Picking a Realtor

[civilspouse]

We are assuming that there is a good chance that we will be moving after the match so we are looking at putting our house on the market. We met with three different people except DH had to work late and missed one. Now it's on me to make the decision. I have it narrowed down to two, but I'm not sure who to pick...I'm terrible at making decisions. Here are my thoughts on them.

Realtor A - Seems to know her stuff, had some good ideas when walking through the house, paid attention to the details. Seems like she would be pretty aggressive. Likes to do a lot of staging. She talked about how she has bedspreads, shower curtains, artwork etc and she would work with us. Although I wasn't impressed with some of the "improvements" she was showing us photos of. Recommended taking down or covering up any family photos, etc. Said she likes to do a lot of prep and hopes that it will be sold in the first 5-7 showings. She said she sold the house across the street from us and it went quickly.

Realtor B - Also seems to know her stuff. Seems more understanding and flexible. Noticed things, but maybe not as many details as Realtor A. She has two assistants that work with her. She hires a professional photographer to take pictures of the house. I liked her marketing materials/fliers and thought they were well done. She puts together a binder that would sit on a table for buyers to look at which I always appreciated when we were looking at houses.

In summary I think Realtor A would be more aggressive, would make us get rid of a bunch of our crap and bring in her crap. Realtor B seems like she would be more flexible and understanding that we have two small kids and a dog and live here. I would pick Realtor B, but if we need to stage and do a bunch of other stuff to get the house sold then maybe Realtor A is the way to go.

DH liked Realtor A and her plan. He likes that she says her goal would be to sell it in 5-7 showings, but I don't think that is something she can really sell. I know if DH had seen them both he would pick Realtor A. I just don't really want to deal with all the staging and stuff. Plus I really like that the second lady has a professional photographer whose pictures look good because I think that's really important. Most of all though I want to sell the house. Sorry for rambling....like I said I'm terrible at making decisions. Any thoughts from your experiences.

[Thirteen]

Do you have a flat fee MLS broker nearby? It can save you a bundle!


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[SoonerTexan]

^That's what my parents just did and it was a really good experience for them.

BUT they are no strangers to selling houses (Lord, at least 5), were selling in a very hot (sold on the first day) market, and knew what needed to be done to sell the house in advance.

If it comes to it, you can hire a business to take photos for about $100 (I priced them out for my mom in our area)

[SuzySunshine]

As someone who has sold/staged a residency house with two small children and a dog I say go for B. If you don't have a realtor that knows what its like to have two small children then it will be MISERABLE! Our realtor was good about protecting my kids naps. I kept a laundry basket near the garage door, loaded the kids in the car then made a sweep straightening pillows, picking up straggling toys, etc - threw them in the basket and threw the basket and the dog in the back of the car.

We did take down all personal photos - we left up all art. You want the buyer to be able to envision their family in the house, not yours.

Good luck, its not fun or easy!

[peggyfromwastate]

We went for a realtor we thought would be a hardass when it came time to negotiate. I also liked that he knew our neighborhood. That's all I cared about.

Staging and thinning out my stuff-- did that on my own. It's kind of self explanatory.

He took the pictures of our house and they looked great.

When it came to showing, we had lots of traffic and one open house. Offers came on the second week. He was very good in telling people they needed to up their offer, etc.

I would be asking questions about the contractors the realtor works with for the inspection list. There will probably be a punch list of things you need to fix. Our realtor had great contractors who were reasonably priced and willing to take their pay from our sale proceeds-- so I didn't have to pay cash upfront.

For us our realtor negotiated a great deal, but we didn't get that price bc our neighbor undercut the market 3 weeks before we listed our house by selling her house for 30% below market value. We were all pissed. It was some kind of a trick to get a big tax write off. Pissed. But not the fault of the realtor. He did his job.

And another thing I liked about him was that when the buyers were being unreasonable turds I told him enough--- let's relist it. He was willing to do that after he'd spent hours negotiating with the buyers totally insane realtor. As soon as he told them we were walking, they magically accepted our counter. But, had they not been willing to budge, at least my realtor was willing to go with me. I really felt he wasn't in it for a quick sell but was there to get the best deal for me. I say me bc dh was out of the f***ing country while I dealt with this whole $hitfest...

So, the stuff about nap time and dogs, yeah a PITA but there will be showings at inconvenient times and you just have to go with it. I had all 5 kids in their pjs roaming Safeway at 9:30 on a school night to accommodate late showings. You just do what you have to do and I don't think an empathetic realtor would've mattered at all to me. My realtor was empathetic in that he said "it sucks to have showing at inconvenient times, I know". But the other realtors would call me to ask if they could come look. I could say no, but I just wanted it over.

[MrsSz]

Do they both want to list for the same price?

[Pollyanna]

What Peggy said. You don't want someone that sensitive to children, naps, etc. You want someone to sell your house, someone sensitive to the fact that the longer it's on the market the more money it costs you. Id likely go with realtor A.

[spotty_dog]

I've never sold a house (the idea gives me heebie-jeebies!) but I do like looking at listings and I appreciate professional photos SO much, and well-done materials. (I've seen the flyers from the realtor we used as a buyer's agent, and they look like they were made in 1990s Microsoft Word!) But a very clear move-it-fast goal is also pretty key...even with the market on an upswing, the last thing you need is to dilly-dally. The first offer you get may be your last, and you don't want to have to wait six months for that first offer. If you have an open house, and THEN decide it's time for a full-on staging, you've just lost anyone who might have been mildly interested in the first go-round but couldn't see around the lived-in-ness, you know?

I'd be torn! I guess you can ask Realtor A if they'll be willing to get in a pro photog if you pay the fee? And be ready to stand firm about the staging decisions if her quilts are ugly or have shown up in every listing she's ever sold? LOL.

[Auspicious]

Ours had, in the hallway between the foyer and the living room, a breast feeding portrait. Beautifully photographed, actually, but I laughed at how against-the-rules that is.

/hijack


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[BonBon]

I'm of the opinion that houses rather sell themselves, no matter who the agent is. If it's staged well (ie clean and uncluttered, with good room flow) and priced right, it should sell. I laugh at some of our neighbors who keep changing agents because their house isn't selling. Beautiful homes, but you're asking too much.

That said, you do want someone who is on your side, and can offer solid advice. Two houses ago, I gave our agent a heart attack because I was ready to walk (the guy was a giant nitpicking pennypinching nickel-and-diming-me-to-death pain in the ass.) but she agreed, because he WAS such a turd. It all worked out, but you definitely need someone who's got your back.

Good luck!! I would probably just choose the one I mesh with better.

[diggitydot]

Picking a Realtor

I'm of the mindset that it doesn't really matter what a realtor says initially because it could all be bullshit.

Our first realtor for the residency/fellowship house said all the right things before we signed on the bottom line and then was a lazy dipshit who kept trying to pawn off her responsibilities onto our neighbors and get us to have unnecessary work done on the house as she pushed her husband's painting company. (There was work that needed to be done, but not the stuff she said she wanted.) His quotes were the low-ish middle of the road for the ones she showed us. The least expensive one she showed us is still several thousand dollars over the going rate. We quickly got the feeling that her RE business was merely a way to drum up clients for her husband's painting company. After taking the house off the market, having a renter, and getting a new realtor, the quotes we're now getting with the new realtor (who isn't affiliated with any painters) are reasonable and about half of the cheapest ones that other realtor tried selling us on.

New realtor also does professional pictures. The last realtor took the pics herself with super shitty lighting and an old, crappy camera. They looked awful.

[MrsSz]

I'm of the opinion that houses rather sell themselves, no matter who the agent is. If it's staged well (ie clean and uncluttered, with good room flow) and priced right, it should sell. I laugh at some of our neighbors who keep changing agents because their house isn't selling. Beautiful homes, but you're asking too much.

This. I would ask them both point blank what they would list your house for and why. Choose the one who has the most accurate information supporting the pricing, not the one who has the better price. You really can tell the experience and dedication of an agent based on their market analysis of your property and if they actually know it.

[MrsSz]

I'm of the mindset that it doesn't really matter what a realtor says initially because it could all be bullshit.

Also this!

[Flynn]

I think the price you list the house for is a big deal. It sets the tone for the sale and can effect how quickly the house sells.

I've sold two houses. The second time around I would have put in a clause that basically says if the house sells in less than a week for X price you get X commission (half what they should) because you didn't really do a damn thing. Our second house sold in 48 hours and the listing agent did about 5 hours of meetings with us and IT JUST SOLD. They made a bundle because they were luck (and I think we priced it too low).

Just my two cents.

[Thirteen]

For selling, we are working with a broker -- our market is hot, sells well, and our home is a little unique (more bedrooms than most, lake access, two driveways, large storage building).
To price accordingly, get comps in your area and see what sold and when -- I know what the average price per sq ft is here, and we decided to price just under that to further help entice buyers.

For an actual agent, I like people who deal solely in your city: they seem to be more knowledgable about pricing, what moves a house, etc.
I also like asking potential realtors to "price estimate" to see what they say. If you already know what is selling and the pricing per sq ft, it's easy to determine if someone is just telling you what you want to hear ($$$$$), or is actually going to move the house for you.


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