kats: that's a good point. I imagine that a number of realtors will contact me when they see the FSBO to try and get the listing. I can lay out my desire for a reduced-services contract and see if anyone bites. In my email-culling efforts, I found one agency that has a deal where if you buy with them you can sell your house for free (no commission). I'll be buying in a different area, so can't do that, but perhaps that means they're open to a flat-fee MLS type of deal. I'll give them a call too. NC: No offense taken (and none intended with my following remarks). I understand the MLS is a private association, and don't consider myself entitled to a discount (or any) listing. But our local MLS has decided to put rules in place that make it difficult/impossible for members to discount and/or offer more competitive and appealing to customers. I think the real estate industry for the most part has its head stuck in the sand about the need to change, and they're trying their darnedest to preserve their 6% model in the day and age where buyers and sellers could be brought together much less expensively. I wish they'd change. And I'm frustrated that those in the industry that are trying to change to satisfy customers better, are locked out of doing so. It MAY be legal. But Visa & Mastercard had a similar argument (we're a private organization with contracts with merchants, we can decide on whatever merchant fees we want and they can opt out) but the justice department eventually had something to say about that, because they're monopolies. In other news, we went to a couple open houses over the weekend, and one agent mentioned the low inventory right now as a problem (that bodes well for us). Of course, that could be like the car dealers that send you postcards saying "we really need your used car" when they mean "we want to sell you a new one."

I just took a look at that website. It said our home was worth about $179,000--we just sold it (haven't even gone to settlement yet) for just under $200,000. Another house, a block from me was zillowed at $190,000--they sold about 6 months back for $140,000--and had a hard time getting that. The prices for other houses in my neighborhood were similarly all over the place--some were at least $50,000 too low, others were way high. Your agent should be providing a whole stack of comparables. We've had 2 agents in the past year, each supplied us with about a dozen recently sold properties that were similar to ours, so we could evaluate the current local market. Personally? I'm not sure I'd go with an auctioneer/agent. Seems a little iffy to me. I'd further recommend that they use an agent affiliated with one of the large chains, the kind that specialize in both local sales and relocation sales. For our first agent, we went with an older, established 'little' firm--thinking age and experience were the way to go. Didn't do us much good. This time around? We went with young and hungry (our agent is about 30, and a real go-getter) who's with one of the huge chains that does a lot of relocation sales. And we sold in 6 weeks, in THIS economy! For a lot more than we expected to get for our house. Can you suggest to your parents that they talk to at least 3 or 4 different agents, from different agencies, so they can make a more informed choice on who will best represent them? I have a feeling, that if they talk to almost anyone else, this guy will be out the door.

People are right when the say that sq ft and quality don't go hand in hard. Or that sq footage and actual liveability in home don't mean much, either. Would definitely rather have a 3 bed-3bath 2700 sq foot home than a 5 bed-3 bath----more rooms but smaller would not make comfortable living to me...liveability is all in design--not just size I use sq ft comparison when I check MLS listings all the time...if you know the market, it tells you if home in particular area is going at discount -- maybe because of pre-forclosure issues, maybe because it has been listed for long time--maybe there are design issues---pool vs no pool In the DFW area P/S/F is used to market and is what the TAD--local tax authority--uses most of the time to evaluate homes--sq footage--how many garages--if there is a pool--and neighborhood/lot prices...ar what they list on each property valuation sheet they rarely (if ever) do an on-site walk-through inspection so the finish out has little to do with what the appraisal is...they go by neighborhood values. Mainly increase in valuations can happen by neighborhood, not individual homes ... When a subdivision goes in the builder turns in development plans/lots are sized, amenities like community pool is there is one are calculated, so lots/land have valuation set. The homes are built--they know what sq ft the builders are doing because those plans have to be turned in to city and they see them for valuation. If the builder builds a spec and completes w/o a contract, title company notifies TAD. Builder is paying the first year prorated tax, depending on whether he gets contract. When it sells, people are not required to turn the selling price over to TAD--that info is protected in TX--so the builder's valuation is what the new home owners have...because the tax base is set to only increase certain amount from year to year,,,the valuation can be pretty low the first two years...after that usually gets closer to market value... People have to get permits for things like adding a pool or remodeling to add rooms---so TAD can keep up w/upgrades like that usually...so an individual home might have increased appraisal with improvements/extra sq ft after the initial appraisal. The hinky part comes when builders turn in one set of plans and then people contract to have attic space built out or maybe a 3rd-car garage added ...that sq footage almost always does NOT go into the TAD records...a pool is almost impossible to not have valuated to increase taxes... MLS sq ft descriptions around here often say "Total sq footage does not reflect TAD info" or "Sq footage based on currant appraisal"--which means a physical walk-through and measurement of rooms was done by home appraiser, usually from the bank or mortgage co buyers are using... Some times the people at TAD actually read the MLS listings and if they see mention of that, send you a nice letter---I have heard of that happening twice...I also saw a house on new MLS listing with a pool and when I checked TAD to see who the builder was, TAD info did not show a pool...so there are some delinquent taxes there for current original owners... O course Sq footage is only one factor in evaluating a home's true value and if you want a home or if it is worth the price the sellers have put on it...but around here if you compared having a heat pump over having more sq footage--most people would value the sq footage...having trees and privacy on a smaller lot is usually more valuable to buyers than a larger, open-to-everyone's eyes-lot--yet home valuation comes only from lot size not intangibles like trees/views... in certain price ranges, wood floors are mandatory and included when you see sq ft...in others if you get real wood floors you are getting a deal...it just means you have to know your market...

linda117 said: " Mary, I have a client who is just like you. Researcher type, obsessive about every little thing", "She's too involved. She's killed a few of her own deals because she refuses to shut her mouth and stay out of things" "Sit back, relax, let your agent do her job." "My my my, you sound so angry. They were words of encouragement." "Refuses to shut her mouth"? Yikes! So much for words of encouragement. You, yourself stated in another thread (RE: Realtor Problem - WWYD?)"Do they return your calls, are they attentive to your needs and requests?" Its obvious that Mary's agent ISN'T being responsive. What is she supposed to do in the meantime, quietly sit on her hands until her agent decides to post the right pics? Will this happen before summer? Just because the agent has been in the business for 22 years doesn't mean she knows what she is doing. The agent we used has been an agent for 27 years. She still managed to bungle our contract and get fired by her broker. This agent also informed us that she had refinanced her OWN HOUSE with an adjustable rate mortgage and worried how she would make the payments down the road. People are turning to FSBO for good reason. Below are just two of many examples on this forum. I guess we can add being treated in a condescending manner to the list. Posted by disneyrsh May 14, 07 "We are pretty soured on realtors, with experiences of greed, sloth, and incompetence, or at least one of the three, with every realtor we have had dealings with. Throw in an amazing ability to lie with abandon and the picture is not pretty." contract fell through -- is it us or them? Posted by jebtb-May 14, 07 "The agent did not send an executed extension before 5:00 (still hasn't in fact) even though I told her we would sign it just to give us more time. I sent notice of termination at 5:00 p.m. I did not want to be faced with choosing between closing with $4,700 for repairs or losing my deposit." "Overall, it seems to me that the agents unrealistically inflate the sellers' expectations, feed the buyers misinformation in a misguided effort to grease the wheels towards closing, and have a poor understanding of what the rights and obligtions of the buyer and seller are under the real estate contract."