When the big hand crossed the little hand at twelve early this morning (or late last night, depending on if you are one of those half empty half full people) our listing agreement with our Realtor expired.
We are thrilled!
I’ve documented in the past the relationship we had with our Realtor and how unsatisfied we have been with his performance. He admits to showing up to less than 10% of the scheduled showings we had, did not use any signs outside on a regular basis or on the day of an open house. The biggest kicker for us however was the way in which he communicated to H and I, namely his condescending demeanor and his insistence on talking to us as if we were five years old.
He left a voice mail the other day asking me to e-mail him our decision on what to do with our listing. I wrote a short but polite e-mail, thanking him for his time but stating we would be moving in a different direction from this point forward.
His response was best of luck to us, and the phrase he loved to us over and over again:
“Wishing you well and know that I did my best to get you an offer in this
most difficult market.”
Wait a second, you did your best to get us an offer? I have conceded on a number of occasions that the market is quite difficult for sellers at this point in time. Buyers have the upper hand and there is plenty of inventory in our area. But please don’t tell me you did you best to get us an offer. Let’s see what his best consisted of.
- Not being present for more than 10% of our showings
- Having a grand total of two open houses in three plus months
- Having his administrative assistant cover one of the open houses for him as he had a friend in town and cited a prior engagement
- No signage on our property the day of an open house other than an 8 1/2 x 11 piece of paper taped to the main entrance door
- No permanent signage on our front lawn
- No advertisement in any local papers
- Utilized free marketing with the Chicago Reader and Craigslist
- We had to ask him for feedback from visitors and their agents, he never came forward and told us
We interviewed two agents initially and he came with good references and a well thought out plan. Little did we understand that as an independent real estate agent we were just a number to him. He listed our place and took a chance that someone would buy it. If it happened, great. If it didn’t, well that is the risk you take and what money did he lose in it all? Nothing.
So we have interviewed two more agents, one at length and we are wating for a market evaluation from the other. We hope to list again some time next week and hopefully we will have better luck “in this most difficult market”.
Wow- what a horror story! I hope you have better luck w/ next realtor. I was very lucky when I sold my house about 14 months ago- at the very highest peak demand in neighborhood- 3 full price offers 1st day, but now property is worth $200k – $300k less in this market… I count my blessings everytime I hear stories like yours.
We couldn’t have picked a worst time to sell, but there is no way to predict the market. It’s cyclical, I know it’s going to come back around and I wish there was a way for us to rent our place until that time comes. But with the small amount of equity in our place we are not in a position to hang onto it.
You were very lucky to sell when you did, and make what you could from the property!
I am a Realtor.You are just another number.Just like when you go to the doctor ,get your hair done,get a massage,buy a car,go out to eat and buy insurance.The good professionals just know how to fake it.
Hi and thanks for the comment.
I agree with your comment to an extent … I think the thing I was most upset with concerning our Realtor is that he did little or no work on our part.
Hi I have been trying to sell my home in the Detroit market for the past 2 years. I have some horror stories regarding realtors myself….just one example an agent showing our home left the front door wide open….we weren’t home….it was the middle of winter. I do agree with what I think Allen is trying to convey (realtors are overwhelmed)…..there is a level of professionalism that is generally lacking in the profession. Again I have many examples like yours above. The only thing I have found that works is to try and tough it out (we HAVE to move because of a job relocation).
We had some luck with a builder in our area. They will take some of the loss on the home if you buy one of their brand new homes. I say “some” because we have been in their program a while but not one offer (and the ONLY homes we compete against are bank owned). You may want to look at builders in your area and see if their is anything similar.
Good luck, I really hope you find a better realtor:-)
Hi Denise and thanks a lot for the comment.
I think you hit much of the frustration on the head when you spoke about professionalism. That has probably been our biggest frustration at this point in time. Aside from not showing up to appointments, he would not call or e-mail us to let us know about any news or movement on our sale.
On more than one occasion we had buyers come to the condo ‘unannounced’ to us – they scheduled a showing with our Realtor but didn’t tell us. This happened three times and never once did our Realtor apologize for the mistake.
I certainly hope your home selling fortunes change and I look forward to reading your blog!