POSTED: August 21, 2009 by dustbunnydiva
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After reading through this, I think it's worth saying that feedback is very subjective and lots of people won't give you a true answer anyway. For one person who says your microwave looks crowded, 2 more might be admiring the counter space. I wouldn't jump to keep changing things around. It's frustrating to wait and maybe a cliche, but the right person will come along. When house hunting I saw lots that were nicely staged and had nothing "wrong", but for some reason (often not one I could articulate myself) I just wasn't compelled to live there. When things are in order, clean and neat as yours is, I don't think a duvet cover or clock is going to make or break the sale. Staging helps, no doubt, but IMO it only has a big impact when the house has a lot of problems or when the owners just don't know how to properly present the house for the masses - which is not you!
thanks for the suggestions.
Yes I have a big pot of yellow mums our front and one in the back. I was glad when Costco finally got them in as they are perfect for the occasion. Some glads I had officially bit the dust today so there goes the indoor flowers until I run out and get some more (probably later today).
The microwave is a problem when trying to keep the limited counter space clear. Originally it was going to be on a shelf above the sink but it ended up looking really crowded so there went that idea. We put it on the fridge just because it fit and most of all basically hid the shelves behind so that saved figuring out what would go there. It would be better by the window except there is no place to plug it in there. Not sure how having it there not plugged in would go over. Oddly enough I'm actually finding it easier to use up on the fridge vs where it used to be. I'm tall enough that I can see what I need to see and it's out of the way..
Meanwhile it does seem like things might be picking up again. Last week I had 5 showings, This week with yesterday and today, 4 already and it's only Tuesday. Fingers crossed.
The real estate agent is looking after number one - her/himself. Understandable, but you have look after your number one too.
I just went back to look at your listing. It is well done and definitely has your well written style. I did a quick compare of older homes in the same price range and area? as yours. The one was smaller, only had one blurry picture and had an illegal suite in the basement that rents for $2100 per month. Yours is so much better.
Should have read your Staging Thread but will just throw a couple of tiny comments in here for consideration. The microwave on the fridge says "no space" to me. Do you have access to an inexpensive butcher block rolling island or other small white cabinet that the M/W could be put in just below the window? Your LR looks great with the couch in front of the fireplace. Your agent did you a disservice by suggesting that it was ok cutting off the DR area. For that first impression, do you keep a large pot of colourful flowers on your front porch?
It's a shame that the first offer fell through as you lost a good week in prime time.
If your agent feels you are becoming dissatisfied and thinking of relisting elsewhere, she might get her motivation back.
I assume the reason is to get paid faster for less work. When you spend 100 hours working to sell someone's house you make a lot less/hour than if you sell it after only working 20 hours on it. Also it only costs them 1% once you are over that first $100,000 so it's a good pay off for them if they can sell fast as it only costs them $10 for every $1000 they reduce the price. So no big deal to them to tell you to drop or adjust your price by $20,000 or $30,000 if they can sell it in a day or two instead of 30.
Maybe real estate agents are pushed to sell quickly for some reason, regardless of the sellers wishes. It's not the first time I have heard of an agent wanting to drop the price quickly.
I have a bad feeling that even if you do speak to the agent she will agree with you and smile but continue with her own agenda.
Yes that write up is much better than the original one she wrote. She only gets partial credit though since I did the edit/rewrite for the new one as I felt some adjectives and lifestyle things were required. She didn't buy the complete rewrite, but at least enough to get me off her back.
So far no word on offers but have two more showings today. No feedback from the weekend from her and as of today we are at 30 days so time for the talk I guess.
I really don't see this area as effected by the school year since houses like mine are not conducive to school aged kids. It' s mostly the young urbans, downsizers, and sometimes couples with babies or toddlers although it's not unheard of for a parent to buy their university or tech students homes in this area. I'm not sure if the others have a 'season' or not other than to try and shop when the most homes are on the market which is spring and apparently early fall.
I don't know what they do about the commission issue if there was a conflict. I assume the Realtors work that out somehow but I will have to ask. It sure wouldn't be a big incentive for a new Realtor to list if they were at risk of losing half their commission.
One thing about the agent that I will admit - the write about your house is very good. She has made the reading interesting and inviting providing that comfortable feeling about it. So I give her credit for that.
Now onto the bigger issues and where do you go from here. Two more showings on the weekend - any luck or feedback? With kids heading back to school and families settling back into routines the activity might pick up.
& that is why I will only sign a contractual real estate listing for one month at a time.
Agents obviously will pull for a longer period but I stand my ground and if all is going well and the property still not sold within that time frame, I will revaluate the last 31 days of service received and decide to give my feedback and or decison of whether I choose to continue the process.
;)
We have bought and sold several homes in three countries, and three provinces in Canada. All good agents should provide (and in our experience most did) feedback. There are obviously some things that cannot be changed.. like size of home, number of rooms, location, etc, etc, but little things that can change a purchasers mind must be passed on to the seller...as well as the positive things. (RE Agents are in the service business and she should know that no client wants to only hear what is wrong)
It is my understanding that RE agents are self employed, not employed by the agency, just affiliated with the agency. So going to the manager and asking for another agent may not go over well. You may be able to break the contract, but if the person who ultimately buys your place, first came during this current contract you WILL have to split the commission with her and the new agent.
Clearly you are not happy with your agent, so I think a talk [I]is[/I] in order........
Good luck!!
thanks for the comments. This has been such a different selling experience for me I wasn't sure if my expectations were realistic or too high, if I was being reasonable or a stubborn PITA seller.
Yes! When you get her at the house I would question her. Tell her you know of the positive feedback that she failed to tell you.
Honestly, there is nothing negative to say about your house DBD. She's playing a game with you.
Do not lower your price unless absolutely necessary. You are not desperate so hold tight.
It has depended upon the agent. Some followed up after showings and others did not bother. When I didn't get any feedback after a showing I would ask my agent to follow up and it seemed like a big chore for them. I suppose like anything else you get lazy people in all jobs. He thought he knew best and I think he was used to people just doing as he told them, he wasn't used to working for each individual client in other words.
Have you considered selling the house privately? You may as well give it a try because then you can control when the showings happen and can do a better job of screening the potential buyers. A real estate agent will pretty well allow anyone who has an agent to view your home whether they are really interested in it or not.
Here's an idea: *for open house visits*
Have the Agent leave a sign in sheet so viewers can (optional) leave their contact number (RE Agents have no problem with wanting to build their prospective client base) and have a comment section. (not required but if any shoppers/lookers feel desired to comment)
Various comments maybe left such as:
Shows Well !!
Clean & Neat
Cluttered
Needs a makeover
A doll house
Overpriced !!!!
Well decorated
Too trendy !
Not fond of location but love the home
Too small
Needs too much upkeep......
& so on.....
We changed ours when our contract ran out. But we listed with another company and realtor the very next day. To say the least our first realtor wasn't a happy guy. He asked us to give a chance to make back themoney he had spent on our place but we told him he had been given 90 days to do and had no luck. All he wante to do was lower the price. We relisted with another agent and they also didn't sell it so we let the listing run out and 3 months later we sold it ourselves for more than both of them had it listed plus we didn't pay any commission so we were way ahead.
DBD couple of things:
1. it was a complete PITA to get feedback that was useful from our realtor - unless we had in him the house. Talking on the phone was not good. Talking in person, we were able to get him to sit still, focus and listen. And then we would drill him with question after question. So get your realtor in person; not on the phone.
2. In terms of your contract. Your contract should be with the realty firm - not your specific agent. She is working as an agent for that firm Therefore you can replace her, as long as she is replaced with someone from the same firm. If you are having serious problems(which it sounds like you may), I would be bringing up those issues with the manager in charge of the realty office that you are dealing with.
Let's be honest here - the relationship you have isn't working and for the money that is on the table to be earned, you have a right to have her meet your expectationa.
Feedback is the lifeline we need to assess what changes we might consider and sometimes that includes price. It only works if we get it.
Both of you need to sit down and talk about those expectations - yours and hers because it seems neither side is happy. Her solution is cut the price and yours - well we know that. A good honest discussion and being truthful in the nicest way of course, using that DBD magic, might lead to the two of you agreeing to part ways - as people who can't agree and not be enemies.
She can walk away into another deal and move on. You on the other hand will have regrets, misgivings and the dreaded ' if only I' thoughts that will live well beyond the sale and dog you for a long time. Not worth taking the chance so sit down and get it over with.
That new house in the BC needs your A game to get it.;)
Jeep did you find it a problem to get out of the contract with the first one or did he leave peacefully? Could you put your house right back up on the MLS as soon as you got another Realtor?
That is one of the reasons we changed Realtors we did get any feed back fromour first. We had an Open House and didn't hear a word fromhim for a week only to find out we had ove 70 people thru. When we signed on with the second I told them that I wanted and expected a call within the day of what was said about the house I didn't care if it was good or bad I wanted to know. How can you adjust anything if they never tell you. Hang in there it is a tough time to be selling and things are sitting a long time right now.
thanks for the feedback. I wondered because I really don't hear much back except negative comments (which happen to support her assertion about a lower price), but after a bit of happenstance today I found out there has been some real positive feedback that doesn't seem to come back to me. I'm thinking red flag. What do you think?
We also got feedback - what they liked and what they didn't.
We have sold twice (first time, it took seven weeks -- second time, just over one week) and both times our realtors were good about providing feedback from the other agent after each showing. A couple of times, we had to call our agent to hear what the prospective buyers thought, but the rest of the time, the agent called us (and one of our agents was a Flat Fee agent who didn't make much at all off our sale but still provided excellent service).
We had a great realtor who would call the next day with feedback. His secretary would call the agent who viewed the property the next day to ask for feedback had it not yet been received. It was beneficial at first but after a few showings it tended to be the same reason again and again. I feel that if I go out of my way to clean, vacate and show my home that the least they can do is give me a little feedback.
Good Luck! Feedback is nice to receive but you will probably find that you know what they are going to say already:)
Also, I always tried to warm up some cookies in the oven before they arrived so that the house smelled yummy and then I would leave them on the counter! Don't know if it helped but it did sell......
For sure. In the end we decided to renovate and not sell but during the process of selling we got feedback in regards to likes and dislikes that had been stated by the other realtors. Gave us an idea as to what people were looking for.
I remember people commenting on our kitchen etc. It also in the end helped us to make our own decision. We were considering buying another house in our neighbourhood but in the end we have been so happy that we stayed here.
In a twisted kind of way all that feedback convinced us to stay put.