Am I expecting too much from realtor?

[Annie G]

We signed with the most successful realtor in the area, partly because the average time to sell in our town is *174* days.  She was all enthusiastic at the first meeting, and it’s been downhill from there. 

Main complaints:

She put together a market analysis but when it came time to pick a list price she told us to list at whatever price we wanted.  (Market analysis was difficult because our House is 140 years old and it’s hard to know how that compares to a much newer but much smaller house)

We’ve seen some awful photos and descriptions and she promised we’d be able to see them and approve them before listing. Nope. she listed it two days before she said she would and didn’t tell us before it went live.  And there are issues with both the photos and the description.

Emailed right away with our concerns and she promised to make the changes the next day but three days later no change. 

She has room sizes all wrong. like our living room is listed at 12 by 13 feet when it’s 16 by 33 feet.  Kitchen, bedrooms...all wrong sizes, some by a lot. we gave her dimensions and no changes. 

It makes sense (and she agreed) that potential buyers should come up driveway and park in our large parking area and enter through back door instead of parking on the busy street. Lockbox is on the front door, but the key is to the back door. 

Every day she posts houses to her Facebook page and most houses have the pretty street view or a main interior pic, like the living room or kitchen. Ours? we have five bedrooms, four of which are staged as bedrooms. We have a tiny ugly bedroom that only has a futon and a dresser and most friends have never seen that room. You guessed it, that’s what shows up. And the next visible pic is a former upstairs kitchen that we used as a workshop for our renovations. Also ugly. We have 13 other rooms to choose from and that’s what she shows?

I don’t know the line between being ‘that client’ and advocating for good service. Help me out here, guys. 

[Carrie12345]

I’d be pitching a fit. Truly. 

And what is it with pictures, anyway? Maybe 10% of the stuff I see for local listings has decent pictures. The rest really seem to like close ups of the inside of (builder’s grade) showers and (builder’s grade) closets. @@

[JIN MOUSA]

I would be pretty upset by the lack of response to your concerns, and the lack of care in choosing which pictures to promote. It sounds like this realtor may not be a good fit for y'all

I understand she's successful in your area, and part of that may have to do with which clients she takes on (like she's reached a point in her business where she can be choosy, and so she chooses properties that are more likely to sell quickly). You said your house is old, I assume it's non-standard for your area?

At this point, I'd say you've given her a try and it's time to move on to someone who is more responsive. Maybe look for similar homes in the area that have sold in the last few years and see who the selling realtor was?

[Scarlett]

I would be very very upset.  Do not tolerate this.  If she does not correct everything IMMEDIATELY ask to be released from the listing agreement.  

[JIN MOUSA]

2 minutes ago, Carrie12345 said:

I’d be pitching a fit. Truly. 

And what is it with pictures, anyway? Maybe 10% of the stuff I see for local listings has decent pictures. The rest really seem to like close ups of the inside of (builder’s grade) showers and (builder’s grade) closets. @@

Seriously. 

Considering how good most cell phone cameras are these days and how real estate photography information is so readily available, it's surprising what terrible pictures realtors still take and use. I guess when most people didn't carry a high quality camera around with them, it was easy to excuse poor pictures as a lack of a high end tool. Apparently, it's more user error than anything else. 

[ashfern]

You need to complain to her broker as she's not listening to you. Keep in mind that in some offices there is a secretary who does all of the data entry for listings into the MLS. She may not have access to be able to make those changes. I worked for a brokerage where I was unable to do anything with the listings. It was very frustrating. 

[EmseB]

I would email her with your list above, slightly more cordially maybe. Dear Agent, We have appreciated the time and work you have put in to listing our house, however, we have some concerns about the listing and our working relationship, especially given the market in this area.

--bullet

--bullet

--bullet

Thank you in advance for addressing these concerns.

Does she work with a team or a brokerage? I'd maybe find someone to cc like the office owner or something.

[Annie G]

Thanks so much for the fast responses! A few quick answers- our town has a lot of old houses, and ours is in the prime location for these houses- it has always been a very desirable location.    She is the owner - meaning she works alone, though she does have two office people.  I don’t want to be let out of the contract, at least not yet, but I do want her to pay more attention to details.  I think I’ll arrange an office visit so we can hash this out face to face instead of trading emails. I don’t know whether her emails are being answered by her or her staff- I need to find that out.

As far as making changes to the MLS, she said it’s easy. Our daughter is moving and her childhood room was in disarray when photos were taken so we didn’t photograph that room. Realtor said she would take price and photoshop the junk out but we insisted no pics of that room yet. We have another room that was due for new carpet a few days later and she said she’ll post new pics once the carpet is in (it’s in -yay!)

She took the photos with a digital SLR and sent them out for editing. I’m mostly happy with the pics but way too many of the two forementioned crummy rooms and yet only one of the super custom garage- it’s a real show stopper for car guys. so maybe show two garage pics in place of seven of the ugly 70’s era second kitchen. 

I really want to make this work- we have a very depressed economy here and it’s hard to sell houses, especially ones this large. she closed on 17 houses in July, the next highest selling agent closed three. Similar stats for the past year- this girl sells houses, even the hard to sell or undesirable ones . 

‘Thanks for the nudge to advocate for myself. We’ve been in this house for 24 years so I really didn’t know if I was expecting too much.

[Hyacinth]

Thinking someone will do what she explicitly SAID she would do is not expecting too much.  

I'd request a meeting ASAP.

[Moonhawk]

I just sold my house in June. Not pitching a fit about what my realtor did with our listing and the overall responsiveness is my biggest regret. I went with the "biggest/best" realtor in my area for the same reasons you gave (selling time, etc). I still feel bitter about the % of the sale they got. If I could do it again, I'd have raised more fuss at the beginning, and then left if it wasn't handled quickly.  

All of that being said, if she sold 17 to the next person's 3 in July, its hard to believe she could do that without knowing what she's doing. She could be overworked/overwhelmed, OR she could be focusing on what's gotten her past sales and you just can't see what that is (talking with other realtors, or something). But yeah, 17 vs 3 is a huge jump. 

Regardless, yes, I'd get another meeting and get on the same page fast, you are not asking too much at all.

[Carol in Cal.]

I would be furious.  Also kind of suspicious.

But also, I tend not to use the realtor that sells the fastest because I assume that they are in a hurry and not detail oriented.  Also that they push you to cut your price so they can make a quick sale.  Around here that is the case.  It probably isn’t everywhere.

If.you really want to stay with her as your realtor, I think you’re going to have to accept that you yourself are going to need to write the copy for your house to present it in the best light, and ‘order’ the pictures for her.  I’d take out the pictures that you don’t like, completely, and redo the house listing look entirely.  I’d approach it as, wow, we just love working with you and we totally understand how busy you are, so we want to do this ourselves working with your assistant, and see what she says.  Because if you go into negotiations with a realtor who already considers you mostly an annoyance, she is not going to represent you well where it reallly counts.

Also, I would push her to tell you how much she thinks that the house will sell for.  She owes you that information.

But still, my first inclination would be to fire her, unless I thought she represents all the serious buyers in town and would blackball you.  That happens a lot with, for instance, Remax listings, around here.  Too risky.  Find out the lay of the land before you act.

[G5052]

We went with the top realtor in our region, and I was a little concerned at first. Houses move in our area, but there's competition. It's not a high demand area. Bidding wars rarely happen.

Our house was beautiful and photographs well, but every camera angle made it look even better. She used a professional but was there with them. Every measurement and detail was correct. The buyer who ultimately got it said in an offer letter that they were sold by the listing before even seeing it in person.

A lot of top performers have assistants, but she does not. She said that listing is the most critical step in actually getting a buyer. And in our area, she said that 90% of the time, the people who ultimately buy it see it in the first week it's listed. So everything needs to be right.

If I ever buy again, I plan to use her, hands down.

Edited August 24, 2018 by G5052

[Storygirl]

I would not be happy with what you describe. At all. And I am not a person who wants to make waves.

I think it needs to be fixed ASAP, because sometimes people will only look at a listing once online and then skip past that home when browsing online again. So I think a meeting would be helpful, but it needs to be right away. And I would take a written list of all of the issues with me, so that she doesn't have to remember or rely on whatever notes she may take. I would express my disappointment respectfully and ask for the issues to be changed immediately.

[extendedforecast]

 

I would express my concerns again, providing the correct information for the listing (she should have provided you a form to fill out with all the details, including room dimensions), and a request for the professional pictures she promised. Copy the broker on this email. If she fails to make the changes, you may have the right to terminate the listing agreement. 

I’d be most concerned about the listing price/comparative market analysis. I understand that there may be few comparable properties, but your agent should be able to make adjustments to factor in the age of the house, the difference in square footage, etc. Was she able to determine value of your property? It sounds like she wasn’t too confident if she told you to pick a listing price. You can ask for a new CMA prepared by the broker him/herself. 

Edited August 24, 2018 by extendedforecast

[Annie G]

I think she does know what she’s doing, but that her success has overwhelmed her. A month ago when we were choosing a realtor she had some 75 listings in the area- that is a lot to keep up with, though I really don’t know whether that’s a lot for an average realtor or not. In any case, the squeaky wheel probably gets the grease so I’m writing up the list of things that need to be corrected and will meet with her. 

We’re not too worried about the listing being perfect right now, because as I mentioned, houses in our area take a long time to sell so we know we can fidget with it next week and be ok. I just don’t want more things falling through the cracks. 

‘As far as terminating, I’m not sure how to do that if it comes to it. I mean, she did take photos and put together a listing and has it on realtor, her site, etc.  I’m not really upset about the photo quality as much as the ones she’s highlighting- she took hundreds somthere are plenty to choose from, but she has too many of rooms that we aren’t trying to highlight. 50 photos is a lot for a potential buyer to slog through so I’d rather have one of the ‘lesser’ rooms to cut down the number. stuff like that- that she said we’d discuss and agree on before listing.

Now I’m rambling...sorry, it’s been a crazy week.  Youngest dd is moving 1800 miles away on Tuesday and we just listed the house she grew up in...it’s an emotional time. 

‘Thanks, everyone, for your input. I fully expect to winter here and sell the house in the spring, but It would be great to find a buyer sooner. 

[extendedforecast]

Seventy-five listings is a lot! Holy cow! I’ve had as many as twelve or thirteen listings at once, and it was pretty chaotic until I sold a few.  No wonder she sold so many last month. No wonder she hasn’t had time to update your photos and everything else! She must be putting out fires all day long. 

ETA: Good luck with the sale of your home! I second the advice to work as much as possible with the assistants. That may be your best bet considering all her responsibilities. 

Edited August 24, 2018 by extendedforecast

[SamanthaCarter]

We had a realtor like that, and he was also one of the “ best” in the area. We ended up firing him due to lack of responsiveness and his seeming inability to produce a nice listing for our home. (Bad thumbnail picture for searches, factual and grievous punctuation errors). He made it very difficult to fire him. Our next realtor was youngish, checked out well online, had listings of the variety our house landed in (solidly middle class). He was excellent, very good with online communication and pretty easily got the job done.  

[Liz CA]

I just have some general musings on this. I too once talked to a "top seller" of the area. My impression was that her efforts were somewhat commensurate with the commission she could expect. IOW, the more the property would bring her in commission, the more effort she'd put into presenting and selling as well as scheduling open houses. She also delegated the "less interesting" houses to an assistant so she could devote her time to selling the big ticket items.

Sometimes, people who are still proving themselves in the business OR just want to build a solid reputation and client base but are not angling for the "big fish" all the time, are more motivated, more communicative and more open to answering questions as well as suggestions.

[SamanthaCarter]

39 minutes ago, Liz CA said:

I just have some general musings on this. I too once talked to a "top seller" of the area. My impression was that her efforts were somewhat commensurate with the commission she could expect. IOW, the more the property would bring her in commission, the more effort she'd put into presenting and selling as well as scheduling open houses. She also delegated the "less interesting" houses to an assistant so she could devote her time to selling the big ticket items.

Sometimes, people who are still proving themselves in the business OR just want to build a solid reputation and client base but are not angling for the "big fish" all the time, are more motivated, more communicative and more open to answering questions as well as suggestions.

Yes, this was my impression to. Along with “top seller” meaning that they list so many houses it’s simply a numbers game. They’ll sell several a month no matter what. Whether it’s your’s or not they don’t care much. 

[Catwoman]

4 hours ago, Storygirl said:

I would not be happy with what you describe. At all. And I am not a person who wants to make waves.

I think it needs to be fixed ASAP, because sometimes people will only look at a listing once online and then skip past that home when browsing online again. So I think a meeting would be helpful, but it needs to be right away. And I would take a written list of all of the issues with me, so that she doesn't have to remember or rely on whatever notes she may take. I would express my disappointment respectfully and ask for the issues to be changed immediately.

 

That is so true about people only looking at the same listing once! In addition to getting the information corrected and new photos posted, I think Annie should also make sure the main photo on the listing is changed so people will take a second look (because it will look like a different listing if the new picture shows the house at even a slightly different angle or in different lighting.) 

[Guest]

8 hours ago, Annie G said:

We signed with the most successful realtor in the area, partly because the average time to sell in our town is *174* days.  She was all enthusiastic at the first meeting, and it’s been downhill from there. 

Main complaints:

She put together a market analysis but when it came time to pick a list price she told us to list at whatever price we wanted.  (Market analysis was difficult because our House is 140 years old and it’s hard to know how that compares to a much newer but much smaller house)

We’ve seen some awful photos and descriptions and she promised we’d be able to see them and approve them before listing. Nope. she listed it two days before she said she would and didn’t tell us before it went live.  And there are issues with both the photos and the description.

Emailed right away with our concerns and she promised to make the changes the next day but three days later no change. 

She has room sizes all wrong. like our living room is listed at 12 by 13 feet when it’s 16 by 33 feet.  Kitchen, bedrooms...all wrong sizes, some by a lot. we gave her dimensions and no changes. 

It makes sense (and she agreed) that potential buyers should come up driveway and park in our large parking area and enter through back door instead of parking on the busy street. Lockbox is on the front door, but the key is to the back door. 

Every day she posts houses to her Facebook page and most houses have the pretty street view or a main interior pic, like the living room or kitchen. Ours? we have five bedrooms, four of which are staged as bedrooms. We have a tiny ugly bedroom that only has a futon and a dresser and most friends have never seen that room. You guessed it, that’s what shows up. And the next visible pic is a former upstairs kitchen that we used as a workshop for our renovations. Also ugly. We have 13 other rooms to choose from and that’s what she shows?

I don’t know the line between being ‘that client’ and advocating for good service. Help me out here, guys. 

I haven’t read other replies, but I would be *furious*! I have no experience with selling homes, only putting them up for rent, but when I put them up for rent, like I just did with one, I am *painstaking* in taking the best photos possible, from the best angle I can manage, and arranging them on the site so the most worthwhile views are first. I write my copy carefully, trying to frame every best thing about the rental in the brightest possible light. 

If I, an amateur who does not get paid (well, not directly) for doing this can do all this for posting a rental, I would absolutely expect a realtor to do *at least* that well. 

And I shall never understand poorly-thought-out photographs for selling or renting a home! 

[gardenmom5]

whether it's her intent or not, i don't know.  I'm left with the impression she doesn't want to deal with your listing.   the bad pictures, the wrong sizes (much smaller than reality).  the "list it for what you want"?  what?.   I'd fire her immediately.

[gardenmom5]

8 hours ago, Carol in Cal. said:

I would be furious.  Also kind of suspicious.

But also, I tend not to use the realtor that sells the fastest because I assume that they are in a hurry and not detail oriented.  Also that they push you to cut your price so they can make a quick sale.  Around here that is the case.  It probably isn’t everywhere.

If.you really want to stay with her as your realtor, I think you’re going to have to accept that you yourself are going to need to write the copy for your house to present it in the best light, and ‘order’ the pictures for her.  I’d take out the pictures that you don’t like, completely, and redo the house listing look entirely.  I’d approach it as, wow, we just love working with you and we totally understand how busy you are, so we want to do this ourselves working with your assistant, and see what she says.  Because if you go into negotiations with a realtor who already considers you mostly an annoyance, she is not going to represent you well where it reallly counts.

Also, I would push her to tell you how much she thinks that the house will sell for.  She owes you that information.

But still, my first inclination would be to fire her, unless I thought she represents all the serious buyers in town and would blackball you.  That happens a lot with, for instance, Remax listings, around here.  Too risky.  Find out the lay of the land before you act.

never, ever list with an agent who does that.  they'll inflate the price, then "drop" to get action.  you sit and wait, they don't do much, buyers and buyer's agents have already seen it, and dismissed it as too high.  and if it sells, they still get paid.

[Katy]

I'd flat out warn her in writing (or via email) that she has 24 hours to give you a written release to your contract <OR> correct EVERY error, or you will start posting honest reviews of her bad service online and with the BBB.

Edited August 25, 2018 by Katy

[G5052]

Whoa! I think 75 is too much. Our realtor said that her limit is 20, which seemed like a lot to me. She averages 8 settlements a month with both buyers and sellers, so she keeps things moving though.

[Scarlett]

On 8/24/2018 at 3:48 PM, Annie G said:

I think she does know what she’s doing, but that her success has overwhelmed her. A month ago when we were choosing a realtor she had some 75 listings in the area- that is a lot to keep up with, though I really don’t know whether that’s a lot for an average realtor or not. In any case, the squeaky wheel probably gets the grease so I’m writing up the list of things that need to be corrected and will meet with her. 

We’re not too worried about the listing being perfect right now, because as I mentioned, houses in our area take a long time to sell so we know we can fidget with it next week and be ok. I just don’t want more things falling through the cracks. 

‘As far as terminating, I’m not sure how to do that if it comes to it. I mean, she did take photos and put together a listing and has it on realtor, her site, etc.  I’m not really upset about the photo quality as much as the ones she’s highlighting- she took hundreds somthere are plenty to choose from, but she has too many of rooms that we aren’t trying to highlight. 50 photos is a lot for a potential buyer to slog through so I’d rather have one of the ‘lesser’ rooms to cut down the number. stuff like that- that she said we’d discuss and agree on before listing.

Now I’m rambling...sorry, it’s been a crazy week.  Youngest dd is moving 1800 miles away on Tuesday and we just listed the house she grew up in...it’s an emotional time. 

‘Thanks, everyone, for your input. I fully expect to winter here and sell the house in the spring, but It would be great to find a buyer sooner. 

If she doesn't correct the things you are unhappy about you just ask her to release you from the agreement.  

[gardenmom5]

1 hour ago, Patty Joanna said:

I'm not a realtor; I'm just opinionated.  I AM a real-estate photographer, so I have a lot of conversations with realtors; I used to do administrative work in a realtor's office; and I am a real-estate snoop (I enjoy knowing what is going on in the market).  I live in a hot seller's market, although it is cooling.  Here come the opinions and they are worth every penny of my 0% commission.  :0)

The fact that your market is slow is more reason to be very careful with the listing.  The "average" time on the market is not really that interesting in a slower market.  Some houses have been sitting on the market for 2 years or more--which means that some are selling in a lot less time.  

We are entering the typical slow-down time for real estate--when school starts, very often, families are either looking to buy right this minute or they put off moving until mid-year or the next summer.  

It USED to be that the realtors held all the cards re: information about houses in the area.  That isn't true anymore.  Between RedFin, Zillow, and local realtors' own applications, the buyer is in the driver's seat, at least in a slower market.  (In our market, getting the listing faster from the agent than Redfin or Zillow get it can make a big difference.). NB:  our realtor was never even in our house until *after* we closed.  He did a magnificent negotiation and got us the house over 4 other over-asking-price bids, but we did all the initiation and legwork.  This is much more typical than it was before the internet.  Some realtors have adapted better than others.

Even with a good agent - I found my dd's house by stalking redin.  the REA sent out listings once per day.    It showed up in the middle of the day - and I was constantly on redfin.  dd did get her offer in the SAME DAY - it was the second offer.

When someone looks at your listing online, you have about 3 seconds before they click again--either away or to see more information.  If your first photo is a disaster, you haven't helped yourself.  And once they have looked at your house, it is no longer "fresh"--it's a dimmed "pin" on the map and not likely to get clicked again.  

From what you described, I am with Katy, above.  Get out of the listing contract, and de-list the property so when you list it with another realtor, it shows up fresh.    THIS.

Get some good photos that encourage the lookers to think, "hmmm...that looks really homey/sweet/roomy/family-oriented/peaceful."  (The first photo is generally required to be of the front of the property or the view from the property...but for heaven's sake, make sure the house looks LEVEL and try to get the photo at a time of day when the light isn't casting harsh shadows--try to have the sun behind you.  A slightly overcast day is actually a little more kind to photographs than the beaming down hot sun of summer.)

If your realtor is relying solely on comparables for pricing, s/he has not yet caught up to the internet real-estate model.  Lookers search in *ranges* and if you price at a common price, you get the lookers for whom that price is the top of their range AND the lookers for whom it is at the bottom of their range.   $500K is going to get you more looks than $520K or $480K.  

One of the things I learned in sales is that you want to make it easy for people to do what you want them to do.  Your current agent isn't doing that for YOU nor is she doing that for potential buyers.  People don't want to walk around the house looking for the key, and it is also an odd way to present the house, given that a LOT of decisions are made in the first 3 minutes.  

I would de-list, get things right, with a different agent, and go from there.  That's my OPINION.  

 

THIS.

 

I was the one stalking listing sites when dd was house hunting.  I was the one who said "fire your agent" (I wasn't there when the decision was made to hire him, but even as a buyer's agent, he was worthless.).   dd then got a new agent that won the multi-offer house.

I've looked at MANY listings - I was looking at listings even after she had moved into her house.  and again last winter helping my brother.   if the first picture is bad (and I've seen some doozies) - it will either scare a potential buyer away, or make them open it for laughs.  either way - they're not looking at it as a potential house, it has already been dismissed. 

and yes - once people have dismissed a house (INCLUDING real estate agents who won't be bringing their buyers), it's dismissed.  they don't waste their time to look at it again.

get it delisted, clean up the photos as well as the "copy" - and relist with a different agent so it will come up fresh. 

Edited August 27, 2018 by gardenmom5

[Annie G]

UPDATE:

Issues resolved and I feel good about moving forward with her. 

‘A few details:

The price issue is that she talked about a range and when it came time to electronically sign the documents we had to put the list price and we didn’t know what number to pick. We’re completely happy with the list price, it just threw us off since we are paying her for advice. I’d rather not be pressured into doing something I’m not comfortable with so I’m good with this. Dh and I are happy with our list price. 

‘Photos- the photos were well done, but my issue was that there were too many and too many of our two crummy rooms. She has taken out a few photos so we’re under 50 now. The online listings always showed the outside of the house photos first, and only her Facebook page started with the little bedroom pics.  Before I mentioned that issue to her the Facebook listing was changed to be the same as MLS with front of the House pics. 

The room sizes have been changed, as have other minor details we wanted changed. 

‘The lockbox has been moved to the correct door. 

I met her at the office today and most of the things we had issues with had already been corrected before I showed up. (I had not called in advance)

Here’s what the issue was- she has an office person who handles her emails when she’s out of the office so when I was getting responses saying something would be done, it was from her assistant.  Yeah, i’m sure she was not happy to go back and read the email threads from Wednesday-Friday because assistant was answering emails and not making notes of things that needed to be done.(assistant got behind and wasn’t organized enough and things were falling through the cracks) I was not the only client having this issue.  As I left, I ran into a friend and as we were talking I heard the realtor jumping on the assistant for it.  realtor did the exact right thing- she apologized, fixed issues, took the blame entirely, and then when I was gone she took it up with her staff. no passing the buck-it’s her office and her staff and she is ultimately responsible. 

‘We are not going to rely on email any more, but will text or call when we need to communicate. That way I know we are communicating with her and not her staff. she offered that before I even thought of it. 

Thanks for all the advice, guys. It helped a great deal. I’ll be back with more questions when we’re ready to buy the next house!

 

[Carol in Cal.]

Sounds good!

[Annie G]

Just now, Carol in Cal. said:

Sounds good!

If it sticks, yes! We’ve had five different trades working on our house in the past two weeks and three had errors in either billing or work performed, so I think I’m just accepting that we have to keep on top of things - nobody cares about my money than I do!