What should I expect from my realtor (selling)?

Question

We are selling our home and it is going on 7 weeks on the market. What should we expect from our realtor. She doesn't follow up on prospects, doesn't ask about how the flyers are doing, isn't aggressive in seeking potentials that come to open houses. I feel like we are selling the house. The website stunk and we rewrote the ad and updated her with better pictures. Are we expecting too much or is she not doing enough? Anyone who can give advice that has experience in selling with a realtor is greatly appreciated!

Answer 1

You should cancel your listing immediately and re list with a good agent. Regardless of the market conditions there is no excuse whatsoever for an agent being that inept. The broker of her office needs to better monitor the agents as they are the ones out there representing the firm. Get a new brokerage firm asap and this time go with the agent that has proof of their ability to properly market a home. It is actually a small plus that you haven't had an offer as that's when an agent can make or cost you even more. By law the listing office must release the listing upon your demand.

Answer 2

You should bring your concerns to the attention of the agent and demand corrective action. If they are incapable of resolving your concerns, you should speak to the broker. Solve your problem before you get an offer, you could lose thousands in the negotiation process.

You are not expecting too much. Choosing a real estate agent should be much like interviewing an employee for a job. There are incredibly effective agents and there are incredibly ineffective agents.

At the same time, there can be misunderstandings. You don't mention disagreements on pricing (a good agent will know where the price should be set; too high and you are wasting the agent's time--it won't sell) or staging (a good agent will tell you what needs to be done to a house to attract customers and a good customer doesn't stand in the way if they are legitimate).

If, after voicing your concerns, you feel the agent is ineffective, you are probably right. Find out what options the agent recommends and move forward as best as you can. If you are really distraught, and the agent and broker aren't satisfying your concerns, it's off to the real estate attorney for some potentially bad news and good advice.

Answer 3

I am kind of in the same boat. We purchased our home 6 years ago and now that our kids all grown up and moved out we want to relocate to a different state. We did photos and a listing ourselves as we took 2 months to try FSBO and then we listed it in January with a realtor at which time he took our photos and the listing I made up and used it for their site. We are in an excellent neighborhood and have been told the market is better than when we purchased. We purchased for 165k, and at this time we have lowered to 159,900 because we are very motivated to get "moving". We had one offer in April, which quickly went downhill when there financing fell thru at which time we told our realtor that we didn't want any offers if they aren't pre-approved. We rarely hear from him and have a 6 month contract which is up soon. We recently had an open house and I was surprised they didn't put the date of this Open House on the site til 2 days before hand. I have my house listed on 3 different Facebook Sale sites to advertise it and advertised the OH for a month before hand. I don't feel like he's doing anything to help sell our home and I am personally doing all the work. Also when he did the OH he brought his wife along to keep him company? He is an older agent and my guess is that he only does this part time. We chose him because he was the realtor we used when purchasing and we really liked him. Great guy but im very disappointed...am I wrong?

Answer 4

Gem has some good points.

Your agent should be following up with prospects that come through your home during an open house. (If people come through your home with other agents, she is limited as to how much she can follow up ... mainly call their agent to see how they liked it). But, keep in mind, the overwhelming majority of people who come through an open house do not put in a bid on that house.

I am not sure what you mean by "isn't aggressive in seeking potentials that come to open houses". Do you mean aggressive advertising?

As far as flyers, it is difficult to measure how the flyers are working. Are the flyers going to specific prospects, general mailings, or just in a box near the sign.

Is the website something she set up? Sometimes agents have other people set up their sites and they do not have much to say about it. Not all agents provide a specific site for their clients.

You should not have to update the pictures yourself. If things have changed, or the seasons have changed, then your agent should be out to take pictures to make sure they are up to date.

No matter what, you should be getting a weekly update. If you feel like you should be getting more service, talk with your agent and let them know.

Answer 5

Wow, sounds like she sucks.

What kind of market are you in? Is it strong, or weak?

In Michigan it is definitely a buyer's market and an agent like yours would be starving.

So how long did you sign the contract for?

If I were you I would set her down and point blank ask her why she does not seem interested in selling your home. Put her on the spot and ask her why you should continue with her.

You may be stuck until your contract expires, or she may let you out of it. Is there any chance you are overpriced? Sometimes realtors will take a listing, knowing that the seller is asking to much, do little to no work on it and then wait to work after the seller becomes realistic to seriously market the house.

I don't feel it's ethical, but it's probably legal. Good luck.

Answer 6

you should expect follow-ups, weekly communications, either by email or phone. there is NO excuse for realtors that don't keep in contact with their seller clients...NONE! I've heard of sellers having to wait mths and mths, just to receive a 'hello' from the realtor. While the mths fly by, the seller wonders if this is 'normal procedure' for realtors...IT IS NOT. if the realtor wants to be entitled to a commission he/she will have to get off of the butts and work for it, like every other working citizen in this good ole USA. most realtors won't do much at all until they know you sellers are fed up with them and fed up with waiting for nothing. then, finally, the realtor will promise to send you a weekly summary of hits on the website for your home as well as many other things. I, myself, am STILL waiting for a wkly email or something, anything, showing the realtor is doing his/her job. it's not happening, therefore I am waitng for the right moment to say 'goodbye' to this realtor and 'hello' to FSBO. I surely can do better than that and I am motivated much more than the realtor. plus, I save 7,000 bucks that I deserve, not the realtor

Answer 7

You should expect your realtor to relate any information concerning the sell of your property to you, along with marketing the property, following up with prospects, and advising you on sale strategies such as setting price and making the necessary repairs to better the appearance of the property.