We took the photos. SInce we are both interior designers, we could maximize the appeal of the photos.
We approved the narrative.
But other than that we stayed completely out of the way.

We just sold my mother's house in San Francisco. We had an incredible realtor and just got out of the way; it's a process, for sure. We had to come to the realization that the house was no longer "ours" and just do what was best to sell the house for the best price. That said, the realtor took over and did what he knew would sell the house. He was very good; I didn't like some of the stuff (mostly staging which I thought had NOTHING to do with the period age of the house), but it did sell for way over asking. My advice would be to find a very good realtor; and get out of the way! He/she, unlike palimsest), should have good photos, etc. and know how to market the house.

Those are interesting questions, and it does sound like you are ahead of the game. Some random thoughts:
One possibility would be to already go with a realtor whose ads you more or less like.
In my area, houses sell within a few days, usually with multiple offers, so the realtor doesn't have to hustle to market the house.
Ask how s/he plans to market the house, e.g. open house for the other agents.
Ask what recent sales s/he had.
Ask for comps and a detailed price analysis.
With respect to price, my experience is that most agents are more interested in a fast sale than the highest sales price. Which means that you need to be very objective about your home's value. Look at the comparables and see what's out there. (This may be extreme, but last month, very good friends of mine insisted on a listing price almost 100K higher (10%) than the agent suggested. They sold within two days for more than the asking price. The agent is a high-volume realtor, so certainly should have a pretty good idea about market values.)
In short: I would be involved by picking a very competent agent but then not micromanage and regard this as much as a business transaction as possible.

I have seen the same deficiencies that you have noted in local listings around us. However, a successful and competant realtor will not let you down. Wait until you find a realtor with whom you have the confidence to let them take over. It will be worth the wait and shopping to have a good realtor. Ours was fabulous.

Is there anyone out there who has sold in a rural area? We're in an area where there is low turnover (because of low population) and very few true comps. Houses are all over the place in terms of age/type/condition. About ten years ago a large number of new spec houses (including ours) were built, but the original owners are all still in them, for the most part.

Partly I am stressing because this area is so different from what I am used to, in so many ways. I used to live in big cities and have been here for 5 years now. I've been pretty shocked at just how bad so many people in so many fields seem to be at their jobs... it's like they're all operating in a vacuum, without education or professional development. Real estate is just another area like this. I never disliked my (professional) jobs until I moved here and it's like the land that time forgot.

Okay, considering that I have never, out of hundreds of listings, seen any local listing with photos which seem to have been taken by a professional photographer, and almost all seem to have been taken with point-and-shoot or cellphone cameras, is there any consensus over whether it would be okay for me to say, "hey, I have a dSLR, wide angle lens, and tripod, and I'd like to take the photos"...? Let's assume that the professional photographer is not going to happen, and my photos are almost certain to be better than what the realtor would take.

My dream is to be able to find a competent realtor and get out of the way, because feeling like I need to micromanage the process and take the photos, etc., is only adding to the stress of selling our house. The problem is that I am genuinely not seeing ANY listings which look like they were listed by very competent realtors. Or maybe the realtors figure that in a rural market, no one expects nice photos. I frankly think a lot of realtors are still not "getting it" that internet photos are extremely important for everyone, but especially for drawing people to areas without tons of traffic. I cringe every time I see a blurry, dark photo of a random corner with a time/date stamp on it. Out of hundreds of listings, there may be one or two taken with a wide angle lens. Even a clean, decluttered house seems to be (by far) more the exception than the rule. When I contrast the listings around here with listings in big metropolitan areas - even listings for very modest houses - it's like night and day.

Things are picking up in the markets around us, but this market is still pretty depressed. We really can't wait to sell... we're behind schedule as it is and our window of time is slipping away. The average time on market here right now is over 4.5 months, and I doubt there are usually multiple offers. So, we expect this to take awhile and we don't want to run into the colder months. Trying to market a house in the winter here, when the large lot and landscaping is one of the best features, would be tough. We'd have to pull it off the market until spring, but we've already waited years for things to pick up. (The "hurry" is that we just really want to be mobile and relocate, but we can't even really think about looking for jobs elsewhere because we're not in a situation where we can be confident that our house will sell quickly when we need it to.)

is there any consensus over whether it would be okay for me to say, "hey, I have a dSLR, wide angle lens, and tripod, and I'd like to take the photos"...?

You are the boss in this relationship with the real estate agent. Within the limits of the law and ethics, you decide how things go.

IMO it is perfectly fine to say that you want to take the photos, and you should even have them ready on a thumb drive to give to the agent you sign with. And yes, you can have text ready as well. And a draft flyer.

These are things to discuss during the interview. Any agent who would oppose you on these issues is the wrong agent for you.

And trust me, bad pictures and grammar in real estate listings are not limited to rural areas.

I'm a graphic designer/marketer so I took the pictures, created the flyer that went on the yard sign and wrote all the copy for the listing.

When interviewing realtors, I told them what I wanted to do and they were more than happy to let me do whatever I wanted. Of course, we had discussions and they knew I was knowledgeable about the market.

Also, my house was decluttered and staged when the realtors came over for their interview. I wanted them to understand what they had in their hands right from the start.

If I were you, I would make sure to have the house ready before interviewing realtors, express all the concerns you have listed here, make sure they understand what you expect in no uncertain terms. Make sure you get everything in writing.

You can absolutely take your own photos. Ask the realtor if they have a professional photographer take the photos (some downtown realtors here do). If not, go for it.

I sold our last house on my own in about a day. My husband (a pretty good amateur photographer) took exquisite photos and set up a dedicated web-site. We sold the house to someone across the country who was moving here, they didn't even see it in person before buying (they did get a friend come to see it though). I believe that high quality photos can make a huge difference. As of course does appropriate staging (or just cleaning and de-cluttering). If you have a great web site with great pictures, a meticulously clean house (not over-stuffed with furniture) you'll almost certainly be miles ahead of any competition you might have out there. List quickly though, around here July and August are not great months for selling, get it out there in June.

Another vote to have your interior AND exterior photos on hand (in both print on hand -- and on a drive) PLUS add a list of the improvements you have done over the years.

PLUS add measurements of the rooms -- and descriptions like "lovely sunny spot" or "cozy spot to read" and other details about the location (yes -- those details may be obvious to locals BUT not to folks who are looking over the internet!)

Be very firm about your expectations, timeline etc.

And yes indeed -- get everything in writing. Especially about how they plan to market your home (using internet and other resources -- realtors even have lists/photos on sites like Pinterest)

YES -- do micro-manage!!! This is your "product" and your money! :) And yes -- there are dreadful photos on sites like realtor.com -- makes me wonder if the sellers have a clue about their own listings!

Have you thought of trying to sell it yourself....I know most people don't recommend this, but people do it everyday. Honestly, 15 years ago we had our house on the market with a recommended agent and she was such a dud it almost made me become an agent because I thought--if this woman comes recommended and this is the job she is doing, I could make a killing because I know I could do it waaaay better.

I know what you mean about pictures--- I was looking on realtor.com the other day and one house had several bathrooms...in every picture both toilet seats were up....yuck! What are they thinking? I have seen this on HGTV too...I have even seen on HGTV where the seats are up in the first shot, then down for every other shot...it doesn't occur to anyone to put the seats down as they enter the bathroom to take pictures? They shoot, put the seats down, then shoot again?

If you tried to sell it yourself, you could market it the way you want, on your terms, and not have to pay a commission to boot.

You may know more than the real estate agents. What exactly will you be paying them to do? Market your house? How will they do that? Sounds like they will not be providing you will decluttering or staging advise, or taking pro photos.

Consider negotiating a listing contract where you are in control and they only get a percentage based on the services they are actually providing.

Thanks for the encouragement!

I really don't know what the realtors around here do. I know a lot of them are part-time, which raises all kinds of red flags for me. I'm kind of guessing that most people are just busy and/or completely lacking in knowledge about real estate and marketing, so they just let the realtor do whatever (which isn't usually much) but that to them is worth it. They put up signs, they get it up on the MLS and then it shows up on the various aggregator sites, they are present to show the house, and that's it. Many listings only have a few pictures, too.

For us, I guess the value in their services will be knowledge of the various transactions/law, etc., and being present to show the house. That's one reason why we don't want to sell ourselves... it's just one more thing to research and worry about and we don't have the time, and we also don't want to be around when buyers come through. I've also read that "For Sale by Owner" usually leads to lower-priced offers, although that's an amazing story (above)!

Although I have not worked in this field, one of my two undergraduate majors was art, and I have experience in some graphic design, web design, and creation of flyers, etc., for various work and volunteer things, so I feel pretty comfortable creating those things. But, they take up time.

We're not staging, per se (as in bringing in new furniture and artwork) but we have decent furniture, and I have followed suggestions from a staging book... remove free-standing bookcases, remove any table which does not directly serve a chair, clear horizontal surfaces, etc.. We've never had anything but custom blinds on our windows, so they already look clean and neat and don't obscure light when pulled up. I've never liked having tons of things on the walls, so we only have a few items, and I've never liked having a lot of personal photos displayed, so that's not an issue. We just have a few final touches, and then I will take the photos and have them ready to present. We also plan to have the house about 95% ready when we interview realtors. (There are a couple more things... the basement is an endless project, so it might still have some clutter, but we will make clear that it will be in great shape by the time the house is shown.)

It may be different where you live, but here the listing agent doesn't show the house outside of open houses and caravans (open houses for other agents). The buyers' agent is the one who shows the house.

Keep in mind when taking advise on this forum that real estate laws, commissions, and customs are very different from state to state.

Here in New York you need an attorney, there is a lot of paperwork, fees,and it takes about 3 months to close. I have heard that in other states you don't need an attorney, things are much easier and faster.

I had a real estate license over 20 years ago. I sold one house and got out. It was cut throat, agents had little knowledge of homes, etc. During the required classes to get a license all we learned about was the laws, which is good but not nearly enough.

I still watch the local market and do see bad photos, wrong info, etc. Right now its sellers market here so I doubt agents care much about marketing.

I de-cluttered and staged my home myself, took my own pictures (not very well but better than most around here), did my own info fact sheet and designed my own yard sign online. I also listed on Zillow and craigslist and posted all the pictures. A friend listed the property on MLS for us with my write up info and my pictures, she also signed a paper stating there was no charge or commission to her; you can also do a flat fee to get on MLS for a faster sale. I did marketing everyday with sending local Realtors my listing info. I did all this because I did not want to pay more than 2.5% commission. It worked! It didn’t stop realtors from showing my home and it sold in a few weeks for good money. I normally sell my houses myself but this house is somewhat out in the country without as many drive-byes. The realtor who sold my home showed it to the couple twice and did the contract; I picked the title company and did the rest above.

I stay very involved without getting in the way. I would always leave when a realtor showed the home. Once I stayed in the bathroom because my dog had surgery and couldn’t be moved.

I'm afraid I disagree that you should retain full control over what your realtor does. Your posts seem to indicate that you are having trouble with the whole idea of trusting someone with this task, but there are legal requirements and the ability to prequalify buyers that are a part of why you are wise to get a professional to help you.

It's a profession. A good broker is worth every penny of the commission. Keep interviewing until you find someone with a track record, whom you trust to know what he or she is doing. Be honest about your difficulties with this process. Feel free to offer text suggestions and photographs, set your limits on when the house can be shown, and then get out of the way.

And no matter how much you want to, it is a terrible idea to be in the house when prospective buyers are looking at it.

If you want someone to do their best work for you, you cannot treat them like ignorant functionaries. The interview process is where you have control.

You can negotiate how many ads, where the ads will go, how many open houses will be held and the like into the contract. You can also specify an expiration date for the contract, so that if your house hasn't sold in a couple of months, you can terminate the contract and hire someone else.

I'm sure there are people here who have sold their houses themselves successfully, and people who have horror stories about brokers. But you need one, and if you do your homework as diligently as you have prepared your house, you'll make the right decision.

And if you think that the market where you are is dead, consider marketing your house in nearby cities where people come from when they buy houses in your rural area.

I would be very hands on. Nobody cares as much about your home as you do! There are many agents who like to get quick sales and they will price your home accordingly if you allow it. The agent should appreciate your photos because agents around here have to pay someone to take the photos. I have always written my own narratives as I have a much better way with words than some agents. We also negotiated a 1% reduction in real estate fees. Remember that it is a business deal and everything is negotiable.

Edited to remove double post.

This post was edited by vickij on Wed, Jun 5, 13 at 17:26

we just went through the process of selling our home and now have a contract. We had never sold a home in a down market before and it was a different experience. Do you know the market conditions of your home and the average selling price of comparable properties? Are the kinds of property you have in demand at the moment in your area?
I think the key is to communicate with your realtor and pick one you can communicate with. Many realtors specialize in certain properties. I'd spend a lot of time on the market looking at property listings priced just above through just below where you think your property should sell. Look for similar properties, look at the sold and pending listings as well. What realtor presents them the way you want them to? Most properties are seen first online. Pick a realtor who obviously has ability to list properties using multiple photos, even a photo or video tour display. One who has links set up to print flyers, and one who has successfully sold properties like yours.
Pick the 3 best and interview each of them carefully, telling them what you expect and finding out how they will market your house. If they don't want to hold open houses and you do, for example, understand why. If they won't communicate with you now, they will not communicate with
you later. Will you expect them to report to you once a week on what they have been doing to sell the house? Will they get feedback for you after your house has been shown? ask loads of questions, and remember you are the boss. Pick the one who will communicate with you and who will do things the way you want them done. Once you find and hire one with expertise and communication skills you are satisfied with, ask their advice and follow it. We wanted somebody aggressive, who would sell the house quickly and communicate often. If price is your biggest priority marketing will be different than if the priority is a quick sale. Especially in hard to sell markets. We made a pamphlet to leave in the house for prospective buyers listing all the selling features of our house, improvements in the past 5 years, plantings on the grounds, what we loved most about living there. The realtor loved it and we got many comments from other realtors who showed the place about what a good idea that was. Our realtor liked how involved in selling we were ( spotlessly clean to show, staged and groomed inside and out) and it made a great partnership. communication on both our parts was what made it work.
Look until you find somebody who 'is on the same page' and who you feel comfortable with. Ask how they will market the home, what tools they will use, get promises in writing, be willing to pay their fair share of the commission, they do an awful lot of work behind the scenes if they are good at their jobs. my 2 cents. best wishes

Whatever you do, you need to decide fast because you have already missed about 6 weeks of the prime selling season in the northeast. Good luck!

Are you in cowhampshire, by chance?

I would say yes to reviewing and correcting the text and taking the photos.

I would make sure that all the right boxes are checked on the MLS data entry form. Teacats' idea about measuring the rooms is great. Realtor's job, but if he doesn't do it, you should.

One recent and very important development in this business is that you can get an automatic call or an email before every showing. You can't depend on people to leave their business cards. Your realtor's office should notify you in advance of the showing. This way you never have to be frustrated by having left a sock on the floor because you didn't know a potential buyer was coming. It would be best if they could tell you which company is showing, too. It would be best if the office is set up to auto-send an email when an appointment is made. If you have to depend on the wavering sticktoitivness of a part-time secretary to remember to dial your cell or your house or both, it will only add to your frustrations, because half the time you won't get the call, and part of the time the time or day will be wrong or changed.

As you try to move forward, you need to know where the action is coming from so you can adjust to get more of that action, whether it be direct mail to certain realtors, ads in particular newspapers, a price adjustment, or, who knows what it will take to sell the house. Thankfully, you will have all the predictable stuff as under control as possible so you can take advantage of opportunities and ideas that arise.

I think the realtor should be located nearby. A part time realtor out in the country is not a buzzing cauldron of ambition. Make it easy by making it close.

I recently shopped for homes in rural areas with which I was not intimately familiar. The homes were unique and spread far apart. Often, I'd try to get info like "is there cable service?" (I need cable internet for my business) or "well or public water" or "what fire department services this home" or many other things. Sometimes the info should have been on the MLS listing sheet but was missing. Sometimes there simply was no box to check on the sheet. The cable info was very difficult to uncover. You can contact all the cable companies, but that's a huge amount of work to undertake before you even decide whether a home is worth making the long drive to view.

The simpler questions were difficult because you had to leave messages at the realtor's and wouldn't get called back. The country realty companies are often small and independent, and their hours prove it. They work when they want. Often, in the case of things like "do the fireplaces work?" or "is there hardwood under the carpet"
the realtor flat out didn't know. Looking for houses in the country takes a lot driving, and I passed on driving to a place sometimes if I couldn't get basic information by phone.

Take photos but ask the realtor to pick the best for the MLS, or use a realtor who engages a professional photographer. He or she will know what will attract buyers.

I would read and copy edit flyers or other materials. Our last realtor who was excellent in every respect listed our main floor bath as a powder room when it was a full bath. People make mistakes.

Find a realtor who is full-time, and let them do their job. Do not be home for showings.

Wow, so many responses! Yes, Cow Hampshire. I want to clear up a couple things... I said I do NOT want to be present when the buyers are around. At all. Ever. I want them to envision it as their own, and be able to talk about it and criticize. There is no temptation, on my part, to be there, and I have never liked my house all that much (I didn't buy it) and long ago let go of it as "my own" and just view it as a product. I have no interest in having full control and going with no realtor at all... we are not up to the task of all the legal/financial aspects. I am strictly worried about the marketing aspect, which seems to be lacking in local realtors.

I also do not have trouble entrusting someone with the task... I WANT someone to take it off my hands! But I have trouble entrusting an incompetent person with the task. I do not want my listing to look like 95% of what I am seeing in my area. That's the problem! It's not a seller's market around here, at all, and yet none of the realtors seem to be doing a good job. It's like most of them are totally unaware of the importance of being seen on the internet. They're all doing less than what would be an average job in a larger metropolitan area. Yes, it's a profession, which is why I should be able to expect to find an expert, but I'm not seeing any marketing out there which even looks as good as what I, non-realtor, could do. I have not seen a single photo over YEARS of looking which appears to have been taken professionally, so the realtors are definitely not engaging professional photographers. If I have not seen a single home in my town sell in under several months (which I haven't), and many are on the market on and off for YEARS, there's a problem. I'm tempted to post awful photos on here to illustrate the problem, but I wouldn't want to post someone else's house.

I am pretty sure that the seller's agents do show homes (though I am sure the buyer's agents do too.) Our neighbor sold last year and her agent was always showing families around. Open houses, even for agents, really aren't done around here. Even the nicest houses don't have open houses for buyers because the traffic just isn't there. And I believe we do need a real estate attorney for various aspects, but the realtor would (should) still be up on the laws and regulations we don't know about. Closing in 30 days is pretty typical.

I'm going to have to know when someone is coming to look at the house, because I will be removing my two cats and all evidence of them from the house... is that normal? I'll be amenable to all showings, but will just need a little advance notice.

From a sentence in a new listing (which has no photos) which just went up today:

"...features a updated modern kitchen w/stainless steal appliances that w/attached breakfast nook opens to a dinning room & large living room & den/office."

Hi Lizzie, why don’t you take your house off the market briefly to regroup your thoughts? Do you have a title company in your area with a real estate attorney on site? I ask because if you did decide to do a flat fee to get on MLS, take your own pictures or hire them done, plus list on CL and Zillow, the title company does much of the work, they will do the closing and you would have an attorney to confer with if needed. Most realtors do not know ALL the laws themselves either; their company may or may not have access to a Real Estate attorney. Or, you may decide on a different realtor. You could also post pictures of your home here to get feedback on how it shows and if improvements could be made.
Selling is so stressful! It will all work out in the end even if it doesn’t seem so at the moment. A year from now you will be settled somewhere else and forget about most of the stress related to this home.

It's not on the market yet... we wanted to be listed by June 1 but aren't quite ready yet... hoping for June 15 but since we haven't interviewed realtors yet, that seems like a long shot. What we have been doing is all the decluttering, extensive deep cleaning, landscaping maintenance, strategic buys for staging (like fresh hotel style bedding, plus we have replaced all faucets and many light fixtures.)

I haven't taken the photos yet (other than "practice" ones with the cars still in the driveway, dead winter lawn, etc..) I should post some here once they are ready, although the "danger" there is that everyone has different ideas of acceptable. Anything I take will be better than just about everything which I see on other listings, but can't compete with professional photos where the photographer's bring in their own lights, etc.. I want my listing to be one of the best on this market but am not really worried about looking like the best of any market. Same thing with certain improvements... we finally decided we would keep the laminate countertops and white appliances because they are not horribly offensive and this is not a market where granite and stainless steel are expected and even necessarily wanted. (If we were staying I would still want to keep the white appliances, but would go with soapstone counters.) I could be opening up a can of worms. :-)

The title company is an idea, although we really just want to hand everything over to someone. I don't want to be coordinating showings or anything like that. The big worry is the marketing so I have wondered just how much involvement I can have... whether a realtor (even one who really isn't good) would be offended by my wanting to be so involved. It's like saying, "I know you're not very good at your job..." but in this case, there is clear proof out there of the kind of job these people are doing, good, bad, or average.

You can tell just by this thread that selling a home is very emotional for most people -- even when it's not their home! Various posters assume you are too high priced (you never mentioned price), you are trying to avoid a realtor (you want a realtor), you have trust issues (you want to trust but verify), or you are insecure about the way your home looks (you have been preparing for years and are not worried and did not ask about staging). All this misreading is just a taste of the way emotion conceals (and reveals!) meaning and communication during the home sale process.

Add that to the fact that you're selling in a rural area where you might not get a lot of traffic with a mediocre realtor (albeit the best around). Pile on that the secretary doesn't call you, or the agent shows up early or not at all.

That is just how it goes -- it's reality.

But you'll do fine because you have planned and strategized to make the best of it. Stay as involved as you wish; you seem to me to know how involved to be. It starts with the words and pictures.

Thank you jamies!

We are sort of "motivated sellers," although I don't know that we meet whatever the technical definition is for that. I didn't notice the price issue raised, but I'll address it - frankly all we really want is to get what we still owe plus fees, which is probably $20,000 LESS than what the house can easily sell for, and it can probably sell for more than that, too. We'd prefer not to settle for the minimum, but we just want to unload. We have no impending relocation (although we really want to relocate) and we are not in financial distress. We will ask for whatever seems like a fair price which will get it sold quickly.

I don't want to sound like I am dismissive of the idea of slowing down and regrouping... it's just that we're not rushing into this. I have a three-page list of home improvements (major and minor) which I made up and starting checking off over two years ago, but really we began making improvements with an eye towards resale over 5 years ago. We've just been waiting out the worst of the market conditions. I feel like we're DONE. I have no more to give, ha ha. I think we're ready but I am just worried about the added stress of not finding the right realtor for the marketing piece, and wondering how involved I can be if need be.

I work in a RE office and have a RE license, though I haven't sold in years. Most agents will be happy to use your pictures if they are good quality. You should give them to the agent both in their original size and also resized smaller to be used on the internet. I agree with what you say about the pics that many agents take and use - they are appalling! When I was taking RE pictures I used a camera with a wide angle (but not that awful fisheye) lens. It really makes a difference, especially in bathrooms and small bedrooms. Read the marketing remarks that the agent will use, and make corrections as necessary, but try not to totally rewrite them. Unless they are really horrible, but if you choose a great agent that shouldn't be a problem.

Which leads me to the most important piece of advice: DO NOT HIRE A PART TIME AGENT! Hire a full time professional. We have had part timers working at our office in the past, and they are usually a PIA to deal with - both for their clients, but also for the office staff and other agents.

When we interviewed realtors, we went with the one who had a professional photographer on staff and brought samples of top quality marketing materials he'd prepared for other homes.

When we went with him, they brought in the photographer with a real camera with all the lenses and lighting required, and they took about 2 hours to take all the photos... and they were high quality professional photos. They prepared a full color brochure on card stock, and our home had a page on their website.

We did our part - our home was already pretty clean and uncluttered but we staged it a bit more and made sure it was ready for the pictures and showings.

Lizzie -
If you are seeing seriously flawed listings, tell the realtors you interview that you are concerned with the quality of the listings, and you will take the photos (I assume you can take decent photos) and proofread and correct the listing and any brochures.

The problem is that grammar, spelling and photography are not on the licensing exam. Add to that they typical part-timer who just wants to list a few houses and throw them at the web ... it's a mess.

We're expecting a bit pf pushback when we sell the main house, but I have a target market in mind and have already written most of the ad copy to get them interested.

Lizzie--don't know if this still holds true...but I've heard if you want a faster sale--price it 1-2% lower than other like houses in your area/neighborhood. I think most people overvalue and overprice their homes.

Lizzie, I'm sorry to have lectured you - It probably wasn't your original post that vaulted me onto my high horse.

I think all your reservations are entirely reasonable, and that you know exactly what you're doing and what you're up against. Best of luck with this difficult task.

I didn't take your post as a lecture Bronnie and I agree with much of what you said. We have used one realtor. We used her because she is top-notch, sells a high number of homes, knows her business, knows the area, etc., etc. etc. She sold two homes for us and helped us find another. The house we are in now, we built.

We pretty much turned everything over to her. She does excellent work in marketing the home. Photos were great, everything on web site quickly, etc. She does not like to do open houses. Which was fine with us. I can't remember her reasoning, but she sold both houses for us fairly quickly. I would never want to be in a home when it's shown and around here I think most realtors are against that. Our realtor always called ahead and set up the appointment. It was rare that we did not have advance notice.

tina

Us, too, tinam - we have a wonderful person who sold us our house when we came back to town, sold it for us 15 years later for a great price, and found this one for us. I recommend her all the time, largely because she knows every nook and cranny of this city; is funny, articulate, and easy to get along with; is very well connected; and has been doing it successfully for thirty years.

A rare bird - and I know how spoiled we are to have her as our friend.

Hi Lizzie,
I've shopped houses in rural NH and have seen some scary listings!

Have you lived in the area long enough to make some friends who might have suggestions of a good realtor? We know a lot of realtors, but when polling our people, were surprised at the ones that people recommended. We ended up with "he's kind of an ass, but he can sell a house"...and he did for us, twice.

I think whoever you choose will be thrilled to have your photos, descriptions and ideas ready and waiting. Why not? As long as your descriptions aren't delusional (and I've seen some of those), it is helpful I think. If you wanted to make a flyer, I can't see any agent fighting you as long as you don't want to take any of the commission for doing so. As long as you approach it in a positive way, I can't see how they could argue. Barring the delusional thing, which I don't see as a problem. :)

Beth P.

You are getting lots of good advice especially from kellyeng, teacats and egbar.

I had a fabulous realtor couple when selling my last home. We interviewed 3 full-time (don't go w/ a part-timer) experienced (at least 5yrs) real estate teams (2-3 people so you're covered ) who were good sellers in the area and who seemed to have good marketing skills. One team clearly was not up to par and we selected the best. They hired a pro photographer and paid for a stager to come in after we had things clean and decluttered and somewhat staged. I wrote, or tweeked, quite a bit of copy and made a sheet listing highlights of the property and recent improvements. That was well received by our realtor (who shared the goal of selling) and buyers. The realtor did a great job of marketing to other realtors and managing showings, feedback, offers, etc. We sold fairly quickly in a tough market.

I have also sold 2 homes in more rural areas w/o a realtor but working with an experienced real estate attorney who provided me with appropriate forms for disclosure, offers, etc. Of course, I did all of the marketing. One was sold to a neighbors sister after we had an open house (not common in the area). They were not even looking to buy a house! I would expect your agent to do an open for agents and another general one shortly after listing even if it's not customary.

I also made sure the house was presented well -- better than the norm. Clean, decluttered, and simple repairs and staging done. It sounds like that is what you have done and it should make your home sell quicker. But there is a time to say "enough" and get it on the market. It sounds like you are at that point.

Good luck. Choose the best of the lot, don't sign a long listing so they will have to continue to earn your business, work with the agent on getting marketing set up then let them do their thing.. Mutual respect will go a long way to achieving the end you both want--a sold house.