[nissan]

We listed our home in April with an agent with the hope of selling it quickly. It's 5 months now, and we've been dropping the price every month, with no traction. We're priced competitively at this point, and we get showings, but then nothing happens. My agent doesn't contact me with what happened, he doesn't reply to my emails unless I follow up with him after 2 days, and he has no real advice for me.

The written feedback from people coming at showings trend 4/5 in terms of the home and priced about right.

We're 2 weeks out from the agent contract expiring. Do you guys recommend selling by owner? We'd pay the buyer's agent 3%, but given this experience, I don't know how much value selling agents really bring. Seems to me they just throw up a listing on the MLS and hope someone comes to see and then offer. I asked my agent what he's doing to push people after the showing..his response, "I can't speak to someone and make them stop looking at other homes or I would be glad to."

[gtron]

i have no idea but i would like to say that guy is a lump.

[kevinbahnz]

I bought a "sold by owner" last year. We low balled the seller because we knew she didn't have to pay agents fees.

[bimmette]

Not sure what is allowed in your area, but try to use an agent for a small flat fee who just posts your ad on MLS and then do the showings yourself. Save thousands and you should be the best salesperson for your own home anyways, as long as you look presentable and can act professionally.

[kawasaki00]

My wife is a Agent and she along with myself have seen it all. You should always get feedback from your agent on every showing.
The less expensive the house the easier it is to do FSBO, the more expensive the more the agent will help with your legal process.
when doing a FSBO you can be played pretty easy buy the purchasing agent and the client. From negotiating the contract to the inspection report and the repairs.
You should never be present for the showing, and neither should your agent.
Remember low balling usually only works on "dumb" sellers. Buying a home from a FSBO can actually be much more difficult because people have a skewed perspective of what the house is worth. A agent will have a Fair Market Value that the home is really worth, most appraisors will follow pretty close these figures. I hav seen many homes that are FSBO not sell because the owner refuses to believe that the valus of the home is less than what they think it should be, bottom line is the bank will not lend more than the appraisal. Most FSBO sellers are cheap skates, that is why they are trying to save the money. Standard rate is 3% in NC but commision is up to the agent. They can charge as little as they want. Most times agents will sell a home for 1.5-2% if you are using them to buy a new one as they will recoupe money on the back end.
Stay with a agent, just find one that is on top of the game. There are many super lazy agents out there.

[BKV122]

My father and his siblings sold my grandfathers house by owner. Everything went well. Im not sure of all the legal stuff they had to do but i know they had an attorney to deal with (obviously), local village codes had them submit new plans and survey. But it all went smooth

[rjpeaks]

depends what the condition of your house is.

if there's issues that you may have to deal with - then it may behoove you to get an agent.

a good agent - i would say first thing get rid of the current one. do you have one around that specializes in your neighborhood?

we just sold our tri-plex (rental) using someone who used before - about 15 years ago.

always be comfortable with the agent - b/c conversations may be difficult sometimes.

G/L

[El Cheapo Loco]

A home on MLS for 5 months is "stale" and will not generate interest. Your agent should have taken it off MLS after 2 months of inactivity, wait a couple weeks then relist with new wording and fresh pictures.

Your agent is just lazy. Fire his sorry ass.

[TunedM2C]

Fire that agent and research top agents for your area and start over. Or, list your home with a very good description on Zillow, Craigslist, Trulia, FSBO.com, etc. and have a professional photographer come in and take pictures. You might even want to do a video and put it on YouTube.

Keep in mind, the longer it sits on the mls, the harder it is to sell it.

[gatorfast]

Originally Posted by kawasaki00

Standard rate is 3% in NC but commision is up to the agent.

You mean 3% solely for the selling agent with the buying agent usually requiring another 3% for a total of 6% correct?

I thought 6% was the standard fee a seller would expect to pay.

[Quicksilv3r]

Originally Posted by gatorfast

You mean 3% solely for the selling agent with the buying agent usually requiring another 3% for a total of 6% correct?

I thought 6% was the standard fee a seller would expect to pay.

5-6% (total) is normal, but depends on realty co.

[MrRoboto]

I 'bugged' one of the houses I sold in the past to listen to potential buyers feedback directly rather then relying on the agents interpretation.

[Nkc]

Originally Posted by MrRoboto

I 'bugged' one of the houses I sold in the past to listen to potential buyers feedback directly rather then relying on the agents interpretation.

Genius.

[nissan]

Wow, that is a *great* idea to bug the house to get feedback. The agent finally contacted me (after 3 days) with some SOB story about how he got diagnosed with some illness and so he wasn't able to provide good communication. He agreed to dissolve the relationship.

The house is only 4 yrs old, spent a bunch last summer getting it prof. painted, 1200 sf of bamboo flooring, premium granite and new appliances for kitchen. It shows very well, but I think my agent blew it. We had 15 showings, rated ~4/5 on feedback surveys, with only notes being we may have been high. The agent should have been able to call those agents and tell them we're flex on price.

Frustrating, we lost the entire summer. A house 2 doors down sold for $10K above our current list price, in 15 days, with no wood flooring and builder basic granite.

I decided to list w Redfin to try and save some $ without hassles of dealing w buyers. Lowered the list price by the amt we're saving. The house has been empty since April..if we don't get something by Oct, we're f'd w/winter around the corner.