuals for appliances and equipment, where things were purchased, brands/colors of paint and grout, plumber, septic, and heat and air installation and repair people familiar with our house's systems. Some of this is a bit unnecessary, but it is nice to have.

[TranquilMind]

I'd say most Realtors might not need more than what you list for the average house sale. When you get into more custom homes, where things aren't run of the mill, the Realtor may need to not only know about the special features, but what benefits they convey.

 

For example, we have Kerdy and Ditra under our tile/showers to make a long-lasting, more durable, waterproof shower. The Ditra also makes the stone, marble, and ceramic flooring incredibly durable (prevents cracking from movement, among other things). We provide the extra information about upgrades that cannot be seen, and explain the benefits. In some cases, the benefits to things we've done can be shown through the heating and cooling costs (we could heat or our house and basement ... 4500 square feet... for an average of $350/month. Most houses in our area of similar size have propane heat, to the tune of $1000+ per month). In other cases, like the tile work, things like the special, "self sealing" grout in the spa shower, should be pointed out.

 

I also put together a binder, with a photo DVD, copy of the house plans, etc. which document the building process, special materials used, use and care manuals for appliances and equipment, where things were purchased, brands/colors of paint and grout, plumber, septic, and heat and air installation and repair people familiar with our house's systems. Some of this is a bit unnecessary, but it is nice to have.

Well, I write my own listings, so I include all important benefits within the listing itself or the features part, but if it is too much to include within the listing, I document it in the home with a small typed sign. 

 

I guess generally maybe Realtors write listings? 

Edited January 1, 2016 by TranquilMind