Proper procedure for changing agents?

16 years ago

I have 6 weeks left on my contract and will not renew with the current agent. I probably should have moved on and left her behind a while back, but I decided that there are only so many battles I can fight since there is only one of me, and work is a priority right now (and I am not in a severe rush to sell).

Over this next 6 weeks, I want to do a little more sprucing up and need to formulate my plan. Since houses are not selling, do I try to find a good buy owner type company to support my efforts, or go with another full service agency, providing they have a great marketing plan and show me that they can produce results better than I can. I think that is a decision I have to make based on research and not actually a question for you guys.

Now I am down to my question - is it appropriate for me to start talking to other agents now, or should I wait till my contract is up?

Thanks very much!

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Comments (11)

terrig_2007
16 years ago
I'd start interviewing a variety of other agents now so when your current contract is up, you can hire the new person right away with no time lost. This is what I did on one of my last house sales. We did have to wait a few days for the old agent to have her sign removed before we could put up the new one. It was a big, unwieldy type sign that we couldn't have dug out on our own.
laura1202
16 years ago
Be aware that some (most?) agents will not talk to you about selling your home while you are actively listed with another agent. That is seen as "soliciting the listings of others" and is considered unethical.
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terezosa / terriks
16 years ago
Be aware that some (most?) agents will not talk to you about selling your home while you are actively listed with another agent. That is seen as "soliciting the listings of others" and is considered unethical.

Not if the homeowner is the one to make first contact with the agent.
laura1202
16 years ago
Terriks, when our house was listed last year in NoVA and we wanted to change agents, I received the exact reply I wrote above from an agent I contacted.
berniek
16 years ago
"Terriks, when our house was listed last year in NoVA and we wanted to change agents, I received the exact reply I wrote above from an agent I contacted."

I hope you did not end up hiring this agent, because that agent did not know what they were talking about.
Sellers can contact any agent they want during a listing period with another agent. It's not against the law or REALTOR COE.
rrah
16 years ago
Berniek and terriks are 100% correct!

To the op--you mentioned that work is a priority, and it's just you. Is that going to change in someway that would make FSBO a good choice? With a schedule such as you describe I don't think a buy owner company is the way to go.
terrig_2007
16 years ago
Be aware that some (most?) agents will not talk to you about selling your home while you are actively listed with another agent. That is seen as "soliciting the listings of others" and is considered unethical.

The agents I interviewed--four from four different companies--had NO problem talking to me about my listing while my house will still listed with another agent. Perhaps it depends on the region. I'm in the Midwest.
DebbieInMiami
Original Author
16 years ago
Well, it looks as though I don't have to wait the 6 weeks. When she e-mailed me night before last to suggest I reduce by $10,000 I told her I agreed as long as we freshed the description i.e. she had "charming butterfly garden" in there and I felt we should change that to "beautifully landscaped with easy to maintain native plantings" in case people think a butterfly garden to be too much work, or...well, full of bugs!!

I also suggested that instead of calling the family room in the center of the house a "breakfast room" lets call it a 2nd family room or whatever....

Anyway, she must have waited 24 hrs and then wrote me back and bascially said she knows I haven't been happy and she will release me from my contract when I find a new agent. And at that time she will take down the listing.

So....I wonder if she would release me either way, or is it better for her if another agent takes the listing for some reason? Or maybe she is simply assuming I would get another agent.

So here we go again...but I am MUCH better armed this time and WILL be very careful before selecting another agent this time.

I do have to say that I feel bad, she was really behind the times and I know what it is like to be in an industry impacted by technology. I was thinking of sending her an Amex gift card as a thank you for her time. I just feel like it would be good karma.
qdognj
16 years ago
debinmiami, i have been sending you good karma for a week, can i get a couple of Amex gift cards?
mariend
16 years ago
Just a nice thank you card, because she apparently did not help you much. I went thru this twice with different agents and learned the hard way, these are people working for you to sell your house the most professional way it should be.
Just a thought==I would keep it off the market about a month or so. That way, you can take a deep breath, rearrange, paint, check the landscape, etc Look around for a more aggressive up to date person and good luck--If you don't have to sell, you could wait even longer. The market is really unstable now.
theroselvr
16 years ago
Do a search here for FSBO, as there are a lot of posts listing the benefits & negatives.

Since you're busy with work, will you be able to show the house?

I went looking at houses that were a few years old the other day. There was one FSBO & another without a lockbox. The lockbox was listed as motivated.. but she wasn't there at the scheduled time and said she'd be back in an hour. We came back in an hour only to be told by the listing agent that today wasn't good can we come back tomorrow. I drove over 50 minutes to see houses in that development and had an appointment the next day so I couldn't do it. For me to go back to see one or 2 houses probably isn't going to happen since we put a deposit on property which gave a week to decide. I'm debating building verses buying preexisting in that development.

Keep it in mind that someone may want to see your house as they are riding by. This is what happened with the FSBO, who did not pick up their phone. If you are not around, someone may not adjust their schedule to accommodate you.

Proper procedure for changing agents?

Comments (11)

terrig_2007

laura1202

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Proper procedure for changing agents?

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