Do we need a new realtor?

13 years ago

My family is trying to sell a house to settle an estate. Up until last month a family member was living in the house but it is now empty. The house has been listed since May and so far NO offers. House is priced below comps. Is one of few homes for sale in the area in the country (3/4 acre yard). Home is in decent condition. (central air is the only thing that does work) While a family member was living there, she had four people ask HER to view the house. They had tried calling the realtor and would get no response so they went directly to the home owner. She showed the house on two occassions. The realtor was upset about this. Two of the people she showed it to verbally made an offer to her but she told them they would have to go through the realtor. One offer was full price and the other was $3,000 less than asking. The realtor claims that no one made an offer. both people came back three times with the realtor.

I decide to do a little "secret shopping" so I called the realtor posing as a first time home buyer who was already preapproved by a certain bank who was looking for a home in the country in xyz school district and had viewed the home on the internet.

First, it wasn't the realtor who was listed on the internet page that I talked to. It was someone else. Fine. She read the details from the internet (after I told her I'd seen it on their website and wanted more information) to me. The house has no pictures of the inside and I asked about this and the realtor just said that was "weird" and she had no idea what the inside of the house looked like. She said it wasn't listed as needing a lot of work so the inside was probably fine. But at no time did she suggest making an appt to see the home. She did say the place had a nice yard. That was as much marketing as she did. Instead the other TEN minutes of the phone call consisted of her telling me of great loan programs for first time home buyers (even though I repeatedly told her I was already approved with another bank) she insisted on giving me the name of someone to call (and to MAKE SURE I gave the loan offier HER name as the referral) about 3.5% interest home loans. She talked about these loans for probably five minutes (Longer than she talked about the house) and then without even asking if I wanted to see the house I'd called about she told me about other houses (in town, even though I'd said I wanted something in the countr) that were $30,000 more than the house I'd called about (note that this house is selling for less than $100,000) She told me that if I qualified for this loan program I could buy something "bigger and better". She really talked up the loan program and her friend at the bank which irritated me. I called about a HOUSE and told her I was already preapproved for a loan and working with my own bank. She then gave me her home phone number (no work number) in case I found a house I wanted to see.

Do we need a new realtor? Her contract is up next month.

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Comments (8)

sweet_tea
13 years ago
You already know the answer. Get a new realtor, from a different firm...asap.
lazy_gardens
13 years ago
Not only do you need a new realtor, you need to file a complaint with the state's realtor licensing board ... they are definitely NOT working to sell the house.

she insisted on giving me the name of someone to call (and to MAKE SURE I gave the loan offier HER name as the referral) They seem to be "steering" you to loan programs, which is a no-no.
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Tinker if this is what you want to do, I say go ahead. You have outlined your situation and it sounds like you understand full well what you're getting into. That said, a couple of stories: We have lived in the same neighborhood for 15 years. We rented for about 6 or 7 years, then started to house hunt--only in our neighborhood. We found THE house. We bid higher than reasonable and were confident we would get it, and didn't. It was bought by a developer for 30% more, who reconfigured the antique house so that the lot could be split and added two really ugly condos. We were aghast, and I can't believe I still have to look at that thing every day (we pass it on the way to dd's school). It was the best thing that ever happened to us, because we learned that you can lose your dream home, and life goes on, and unbelievably, better dream homes came along. We bid on 3 more "dream homes" in our neighborhood, getting a little more cocky and skeptical every time. I live in the fifth house we tried to buy, 4 years later, and we're very happy with it. We got a great deal, and it's head and shoulders above the first house we went for. So, as much as this house speaks to you, keep in mind, other houses can still do that too. I recommend taking 48 hours and looking around in some other places, with a different realtor. Look on craigslist--you will see things that don't show in mls listings. I have a friend that was house hunting in two of the most expensive towns in our area, my modest mid-range town wasn't even on her list. But she stumbled on a listing in Craigslist, and now has twice as much house, just as good a commute, and far better schools than she expected. Before you commit to this house, think outside the box. Heck I wish 2000 people like you would descend on Galveston, TX and invest in those crumbling victorians. Or Brunswick, GA. Just look at this: http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-Detail/817-Egmont_Brunswick_GA_31520_M63142-27459 or this: http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-Detail/815-Albany_Brunswick_GA_31520_M60146-44621 I'd buy the second house just to get a tree like that. Finally, if you are open to spending that kind of money on preservation, from a stewardship standpoint, it makes more sense to spend the money on a house that won't be torn down when you move on. Could you look in a more historic district where these types of homes are valued? If you can live with the idea of your work being undone, then I guess you're ok, but knowing with certainty that the work I put into my house would be ripped up would drive me nuts. But that's just me.
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Sounds like you have a crappy real estate agent, not to mention I never heard anyone making cash offers way beyond asking price, even in a hot market. The reason for a cash offer and quick closing is the ideal negotiating point to purchase the home under asking price and preferably under the market value. I don't know about the Seatle market, it sounds like people there just dump money over the asking price without any entry bid proposal, followed by negotiations and paying over the market worth value... Even in Manhattan, NYC where a typical townhouse goes for $2,000 per SF and up, people always bid low and negotiate from there and nobody is in the rush to pay more than it is worth and I'm sure they could easily pay anything. Like Denita said, get a new agent and don't be so eager to throw your money around for something that worth-less as the market value goes... Good luck
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As always, Denita is correct. Have you signed a listing agreement with your relative/agent? If yes, you are bound by the terms of the agreement. The listing actually belongs to the broker and not the agent. If you have not signed a listing agreement, you are not bound to anyone or anything. My guess is that you have signed an agreement in order for the house to be listed in the MLS. I negotiate for 4.5% and sometimes I get it. How it is split between brokers and agents is none of my business. Remember, real estate is the last of the great horse trades. You won't know unless you try. As a seller, I never pay more than 5%. I will set up a separate, lower commission arrangement if the selling agent brings the buyer. I'm not paying the full freight for that situation. If your conversation with the friend has been casual, you can say nothing to no one and allow the listing agreement period to lapse. Your relative may bring you a superior offer. It's not the most ethical way of doing things, but it's not illegal. Given that you found the buyer, not the agent, afterwards you can arrange for an attorney to draw up an agreement and pay the attorney for their services. If it were me. I'd wait to see if my relative brought me a superior buyer. If not, I wouldn't renew the listing contract. It's business. Family needs to perform to get my business. Would you accept less than stellar effort from a stranger? No.
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creek_side
13 years ago
Absolutely file a complaint with your state regulator. Don't even discuss anything with those people. The minute the listing agreement expires, list with another firm.
sylviatexas1
13 years ago
I don't see getting rid of one Realtor because you didn't like what another Realtor at the same firm said or did...

If you talked to an agent other than the listing agent, the person you talked to probably should have clarified that she would be acting as your buyer's rep & that she would like for you to come in & preview some houses-

but I don't know that not pushing for an appointment is cause for complaint to the commission.

The agent may have detected a false note or an evasive "aura" & just chatted to try to find out more, not wanting to tie herself up with a not-for-real buyer but not wanting to drop someone who might be a genuine buyer.

Mortgage companies often have programs that are more favorable to a buyer than banks can offer;
I often encourage people to price their financing at more than one vendor, & if there's a good program out there for first-time buyers or rural buyers or veterans...
heck, yeah, I talk it up.

Anything that helps my buyer helps me.

Also, it's often difficult to the point of impossible to get an appointment when the property is occupied by someone who doesn't want to move;
it may be that agents have tried to show your house & have been turned down by the occupant & now it's going to be hard to get agents to try.

Having the house vacant will help.

I wish you the best.
newhomeseeker
Original Author
13 years ago
Nope. Sorry- the idea that it was occupied and hard to show it is not true at all. There was no one there who didn't want to move. It is an estate. It was occupied by a family member (the daughter) and she did showings herself because people who were interested would call the realtor and GET NO RESPONSE! As far as the realtor thinking I wasn't a for-real buyer- I don't know how she would have gotten that impression. I told her I was preapproved and had a letter from my bank (I would assume most realtors would want this but she didn't even ask or care. Just pushed the other loan program at me. And she didn't even listen to what I wanted. I told her I wanted a house in a certain school district and that we wanted to be out in the country. The only houses she told me about (their listings) were in town on city lots and 30,000 to 50,000 MORE than the house I'd called about. While she didn't say anything to discourage me from looking at the house I'd called about she absolutely did nothing to try to set up an appointment (the house is vacant and has been for some time now so no problems with any owners occupying it) Any realtor can show it at anytime. And a showing has NEVER been turned down. My aunt went out of her way to accomodate everyone who wanted to see the house (even showing it herself which I don't think she should have had to do.)
dreamgarden
13 years ago
"While a family member was living there, she had four people ask HER to view the house. They had tried calling the realtor and would get no response so they went directly to the home owner."

I would can her for this alone. She isn't working for you, she is working for herself.

She could care less if your house EVER sells so long as she can continue to use it to steer people to her more expensive listings or get mortgage referral kickbacks.

With a realtor like this, your better off letting a family member show the house and then having a real estate lawyer draw up the deal, or allow a buyer's agent to do dual agency and get the extra commission instead.

Don't wait for the listing to expire. Get rid of her now before you have to pay another penny for a utility bill, etc.

I would most definitely report her to the real estate board.
riverspots
13 years ago
Tell the listing agent you want to end the contract now and why. Cite your family member's and your experiences. If the agent puts up a fuss and balks, then threaten to report them to the real estate board.
brickeyee
13 years ago
You may be available, shouts, but you either didn't read the rules before you acted (not reading the rules is a very bad quality in a Realtor) or you knew better but figured you could get away with it & posted your spam knowing that it violated the rules (another very bad quality in a Realtor)."

Omniscient knowledge of the OPs location?

I took the link as more about how it should be done.

The present agent is the pits.

Replace them.

Do we need a new realtor?

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sweet_tea

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Do we need a new realtor?

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